Need New CD Player or new DAC

"09-19-15: Dylanfan
I read the Behringer has problems with overheating."

I never heard that. I've had one for 4-5 years and never had a problem with overheating. I know several people on Audiogon have one as well, and I don't recall any complaints of overheating. Its been out for a while. Maybe they updated the unit.

"What DAC in the 600.00 range do you recommend? "

Pick the one that sounds the best to you. lol. In all seriousness, though, your dac selection becomes much easier if you go this route. Like I said before, if you buy a dac or CD player to try and fix the highs in your system, you're basically buying an EQ with 1 setting, and you just have to hope it works. That's no way to fix a problem. As a general rule, using components for what they were originally designed for is the best way to ensure that you will be happy. I know some people love to through tubes and cables at problems, but that seldom works.

Here's a good example. If you currently had solid state gear, everyone would tell you to buy a tube preamp to fix the problem. That didn't work, so now they would say buy a tube amp. You already have a tube amp and preamp, but if you didn't, and went out and bought them, we would still be having this conversation because you still have the same problem. Now the recommendation is to buy a tube dac. Then they will tell you to buy cables, then roll tubes, then A/C products, then room tunes, then, then..... You'll eventually end up with the "then" that broke the audiophiles bank account, and walk away from the whole system in frustration.

The upside, is that if you fix the problem in your system the right way, picking a good sounding dac becomes much easier. You're not asking it to do something it wasn't designed to do. I already have gear that I've been happy with for a while, so I'm not current on all the different models currently offered. One that stands out for me, is the Parasound Z series. I like this one because you don't need special drivers. It works with Mac, PC and Linux. I'm sure that there are others like this as well. Some of the other posters will probably point them out.

Dylanfan, sounds like a DAC with a tube based output may best suit your taste. I have not heard the Jolida however have the Jolida Fusion pre and enjoy it very much. There are other Tube DACs available but having not heard them I can’t make recommendation.

I use a Bryston BDA-1 as my DAC. Very detailed however some may think it to analytical. Sounds great to me feeding the Jolida Fusion (all tube) pre. The Bryston DACs have very good power supplies and and output stages. My speakers have a very smooth top end. I am 66, my ears have a rolled off top end.

Good luck in your search.

I read the Behringer has problems with overheating. Seems to be a common problem or I would have bought one already. Will consider again. What DAC in the 600.00 range do you recommend?

Dylanfan,

I just remembered that it in some other threads about getting the best sound from your Klipsch. Horn speakers can be very difficult to deal with when it comes to high frequencies. You may be asking too much of your CD player.

Here's a different option that I think will work better then just a new CD player. Use one of the players you have now as a transport. Go digital from your transport to a Behringer DEQ2496 digital EQ. You're probably going to need something like that to make digital listenable. If you go with just a CD player, its like buying an EQ with just 1 setting, so you might as well get one. Then go digital from the EQ to a to a dac. The Behringer sells for about $300-350, and you should be able to pick up a nice dac with whatever is left over. There's plenty of good sounding dacs in the $600-400 range.

No, Dylanfan, I don't own the Jolida Glass DAC. I've owned Jolida gear in the past and liked their tube sound. So I'm only going by positive user reviews and the affordable price.

Austinbob brings up a good point; some DACs will not play SACD resolution.

I owned and really liked the NAD M51 DAC and I've seen them on Audiogon for around your budget. It will also allow you to play SACD although it converts to PCM (and very well). I think it's a very musical DAC that you would enjoy.

Thanks Lowrider57. Do you have the Jolida DAC. I have Primaluna amp and preamp. I like tubes. Any other recommendations?

Choice of cable has a major effect on SQ, also the length.
Your digital cable may be part of the problem.
Yeah, Emotive is not analog sounding.

Trying to keep the budget around 1000.00. New or used. My Emotiva is too bright and wears on me listening to it.
I want a more analog sound that is maybe not possible from the digital source but looking for something more natural.

We still don't know your budget, but you could try some tubes. The Jolida sounds very nice.

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-229971-jolida-glass-fx-tube-dac-iii-w.aspx?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=71308431356&gclid=CjwKEAjw7O6vBRDpi7O-8OWSkwESJACNFsgxThCEcY9DXGYmAagWsez8JIcXj3GDZolpperYJ8rtrRoC0vDw_wcB

Mesch I am looking at a new DAC. Is there a recommended DAC that has a good analog output stage. My Emotiva sound too bright to me. Not a natural sound.I prefer the Marantz straight rather than through the DAC. With the cd players I have I think a really good analog sounding DAC is what I really need. I know the Emotiva is not the answer. Hoping a better DAC would be the ticket. I like the USB inputs on the Marantz 6005 which is why I got it so I could play my IPOD through it as well if we are cooking out etc. Any good DAC recommendations?

for $1500 there is the Creek CD50 player. i have one and like it much better than the $4,000 German AVM player that I had earlier. It is smooth, it covers up the digititus, and is rich sounding so that redbook CDs of modest recording quality are quite listenable (something the AVM with its brutal transparency could not do). The Creek is a great player.

Your 6005 can’t be very old. I would be inclined to go the DAC route with quality cable as suggested by Lowrider57. Buy a used DAC noted to have a good analog output stage. There are many used older DACs that sound very good, only lacking in their USB implementation. Seems you may not need USB input. Points made by Zd on 9/18 are valid regarding the purchase of either DAC or player.

First of all, what is your budget? If the Marantz is in good shape, then maybe the choice is to buy a DAC, a good cable, and use the CDP as a transport. Decide if the Marantz has a few more years of life.

If none of your CDPs are in good shape or too old, then you could move up to a high-end spinner.

I understand your questions but what you're asking can't be answered 3rd party. Its all subjective. I could give you a 10k CD player and a 1k player to compare and you may like the cheaper one better. And that would not be a rare occurrence either.

What were talking about here is not better or worse, its about different. I think that to give yourself the best chance of finding something you like, you'll need to do whatever you can to narrow down your choices. Maybe start by setting some goals as to what you want the new CD player to do sonically. What are you missing in your system that needs improvement? Also, and just as important, is to come up with qualities that you don't like. Set goals like this, you'll have a much easier time finding something you like.

It would also be a good idea to list your system and taste in music.

No place here in Oklahoma to Demo CD players. Most of my listening is done on cd and I have had these especially the Sony, Pioneer and California Audio for many years. I figured much progress has been made since these came out. Looking at Schiit Bit Frost dac and wondering if that would make more difference than a new CD player. Any dac recommendations or help would be appreciated.

"Should I switch cd players or get a better DAC or keep what I got because there won't be that much difference. Any help would be much appreciated.
Dylanfan (Threads | Answers | This Thread"

If you let other people make the decision for you, you'll have another CD player to add to your collection. Why not just demo some new players?