Looking to upgrade Audio Note CD-2

I was in your position about three of years ago thinking that I would get a new CD player as an upgrade to the Audio Note CD2. I bought a pre-owned Lector CDP 0.6T. As it turned out I much preferred the older AN CD2.

No doubt you will get all kinds of recommendations for the latest and greatest flavor of the month CD player, but to my ears, the CD2 is a really solid performer.

The only problem I have with mine is that the tray occasionally gets hung up and requires a push. If yours is in good mechanical condition you might want to consider upgrading the output caps. A premium tube can be an improvement. I like the Amperex 7316 for this application.

For new CD players you might want to consider the current Audio Note offerings. I haven't heard them but I would imagine that they are an improvement over the older players in light of Audio Note's R&D in the digital area over the past few years.

Personally, I went in a slightly different direction with a 47 Labs Shigaraki 4716 transport and 4715 DAC. Not necessarily better, but a slightly different presentation. I'll have to get out my old CD2 to make a comparison as its been along time since I've listened to it.

I would suggest you also have a look at the Audio Note Dacs and try using your CD player as a transport only. I guess $2k gets you the 2.1 level DAC. Might also give you flexibility in the future for different transports or even server based application should you ever warm to that idea.

I still have a CD 3.1X (as my spare player). I changed the two output/coupling caps to Aura caps and had an entirely different and new player. And that was before their new teflon caps were available. This is a 15 minute effort so I highly recommend it. Hens' suggestion to simply insert a new DAC is probably your best solution for an upgrade. In the $1-2,000 there are some good options. Also $3000 DACS can be bought used in this price range too.

i prefer my audio note cd-2 to any cd player i have had the opportunity to audition. i can't think of any cd player in current production that i would want to purchase to replace the audio note cd2.

Mrtennis- I tend to agree. I guess it's just the upgrade bug. I was advised to get copper or silver caps to upgrade. I don't know how they'll sound, though.

I went with the then (2006) standard Aura cap. I spent a lot of time talking with them and they also suggested increasing the value ever so slightly. Also based on that conversation I stayed away from silver. I cannot imagine it getting better. Now knowing about Teflon caps I would look at the Teflon Aura caps. But also look at if from this point of view. The nice thing about this upgrade path is that if you do not like the sound, you can change the caps again.