Arcam fmj cd23 vs cd33

Many thanks.

if the 23's DAC goes out, you may not be able to get a replacement.

I wonder how many people would care about fixing a DAC when it goes wrong in a CD player, Or, even how often a DAC would go wrong. Has anybody heard of a ring DAC went wrong?

I am also leaning to cd23.
BTW, what's wrong with Arcam CD players? Their used price is far lower than their competitors.
It would work for me though since I am not going to spend $2000+ for a new CD player. However, if they were good at their price point (over $2000) and still used ones can be purchased at under $600, it would be hard to beat.

No problem.
I've enjoyed the thread.
I finally got a used Arcam cd23. I was a little bit suspicious of its performance, but I needed only a couple of seconds to realize the difference. I have not tried many other high end CD players, and I cannot say how cd23 stands out amongst others, but clearly it is better than what I have had/tried -- NAC C541i, Rega Apollo, Marantz DR700, and Jolida 602.
It also beats Rega Apollo/Music Hall DAC 25.2.
More details and dynamics in full orchestration and more lively in acoustic jazz.

Hope it lasts forever!

For me, among many upgrades done over 6 years, the biggest difference was from Yaqin MC10L (Chinese 55WPC int tube amp) to Linn SS power amp/Rogue tube pre amp -- $550 vs $4800 if new.
The second, from B&W 603 S3 to Tyler Taylo 7U -- $1000 vs $3500 if new.
Third, from $100~$250 MM cartridges to AT150mlx.
Fourth, from NAD C541i to Arcam CD23 -- $500 vs $2000 if new.
... including speaker wires, interconnects, power cable, turntable upgrades, ...

As seen, the CD player upgrade was not as big improvement as with others mentioned, but still big enough to readily notice, and bigger than many other upgrades I've done.

Yes, I gotta dig in CDs to enjoy music again.

I agree that Arcam cd23 is a bit forwarding and shy of base. But those are not much of concern when I can feel superb quality of music it produces.
I have Tyler Taylo 7U speakers. One of my friends asked to have them for a while and now I have my systems with Klipsh KLF-20s which are used in HT setup.
What a disappointment on KLF-20. With KLF-20, Arcam cd23 does not sound much different than NAD C541i or Marantz DR700. Just louder, but that's it.
With Arcam cd23, I can tell that KLF-20 is much lesser speaker than Taylo 7U. With NAD or Marantz, I did not notice such huge difference between KLF-20 and Taylo 7U, which tells a potential CD23 has.
I will have my Taylo 7U back soon.