Vinyl guy seeking recommendation for a top level cd player

Arize84 wrote:  I have a Luxman D10x. When I play the redbook layer of Analogue Productions jazz SACDs and then A/B it against the corresponding 45rpm record from AP, the difference is almost negligible. In fact, I have started replacing some of my AP 45 rpms with AP SACDs. I used Nina Simone's Little Girl Blue, Grant Green's Idle Moments, and Cannonball's Something Eles, to do the comparison. On the flip the DSD layer of those SACDs sound flat compared to vinyl.

This is particularly helpful, thank you.  The D10X has to be pretty good.  It got a great write up in Absolute Sound this month.  Marantz ,too, gets praised constantly.  Have not found much on Esoteric.  I am trying to work with a local dealer so will have to inquire about availability of some of the other recommendations.  The only one I would not consider is Audio Research.  Not because it is not good, but because of a bad experience years ago.  I am an elephant.  I am a tube guy.  All of my amplification is top level Conrad Johnson:  GAT/2, ART150, TEA1/series3.

There are a couple of things I don't want:  Any kind of a computer integrated directly into my sound system or any other kind of an Erector Set of subcomponents such as disc drive, DAC and clock just to play silver discs.  I view this as a secondary source.  That it why I specified a one box solution in my OP.  As far as PS Audio is concerned a couple of thoughts:  First, their two box solution does much the same thing as the Marantz SA10, different approach but net effect quite similar, but at twice the price.  Second, the company screwed their dealer network over last year and have effectively fixed their prices in an anti-competitive manner.  I own their excellent power supply equipment, but don't think I want to get further in bed with them.
Back to the Marantz SA10, What HiFi is the only resource I have found so far that has rated both it and the Luxman D10X (although there are other ratings for one or the other).  The ratings were done at different times, however, and I don't know anything about the credibility of What HiFi.  Can anyone offer insight?
I am unfamiliar with Hegel.

This thread has been extremely helpful.  Thank you all.  I ordered a Luxman D10X today and I did so with confidence that would not have been possible without the input from this discussion.

Thanks again to one and all.  I will report back once I take possession of the D10X and get some time with it.  In the end I think it came down to a choice between the Ken Ishiwata (Marantz) voicing, which tends toward lush mids and highs and more forward, versus the Luxman more analytical and more distant perpective.  The Esoteric that was on offer was older, used, and I was afraid of it for that reason.  Other suggested brands in this discussion were not available to me.  I do have the right of return if necessary, but that is unlikely.

Bill

I could not agree more.  The amazing cd is a veritable bargain at the moment too.  The other thing that is interesting to explore is older cds marked AAD, some of which sounded...well let's just say there was a reason people turned away from the format, but now on these new players, which do magic things, a lot of the old cds sound very, very good.  The Luxman is the very best in my experience, with the Marantz really right with it.  I have no experience with others and cannot offer any comment outside of what I know  I am sure there are others, but without a frame of reference just reading a rave is worthless. 

I am the OP to this thread and this is a follow up.  To summarize and bring readers up to date (2/6/2026) , with many kind responses to my original query, I purchased a Luxman D10-X in 2021.  They were in great demand and it took many months to get one as they were on back order.  It was worth the wait.  The Luxman expanded my horizons on many levels and continues to do so.  In addition, I recently put together a new system for our second home and bought the recently discontinued Marantz SA10 for it, which I will comment on briefly a little later.  As I predicted in my original post, it was indeed a good time to buy a new cd player.  Although I remain firmly committed to vinyl, old jazz primarily, as the prices have steadily climbed and desirable records have become more and more difficult to find, cd reissues have become more widely available.  It is not only possible to find long sought after and out of print records in the cd format, but often they include 2, 4 or even 8 albums by an artist of interest in 2-4 cd sets at very attractive prices.  The sound quality is typically clean mono, really better than available vinyl choices which if they can be found at all cost significantly.  So for that alone my cd player has undoubtedly paid for itself.  But there is more.  Dormant for years, the cd format has reawakened an interest in classical music.  I have purchased the entire J.S. Bach canon as a cd Box, something like 180 cds, for ~ $1 each!  Similar prices for tons of Early music, Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, etc.  All of the Mercury Presence recordings, prohibitively expensive on vinyl, but affordable as cd box sets.  This has opened a new door for me.  Comparing the sound quality of a pristine vinyl pressing with the same recording, mastered by the same engineer, on cd in Redbook, reveals the vinyl usually sounds better.  Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little.  SACDs usually sound the best of all.  Usually be a lot, but not always and once in a while there is a turkey thrown into the mix.  For the record, my best vinyl playback system is as follows:  VPI HW40/Hyperion (stereo); Technics SL1200 GAE/mono cartridge varies; Consolidated Silver wire SUT, C-J ART Phono-stage.  All in perhaps 4x the cost of the Luxman D10-X.  Now a few words about the Marantz SA10.  I bought it and it's matching PM10 amp when they were discontinued a couple of months ago.  I paid approximately 50% of original list price for the pair.  In round numbers that is about 25% of what the D10-X cost.  The two cd players were exhaustively compared side by side daily for over a month.  Using the factory settings, the SA10 has a slightly softer sound than the D10-X.  Some would prefer it as the sound is easy to like.  For the analytical, the D10-X offers greater detail, perhaps the way to say it is if you are so inclined you can hear further into the music with the D10-X.  The SA10 can be adjusted via setup controls to sound more like the D10-X without ever quite reaching the same level of sophistication.  But very, very close.  I also suspect, by the look of them, the way they feel and function that they both share major components in their transports.  Both units are built like tanks.  For those who are in the market for a cd player right now this SA10, while still available, must be considered the wise buyer's preference.  In spite of my assessment that the D10-X is the better of the two, the margin is very small, whereas the price spread is too great to justify.

"Sir Charles Mackerras conducting the Prague Chamber Orchestra performing the Mozart Symphonies.  Excellent in both performance and sound engineering!"

I have that set too, and could not agree more.  Wonderful.  I also should report that yesterday I was comparing the vinyl and redbook cd versions of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue both circa 2010 versions (not the latest and greatest) and the cd sounds decidedly better.  So I have to amend my comments.  Redbook cd can sound very good indeed and best vinyl at least sometimes.  Finally, what's with all the spam showing up in this discussion?

One of the things that Marantz discusses and that they patented is their circuitry that uploads everything to DSD.  Presumably to do that there is an iteration process in their chips to fill in the missing data points.  I am quite sure Luxman does something similar, they just are mum about exactly what they are doing.  PS Audio also discuss this subject specifically related to uploading to DSD.  What is clear is that the technology is progressing. 

Your finding that Marantz players are a little polite is a good way of describing the difference between the voicing of my SA10 and my D-10X.  At least it is that way with the standard settings.  It is possible to alter the sound characteristics of the SA10, though.  Using your violin test, the way I might describe it is that the SA10 mimics the sound of a traditionally strung instrument, whereas the D-10X sounds like a modern tuning.  Again that is alterable by changing settings for what they call "NoiseShaper," which is the digital filter, and Dither.  Interestingly enough, even though the filter should not be adjusted for SACD, it can be, and dong so makes quite a difference.  Fun to play with.  The most important thing, though, is that the sound quality, particularly of Redbook, rivals analog and given the current price disparity that makes owning a good cd player a distinct advantage.  Most of the music I am interested in is all but missing from the streaming services.  Vinyl in good shape is getting more and more difficult to find and when it is found it is either in poor shape or it is crazy expensive or both.  CD re-issues are becoming more widely available and at very reasonable prices.  There is a reason that cd sales are on the rise.