I have a Denon DCD 290 and I think is a pretty decent piece of equipment. I have it hooked up to a Valab DAC. This whole set up cost me around $300, the Denon was $99, and the sound is relaxed, focused and with incredible tone. My Denon changer replaced a modified Toshiba sd 3960 ( remember the Vinnie mods ?).
Sorry, just saw your question. It's called the Attraction. You can get more information at Charles Altmann's website:
http://www.mother-of-tone.com/attraction.htm
Be prepared. This is an extremely unconventional design. Requires a car battery to power. It's nothing more that a circuit board mounted on a rectangular piece of spruce wood.
bear in mind that the transport has an ENORMOUS influence on the sound, and you will not get the full potential out of a good DAC.
I have to disagree with this. Charles Altmann insists that his DAC with JISCO circuitry can be used with any cheap transport connected by toslink and will sound as good as an expensive transport. I didn't believe this until I actually bought one of these DAC's and after hooking it up to my very crappy Samsung DVD player discovered that it bested my Naim CDS-3 by a sizable margin. Hearing is believing.
I will be putting a system together where, right now, a changer is a must have. It will be comprised of the Creek Classic 5350 SE, powering Epos 12i or Dynaudio Focus 110 or Nola Boxers, with the Marantz CC 4003 changer. I know the changer is the weak link in the chain. Spoke with Marantz and several dealers that carry it, and they didn't think it would embarrass itself. Might consider adding the Cambridge DacMagic. I'll keep you posted.
For 4-5k you could get into a computer-based system with a very nice DAC (I like my PSA Perfect Wave). I expect you could make it sound quite good, and you'd have *more* of the convenience which is presumably a central attraction of a changer. John
There are some very good modded 5 disc CD players out there. I own two. A Sony-C555ES SACD with the SACDMODS Statement mod, and a Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player that was modded by Larry Moore. Now both of these players sound alot better than there stock versions IMHO. I tried to sell the Larry Moore player here and no takers. I was asking more than the $100.00 dollar going rate that has been stated in this post. All I can say is "Thank God for unanswered prayers". I would not been able to find anything near it's sound quality plus the conveious of a 5 disc player with SACD for what I was asking for it. I for one don't think a 5 disc player is going the way of the Dodo bird.
The Sony-C555ES is the best I've heard and can be had for less than $500 used ($2000.00 new?). I think it was discontinued in 05?? I don't know of any Co. making high end multi disc players. The Sony was rated class "A" by Stereophile when it came out in the early part of this century.I never tried using it as a transport...but it sounded pretty good on it's own for Christmas and party music and times you want to put 5 discs in random mode and work around the house.
If you're thinking about a typical ("low end") 5-disc player feeding a DAC, bear in mind that the transport has an ENORMOUS influence on the sound, and you will not get the full potential out of a good DAC. I've used 5 or 6 different players/transports as transports with a Muse and then Reimyo DAC and speak from experience.
You aren't going to find a changer for $4-5k. No changer ever made is worth that amount. Check out the Don Allen Marantz modded 5 disc changer. There's one on sale in the classifieds. Also, be so kind as to report back and let us know how it sounds if you make the purchase. I don't know the seller.
It sounds like there are not any Wadia quality type changers out there ? I'll have to do some research on the CAL CL-10. Anything by OPPO ? Thanks for all the response...keep it coming !
The CAL CL-10 is a very good sounding player, and they go used for under $400. Rotel makes a couple of good changers also, the RCC 945 and 1055. The 945 has a stacking configuration and holds 6 discs. Very reliable player and can usually be found for around $200. That would leave lots of extra dough for a dac based on your budget.
Thanks Elizabeth, I currently have a 5 disc SONY and I'm very unhappy with the sound quality. I probably don't need to spend $4 or $5k on a 5 disc, but I'm hoping to get some ideas. Thanks again for your input !!!
California Audio Labs made the CL-10, which was a well-regarded CD changer.
Honestly, though, for $4-5K I would buy a really nice DAC and hook it up to an inexpensive CD changer or a music server of some sort. That would provide much more flexibility.
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