I live in UK and I can give you a little advice as far as CPD's are concerned in here; A nice little valve-cdp could be the shanling cd-t80, I haven't listened to it yet but I'm familiar with shanling gear and it should be very good.
The Rega Apollo however is one for the shortlis as it is a hi-fi bargain; the feel is a bit plasticky but looks and sound to die for; looks best in black mind you.
It is very clean, great midrange and has super-extended HF;a bit bass-shy but oh-boy the sound...a much more expensive machine it sounds I can tell you.
At £500 in UK (I thin around $700ca. in US) you can't really go wrong, especially on a budget is a no-brainer-decision.
I was unfortunate enough to live with a cheap Sony CDP-SACD for a while and it sounded horrendous; personally my laptop with Audigy soundcard is miles miles better than that, so when you have buried the Sony in your back garden, go out and listen to the Rega.
Interconnects from Townshend DCT 100 should work well I guess at £ 100.
Top loaded and grrrreat...
The Rega Apollo however is one for the shortlis as it is a hi-fi bargain; the feel is a bit plasticky but looks and sound to die for; looks best in black mind you.
It is very clean, great midrange and has super-extended HF;a bit bass-shy but oh-boy the sound...a much more expensive machine it sounds I can tell you.
At £500 in UK (I thin around $700ca. in US) you can't really go wrong, especially on a budget is a no-brainer-decision.
I was unfortunate enough to live with a cheap Sony CDP-SACD for a while and it sounded horrendous; personally my laptop with Audigy soundcard is miles miles better than that, so when you have buried the Sony in your back garden, go out and listen to the Rega.
Interconnects from Townshend DCT 100 should work well I guess at £ 100.
Top loaded and grrrreat...