redkiwi,
i can't disagree w/what yure saying, but if widener's only source is cd, then i tink he's kinda stuck, cuz his amplification & speakers are ackshully quite good, at their price-points in terms of sound-quality & neutrality, imho...
that's why i suggested the ase z-man or similar musical-fidelity product. my experience w/the z-man was that it made my cd's listenable w/o really doing anything bad to 'em in regards to losing detail, or negatively affecting neutrality, and it was a cheap fix to my cd-system, where i mostly listen to vinyl & fm-radio anyways. from what i've heard about the cal-audio products, i'm sure they'd do the same, but $100 is less than $400... ;~)
it wasn't until i made a quantum-leap in improving my preamp, that the cd-player was ok on its own, but this costs quite a bit more than widener wants to spend.
while still relatively expensive, a great preamp seems to me the most economical way to get truly decent cd-sound, cuz a comparable leap in cd-player quality (and cost) had no meaningful sonic improvements thru my upgraded preamp. i found that retail $1800 alchemist, or retail $3k resolution audio cd-players offer no worthwhile improvements over my $500 retail nad cd-changer.
while a decent budget system will offer true hi-quality sound for vinyl, i tink yure stuck w/cd-players - either save for a killer preamp, or go on the cheap w/something like a z-man, or a used cal-audio for a bit more $$$. spendy cd-players weren't cost-effective for my system w/a great preamp, i doubt they'd be any more cost-effective in a lower-cost system, imho.
regards, doug
