Lector CDP-7TL versus Cary 303/300

I've lived with all three. Here's the lowdown.

Let's leave out tube sonics for the moment.

1. The Lector has a unique sound. It sounds far less like digital than other players. There just isn't a cloud of noise between the instruments. It also seems to but together each instrument more coherently. It just lets your hear each instrument more discretely without each instrument getting in the way of each other.
So in this way, I have to put the sound of the Lector in a group by itself. You can then tube roll to match your taste.

Back to tube sonics.

The BAT is also unique in a way. Most CD players are wimpy and thin sounding. Without the dynamics a good analog rig can have. Most people don't know this. They are used to the common batch of CD players. This is where the BAT shines. It is a little dated in terms of digital capabilities. But this is one heck of a musical player. But it will be too tubey for some. The newer upsampling players will sound more accurate.

The Cary has a more updated tube sound and better digital than the BAT. But not the drive, power and tonal complexity the BAT has. It compares more with the sound of a good solid state CD player.

my experience with the cary cd players indicates that they are relatively tube insensitive. thus, i would say that you have a better chance of approaching a "tubey" sound with the lector than with the cary.

a well known audio dealer in manhattan, sound by singer, who advertises in stereophile, tells me that the bat d5 cd player is more tube like than the cary. i have no evidence to confirm this statement.

Mrtennis: Would the Cary with the "right tubes" (e.g. older NOS) begin to approach the Lector with its "right tubes"?

i have not compared the 2 directly but have heard them in different systems. thusm my answer is not scientific.

having owned a cary tubed cd player and listened to other cary gear, i prefer the lector with the right tube.

the lector seems to sound more like vintage tubes and the cary more like modern tubes. or, the lector seems more euphonically colored than the cary.