CD Player Under $1.5k With Vinyl Sound


After getting exposed to vinyl I begin to feel that I am not enjoying the sound from my CD player anymore. In comparison to the lush, organic and liquid sound from my vinyl rig, the CD player sounds mechanical, compressed and congested as music doesn't seem to flow out in 3-dimensional scale. Whenever I switch from CD to vinyl I often find myself completely immersed into the music. Since I got a turntable I have not found enjoyment in listening to CD's anymore and have been spending considerably less time with the format. In fact, the CD player was left untouched for more than 1 month now. I did try to listen but everytime a CD goes into the player the listening session will be less than 5 minutes before I go grab my records and start spinning some tunes.

My question is, are there any good and musical CD players in the current production around the $1.5k bracket that sound close to vinyl? I am not interested in extreme detail, resolution and transparency. I am more concerned on musicality and an overall toe-tapping factor. I want a sound that is full, natural, lush and organic and yet cast a wide soundstage without any trace of harshness and sibilance often associated with digital. I am aware that some good CD players, often in the higher priced bracket sound extremely close to vinyl, so my interpretation doesn't entirely apply with all digital.

For the record, my CD player is a Krell KPS-30i and turntable a Rega P5. The only aspect I like about digital is on its quietness in the lack of pops, crackles and clicks often associated with analog(dirty or less than perfect records). Other than that I am truly smitten with the vinyl sound. I hope a special CDP could salvage things and bring some life back into my CD collection.
ryder

Showing 2 responses by revrob

It is a little older but if you look you can get a Cary 306/200 for around that amount. IMHO it is one of the best CD players out there on the used market.

Good luck.
I am not a big proponent of vinyl so take what I say with a grain of salt. I do know that the better the source the better the sound. However when it comes to a really good cd player then the better the recordings the better the sound. It is all about synergy.

This debate about what's better will forever go on. It really depends upon personal preference. I prefer digital over vinyl others prefer vinyl over digital.

My advise, find the best cd player you can afford based upon recommendation, then find some great recording such as music cds from the Naim label and then sit back and enjoy the music.

Respectfully submitted.