Looking for new CD player

markC · « **Reply #20 on:** 25 Sep 2004, 03:33 pm »

Norh CD-1: Great orgainic presentation, liquid midrange, with still pretty good PRAT and immediacy. I would buy this player and be happy if I could find one. only issue is reliablility.

I've been running mine for almost 3 yers now with zero problems, save me shorting out the dac chip via static while swapping out the diodes for higher quality ones. Sylvania 3 mica black plates have taken up permanent residence in the tube department. I am still enjoying this player a great deal. Also have the Chris VH flavour 1 power cord. Too bad it's rare to find a used one for sale. If you run across one, I'd jump on it.

rosconey · « **Reply #21 on:** 25 Sep 2004, 04:34 pm »

i second the shengya s10-
great sound ,build and looks for 300$ plus shipping from china($125)
hard to beat for the $$$$ involved

Jay S · « **Reply #22 on:** 25 Sep 2004, 10:39 pm »

markC, I totally agree with you on the nOrh CD1. One of my all-time favorite listening sessions took place during a cd player shootout when Sesha brought over his CD-1, fitted with Sylvania Gold Brand gold-pin grey plate 5751 tubes and a nOrh power cord. The sound was simply real... Elton John's Rocket Man has never sounded as good. Sesha's CD-1 simply tore my Cary 303/100 to pieces (which was a surprise to me, as the 303 is a $3k list cd player). If you're interested, do a search on www.harmonicdiscord.com to find the writeup from the shootout.

The CD-1 isn't the very last word in resolution, speed or bass (though I thought it was quite good with the upgraded tube, I'm sure component upgrades help a lot too) but if you're after musicality, I think it is hard to do better.

As an alternative, check out the CAL Delta transport + CAL Alpha 24/96 tubed dac -- the nOrh CD-1 is roughly a 1-box version of this classic combo.

laserman · « **Reply #23 on:** 27 Sep 2004, 03:01 pm »

Where can one purchase these tubes? And, how much do the cost?

Thank you for sharing,
L

Inscrutable · « **Reply #24 on:** 27 Sep 2004, 08:29 pm »

You could try The Tube Store and DIY HiFi Supply. The 5751 is not identical but can be swapped out for 12AX7 and 12AT7's. It has a lot less gain than the former, and a little more than the latter. Think the nOrh is probably designed for 12AX7 output tubes. Most are pretty cheap, though I'm not familiar with the 'gold plates' so maybe they're a little more rare and pricey?

djbnh · « **Reply #25 on:** 27 Sep 2004, 09:15 pm »

Preference in 5751s may be the Sylvania triple mica black plates over the gray plates, check out the article at Joes Tube Lore re: 12AX7s v. 5751s: http://www.nickdangerous.com/misc/mghead/joestubelore.htm. Very nice article. however, you'll need to see what works for your system and your ears. Welcome to the sometime expensive hobby of tube rolling!

Furthermore, I'm not sure that a 5751 will work in all 12AT7 applications.

bob53 · « **Reply #26 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 07:08 am »

In your budget range, the Jolida is a terrific CDP with very good bass and smooth mids and treble. I found that Ei Gold 12AX7's worked quite well and were affordable. The Jolida is very musical and coherent, but lacks the detail of the very best players. I upgraded to a Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 and this was an astonishing improvement in every area but bass. More detail and better soundstage but the bass is very thin. For the money, the Jolida is hard to beat.

-Bob

markC · « **Reply #27 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 09:50 pm »

Don't know about 5751 working in place of at7's, but in my opinion they smash ax7's, (at least the standard Svetlanas, ei's, etc.). You will have to shell out some dough for the Sylvania 3 mica black plates though. N.O.S ones are going for upwards of $150 a pair last time I looked.

djbnh · « **Reply #28 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 09:59 pm »

Quote from: markC

Don't know about 5751 working in place of at7's, but in my opinion they smash ax7's, (at least the standard Svetlanas, ei's, etc.). You will have to shell out some dough for the Sylvania 3 mica black plates though. N.O.S ones are going for upwards of $150 a pair last time I looked.

I second the price quoted by markC re: NOS/NIB Sylvania Gold Label (or equivalent) JHS 5751WA triple mica blackplates.

stryker · « **Reply #29 on:** 28 Sep 2004, 11:50 pm »

Hi, new to the forum. I've tried the Jolida, Music Hall cd25, Benchmark DAC 1 and SACDmods Sony SCD-C222ES as well as a few lesser players.

The Music Hall with mods is very detailed and smooth with the opa627 opamps in it. You can get one for about $750. The Jolida is a great contender and with level 1 mods and NOS tubes is something special but you're pushing $1000. Those tubes need a little cleaner power supply to really hold thier own against solid state. There's a place called Sound Odyssey that sells these players in modified form for little more than the retail price elsewhere. Right now, I have a highly modified MH with a Zapfilter analog stage and the sound is just gorgeous.

If you're looking for truly smooth and glare-free sound, you really need to consider a clock mod to get the most from these players and the dac chips in them. Even the alleged "jitter-free" DAC1 sounded noticeably better coming from a player with a clock mod. But then again, I'm a little dogmatic with these mods. YMMV.

NealH · « **Reply #30 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 01:10 am »

Where do you get the MH with Zapfilter analog stage?

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #31 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 02:23 am »

If you want PRAT, ignore anyone on here that mentioned anything other than a Naim CD player. Sorry, but no audiophile players mentioned (Shanling, Sony Modwright, or, heaven forbid, a Lector- great player-NOT PRATTY) are gonna touch a Naim. Aside from Rega and Naim players, you may also want to look at Exposure and Linn. Stay British if you are looking for Prat.

Michael

Levi · « **Reply #32 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 03:45 am »

Quote from: mcrespo71

If you want PRAT, ignore anyone on here that mentioned anything other than a Naim CD player. Sorry, but no audiophile players mentioned (Shanling, Sony Modwright, or, heaven forbid, a Lector- great player-NOT PRATTY) are gonna touch a Naim. Aside from Rega and Naim players, you may also want to look at Exposure and Linn. Stay British if you are looking for Prat.

Michael

Greg P,

I agree about the NAIM CDp for it's legendary PRAT. I would then suggest you get a Naim CDsx w/xps powersupply. Please don't ask how much, Just buy it!

Levi

stryker · « **Reply #33 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 04:14 am »

I heard a Naim 3.5 with Flatcap PS and almost bough it but I'll put my modified Music Hall up against it anyday. It's got plent o' PRaT. Granted, it didn't have the PRaT of the Naim until I had a separate power supply for the clock, but it's pacing, rhythym and soundstage was quite impressive.

I had a place called Sound Odyssey install the Zapfilter since they alerady did the initial mods on it. It's apparently a fairly easy install if you are familiar with the circuit layout of the player.

I'm going to an audiohpile geek "meet" this weekend and there will actually be 2 Meridian G08s there (and a Wadia 301, I think) so I'll see how good it really is against the big boys!

djbnh · « **Reply #34 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 09:01 pm »

Stryker said,

Quote

I'm going to an audiohpile geek "meet" this weekend and there will actually be 2 Meridian G08s there (and a Wadia 301, I think) so I'll see how good it really is against the big boys!

This is one of the ways to test equipment without having to go to a number of various stores to individually test equipment in a myriad of systems. GregP wrote,

Quote

Also does anyone know of anywhere I can audition these brands? This seems to be a reccurring problem.

Of course, audiophiles may not have exactly the same source components as the rest of your equipment, but if they're strictly swapping out various CDPs, you can get an idea of the strength/weaknesses of the CDPs at least, and guesstimate how the units may match with your own system.

audioslave · « **Reply #35 on:** 29 Sep 2004, 09:24 pm »

I have not heard the Naim CD3.5 but I have heard the Naim CD5 w/flat cap about two months ago w/Neat Mystiques and the player was PRAT central!

The way this cdp was able to separate all the instruments was truly amazing. I doubt that you will get that kind of PRAT from any of the tube players previously mentioned. This direct transparent attack is almost contrary to the warm buttery presentation that tubes offer. Them Brits got the timing thing down to a "T"! It enables one to simply start tapping the ol' feet and getting your groove on!

doug s. · « **Reply #36 on:** 30 Sep 2004, 02:52 pm »

Quote from: Gregp

Thanks for all the suggestions guys,

I have not thought about an outboard DAC because I have been told that you really cant make up the Timing if the transpot is not top notch. I dont know, people say the pioneers are good transports, but I think there not my flavor. Even though the pioneer has lots of detail and huge soundstaging I might be happier with a Rega Planet. I am not very educated on the technical jargon of CD players. If you would be able educate me on how these DAC's (nixon, DACAC, Benc ...

i have run a self-modded art di/o w/a cheapie aiwa xc-37m 5-disc cd changer. this easily rivals the resolution audio cd-50, for one. in fact, w/only one isolation transformer, (i now use two, which is audibly better), a direct a-b w/my digital rig vs the cd-50 showed the two to be wirtually indistinguishable, in a wery hi-rez system built around the cd-50. (i haven't heard the cd-55).

get a modded art di/o, or ack dac, or something similar and any decent transport; use a cheap isolation transformer for each, & you will easily have top-notch digital for <$1k.

ymmv,

doug s.

orthobiz · « **Reply #37 on:** 1 Oct 2004, 09:14 pm »

It probably won't help much, but here's what I did.

I listened to (pre-Shengya) Rosconey and bought a Toshiba 3950.
Then I bought a bunch of other unnecessary expensive audio stuff while I contemplated my next move.
Waited for an AVA summer sale that never materialized.
Bought a Benchmark DAC1.
Bought a Musical Fidelity X-10 V3 to add some tubes.

So, bought a DAC for a grand with a 400 dollar tube line input for my 50 dollar CD player.

Kinda like topping off a huge fatty meal with a diet Coke, but hey, I'm happy!

biz

stryker · « **Reply #38 on:** 4 Oct 2004, 02:58 am »

On Saturday, I had a chance to listen to a Wadia 301 and a Meridian G08. Coming from a nice transport (my modded Music Hall) the ack! dAck! sounded really smooth yet detailed. I would say it can be a great source with a good transport, preferably one with a beefy aftermarket clock.
Definitely reached a really nice presentation.

It was a little hard to really do any thorough A/B testing due to all the phatty gear there was to sample. Very nice indeed. If anyone is interested, go to Head-Fi at the Maryland meet in the meetings impressions section and see a few picks of the gear there.

quint · « **Reply #39 on:** 26 Oct 2004, 05:43 pm »

stryker,

Did you get any impresssions of the Wadia 301 against the Meridian g08? For that matter, how was the Ack compared to the Wadia or Meridian? I'm looking to replace my 301 and have been considering the g08.

Thanks.