My Arcam FMJ 23T cd player sounds pretty darn good, but I want the capability to also play SACDs. What players should I be considering? The Modwright Oppo, the Exemplar Oppo and the Sony 5400 are currently on my short list.
I had the Arcam FMJ CD23 for quite some time. Teriffic player, but I think it would take considerably more than $1500.00 to beat.
At the same time I had the $1000.00 Oppo BDP 95, in my system, and for audio it wasn't even close. The Arcam sounded much, much better in all aspects. Really no contest.
Not sure what $1500.00 player would sound better than your Arcam. Perhaps a new Marantz?
Glaucon - there's a pair of Jasper monos on sale here on Audiogon. And if you're ever thinking of selling your pre, please let me know. If you have the time, please email me off-line. I'd like to know your thoughts on the change from the Essence to the Summits. I'd entertain making that move, but my listening room is smallish and not sure it would do justice to the Summits.
The TEAC PD-H600 was considered by Absolute Sound to be one of the best CDPs under $2K at the beginning of this year even though you couldn't source one anymore. I own one and it's a great CDP for the money, but for $1600 (demo price) the Marants SA-15S2b betters it by a big margin insofar as Redbook is concerned and plays SACD as well.
IMO, lower priced SACD players do not do redbook as well as dedicated players near the same price. I have owned the Sony 9000, 5400 and the Esoteric X-05 and found this to be true in all three cases. Perhaps the more expensive players like the Esoteric X-03 and up do better, but I have no experience with them. I finally gave up on SACD and went with a better redbook player and found this to be a more satisfactory solution for my tastes. IMO, a better redbook player playing a standard CD sounds better than a lesser SACD player playing the SACD of the same recording. But again, that's just me.
Rest of system - Essence Jasper MkII monoblock amps Musical Design Chameleon pre (tubed) Essence Reference Super Gem speakers Intuitive Design ICs and speaker wire (Arcam FMJ 23T cd and VPI Classic 3 TT)
Budget is no more than $1,500. And I will have to sell my Arcam to finance this purchase. I want a cd/SACD player who's redbook quality is at least on a par with the Arcam. I won't sacrifice redbook quality in order to gain SACD capability.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.