I haven’t reached into the 5 digit range with my CD players, but the difference between my $500 Marantz CD6004 and $3000 Marantz KI Pearl (retail prices) was quite noticeable and worth the difference in the price I paid. I bought them both used, and so the difference was only a few hundred dollars.
I sold the CD6004 recently and set it up in my main system to demo and was struck by how much warmer and detailed the KI Pearl was in comparison to the CD6004. So much so that I hoped the buyer wouldn’t ask to hear the Pearl.
I have a lot more invested in my vinyl setup and the KI Pearl sounds better to my ears with some of the better mastered CD’s I have. The clarity and insight into the music as well as the warmth it conveys make for a very enjoyable listening experience.
I’m sure there are diminishing returns when you get up over $10K, but I have no reason to think that there wouldn’t be a difference in sound quality in comparison to the Pearl, hopefully for the better.
I sold the CD6004 recently and set it up in my main system to demo and was struck by how much warmer and detailed the KI Pearl was in comparison to the CD6004. So much so that I hoped the buyer wouldn’t ask to hear the Pearl.
I have a lot more invested in my vinyl setup and the KI Pearl sounds better to my ears with some of the better mastered CD’s I have. The clarity and insight into the music as well as the warmth it conveys make for a very enjoyable listening experience.
I’m sure there are diminishing returns when you get up over $10K, but I have no reason to think that there wouldn’t be a difference in sound quality in comparison to the Pearl, hopefully for the better.