Music Hall cd-25 or Rega planet 2000

I would suggest going with Music Hall Cd25 modified by either sound odyssey or underwood hifi. Never listened to Rega but know the CD25. Good machine but not the stock version. Arcam cd-73t is a better stock unit.

Firstly, you can't go wrong with either one. I've heard both players and they're both great. I've owned the Planet 2000 for a few years now and love it. As others have mentioned, it excels at PRAT. For me this factor is very important, so that's probably why I like the Planet 2k so much. It's not the last word in detail or dynamics but it does a lot of things very well. Ultimately, it's just fun to listen to. And a great value, too.

The CD-25 I heard at a dealer, hooked up to a modified Jolida(302-B, maybe?) integrated and some SAP bookshelf speakers. A very, very nice sounding system. Hard to analyze just the CD player since I wasn't familiar with the accompanying gear, but a system won't sound good if the source component isn't up to snuff, IMO.

I suppose this doesn't answer your question at all. However, I'm sure that either player would be a substantial upgrade over the Sony. Both are usually easy to find used here on the 'Gon.

Hi!

Take a look at this thread where I talk about the players I had last year: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1114517770&read&3&4&5

I feel the Music Hall and Planet 2000 are great players. But I feel the Arcam CD73T and Cambridge Audio Azur 640C bested them both. The Arcam is very revealing of detail but seemed a little lean/analytical to me. The 640C was not as revealing but was more full bodied and more musical. If you want to spend more, look into the Consonance CD-120. That is the player I currently use.

Have fun!

TAS magazine raved about a Rotel player (I forget the number) that is only about $700 new. You should look into it as it held it's own pretty well against a $5500 Electrocompaniet player.

If you like the Music Hall you can get the Onix 88 from AV123 on sale for 299.00. It's the same exact player I believe.

Boy are you in luck! Go to ecoustics.com. Do a word search under Music Hall. The first review of the MH-CD25 from audaud.com (October 2002) does a direct comparison between the Music Hall and Rega Planet 2000. Rotel 1070 CDP is also compared to the Music Hall in the same review.

BW Maxx

The Rega has a good bottom end on it for the price. It goes fairly deep and is enjoyable. I would not say the bottom end is the weak point.

If anything is a weak point its the high end. I find the high end while also enjoyable, on the rolled off side. The I think Rega did this to hide some of the digital nasties, as well as make it sound more like a turn table.

Cheers
Nick

I forgot to mention that being a bass player, for me the low frequency information on recordings is of great importance. I do like hearing the acoustical space of a recording also. I guess i won't really get true bass until i get a set of speakers.

You can't go wrong with either of them. They are both fine players for the money. But I would lean more to the Rega myself.

I just upgraded from a Rega Planet 2000. It is a very good player for the money. When I auditioned it I compared it directly to a Musical Fidelity 3.2. While I felt the 3.2 had a bit more detail, the Rega had much more body and presence & PRAT. I loved mine. The only reason I upgraded is because I bought a Wadia.

I have never heard the music hall so I can't offer a fair comparison.

I live in Canada and am selling mine. If your interested let me know. Either way, the Planet 2000 is a great player and I doubt it would disappoint you.

Happy Listening,
Nick