What is the best cd player you have heard?

winterslove · « **on:** 26 Sep 2005, 01:38 am »

i have searched though some pages for a question like the
one i have asked but could not find any
not that i looked long as theirs to many pages
of posts to search though

What cd player(s) do you use in your system?,
What cd player do you wish you could afford?,
and what cd player do you think is the best cd player?

also does the country a cd player is built affect the sound?
as here in the uk
i have read in this months hi-fi choice magazine
how some new sony av amp has been tuned for british ear
what the hell that means is beyond me
are ears different?????

maybe that is why some people i meet from the us can not understand my english

it is not my english,
i can blame their ears

take care all,
Jason

Carlman · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 02:02 am »

Best I've heard is the BAT VK-D5SE... most musical and non-fatiguing while still presenting layers of detailed balanced music in a deep soundstage of bliss. How's that for flowery?

I really did like it. At $4500 or so, it's a real winner and nothing has topped it in my mind... but... I haven't directly compared it to anything because I don't own it. I listened to it a few times for long periods of time just oo-ing and awe-ing at it.... even on cheap speaker and good to great amps... that cd player just sang to me.

Long story short, I built an audio PC for $700 that (likely) hangs with it, may best it in some ways but provides a musical nature with detail for a small fraction of the cost of the BAT... oh, and my entire music library is a few clicks away.

Even a cheap sound card in a PROPERLY SETUP audio PC will sound as good as any player up to 2,k.... depending on which card and setup you choose, maybe much more.....

However, this requires quite a bit of technical savvy, patience, learning, etc.

Best cd player for the money I've heard is probably the DVD players from Pioneer, bone stock. If you want to play with tubes, the Eastern Electric Minimax is quite good.

BTW, why is this question/topic in the Aspen circle?

-C

winterslove · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 02:25 am »

Hi,
i posted it because aspen doesnt make cd players,
and as im buying my first aspen amplifier next year
i just thought i would find out what other aspen users
use and rate highly ,

Also, it will give me an idea of good cd players matches for aspen amplifiers,
that way i can get an idea of what to be looking at,
as i am of the mindset that if you do research first,
it means when you buy whatever it is you need,
you will tend to make less mistakes,
as mistakes can cost money,
and as their are so many makes out their,
it would be best to seek advice from others with aspen amplifiers
so that i can at lest make a short list to demo.

I was going to buy a cd player from china but decided against it,
after reading posts to my question regarding hi fi from china

I never thought of using a dvd player as a cd player though,
as i always thought they were meant to make not good cd players
and regarding the pc audio set up,
do you mean your have you pc connected to your amp?
or do you mean something like the mb2?

i forgot to ask in my post,
What is the worse cd player you have heard?
preff when used with an aspen amps

Jason

Seano · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 10:57 pm »

Best and worst are quite subjective...........but

best1 - Rotel RCD-390 or some such that a mate owns from about 2003
best2 - my NAD player fom 1992
best3 - Toshiba DVD player from 2004

All were/are quite fine to listen to but the Rotel was a little more ok than the others. Funnily enough all were made in Asia - Rotel and Toshiba in China and the NAD in Malaysia.

As for anything more esoteric......you must be joking. I work off bang for buck as opposed to buck for...

Given what's available I'd be very very hard pressed spending more than AU$800 on a CD player and very reluctant to spend much more than AU$400 - the cost of a NAD521BEE.

Both Shanling and Vincent CD players (about AU$1500 and upwards) are getting good wraps in Oz but I would be inclined NOT to use the built-in pre-amp portions (yep they do models with volume controls) of these players especially with AKSAs due to some earthing issues that have come to light. Both players use Phillips transports too.....

jermmd · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 11:47 pm »

My Xindak SCD -2 is the best player that I have heard. It's a little buggy though. I now have a preamp and processor that doesn't offer analog bypass, so the great sound of this player is wasted.

bhobba · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Sep 2005, 12:56 am »

Quote from: winterslove

What cd player(s) do you use in your system?

A Pioneer DVD player feeding an outboard MSB DAC.

Quote from: winterslove

What cd player do you wish you could afford?

Computer audio has surpassed CD transports so, if money is no object, I would use an empirical audio Off Ramp USB outputting I2S. Empirical Audio sates the I2S off ramp is the best digital audio source they have ever heard. Others have stated computers feeding the DEQX is the best actual digital sound so I would have Empirical audio mod a DEQX which they claim surpasses their modded Mark Levinson pre amp which they use as a reference (considering DEQX converts to digital then back again that is some claim) and also mod it to accept the I2S of the off ramp.

Quote from: winterslove

what cd player do you think is the best cd player?

Cost in no object - what I said above.
Actual CD player - Audio Aero Capitole CD Player
Best value - Modded Squeeze Box 2 directly feeding stereo amps.
What I think could give them all a run for their money - Modded Squeeze Box 2 feeding a DAKSA once released. My only caveat is it will not be able to do the room correction of the DEQX.

Thanks
Bill

Geoff-AU · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Sep 2005, 02:38 pm »

I'm just using a Rotel 965BX which was purchased for the very affordable price of $100 a few years ago. It sounds quite nice in standard form, many people have reported they sound a heap better after a clock source upgrade and new op-amps. So that one might be on the cards at some point

Other than that I'd probably buy a NAD351 or similar, if I was splashing out on a new source.

gpkoo · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 04:58 am »

I'd like to second bhobba in saying that the Audio Aero Capitole CD player is the best CD player I've heard.

Even better than my modded SACD player and a 2 piece Accuphase SACD player I heard once.

John151 · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 05:07 am »

I have not listened to very many CD players, but the MiniMax CDP sure sounds better than the DVD player that I was using. It just amazes me how much better a system sounds when using a quality CDP and a PreAmp, than a using a run of the mill CDP/DVD and an AVR.

bunky · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 09:12 am »

i own a German made Symphonic Line Vibrato cd player that i am very pleased with but i will be sending it to Klaus Bunge for the new Mk II 24 bit upgrades in a few months. when you get to around the $5000 price range there are many great cd players to choose from. from what i have been hearing the Marantz 4000 based Dutch modded AH! Njoe Tjoeb tubed output cd players when outfitted with the swiss made Anagram technology 24 bit upsampling module are one of the best ones out there in the just over $1000 price range...........thanks

Rhythm Willie · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Sep 2005, 06:02 am »

I am still happy with my Sony XA7 ES purchased some years ago. This has a great class A output stage.

After trying a number of hi end valve and tranny preamps, I still have'nt found anything that betters running my Aksa 100N+ monoblocks straight out of the unbalanced variable outs of the CDP.

Next I am going to try some piggy back DACT Attenuators on the AKSA RCA inputs from the Sony's fixed outputs.

netaron · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Oct 2005, 03:29 am »

If you listen to a Wadia, your search will be over. Nothing I have heard is as smooth. All things being equal, it's the smoothness that really delivers in any audio gear IMHO. And the biggest mistake I made was to sell the Wadia, by the way it was an older 16i. I so wish it was still with me. I had it attached directly to the 55N+ since it has a volume control, and it matched my analog setup on almost all recordings I had available for both mediums. You will spend about $3000+ for a used unit, but it will be the last player you will need.

Haron