Just throwing this CD PLAyer out there

ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
If I am looking for a CD/SACD player in the 1500 dollar range, what is the best out there.
Don't flame me. I think I asked before and got answers of just get this 150 dollar player etc... And your crazy if you don't get the Oppo.
Well I am looking for a high end player that is built like a tank and is dead quiet... Of course playback should be top notch.
Right now I own the Marantz CD6004 and it's good but needs to go back in my bedroom system. I am looking to one up this player.
Marantz CD8005
Teac 2000/3000
Yamaha CD1000/2000
Something like the above..
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
The Rotels(Not sure if they have SACD, but HDCD yes) are highly regarded. When I was looking for a player recently I did research and decided on a Sony 5 disc changer 595 SACD/CD used on ebay for less than $100 (which I got last week and does a good job so far) after the Rotel I was looking at was too expensive for me. Most people say you won't hear a big difference with higher end/Dac. Cambridge Audio Is another brand recommended. Amazon.com: Cambridge Audio - Azur 351C - CD Player - Silver: Electronics

More...

http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Audio-651C-Compact-Player/dp/B006IUE59I/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1402768013&sr=1-5&keywords=cambridge+audio+cd+player

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/pages/azur-851-series

http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Audio-Upsampling-Digital-Pre-Amplifier/dp/B008J348FI/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1402768125&sr=1-7&keywords=cambridge+audio+cd+player

Good luck.
 
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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I'll sell you my Denon DBP-4010UDCI (SACD/DVD-A/BD/DVD/CD) player for only $800 delivered (MSRP $2,000). :D

Looks brand new. Hardly ever used. All original stuffs like D-Link cable (required for DSD-Direct SACD).

 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
I'll sell you my Denon DBP-4010UDCI (SACD/DVD-A/BD/DVD/CD) player for only $800 delivered (MSRP $2,000). :D

Looks brand new. Hardly ever used. All original stuffs like D-Link cable (required for DSD-Direct SACD).

So all you will have left is your boom-box when your done selling off your gear. :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
So all you will have left is your boom-box when your done selling off your gear. :D
Hey, they're not just some boom-boxes here you know. They are Bose we're talking about here. Some respect, please? :D
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
Hey, they're not just some boom-boxes here you know. They are Bose we're talking about here. Some respect, please? :D
Man I plum forgot, forgive me :D LOL

So what's going to be left when the changeout is all but done, The Salons, the NEW RBH sx8300's, ?, ?
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Man I plum forgot, forgive me :D LOL

So what's going to be left when the changeout is all but done, The Salons, the NEW RBH sx8300's, ?, ?
Speakers left to sell:
1. Salon2 (guy from TX says he wants to drive a van to my house next week after his vacation)
2. KEF 201/2
3. Funk 18.0 Passive
4. Orion 3.2.1

After all is done, I should have just five RBH SX-T2P/R towers and no other speakers or subwoofers in my HT room.

All the speakers in my family room have been sold - Phil3, Focal 826v, Dynaudio X32, ATC SCM7. I will keep the 4 in-wall Velodyne SC600 Subs in my family room. And I am getting a pair of new speakers for the family room, which I won't disclose yet. :D
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
Speakers left to sell:
1. Salon2 (guy from TX says he wants to drive a van to my house next week after his vacation)
2. KEF 201/2
3. Funk 18.0 Passive
4. Orion 3.2.1

After all is done, I should have just five RBH SX-T2P/R towers and no other speakers or subwoofers in my HT room.

All the speakers in my family room have been sold - Phil3, Focal 826v, Dynaudio X32, ATC SCM7. I will keep the 4 in-wall Velodyne SC600 Subs in my family room. And I am getting a pair of new speakers for the family room, which I won't disclose yet. :D
Wow, are we getting prepared for a remodel or a new home build ? looks like it.

I tell ya if I had the cash I would sure like those Kef's. PS: nothing wrong with downsizing and settling into a great set of speakers. It's all about the music is the way I look at it,
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Wow, are we getting prepared for a remodel or a new home build ? looks like it.

I tell ya if I had the cash I would sure like those Kef's. PS: nothing wrong with downsizing and settling into a great set of speakers. It's all about the music is the way I look at it,
Well, you just got to go with what sounds best to you. ;)

There is a loudspeaker for everyone, right? :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Yes there is, a few loudspeakers :D
Owning as many components as I did is really the antithesis of my personality. I don't usually like to keep much of anything. Simplicity usually suits me. :D

If you look inside my garage, you would think that I just moved into my house, when in fact I have lived there for 14 years. My garage is practically empty. I don't even keep a lawn mower or weed eater. :D

So I guess I'm returning to me true self - 5 towers, no subs. ;) :D
 
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ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
I put the Cambridge Audio Azur 651c to the test the last few days. Remember I got this at a real cheap price over the MSRP 799.00. In any case, I have been underwhelmed with the unit when comparing it to my Marantz CD6004. Sound seems a little flat. I think I will just return the item and go with a Marantz SA8005 so I can play my SACD's. I only have a few of these however.
Any thoughts?
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I put the Cambridge Audio Azur 651c to the test the last few days. Remember I got this at a real cheap price over the MSRP 799.00. In any case, I have been underwhelmed with the unit when comparing it to my Marantz CD6004. Sound seems a little flat. I think I will just return the item and go with a Marantz SA8005 so I can play my SACD's. I only have a few of these however.
Any thoughts?
My thoughts remain the same, while I love my CD and universal players, actually even my Sony BDP plays SACD, I hardly use any of them any more. I just keep ripping the CD layers of my SACDs and end up spending much more time enjoying the music via USB and/or DACs/Laptops. I use my Oppo 105 to play HD tracks or ripped CD tracks 99% of the time. As soon asI get the HA-1, the 105 will be back to its occasionally duty as a BR player and nothing more.

If I have more spare time I would rather spin vinyl discs as I can't rip them otherwise the turntable will become just another piece of furniture. Sorry for not being supportive, and for sure that's just my two cents, I am sure there are lots of people still prefer playing discs and thought they sound better.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
My thoughts remain the same, while I love my CD and universal players, actually even my Sony BDP plays SACD, I hardly use any of them any more. I just keep ripping the CD layers of my SACDs and end up spending much more time enjoying the music via USB and/or DACs/Laptops. I use my Oppo 105 to play HD tracks or ripped CD tracks 99% of the time. As soon asI get the HA-1, the 105 will be back to its occasionally duty as a BR player and nothing more.

If I have more spare time I would rather spin vinyl discs as I can't rip them otherwise the turntable will become just another piece of furniture. Sorry for not being supportive, and for sure that's just my two cents, I am sure there are lots of people still prefer playing discs and thought they sound better.
I think if you can hear any significant difference, then you might as well play/stream lossless files.


But if you think discs sound superior for whatever reasons, then keep playing the discs.


I have gone from one extreme (all analog & all discs) to another (all digital and all streaming - music, movies, TV).


I guess my HTPC is my universal player for movies and TV. But for music, I don't even turn my HTPC on; I just stream from iPad directly.


My only thought is, if you are bit-streaming from any player to your processor or AVR, the sound should be the same. But if the player is doing the converting (DAC), it may also be applying EQ. Thus, some players sound better than others.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
My only thought is, if you are bit-streaming from any player to your processor or AVR, the sound should be the same. But if the player is doing the converting (DAC), it may also be applying EQ. Thus, some players sound better than others.
I didn't think of that, great point. In that case, one may prefer certain player's house sound. Also, it that is true, all my players, Kenwood, Denon, Oppo etc., are quite transparent with not much, if any house sound.:DMay be the OP should write to Marantz and Cambridge Audio directly and ask if they voice their players, of course that applies when using their analog outs. If that's the answer then and that means he would need to listen to a few more players to pick out the one he likes best.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I didn't think of that, great point. In that case, one may prefer certain player's house sound. Also, it that is true, all my players, Kenwood, Denon, Oppo etc., are quite transparent with not much, if any house sound.:DMay be the OP should write to Marantz and Cambridge Audio directly and ask if they voice their players, of course that applies when using their analog outs. If that's the answer then and that means he would need to listen to a few more players to pick out the one he likes best.
Yeah, see Rich was saying his Oppo sounds fuller, richer with more bass than when he bitstream to his Marantz in Direct mode. So I assumed the Oppo applied some felicitous EQ to enhance the overall sound -- kind of like Dynamic EQ. :D

Perhaps some players implement EQ by default when you output analog (fuller, richer sound), while other players retain direct mode (flat, neutral, clinical sound) by default even for analog output.

So perhaps Oppo has figured it out. I think most people enjoy something more mellifluous - grander, richer, fuller, more bass, better-than-life sound, not flat neutral sound that is no better than everyday life. :D
 
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ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
Yeah, see Rich was saying his Oppo sounds fuller, richer with more bass than when he bitstream to his Marantz in Direct mode. So I assumed the Oppo applied some felicitous EQ to enhance the overall sound -- kind of like Dynamic EQ. :D

Perhaps some players implement EQ by default when you output analog (fuller, richer sound), while other players retain direct mode (flat, neutral, clinical sound) by default even for analog

output.
The Cambridge has three filter settings that I have not tried out. Maybe these are a little EQing.... You know what I find funny. If you go over to WhatHifi forums. You get a lot of different answers there. Must be different across the pond when it comes to music. :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
The Cambridge has three filter settings that I have not tried out. Maybe these are a little EQing.... You know what I find funny. If you go over to WhatHifi forums. You get a lot of different answers there. Must be different across the pond when it comes to music. :D
Well, I'm sure you'll get many different opinions everywhere you go. Everyone has his own impression based on personal experience.

It doesn't hurt to try out the 3 filter settings on the Cambridge. But every EQ is different and not all are equally mellifluous. :D

See, that's why I favor a processor or AVR like Denon. It has the mellifluous Dynamic EQ. :D

But if you don't have that capability in your preamp, then you will need it in your player. You might have to try the Oppo if the Cambridge doesn't have the answer.

What's funny is how some people say they don't like EQ - that they only like Pure Direct mode in their processors. Yet, they love the way their players sound because of the mellifluous grander, fuller, richer sound due to the great EQ in the players.

One way or another, you are going to need that mellifluous EQ. ;) :D
 
ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
Must be something about the pure Direct mode that tells me this is the best it will get. Even though adding a little bass or Treble makes it sound better, I still hit that Direct button.. Have no idea. I thinks it's my OCD.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Must be something about the pure Direct mode that tells me this is the best it will get. Even though adding a little bass or Treble makes it sound better, I still hit that Direct button.. Have no idea. I thinks it's my OCD.
I had that issue for a long time. Everyone tells me that "Pure" and "Direct" is best. That "neutral" and "flat" is best.

Well, it is "best" for some people.

But you should do what's best for yourself, not other people.

If you prefer that larger-than-life grander, fuller sound, then why not indulge yourself? :D

You have the speakers capable of producing larger-than-life grander sound. ;)
 

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