Law of Diminishing Returns - CD/SACD Players

MrT,

Well, the Opus 21 cost me 3X the price I paid for the Quad 99 DCP-2. Thank goodness it sounds better!

I've now owned 2 Resolution Audio Opus 21s and 2 Quad 99 CDPs (one version 1 and one version 2). I keep getting concerned about the relative value of the players, so I end up selling, rebuying, yada, yada. In cronological order I owned Opus 21, Quad 99 CDP, Opus 21, Quad 99 CDP-2. I bought all used here on AudiogoN.

Anyway, I bought my first Quad 99 CDP as an experiment to audition it against the Opus 21. It was not a match for the Opus 21, but I found it to be good enough to satisfy me for a while. I sold the Opus 21. A while later I saw a great deal on an Opus 21 and knowing it was the better player, I bought it. Recently I saw a pretty good deal on a Quad 99 CDP-2, so I thought, what the heck. I bought it to see if it could go toe-to-toe with the Opus 21. Well, it is pretty good, but it does not stand up to the Opus 21.

I prefer the top end of the Opus 21. It is more analog sounding to my ears. Across the board the Opus 21 is a bit more articulate than the Quad. My new speakers are very revealing, so the extra money spend on the Opus 21 is worth it to me.

BTW, I haven't heard it yet, but a buddy just bought the Consonance CD120 Linear, which is the non-oversampling version of this CD player. He is a retire music professor, composer and analog junkie. He really likes it. I think it was about $800.

Enjoy,

TIC

Forgive me in advance for my lack of listenning skill. I recently decided to re-visit the mid-fi journey by buying a Rotel RCC 1072 and after three continuous days of listenning, I have to say these mid-fi sound will give you listenning fatigue due to bright, metallic, cold and harsh sound. Yet it gives you a false sense of big bass. not a kind of tight bass but sissy bass. the soundstage is quite wide but not deep. High frequency is very high and will be harsh on bright recording. Etta James in "All the way" with several tracks are unbearable. Yes, it may sound better in details than the Pioneer or Technics DVD players but is it worth 700.00 ? For me it is not quite. Sorry Rotel fan. I owned a Krell CDP KAV 280 matched with the 400xi, and to me that heavenly tight bass, warm and opening vocals...Yes, I rather save up 4000.00 for a good CDP than buying under 1000.00 wimpy one. Live and learn everyday and I do learn a good lesson : All CDP sounds different and you will get what you pay for. Hi-fi choice of the year not the ears.

Best sub-$1000 player is the Marantz sa-8001, which improves upon the Marantz 8260 in several ways. First, the TOC error problem has been solved. Secondly, its upgraded power supply significantly raises the transparency and dynamic range of this unit. And thirdly, although the SACD performance is roughly indentical to that of the 8260, the resolution on redbook playback has improved. The audible differences in recordings is astounding. You probably have to spend twice as much to buy something that improves upon the overall performance of the 8001. My system consists of an Audible Illusion pre-amp, Innersound amp and Martin Logan loudspeakers, with Cardas Neutral Reference cabling. I find that the Marantz 8001 sounds best when connected to PS Audio 300 at 78 Hertz.

I've spent the last year researching/auditioning this question. I've learned:

1) Good luck auditioning - Modded units, low production specialty jobs, etc.

2) Someone out there will swear that they've heard (almost all brands here) and the best is certainly (his brand here) over (every other brand here).

3) Mechanical reliability is an issue just about everywhere - especially with SACD capable units - regardless of price.

4) Upsampling is ABSOLUTELY essential, unless its UNQUESTIONABLY inferior.

5) Just about everyone prefers balanced outputs

6) The mod believers find great benefit in upgraded (usually tubed) output sections.

So:
I ended up with a Cary 303 - reportedly more reliable than a 306 SACD or Esoteric X, defeatable upsampling, switchable tube/SS output section, balanced or RCA out and very good redbook sound at audition for $4k -not crazy in today's market. Although I also auditioned DCS and Esoteric as well the Cary 306 SACD, I couldn't definitively conclude that any one was "in a different leauge" on redbook performance. I chose good sound, versatility, and a manageable price.

It's still new and I can't offer much in the way of performance evaluation yet, but (FWIW) I did A/B versus the new Rega (@1K) which I have in my family room. The Rega is often cited as a value leader and it sounds very good. Off my quick A/B at home I would guess that most people would choose the Cary in less than a minute. Both sound very good, the Cary just sounds better - in this system.

Hi Calgarian,

I can empathize with your situation. I had a chance to listen to many top players and there certainly are differences: the best players (the Aurum Integris and Audio Research CD7 for example) do indeed sound markedly better than less costly players (my opinion of course).

However, having said that I would strongly recommend getting a top used CDP. The best CDP's of the past are still very good and offer much more value than brand new products. In my opinion, they simply sound much better than brand new CDP's of the same price. I ended up picking up an Audio Research CD2 ($1500) and am very happy with it. In my system, it is only bettered by far more expensive units - and I mean the best of the best. As an aside, note that the CD2 must be run balanced to produce good results. In any case, others I know have been very happy with older Meridian products.

If you don't have an aversion to used products, I think you will find that there are indeed many fantastic buys out there. Newer is often just newer - not necessarily better.

Best of luck,

Peter