Haven’t heard the Hegel. But I own a Rega Apollo (being used as a transport) and I feed it into a Border Patrol DAC SE, and I’d say I get maybe 80% of the way to the gorgeous, beautiful, present sound of my analog set up. This puts all manner of content on regular old CDs very much in plays. Goodwill, the local library system, heck even CDs from bandcamp. All sound wonderful. The format is far from dead. I honestly don’t know why people stream. Why give your time and money to some horrible tech bro? Buy music from labels and artists! Use the library! There are millions of CDs out there and they’re more affordable now than vinyl! Wonderful format, and I’m glad I’ve invested. If I ever upgrade, it’ll be Jay’s Audio or Audio Note UK. - Sam in Massachusetts
Rumors of CD Demise Exagerated? New Hegel
A few years ago ago Hegel issued “The Mohican”, proclaiming the name was chosen because CD was a dying format and that this would be the the last CDP that one would ever have to acquire. They have now issued a new player, of which I read the review in Hi Fi News. I forgot what they actually named it, but the reviewer waggishly suggested they name it Lazarus, as the format may be arising from the dead.
If anyone has actually heard the player, I would be interested in their impressions.
Other manufacturers such as Denon have also released “statement “ players recently.
Otherwise, does anyone think that this is a stay of execution for the format?