I first must disclose that I have been a dealer for Parasound Products for about six years. I normally never comment on these threads because of my obvious bias as well as I'll be instantly chastised for being a shill.
In this case, I'm willing to take the abuse. I have always felt that Parasound provide some of the best value products on the market. Their price vs performance is outstanding. That being said, I have never considered them to be in the league of the "elite best" products on the market. My opinion has now changed at least for the Halo CD-1.
I had a customer that wanted a CD-1 very badly. I ordered one in with the intention of selling it to him and not keeping one in stock, mainly for the same reasons that were listed above. (Who would ever buy a very expensive CD player that only does redbook?).
My plans changed. After hearing the CD-1, I was so impressed that I decided to keep it. It is still in my demo room and I think it will be there for a while. My customer came over for the demo about a week after I received the first CD-1. It wasnt really even broken in yet, but after 1 ½ songs on his demo CD he brought over, he said Sold.
I had the same experience as Calvinj. This is one of the best CD players or best CD player that I have ever heard. Sound is smooth, yet detailed, no digital glare and analog like with layers of music and big 3-D like sound stage with height and depth. Three years ago I switched from a CD player to streaming WAV files over of a hard drive to an expensive DAC. I had switched to streaming WAV because it out performed all of my CD players and as a bonus was very convenient. Because of the CD-1, I have taken all of my ripped CDs back out of storage and the CD-1 is now my source for my personal digital listening. I still have my streaming device in the system, but if I have a CD, that's what I'm listening to now.
I would not expect anyone to purchase a CD-1 without an audition first. All Im saying is that this product is much better than you would ever expect and I think it can give almost any piece of digital equipment out there a solid run no matter what the price point. Its that good, but dont take my word (Im a shill) go out and listen for yourself.
In this case, I'm willing to take the abuse. I have always felt that Parasound provide some of the best value products on the market. Their price vs performance is outstanding. That being said, I have never considered them to be in the league of the "elite best" products on the market. My opinion has now changed at least for the Halo CD-1.
I had a customer that wanted a CD-1 very badly. I ordered one in with the intention of selling it to him and not keeping one in stock, mainly for the same reasons that were listed above. (Who would ever buy a very expensive CD player that only does redbook?).
My plans changed. After hearing the CD-1, I was so impressed that I decided to keep it. It is still in my demo room and I think it will be there for a while. My customer came over for the demo about a week after I received the first CD-1. It wasnt really even broken in yet, but after 1 ½ songs on his demo CD he brought over, he said Sold.
I had the same experience as Calvinj. This is one of the best CD players or best CD player that I have ever heard. Sound is smooth, yet detailed, no digital glare and analog like with layers of music and big 3-D like sound stage with height and depth. Three years ago I switched from a CD player to streaming WAV files over of a hard drive to an expensive DAC. I had switched to streaming WAV because it out performed all of my CD players and as a bonus was very convenient. Because of the CD-1, I have taken all of my ripped CDs back out of storage and the CD-1 is now my source for my personal digital listening. I still have my streaming device in the system, but if I have a CD, that's what I'm listening to now.
I would not expect anyone to purchase a CD-1 without an audition first. All Im saying is that this product is much better than you would ever expect and I think it can give almost any piece of digital equipment out there a solid run no matter what the price point. Its that good, but dont take my word (Im a shill) go out and listen for yourself.