Hi Scott: I own the CAL Icon Mk II and have been very happy with it. I place it on a sheet of MDF over Vibrapods and have also switched the power cord to a Harmonic Tech. Pro 11. These additions cost another $150.00 but were worth it to me. It has a very smooth analog sound and is not shy on bass as many players are. I recently purchased a Bel Canto DAC (just hooked it up for the first time today) and though this added further improvement that I was looking for, the Icon's performance on its own is very good indeed in comparison to the CAL/DAC combo. I have auditioned the Icon with the Boss upgrade and also their 10 and 15 models. The upgraded and newer models supplied more detail but it was at the expense of musicality IMO. They sounded more digital and my Icon with the tweaks sounds more analog. It is pretty hard to beat at the used price. The HT PC which does not really smooth the highs makes the player quieter (background noise) and increases the dynamics and detail in my setup. The difference with and without the upgraded PC is not a subtle one. However, if you have a good power source (I do not in LA) then you may like the sound with the stock cord. Isolation is a must for any player to sound its best and I have found the inexpensive Vibrapods to work well with the CAL. I guess what I am trying to say is that without the tweaks it is good, but with the tweaks it is surprisingly good, in my system. If you go with the CAL, I would recommend that you just start with the Pods ($24.00) and that may be all that you need. Another good player (that I owned for a short while) is the Audio Refinement Complete (smooth and musical). I paid $600.00 used and believe that they go for less than that now.
CAL Audio or other CD/DVD players
I'm considering an upgrade to replace my 10-year-old Sony CDP-C715 carousel CD player. Also considered selling both my Sony DVP-S530D DVD player (no complaints) and the CD player for ~$400 and putting it towards a better CD/DVD combo unit. I like the idea of eliminating one component in the rack for simplicities sake in both controlling and wiring.
The CAL Audio stuff looks pretty nice to me for the money. The CAL CL-20 CD/DVD player ($1,500) is a bit on the expensive side, but not totally out of consideration. For quite a bit less, maybe the CAL Icon Mk II CD Player (~$400) or the Pioneer DV-37 (~$600).
The player will be used in my main HT system with B&K preamp/amp combination and Monitor Audio PCM speakers. Currently using the digital outs into the B&K 1030 DD preamp, bypassing the Sonys DAC's.
Any suggestions on other brands/units I should look at? Not looking for the latest/greatest (last years or used is fine), just a solid entry-level transport/DAC combination without major flaws. Thanks in advance, I appreciate the opinions.
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