emmlabs dac 6 w/ philips transport. i'm not kidding - cd playback sounds like vinyl, only quieter. i can't wait to hear it with the cdsd transport.
i've also owned the RA opus 21 and, for the price, you will not beat it. there is no dedicated cd player between the two that i would buy. keep in mind that the dac 6 with transport costs four times what the opus 21 does, so value and sound wise, this speaks volumes about the opus 21.
and i'm generally one who gets tired of superlatives when describing audio equipment, but let me say that the difference between the two is not subtle. the emmlabs is, quite frankly, better than my previous vinyl rig of a teres 365, SME V arm, and van den hul colibri cartridge. i never thought cd would best vinyl - but now i believe it has. oh, and the sacd playback on is even a wee bit better than that, as well.
i've also owned the RA opus 21 and, for the price, you will not beat it. there is no dedicated cd player between the two that i would buy. keep in mind that the dac 6 with transport costs four times what the opus 21 does, so value and sound wise, this speaks volumes about the opus 21.
and i'm generally one who gets tired of superlatives when describing audio equipment, but let me say that the difference between the two is not subtle. the emmlabs is, quite frankly, better than my previous vinyl rig of a teres 365, SME V arm, and van den hul colibri cartridge. i never thought cd would best vinyl - but now i believe it has. oh, and the sacd playback on is even a wee bit better than that, as well.