Shanling CDT-100 Great or Bad ?

I like mine... convinced me SACD was not for me.. I and I really wanted to like SACD....

I heard the CDT-100 a couple of weeks ago, and I was quite impressed.

It was playing through a set of equipment with which I'm not familiar, but which has the reputation of being really top-flight: a Rowland amp (the 302, I think), a new Aesthetix Calypso line state, and Piega C10 LTDs. I'm sure the room contributed a lot - it is custom designed and built at a cost into the low six figures - but even if the other stuff is outlandishly good, the Shanling was still driving it and certainly wasn't degrading the sound.

The unit in question is stock, with no mods. The only thing I can compare it to is an SME 10 / Graham 2.2 / Rhea heard playing in the same setup (I just realized I don't know what cartridge he's using). I'm generally an analog fan, and I was surprised at how close the Shanling was to some pretty good analog in that environment. The big difference was that the analog extracted noticably more of the hall ambience on some classical recordings.

An anecdote on the Shanling. On one CD that my daughter knew but I didn't, there is a bell tolling in the distance. In the *far* distance. In the reproduced image, that bell is SO far in the distance, that I thought it was the bell from the church about a quarter of a mile away, rather than on the recording! Now THAT is a deep image!!!

All:

First, I would like to thank you all for sharing your opinion on this CD player. Secondly, sorry for the term that I used; it should be "great or good or very good".

Yes, the look of this player is exotically beautiful and is a plus (wife factor); however, I am more concerning about the sound it produces since that is what I/we is/are after.

All comments are positive, but there is no based-line. I live in D.C area, and suprisingly, there is no local dealer carry this brand.

Again, what genre of music do you listen to ? Which Amp does it best match with? Do you have time to AB it with other units?

Thanks again for your comment.

My musical tastes are all over the map - classical from Bach harpsichord concerti to Beethoven and Saint-Saens, country (if it's not twangy), folk from the US and Europe, classic rock and roll from the 60s and 50s, opera, new age.

I haven't A/B'ed it myself, just heard it alone.

I'm extremely happy with my CDT200. I intend to send it off for modification this winter.

Several things that I've noticed in the 3 months that I've had it. Break-in is subtle and requires some time - mine has about 60 hours on it now. The high end has become more revealing - still smooth.

Two tweaks that I highly recommend: Western Electric 396a's
and a new power cord. I've tried the Shunyata Research Black Mamba and Python (because I have/had some), Signal Digital A/C ZU Birth and JPS Digital.

The JPS hands-down is the one for me. Blacker soundstage nearly live dynamics. The first drum whack in Carmina Burana is nearly heart stopping. The noise floor seems much lower. I'm hearing things that I never heard before in material that I've listened to hundreds of times like Stewart Copeland's brushwork on Synchronicity (Tea in the Sahara maybe...)

The tube change resulted in greater separation in treble notes, a tad tighter bass.

I had a Shanling CDT 100 for a while also thinking that it would produce better results with redbook CDs but the 200 is its equal in that dept.

For 2 kilobucks it doesn't get better than this. For me at least.

(Other equipment - Krell KSL/KST100 Synergistic Research Kaleidescope and Harmonic Technology Magic and ProSilway II interconnects, Silverline Sonata 1 speakers,Monster M2.4 cables.)