Best analog sounding cd player under 5K

Musical Fidelity KW DM System; very analogue sound, sounds more like a turntable and has valves in the stages.
Check the reviews at www.musicalfidelity.com

hi alan:

many turntable, arm, cartridge combinations do not possess the characteristics you mention.

now i understand what you mean by analog. i'm afraid i am not aware of any digital source which displays all of the attributes you mention.

very few if any are sufficiently warm to adequate represent the sound of instruments.

I've had the Melody CD-M10 for about a month now. Got the first one that Mingus Chu shipped out at the end of December from his first shipment from Melody. I requested it back in September of last year when they were still in silver only. Mine is black, but not the piano gloss black that Melody is famous for with their amps and preamps. Stil, it is an impressive looking piece of equipment at 70+ pounds.

It has taken a long time to break in, but after about 300 hours so far and having rolled the stock Chinese tubes for Mullard Blackburn ECC33's and 5AR4, I am very satisfied with its' overall presentation. It has deep, tuneful bass, very extended and more articulate than my previous players, which included the C.E.C. TL51XR, Rega Apollo, Consonance CD120 Linear and Onix CD-2. I believe the overbuilt power supply, which utilizes two very massive C-core transformers, is a significant reason for this authoritative bass performance.

The midrange is very analog-like and harmoically rich - soundstage is deeper than previous players I've owned with good front to back placement and focus of instruments and voices. Soundstage width is excellent and very realistic in scope, unlike the Apollo which I felt sometimes had a phony DSP-sounding effect. I can say without reservation that the Melody CD-M10 does not sound 'digital' in any way.

The treble response took a long time to open up, and I credit the Mullard tubes for finally awakening the player. One must be patient with this unit, as the Mundorf Silver & Gold caps take a while to reach their potential. The Mundorf Silver & Gold caps are more expensive than their Silver & Oil caps, but many prefer the Silver & Oil caps as the S&G's are considered a little on the bright side. I think the S&G's were deliberately chosen for the CD-M10 to balance the tonal palette and to prevent the player from exhibiting too much of a "tubey" sound. Initially it is very tubey sounding but with some well chosen 6SN7 replacements and break-in time the details are unveiled and a full-bodied performer emerges.

The balanced output on this player does not sound as good as the single-ended output. It is somewhat congested compared to the RCA's. I believe that may be a result of the balanced section using op amps and the single-ended stage foregoing the use of them, somewhat like the Eastsound CD-E5, whose single ended outputs were much superior to its' balanced ones.

This is a bare bones player, I must point out. It does not do HDCD, SACD or DVD-Audio. None of this bothers me, but it is worth noting. It does not have program play, only repeat play. It does not offer any information on its' display beyond track number and elapsed time. No track or disc time remaining, and no dimmer on the display. The transport is from Sony, and its' access time is very quick. Typically 2-3 seconds for all discs. Also, you will hear a clicking sound from an output relay each time you press play on the unit. A mild distraction that does not bother me again, but some may find it a bit uncivilized and out of place on a $2500.00 unit.

For what it's worth, I am running the Melody CD-M10 into a Melody I880 tube integrated amp feeding Onix Strata Mini speakers. The Melody integrated has also undergone some major tube rolling exercises. I've swapped the stock 6SN7 preamp tubes with Tung-Sol 6SN7GT round plates, the driver 6SN7's with Sylvania 6SN7W short bottles, the Chinese 101D tube with a NOS Western Electric 101D, and the KT88's with New Production Genalex Gold Lion KT88's. I also have a quad of late 50's Tung-Sol 6550 blackplates that I just picked up, but so far I am really impressed with the new Gold Lion KT88's and the overall harmonically rich and dense sound that I am getting combined with the Melody player.

In addition to the Mullard ECC33 tubes, I've also tried Sylvania 6SN7WGTA's and VT-231's as well as CBS Hytron 5692's. The Sylvania WGTA's gave the CD-M10 a more forward sound that was airy and detailed but fatiguing after a while. The 5692's were very nice, super quiet and improved the PRAT of the player, but tonally less full-bodied and ultimately not as satisfying as the Mullards. The Mullards just seemed to belong in this player, although I believe the Tung-Sol round plates would be equally impressive. I need to get anther pair of them.

For under $2500.00, I think the Melody CD-M10 is a serious competitor in the high-end CDP market. I would not suggest that it is competitive with the very best players out there, but it is a very MUSICAL player that can be tuned via tube rolling to match up with many different systems. The 6SN7 tube I believe is a much better design choice than the more common 12AU7's and 12AX7 tubes utilized elsewhere. Build quality is in the same category as the Melody amps which have been well-received in audio circles, and pride of ownership is quite high too.

I look forward to hearing from other owners of this player in the coming weeks to see if I am in the minority, or just one of the first to recognize it as a source to be reckoned with.

I have posted my impressions of this player, along with pics of my unit, over the last month on the AV123 Forum, in case anyone would like more info.

Enjoy!

Bartokfan, it's important to note that the Melody CD-M10 (there's no 'hi' in it's name, BTW) that is imported into the US is different than the one sold in China. The model your contact in HK was able to listen to most likely utilizes the Jensen output caps instead of the Mundorf S&G's and the AD827JN op amps which are not part of the US or European versions of this fine player, if I am to believe the photos I've been given of the machine internals of the two versions.

Also the player takes a long time to break in and one cannot make a quick judgement as the Mundorf's go through a period where they sound somewhat harsh and congested before reaching their potential.

You mentioned that the Melody was a top loader. That is incorrect - it is a front loading player and the top of the player houses the tube compartment, with an elegant glass cover that may look like a top loading door, but is actually just an access cover.

Mrtennis I am looking forward to your impressions of this player as well as it appears your previous CDP lineup was a fairly well-regarded group. I expect you will also be patient with the player as it does require 250 hours minimum for everything to break in and I believe it is well worth the time involved.

For those with an interest in the Melody CD-M10, here are a few pics:

CD-M10 version with Jensen output caps and AD827JN and opa627 op amps

CD-M10 version with Mundorf S&G output caps and opa627 op amps only

Front view of my CD-M10

Top view of CD-M10

BTW, I am not affiliated with Melody HiFi in any way.