The best CD Player for the money

Ayon CD-2S, close to the performance of the CD-5 for almost half the price.

Fmnp, I suggest you listen to a Vitus SCD-010, Esoteric K-01 or Boulder 1021 before claiming Flash player music is the new phenomenon!

Overall, I think drive-based storage is still maturing, and yes some high rez downloads can sound excellent (as can ripped music), however the very best server-based systems I have heard coincidentally were connected to some of the best dac's i've heard. What annoys me is audiophiles who claim high rez music and rips which, ok can sound great, anhililate cd's played on high end cdp's with exceptional dacs. That doesn't add up.

I think it would be hard to practically tell the difference between a server source versus a recent even decent quality CD player through the same DAC in most cases (its hard for me in my rig), but technically the server technology no doubt has the advantage in general over optical read source devices alone.

I think you raised an observant point. Servers and the quality/consistency of digital music are still maturing, whilst cd players and cd media are highly evolved (eg: xrcd24,dxd,sacd). So whilst technically high rez downloads & rips have the advantage of buffering music to eliminate read errors, high end cdp's can play a range of audiophile cd's through what are typically better dac sections & connections (eg: neutrix xlr). But there are also a few cdp's which buffer cd's like the Boulder 1021 ;)

Larry, Marantz made some terrific players back in the 90's, but have very recently started to get back to thier roots & build some serious players again. But Marantz have always represented good value. Cambridge makes me shudder!

I have been living with an Aesthetix Romulus valve cd player for a while now & have to say i'm blown away by how good this player sounds at the price. I haven't heard other players with big claims at this price point (eg: EAR Acute 3), but th Romulus sounds natural, open, analogue & musical, especially with Jorma Prime cables. There is a touch of warmth and sweetness which serves instruments and jazz very well. I'm impressed!

I vote for the RCD-101. It sounds better than the previous Signature Series player (SCD-010) which which was awesome! I rate it above MSB and many other dacs like DCS, Emm etc for musicality.

Hi Jafant, I have heard the previous model Vitus RCD-100 & SCD-010, Soulution 540 and the Audia Flight CD One M. Of those, the Vitus RCD-100 seemed most happy to be placed with other amps due to its neutrality, smooth sound and overall balance. That said, most of this group sound better paired with amps from their own family of amps for best synergy.

Vitus aims to make his players sound like real music, and to be able to sit down to a long listening session without fatigue. The sound is surprisingly non-digital, but rather gives a nod to good vinyl in some areas such as tonality, body & dynamics. I heard the Vitus SIA-025, SCD-010 & Magico Q1's with Siltech Royal Sig Series cables & was quite shocked. The sound was amazingly pure, liquid (tube-like) and musical. I'd never before heard any ss digital-based system present such a tube-like, analogue sound. The latest SCD-025 model is quite a bit better across the board than the previous SCD-010 and uses an all-modular architecture like the SL-102 preamp. Vitus is also due to release a new DSD USB board for the 025 in October.

The Soulution 540 sounds very smooth, stable, resolving & has a very low noise floor. I heard the 540 paired with a Soulution 710 driving Magico S5's & was impressed by the control, smooth sound & undeniable synergy. But with the previous series atleast (the latest series are supposed to be better) I couldn't quite get away from the perception the music wasn't completely natural. Maybe it is all those boards, parts and smps inside the chassis?

The Audia Flight CD-One M is a well built player & sounds quite smooth, accurate (resolving), clean and neutral in tonal balance. Although it is made in Italy, it is reminiscent of Canadian brands like Classe. If I had one minor criticism it would be this player leans toward the accuracy camp which makes is sound a tad analytical. My previous JVC XL-Z1050 for example sounded a bit smoother/more relaxed. I recall from a review I have tucked away that was through "sins of omission" (ie: gently rolling off the frequency extremes to achieve a smoother sound). And the JVC was very enjoyable to listen to.

Of that group (bearing in mind I have not heard the new Soulution 541) the Vitus SCD-025 is the one I could most easily live with. The previous model SCD-010 sounded tube-like, but much purer, more analogue-sounding and more sophisticated than my previous modded/re-tubed Ayon CD-5s. The current 025 is simply much better across the board. Thanks to it's 4 efficient UI-core psu's it has terrific dynamics, slam & PRAT. This player is fast and agile, but not in an "in your face" way. It sounds very natural and transparent thanks in part to its wide bandwidth & excellent dac, but most important of all music is presented with lifelike imagery, body and 'life'. It is about communicating the soul and intent of the music.

YW Jafant. I use a Vitus SIA-025 integrated, Aesthetix Romulus front end, Magico S5's, Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo conditioner, Jorma Prime & Statement cables and extensive Stillpoints isolation. I plan on upgrading my front end soon, mostly likely to an Vitus SCD-025 for synergy.

I attend the Australian Audio & AV show when it is in Melbourne. That's the only high end show in Australia - not in the same league as Munich obviously, but not a bad show. Cheers.

Thanks for your kind words Jafant. The Romulus surprised me, for the money it sounds very natural and accomplished.

If you can get an audition of Jorma cables, I think you'd be impressed. Jorma sounds natural, organic and harmonically rich (especially Prime). Origo is more neutral.

@Budburma, Thanks for your kind words. I've been reading up on the Mini 2's recently . They were an all-out effort by Magico at the time to build a statement stand-mount & even today look extremely solid and beautifully built. There is only about a $2k difference 2nd hand between the Mini 1's & Mini 2's, so i'd wait for a pair of Mini 2's to come up at the right price.

I use my Romulus as a cdp & haven't used the dac with any external sources. But the Romulus is essentially a full Pandora dac with a drive which is exactly the way Hans Ole approached the SCD-010/025.

I'm also aiming to reduce my box count & focus on digital. Initially when I get my SCD-025 I will run it as a cdp, but I plan on adding a high end server in future & using the SCD-025 mainly as a dac feeding the server, or for gtg's.

Bud, I also noticed there are a pair of rare Marten Coltrane Alto standmounts up for sale on the 'Gon at the moment which I rate as better overall than the Q1's going for a bargain price of $9k. The Alto's were $24k when then last sold in 2006 & use a carbon/kevlar monocoque cabinet, so basically the best material you can buy. They also go lower than the Mini 2's and are not critical with room placement. Some audiophile is going to be happy.

Technically serving music via NAS over ethernet is the best solution so long as your renderer is optimized for that. But for a server transport running to an external dac, the best solution is twin AES/EBU cables like the Aurender W20.

If you're looking at the Romulus, take a few mins to have a read of Grannyring's system. He has done some pretty awesome mods on his player.

@Budburma, yeah time for a change. The Romulus is amazing at it's price point. But I have a pretty special spinner waiting in the wings to replace it. Hint: it is made in Denmark!

Hi Bud, yes "The Beast" uses an MSB Diamond dac & I can tell you the Vitus RCD-101's dac kills it, and the dac is the SCD-025 is even better. Also being a bit old school, I never really took a liking to the pancake chassis of that gear.

@Soundbit, For small change, I would look around for a 2nd hand JVC XL-Z1050. That has a nice transport & K2 processing. A really nice spinner for the money.