Attn Vinyl lovers - what CD Player do you use?

It's remarkable really how many posters have overlooked the thread title which was "Attn Vinyl lovers - what *CD Player* do you use?"...since when did a pc or server become a cd player??

Still have my Theta Jade transport, Stereophlie recommended class A, purchased new back in 98. Threshold DAC2, purchased used back in 03. My first DAC was a PS Audio SL3. The SL3 was warm and smooth.. it was easy on the ears, and very pleasant to listen to, but lacked some dynamics. My second DAC was a Theta DS Pro Basic 3a. The Theta DAC sound was totally opposite from the SL3.. it was hard, glaring, super detailed and super dynamic - all of it in your face. I get the best of both with the Threshold DAC2.. it does lean more toward the SL3, but with more detail and dynamics with out that in your face crap!

Marantz UD7007

Muse Model 8 transport and Muse Model 296 DAC with custom Revelation Audio Labs I2S cable. Sounds excellent. Table is a VPI Super Scoutmaster rim drive with 3D arm, classic platter, Titan-i cart.

Lexicon RT-20; using an Equitech 2Q, MIT Z Stabilizers and the best MIT power cords. Can be very nice with well recorded CD's.

North Star Design-Sapphire. Very neutral yet still musical and engaging.

Lenovo Q190 modded with fanless chassis and SSD --> Mytek 192 DAC/Preamp.

I use a Graham Slee Majestic DAC from a Yamaha transport. This gives a very smooth, analogue like sound but not at all 'rolled off'. It replaced a Chord 64 where treble sounds more brittle by comparison

It is the most realistic CD sound I have heard and because the DAC has coax, optical and USB inputs, I use it with FLAC and MP3 too with the same resulting sound signature

I must admit I am a serious vinyl lover with a large collection dating back to the 70's and several TTs. However I also have thousands of CDs and this DAC is the closest sounding to the analogue sources that I have heard

AMR DP-777 being fed by a Mac mini on an Atomic Labs Mac Mini Platform. The Mac mini feeds an iFi Gemini cable (this cable beat and displaced my former $3k Locus Design Cynosure USB cable) into a iFi iUSB and then to another Gemini USB cable into an iFi iPurifier and then finally into the DP-777. This is all powered by a PS Audio P300 (soon to be a P10). The Dac is plugged directly into the p300, the Mac/iUSB first go into an isolation transformer and then into the P300. PureMusic is the audio engine.

This sounds like a very high end turn table with good redbook and especially so with hi-res pcm or DSD. It has that continuity and wide open dynamic BW I associate with (superb) analog. I know a number of $30k analog rigs that would get owned and this is not even the SE version (yet :) of the 777 :)

Samsung 850 DVD player, soon to be joined by a PS Audio DirectStream DAC so it will be transport.

After yet another 3 years (this thread does seem endless), I finally found a single player that would do both CDs and SACDs and sound better on CDs than my wonderful Raysonic 128. The Oppo 105 does that stunt.

So, on faith, I sent the Oppo to Dan Wright for his mod. Yeah, the mod costs twice what the stock Oppo does. Then I spent another $150 buying the modded unit some NOS tubes. I'm very happy with the result, but ask me again in another 3 years :-)

Esoteric K-03. Sounds as good as my vinyl as long of course like my vinyl that I keep is well recorded and mastered. Neither format to me is better, it all gets back to the quality. I love my LP's covers, but I can enjoy music either way. I must say though that I don't follow trends or follow reviews. I use my own ears. No PC audio for me. I like the physical. I already have enough music to last me more than a life time.

Line Magnetic Vacuum Tube CD Player LM-215CD

My Rega Apollo CD player complements my Rega P2 turntable nicely.

Jolida JD100A

My CD system is a PS Audio Perfectwave DAC and Perfectwave Transport although I mostly use the DAC for playing Hi Res audio files off the PC. It's pretty good and I use it alot for new jazz but I still much prefer my analog system when it comes to pre-digital era jazz.

My vinyl system is a Transrotor Fat Bob with the TMD magnetic bearing so there is no mechanical conection between the drive and the platter - extremely quiet. Cartridge is a ZYX Airy3 and tonearm is a Graham Phantom Supreme

Sony SCD-1 VSE 7 with Uber Box.Sounds very nice indeed.The seller upgraded to the (dCS Puccini SACD/CD player and dCS Puccini U-Clock) combo for High Rez access and agrees the Sony is up there in sound quality!!

Primare CD31

From the first time I heard this CD player in the right system (paired with i30 and ProAc R28 along with a bunch of expensive cable in a sound room) - I knew that I would never need a better one.

I'm still hunting down that sound - and getting closer.

Now have
Primare:
i30
CD31
R20 Phono Pre-Amp
u-Turn Orbit Deluxe TT
Music Fidelity M1DAC
Epos Epic 5
Cardas Cables / Kimber Cable

+1 to what Thefile says.

Your accuphase is a great player, If I had one I would keep it.

I use an Accuphase DP-65, and quite like it, but I've had it for over 15 years and thinking about going to an Ayre 5C-xe...would welcome thoughts on the Ayre if you have one or have listened to one...Thank You...

Chris_Launder,

Here's the link to ModWright's website.

http://www.modwright.com/modifications/sony-xa5400es.php

ModWright did an excellent job and the build quality was great. My analog/digital playback ratio is ~70/30 and I don't think I'll be upgrading from my digital setup any time soon.

Happy Listening.

Closdesducs , that sounds impressive , I'm unfamiliar with that player or the mods ....

Sony SCD XA5400ES with the ModWright Ultimate Truth Mod. Upgraded the stock Sovtek 6SN7 output tubes to Sophia Electric 6SN7 and the stock Sovtek 5AR4 rectifier tube to a NOS Philips 5R4GYS. A pair of WyWire Juice II Silver power cords complete the package. Works really well with both my Shindo and Audio Research systems.

Unison Research Unico CD player , it has tubes -:)

I previously owned a modded Ayon CD-5s and am now running an Aesthetic Romulus tube cd player. The Romulus is certainly analogue sounding. It has as similar sound to the CD-5s, albeit with less bass slam and fewer bells and whistles.

Despite the rumored fanfare out there (cd players are on their way out of HiFi), we continue to see better cd players, at all price points, hitting the marketplace.

Ayon 07s. The best cd reproduction I ever heard.

Bow Technologies zz8 drive, and Mac Mini with Pure Music / Core Audio Technololgies Kora power supply and level 3 Power filter, feeding a Brinkmann Zenith 3 dac via an Audiophilleo 2 USB reclocker. The Bow + Brinkmann combination is the closest thing I've heard to the liquid, free-flowing, natural feel of vinyl, without artificial extra "warmth" trying to pass for analogue sound. The upgraded Mac Mini sounds even better on some levels - bigger soundstage, incredible resolution, deeper bass and even more dynamics - but a tad less harmonically rich, probably a factor of it not being quite burnt-in yet. The Zenith operates in 16/44 which theoretically makes it a very outdated design - but as far as my ears are concerned it wiped the floor with a lot of high rez devices, including a Mark Levinson 24/96 DAC I had on loan for a while, and the - however excellent - built-in DAC in the Marantz UD 9004 I use in a separate HT room.
The only glitch is - the Zenith is basically impossible to find, especially in this version - which has been considerably upgraded by the ex-Brinkmann designer who came up with it in the first place and happens to be a friend. But put your hands on a used Bow zz8 and you will get very close already - the built-in DAC sounds a little less open than the brinkie but has a very definite analogue feel.

Ster4

What other under 10k Dacs did you listen to
I'm demoing the Vega but have limited access to other Dacs and limited experience

Just acquired an old Cal Audio DX-1 and it's the first CD player I've heard that sounds like vinyl to me.

I just bought an Auralic Vega DAC from Audio Doctor and, for the money, it's the most analog sounding DAC I've heard below 10K. At $3500.00, it's a steal.

For the first time, my digital is actually sounding great! Just bought a MHDT Havana Balanced, non-oversampling, tube output, DAC. For the first time, I hear MUSIC though the digital; truly, amazing, emotional, music.

I've had an Oppo BDP-95 that I've took from my HT and although it has always sounded good, it has always felt like it lacked the "emotions". Kind of "great bass on that recording", to with the MHDT "that's a great bass player". I keep listening to the music and forgetting the details (and they are all there...).

I was planning to get an inexpensive transport for it, but after spending some serious time with it, I've decided to blow the budget and get a CEC TL1. If that's only half as good as the reviews say it is (admitting, I took a chance and bought it unheard... but the price is good enough that I can sell it for no loss if I don't like it), then there's actually a chance that my digital will outperform my analog... imagine that! :-)

OPPO BD 95. I love it.

I just changed my Accuphase combo 800/801 for a Soulution 745 and i must admitt that this player in some ways exceeds my vinyl rig ( VYGER Indian sig, DaVincy 12" Grandessa, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement, Aesthetix Eclipse )
It has very lifelike sound and the edgy digital way, all- though the Accuphase also has a very musical approach, has total vanished. The 745 has much more natural weight in the 3D soundstage. Now a much bigger percentage of my CD's are palyable at a realistic volume, this highvolumen level used to be reserved for the analog rig, except for some SACD's

Symphonic Line Reference Mk2. Just wonderful. Listen to CDs a lot more often than to Hi-Res music via MacMini/Pure Music/Weiss DAC202. Preamp CAT SL1 Rennaissance. Amp CAT JL3 Sign mono blocks. Speakers: ProAC Response D38.

OPPO 105, spending more on a CD/SACD/DVD-a/Blue ray player is wasted money:)

I use mhdt dacs (paradisea and Constantine) with Squeezebox touch and other sources.

I am using Ayon Cd 5...!!..with High Tunîng fuse..!..so far the closest one to tttble lp quite happy with it.

Ayre C5xemp

I have an Arcam FMJ CD17. It is very detailed and articulate but opposite of my vinyl rig. Lacks warmth and it is harder to make an emotional connection to the music with it. But for some recordings, this CD player does serve its purpose.

I have Audio Note tube amps and also use Stax SR-007 MK2s (Omega2s).
I use a Mac Mini with M2Tech EVO USB - SPDIF into an Audio Note DAC 3.1 SE.

It sounds better than any vinyl rig I had, and better than my friends (good) vinyl rig as well. Very tuby, analogue BUT fast and revealing with serious bass.
Very happy.

i recently had my analog rig repaired. i hooked it up and listened to an lp of dave grusin , discovered again on the sheffield label.

i own several copies of the track "keep your eye on the sparrow".

when comparing the sound of the cd to that of the lp, i noticed something interesting. it was the way in which the decay of the vibraphone was presented.

on the lp, the vibraphone's last note got softer and softer, raking its time, before it was no longer audible. on the cd, decay was very quick.

i don't think the cd medium can compare to the analog medium in this respect. so it may be academic what digital front end you use, if certain factors are unique to analog and cannot be matched by digital.

Wadia 850

For music, Pioneer Elite BDP-09 Bluray player > digital output > mhdt Havana Balanced DAC with 1964 Bendix 6385 tubes in the buffer section.

Phil

Cary 306SACD through a Weiss 202 Dac

Aesthetix Romulus! Following a lengthy break-in period and installing some NOS tubes, this unit sounds very, very much like my analog rig. I am extremely pleased.

very plebian system here: McIntosh MCD 7010 for Redbook CD and Denon DVD-3910 for HDCD/SACD

I use a Playback MPS-5, first cd player to run my kuzma XL4 deck close.

I have the Adcom GCD 575 for my CD transport but I use the Cal Audio Sigma for my D/A converter. I like the tubed output stage as it seems to warm up and smooth out the digital edge of the CD. Still not a huge fan of CDs or digital format in general but it was as good as I could get on my budget.