upsampling CDP's for $1500? Big difference?

I suggest that you abandon the idea of an upsampling cd player. It makes no sense at all in you situation. What you should get is an upsampling DAC which there are plenty out there. I would start with the ones listed on Audiogon for better value or you can get a a new Apogee mini. That way you don't have to pay for the extra cd transport portion of a cd player, and a DAC is so versatile.

It sounds like I might just sit still with what I have until the next upgrade bug strikes. Most of the music I won on CD has been originally recorded and produced in the past twenty years or less, so it sounds pretty good. Most of the stuff older than that has been remastered, which can be a good or bad thing.

been playing around alot with the upsampling options on my front end. for the most part...everything sounds best without any upsampling it in my system. i'd say around 90% or more.

do agree with Newbee regarding a small percentage of mostly older recordings. some have benefited from upsampling in my set-up. no pattern or predictability to it. some i liked better at 192, others 96??. this however was very rare. maybe 2-3% of the time.

for the most part...upsampling seems a bit overrated imho.

cheers
Lev

I agree with Dopogue. I have a few Marantz Universal and DVD players and they offer optional upsampling for music CDs. They sound worse when I select upsampling. Specific music details disappear. Terrible. I'm more and more convinced that the overall sound quality of a CD has SO MUCH to do with how and when it was recorded and produced. If the CD is well recorded, you're 3/4 of the way there in my humble opinion.

I have heard the Raysonic and like it a great deal.My favorite is the JAS Musik 1.2.It upsamples to 96/24 and sounds great with everything I try.It also does HDCD decoding.

Donjr, note that the CD 128 is the only Raysonic model I know where the upsampling is optional. As far as I know, it is standard and non-defeatable on the CD168. Dave

Great info. Thank you. It's nice that the Raysonic gives you the option to switch back and fourth. I was actually reading about them earlier. That looks like a very nice player indeed.

I also have a Raysonic with optional upsampling. Unlike Dopogue though I find that the upsampling can, on occasion, sound better than 16/44. This usually occurs when I play old(er) CD's. In 16/44 they can sound bright/edgy and the upsampling mode smooths it all out and makes it much more listenable. Other than that I also prefer 16/44. I'm not sure I would like a CDP with only upsampling though. FWIW.

My Raysonic 128 offers optional upsamping via the remote, but it sounds worse to me in upsampling mode. Most upsampling CDPs don't offer the option, so it's hard to tell how much benefit there would be, if any.