Emm Labs two box or CDSA if you do not need a pre-amp! |
>If you want the best, you have to go with APL<
If you happen to like that sound you mean.
There are plenty of folks who prefer Wadia, Audio Aero, Meitner, MBL, etc.
There is no universal "best". |
The best I have personally heard is the APL3910 which I own. But many of those original owners have upgraded their players to the latest model made by Alex Paychev which I believe is the APL 3.0 NWO GO. Those who have heard it swear by it. If you want the best, you have to go with APL. |
i own a G08 and love it. if you like a slightly warm and very euphonic sound and want upsampling, the G08 is a solid choice. :) it's redbook only though.
based purely on what i have read in mags and forums, i think some other players to consider include the Opus 21, Reimyo 777, Cary 306 SACD, EMM Labs CDSA, and even the Azur 840C. |
Marantz Sa-7S1 is best player I've heard on both redbook and sacd . |
A modded Shanling from parts connexion is the best Ive heard. Yes I heard top of the line Linn 3 years ago. I could tell it was a CD player. Brassy. I had new tubes and an extensive mod done and it is very smooth. I have a Acoustic Signiture TT with a Graham 2.2, Benz L2 and a Acoustec PH1-P. The Shanling beats or equals 3 out of 5. Its a keeper. And to all those vinylphiles, I did set the TT up right. Dont get me wrong. I love vinyl and this is the CD player I can live with. |
TRL/Sony DVP-NS900V SACD/CDP CD Player !
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rdgtl&1142721653&read&keyw&zztrl=sony
I replaced my Zanden DAC /Oracle Transport combo.... and haven't looked back! So unless you really want to spend the big bucks,and stroke your ego? I can't think of a better sound under the $20K mark
cheers |
Try the new Chord Red Reference. I have the Blu/Dac which is truly amazing, but this will blow your socks off...at $ 30,000 it should do too. |
Contradictory to Sorlowski findings, I have listened to the Arcam Alpha 7, owned the Alpha 8 before upgrading to the Sony XA7ES. The XA7ES made the Arcam sounded uninvolving and less dynamic.
I always had the impression that Arcam gears are polite-sounding since the Alpha range. Maybe their new iterations have improved but I believe their sound signature would still be typical Arcam- refined and polite. |
Just got the MSB CD station III.I was using a Meridian 596 DVD player thru a Magnum opus one preamp.As soon as I plugged in the MSB it made me start to giggle.This unit Attacks instruments.It is still brand new to me but I"mleaning towards leaving the magnum opus one in the picture.It Truley Is Remarkable |
I own a cary 300 best cd player for the money no question about it . |
Point well taken....we all love the music. |
I have no problem with you saying it is the best digital player you've heard. That's undoubtedly true and I take you at your word. However for you and/or the other gentleman to say "it is unbeatable", is simply disingenuous and untrue. If you have a chance to hear any of the players I mentioned I'm sure you would understand. |
??? when we are talking about players in this price range.I think it comes down to personal taste in the "voicing" of the player.
Two of the strongest advocates for the 303/300 at the audio asylum forum have gone on to purchase the 306 SACD after hearing it.I have heard the 303/300 and until i heard the 306 SACD thought it was the best digital player i had heard......the 306 SACD to my ears is much "better".
'listen to it and you will buy it"....:) |
Jburidan says .....but 303/300 is unbeatable, if you're talking redbook only.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Owners of Reimyo CDP-777, Wadia 861SE, Oracle CD-2500, Accuphase DP-85, Audiomeca Mephisto IIx, etc. may take issue with this. Care to reconsider?? |
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Cary 303/300 upgraded with RCA 12bh7A gray plates. Haven't heard the Cary 306 SACD, but 303/300 is unbeatable, if you're talking redbook only.
Jay |
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Any Accuphase CD player.
Open, Musical with natural detail. Good as analog. I own analog also and this is one of the few CD players I could listen to for a long period of time. |
I like the Arcam cd33,its very clean sounding,amd after listening to for a few weeks I feel if you dont have decent stuff around it you wont hear how good it can sound at all.Very transparent. |
Jthayer,
I have previous top ALPHA model Arcam 6 (1996) and to my dismay it easly outperformed my new SONY SACD (9000ES), Arcam's are a good deal. They are so musical. |
if below US$10,000....(not sure exactly about the price pts) I would recommend Reimyo, the new dCS P8i, Aero Capital Mk2 with the upgrades, and Wadia 861. Personally for just redbook among the above Reimyo was the best for me. |
I just wish that those who stated "the best that I've heard" identify specifically what they have heard. Otherwise it sounds like joke. I would also be very interested in particularities. For example: "best” because it has more energy or more musical or more details or more transparent etc. The most fare way to respond would be to say - in my system which consist of so and so I prefer this player because it sounds more transparent, musical, dynamic, etc then so an so which I have heard before in my system.
I'm always wondering how people could say what is "the best" even in the same system. For a year or so I'm playing with two very well known DACs in the same system which I own, to the point when gold on the connectors begin to show ware of, and I still wouldn't be able to say that one of them is "the best” from those two or even that one is better then another. Each of them has pros and cons, plus it also depends on what CD you play at the moment. So, what is it all about? |
Give the Aloia a try. It smokes a lot mentioned here. It also allows for two digital inputs for other digital sources. Digital output, RS232 for upgrades and 12 volt switch on. It also has a tuner module as an option. It uses inductive power supply and does upsampling. 8007524018 |
The BAT D5SE is now available with the SUPERPAK upgrade, which adds further capacitance above the standare SE SIXPAK upgrade.
So far, in my listening, I have noticed deeper and tighter bass and more dynamics. It is still in the break-in process. |
I have noot heard all of these but they are worth mentioning if you are going to consider big buck players:
Meridian: 808, G08
Audio Aero: Capitole-II
Reimyo 777
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I own a (beloved) 508.24 and have demoed at home the following other players:
- ML 39: WAY cleaner, proper and high endish sounding but NO emotion - boring
- Accuphase DP55V: detailed and articulated but also a tad souless in my humble opinion; nice but no cigar
- Quad CDP99: very nice unit for the money (actually a real bargain) - awfully close to the 508; remote volume control a nice feature; a tad (and I mean very little more) thicker sounding than the 508; an excellent choice but no real upgrade over a 508
- Consonance 2.2: very refined, airy and musical - actually outdoes the 508 on these factors ... but lacks crually slam and weight in the low end; not enough boogie factor.
- Musical Fidelity Nuvista 3D: perhaps a question of system synergy but in mine, I would give it 3/10: forward soundings, almost brittle, no musicality (really strange considering the rave reviews and the tube construction; perhaps have I tested a defective unit?)
- Wadia 301: nice but also no cigar. a tad mechanical. not enough alpability; quality of timbres not up to par with the 508.
- and finally yes I tested recently the new Meridian G08: which left me wondering, as I had it at home only for 1 evening; clearly outguns the 508 in terms of pace, slam (yes it's possible), rythm, attack, speed sensation and (more marginally) detail/air; but in my system & for my taste it was almost too much excitement, and emotion/musicality were somehow left a bit wanting. Perhaps was it not fully broken in, and by playing around with set up, cables, ... could I have had reached real happiness but didn't have time. I would say lots of potential but jury's still out as far as I am concerned.
Hope that helps - any good advice on clear winners over the 508.24 would be appreciated (Res. Audio Opus 21, AA capitole MKII, Accuphase 67 or 77???).
My system is currently B&W N802, then all Meridian, 508.24 CD, G02 preamp and 559 amp (fantastic units btw), Fadel art interconnect and Audioquest Gibraltar biwire cables.
Thank you! |
I think the AudioFunkadelic 9504, is by far the best, no contest !!!!!! |
I had to jump in, since there are about equal numbers voting for Meridian and Sony.
I traded my 506.20 for an SCD-777ES. If I had to pick one (for CD only!) definitely the Meridian, and it ain't a 508.24 or a 588 for that matter. Someone above said the Sony's don't convey the music - of course they do, but Meridian just does it better. I'd love to hear the Naim. And no, I would never spend 4k on a new 508.24 when I could get "good" sound for 500 bucks. The differences are subtle - re-read almost every CDP review anywhere where there's a comparison made -- it's in there, just look again -- they almost always say "the differences were subtle." Sometimes they guess at it (and even say so!).
And now MY 2 CENTS -- If you really want SOTA, spend 10K or more on some of the models suggested above and then sell it for half price next year to get the new SOTA. Otherwise, get a great used player (like the 777ES, Meridian, Linn models, etc etc), pay no more than 2k, and start spending more money on room correction - there's no better place for the money (assuming you can live with your speakers and electronics) at that point. |
Few people are really qualified to make a sound statement like that. Personally, I am not. I have listened to only few other high-end players (top Wadias, top NAIMs, Audio Research, few others) attached to different electronics/speakers and in various locations. Finally, I bought the Accuphase SACD/CD DP-85, I am very happy with it and try to stay that way. Otherwise, the hunt for a "supposedly better player" will never end. It is indeed a great-sounding player, a pleasure to look at and a piece of state-of-art audio engineering. It has a build-in combination of upsampling/oversampling circuitry (a specific Accuphase brand which even very existence the company will NOT officially acknowledge). It really opens ears to the fact that CD recording quality varies tremendously and the best of them equal, if not even exceed (say JVC XRCD), a current SACD sound quality standard. Furthermore, the CD player alone will not make up for a mediocre speaker system, for example. Is it the best single-box CD player on the market? May be - may be not. It IS, for example, according to the German magazine AUDIO, which is as 'unbiased' audio magazine as the commercial publication of this sort could ever (afford to) be. Outside of Japan it is quite pricey, indicating a hefty surgarge imposed by the government together with distributors/dealers cut + transportation cost. In my opinion, there is at least a dozen of serious contenders for the title "the best CD player". If anything, a true comparison would be a formidable effort by aligning high-class "comparable/synergistic" electronics, identical mega $$$ speakers, double-blinded sessions in the same listening room, on reference quality software, and ... still verdict might be a very personal one. So I would advise to treat discussion like this as a good starting point to collect an initial list of player to audit for a search of YOUR best CD player. |
Sorry resolution audio gang. I replaced my 55 with the Electrocompaniet emc-1 mk2 and there is no contest. |
The Wadia 861se now sets the performance benchmark for $10K or under CDPs, at this date. |
Cool, a now five year-old thread to post (possibly useless) subjective opinions on the best CD player...ha ha ha ha ha!
Never mind the "value" of subjective opinions, think about how much the technology has changed and improved over that time!
In ten years, this thread will be even funnier! ;-) |
Wadia 861 SE with Great Northern Sound Company statement modifications |
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The best CD player made is the one YOU like and most important the one YOU can afford :) Peace. |
Oracle CD2500. No contest IMHO
Russ |
Did you do it ?
Have you compared upgraded D5SE to the stock unit?
Impressions ? How did the sound changed ?
Does it worth $800 BAT asking for upgrade ? |
BestOne Box CD/SACD Player is the Accuphase DP-85 followed by DP-75...Aero Capital 24/192 |
IMHO The Electrocompaniet EMC-1 MkII is incredible for around $3500 net. |
Something to consider: Every Sony that has ever been made can be seriously improved with the implementation of better output devices. Sony has NEVER used the kind of output gain stages that you will see in the Wadia, BAT, Levinson or Linn players. I am very concerned about Sony players being labelled as the "best". How can this be? If the Sonys have such an inherent weak sonic link in their overall circuitry design that can be easily modified and improved, they are far from being the "best". |
Bat D5 SE with the 24 bit D/A upgrade |
Stay away from Sony its digital sewage.The best i heard was 47 labs cd player. |
Resolution Audio CD50 and CD55 - as good as the very best currently available! |
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The new Accuphase DP-77V. |
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YES, THE LINN SONDECK CD12 IS THE FINEST BUILT, FINEST SOUNDING CD PLAYER IN THE WORLD, HOWEVER, HE IS NOT LOOKING TO SPEND THAT MUCH MONEY. THE BEST BUY IS THE LINN IKEMI. HDCD, AWESOME LINN-BUILT CD ENGINE. SMOOTH AS SILK TRANSPORT AND DRAWER. SWEEEET!!!! |
