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Pick up a used CDP from the Sony ES line and mate it to an external DAC via a decent coax cable. Best bang-for-your-buck (used) DAC under $500 is the Teac UD-501, IMHO. YMMV. I upgraded from a Sony S9000ES (mated to a Teac UD-501) to an Esoteric DV-50S. The Sony/Teac combo came very close to the redbook performance of the Esoteric! |
I also recommend the Sony 5400ES. Its a great sounding CD player. I'v been using it for 3 years now. You'll see them on Audiogon and Ebay. My friend had an interesting combo. He's using the Musical fidelity Tri vista 21 tube dac and a Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD CD player as a transport. This was Pioneer's top of the line DVD CD player in the late 90s. Its so built. Its a really good transport. This Musical Fidelity, Pioneer Elite combo sounds great. The Musical Fidelity has a nice tube sound to it. The Pioneer DV-09 only plays CDs. It wont play CDRs. My friend also has a Pioneer Elite DV-37 DVD CD player which is also really built and makes a very good transport. The DV-37 plays everything. CDR's, MP3s etc. |
I had also been itching to get a better sound for my CDs and decided to get a better DAC instead of getting a better CDP. A side benefit, if the DAC has multiple coax inputs, is the ability to use it for other digital sources like a streaming device, etc. I'm using it with my Node 2. I don't know if its a better chip set or something else but the music sounds a little less fatiguing with the outboard DAC. Just a thought. |
Sound to me like you have the opportunity to evaluate both approaches in your own system. I encourage you to do so. I also have a computer based system using the Mac Mini however at times insert a CD into my player. The Marantz will provide you that option in addition to possibly supplying a better sounding DAC. |
I got to try the Marantz SA 8005. It was nice, but I didn't run any A/B Tests. . Then, I thought about changing directions. I realized I really do not like fooling with the physical CDs. I have never come up with a great way of storing them. Case Logic binders with sleeves is so cumbersome. Anyway, I started listening to the siren song of copying all that digital info to a computer and then using an iPad at my listener's chair and just looking at lists and cover art instead of binders of CDs. After all, what's the diff, storing digital info on a small CD or tons of digital data on a huge SSD drive? I had an extra Mac mini sitting around so I started importing all my CDs into iTunes using the Apple Lossless Encoder with error checking on. MANY hours later, I am almost done. The man at the stereo store where I borrowed the Marantz SA 8005 says I should STILL buy the Marantz because it has such a great DAC, that the DAC in my Parasound P5 is sub par, and that I can't touch the DAC in the Marantz at that price point even if I just use the Marantz as a DAC. Do you agree? |
"so, the real question is whether there is a CD player for less than $2k that sounds better than the 105D?" Insert the word "new" in front of "CD player" and the answer may well be "no" or "not in any audibly significant way". It seems that the 105D is right at the sweet spot of that price range re: price/performance/versatility and must have a really good digital section as Dan Wright stated that, "Oppo’s stock clock “is excellent and unique,” and its DAC (employing two ESS Sabre ES9018 chips) “is exceptional.” He added that because they could not improve upon the clock or the DAC, Modwright left them alone." http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/modwright-oppo-bdp-105-with-truth-modifications/ Exemplar also chose the 105 as the model to modify for their latest and only current digital offering. Dan chose the Marantz SA-8005 for his latest Truth mod, possibly due to Oppo discontinuing the 105/105D. Seems that the 105D and the SA-8005 are the current kings of the latest <$2k players until the new models are introduced... Dave |
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I'm in the same boat as the OP, in that I'm also looking to add a CD player to my system. It currently uses an Oppo 105D as the source for both music CDs and Blu-ray discs. Can anyone recommend a CD player -- SACD not required as the Oppo can handle that -- either new or used, in the $1500 - $2000 range, that would improve on the Oppo in terms of musicality? Thanks. |
$2500 (I think) for the full Truth mod but on sale for 20% off through 11/28, so $2k through Monday: http://www.modwright.com/blog/post.php?s=2016-11-21-cyber-monday-sale |
Price was not a consideration as I could have spent much more, but after auditioning and researching for two months or so in the summer, I bought a used Oppo-93 and it has easily been the best audio bargain I've ever had. The newer models aren't expensive either. I wasn't looking for it as I didn't think I had many, but its SACD performance is exemplary. And being able to use the same player to hear the higher resolution audio files on the dvds and blu-rays in these boxed sets has been a plus as well. |
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