CD Player Recommendations…

I've owned the Rega Saturn-R for about 4 years and find it to be a fantastic unit. They are $2995 MSRP and you can find good used ones for about half that amount. At the used price, I find it to be a great value, having all around great sound, plus the functionality of DAC inputs for use with a streamer, TV, or whatever other digital sources you may have.

Rega Apollo R:  Mine has been on the shelf for a few years but has exactly the sonic qualities the OP is looking for.

I just ordered a Bryston BCD-3. In your price range I would look at the  Rega Apollo.

Hi jfant,
 I never had a CD32. what brand? 
Hi folks,Thanks for all the suggestions folks. My previous cd player was a cambridge cxc going into an arcam irdac. I still have the irdac as i use it for streaming, however, the cxc (with irdac) made everything sound a little too full and bloomy. Add that to the 308’s fuller sound and f30’s forward mids, and it was a little overkill. Hence, i sold the cxc to get a standalone cdp; as cd is still my reference. In fact, i use streaming to discover new music, then buy the disc! 

With a little patience you can pick up an Oppo 105 <$1000, which also plays SACD/DVD-A and even movies. Then, on Ebaye you can buy aftermarket Linear Power Modules from ~ $200 up. One of the companies even provides excellent pictures to walk you through (hey I did it) also get the Furutech IEC with silver jumper to the power supply board and the jumper to bypass the 110/220 switch. Once complete leave the top off. I bought a $4 air con filter to keep junk out

hth

" nothing good can be bought for 1000 ... money wasted ... "

In audio as in life I suppose.  Cars, hookers, fancy meals, Lakers' tickets, concerts ...

Does Rega still make CD players?  I once owned a Rega Apollo that went for about a grand and was smooth, refined, and polite, possibly what the OP was interested in.  I haven’t heard much about their digital side in the last several years

infection

Do you still own the CD32 ? If not, did you upgrade to a different player?

Happy Listening!

In that budget I would purchase Quad CD player

Bel Canto CD1 or Primare CD32. I've owned both & they're excellent. You should be able to find either for under $1k...

Onkyo C-7030.  Proves very good sound does not have to cost over 1000.  

nothing good can be bought for 1000 ... money wasted ... save at least 3000-5000 and buy a used player of a higher class ... you must definitely hear the sound yourself before buying

+1 on the Rotel RCD1572 Cd player I currently have 2 of them one in silver and 1 in black, you can find them for $800.00 to $950.00 if you look for sales.You might also want to look for a used SimAudio Moon 360D, I was able to pick up a demo for around $1,300.00

Also own a Cambridge 851C. Far from harsh but it’s not dead sounding either so if you play very poor recordings, well you get it. I run Synergistic Black fuses (was current at the time) with WyWires power cord. Listened to the CAL’s from the past and the more current Marantz players and they’re very good but I’ll keep the Cambridge. Had a brief home audition with the 840 as a local shop had a used one in so I took it home; still a nice player but not as revealing as the 851C. My 851C sounds much better than my stock Oppo 205 as well. Was using the DAC only in the 851C with a streamer which sounded wonderful but latter went to an RME DAC. If you’re only looking for a CDP/DAC, the 851C is a great player for the money. Very flexible player if you want to also plug a streamer into or go direct to amp. Fuses and power cords will make a nice improvement as well. Also, if you have a balanced preamp or amp (going direct) it does sound best balanced out. Lastly my 851C sits on Daedalus DiD’s isolation feet which improves things even more. It’s a wonderful player if properly set up.

Suggest you take a look at the Marantz CD6007.  I'm on my second Marantz disc spinner and they are musical drawing you into the music.  From your posts, it should mate well with your system.https://www.marantz.com/en-us/product/cd-players/cd6007

If you can find a good used california audio labs cd player you should try one

Yes in that list I posted in my fist post, the Cal Labs  CL-10, CL-15, and CL-20 all used the PCM1702 R2R dac chip and the PMD100 hdcd filter chip. I had 2 x CL-15's in the past great units.

Cheers George

Marantz

jsbach1685 OP
Thanks George for the link.

If your going CD only as the title says, look carefully at the conversion process.

For CD Redbook replay (which is PCM) 16/44 24/96 or DXD, the only dac process that convert it "bit perfect" are your "R2R Multibit" dac chips or the new discrete R2R multibit ones, (which don’t come in one box cd players that I’ve seen, only dacs)

All other "Delta Sigma" dac chip conversion processes (1bit, single bit, bitstream, ess, wofson, etc etc ) can only give a "facsimile" of PCM it can never be "bit perfect" like R2R, but they do do online streaming sacd, dsd, if your into it. (I’m not, too much compressed re-issues from them)

Cheers George

@fuzztone

Have you not heard of the terms "reference" or reference-grade?" 

lol I should have just said above...my bad.

Just search for "designed with the intent of reproducing the original sound"

CD players with chips from Texas Instruments, Burr Brown, Wolfson, and in-house are some of the best.

Each CD player will have different sonic benefits. Detail retrieval, bass accuracy, midrange transparency, and treble resolution can translate differently on any number of CD players. Along with this, transient response is important. If your CD player sounds "slower" on certain songs and "very fast" on others, it's doing something right.

Most DACs would gloss over timing irregularities - unless they were high-end.

My suggestion would be going for a CD player that  was designed with the intent of reproducing the original sound. A component like this will challenge the rest of your set up. You will know if it's time for an upgrade after that.

The 851C is superior to.the 840C in everyway imaginable. Had the 840C for many years, upgraded to the 851C and have this player for the last 8 years. The 840C is a good player, but be careful as some of the older ones had some cheap (bad) capacitors which WILL cause player failure. Mine included. Cost about $100 to be repaired and a months down time for repair and shipping both ways.

Hi Russ69,
Harsh may have been the wrong word. Reviews indicate more full and punchy vs the 840’s more refined, smooth and detailed presentation. The 840 may be a nice match to complement the 308. 

"...On the Cambridge 851, I’ve read that it’s a bit harsh?? Perhaps the 840?..."

I've never heard any Cambridge player that was harsh. I run an 840 on my main system and it sounds great. 

Budget is up to $1,000.  Thanks for the suggestions. On the Cambridge 851, I’ve read that it’s a bit harsh?? Perhaps the 840? Also, anyone using an A308 integrated with the matching A308CR CD player? Thanks George for the link.

BUDGET?

jsbach1685
CD Player Recommendations…

 With that nice amp and speakers, go with something that has R2R Multibit conversion to give "bit perfect" replay of cd’s

Use the search and look for a new/used unit here that use the best of the older R2R chips which are the PCM1702 (great) and PCM1704 (best) Burr brown chips.
http://vasiltech.narod.ru/CD-Player-DAC-Transport.htm

Cheers George

Rotel rcd1572
 Bryston bcd 3

You'll want a decent player, maybe a Cambridge 851C?