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Mid-priced CDPs: Old vs. new technology

I’ve been pretty much out of the digital loop for a while, content with my inexpensive, aging Sony CD player. Now I’m trying to catch up, so please excuse the massive ignorance I’m about to display.

In CD players under about $1,500, I see what seem to be older technologies competing with new ones. I’ve read about new DAC technologies with spiffy names like Black Fin (Cambridge) and Sabre (Oppo and Eastern Electric), and I wonder whether they represent a significant improvement over older technologies.

There are players like the Jolida JD 100, which I believe is nearly 10 years old (but still seems to sell quickly on Audiogon). The Rega Apollo, I believe, is a few years old, as is the Njoe Tjoeb and a few other popular players.

Would it be wrong to think of the older technologies (i.e., Jolida, etc.) as obsolete or tending toward it? Are the newer technologies superior or just the “flavors of the month” and/or marketing hype? Thanks for any thoughts you may have.
-Bob
hesson11

Showing 1 response by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,638 posts
 
Which Sony do you have specifically?

Overall they've probably gotten better at that price point but I'm sure there are some older units that still perform well compared to newer ones.

You would have to compare and see.

My experience has been that each time I replaced an older CD player with a newer one in similar price range or less, performance generally improved, though personal tastes may matter more than the absolute sound quality in determining
what sounds better.
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