Hi folks (and a belated Merry Christmas and Ho-Ho-Ho);

It's time for my next upgrade to my system and I'm thinking about getting another CD player. I currently use a 5 disc Teac that I bought for around $90 at Sam's several years ago. I've been pleased with it and it still operates fine. I've read about how a better than "cheap" player really does deliver better unaltered sound quality and that it is able to bring out nuances to the music that inexpensive play can't.

I do plan to go into one of my two local HiFi shops to try to listen and judge for myself (if they'll let me play). [I hate going in and taking up someone's time when the chances are real strong that I'm going to buy someplace else.]

Anyhow, on to my question.

Have any of you gone through a similar upgrade and what kind of differences / improvements did you note?

From what I've seen, I should be able to get a pretty good previously owned player for around $300. (Rega, Rotel, Adcom, Cambridge, and California are some of the brands that I've heard good things about that I could probably afford.

Any thoughts and comments would be welcome. By the way, I'll be running this through my 1050 to drive my MA Silver 5's.

Oh, and congratulations Scott.

Chris

Is this just for a two-channel system? Also, will you be running it into your 1050 using digital, analog, or direct inputs?

If you're going with a digital connection, you could check out dvd players and get a unit that does both audio and video.
If you're going analog in, your 1050 will process it so the differences between different players may not be so obvious or even noticeable.
If you're using the 5.1 direct inputs, here's where the fun starts. You may want to look into a DVD-Audio player or a SACD player. I have a Sony SACD player and I love the higher fidelity of the discs. Also, if you're using the direct inputs, you could look into a modified CD player that puts tubes in the output stage. I've personally always liked the sound of tubes to "soften" up 16/44.1 cds.

Good luck hunting and remember that you may want to bypass the DSP on the 1050 to get the best sound out of the player.

In your price range, I would consider (at a fair stretch of the budget) a Sony 555ES SACD/cd 5 disk changer or a less expensive 222ES changer. Regardless of what you get, it has been my listening experience that bugdet priced cd players that have SACD capability do a MUCH better job on cd playback.

Paul

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the 1derful1

I am fairly new at this but my understanding is that the best CD players in that price range are the Rotel RCD 951 or 971. Again, I have not heard either yet, so that is based solely on reviews I've read. I'm interested to hear other opinions on these two players as I too am contemplating a purchase.

The next step up from that would be the Rotel RCD 991 or Rega Planet. Comments anyone?

Hi Chris. Don't worry about taking up someone's time at the local HiFi shops. IMHO, the sales staff is being paid to help you make an "informed" decision- and convince (SELL) you to buy one of the cd players they carry. Anyway, go ahead and take your favorite cd's on in and spin 'em up! Experience and upgrades for me- only a few. CD players I have owned, included a Marantz (forget the model-63?) which was a good unit. Replaced it with a Nakamichi CD Player 2, which I really liked- good sounds! Then added a CAL Audio Sigma II DAC (has a tubed output stage), using the Nakamichi as a transport. It was nice. I'm in Paul's camp now (and agree with his assessment). Once I heard SACD, I had to jump in, and went with the Sony 222ES. I am happy with it for both CD and SACD playback. I would recommend hearing either the 555Es or the 222ES, which should still be available. All the manufacturer's you mention make fine CD players, except CAL Audio is no longer in business. As to how much difference YOU hear with all the CD player options available, only your ears and wallet can make that decision. I still believe a dedicated CD player is the way to go, but some of the newer universal players may be worth a listen, even though they may not be in your price range. Good luck!

Hi guys.

Thanks for the input.

Currently my system is set up for home theater, however, I listen to 2-channel music probably 90% of the time. I do have a Pioneer DVD player that does read CD's (but I am not impressed with the stereo sound quality I get from this unit). I've also got a DefTech powered sub, a center channel, and some cheap surround speakers. Like I've said, I'm more interested in a good stereo system than in building a killer home theater. I'm satisfied with my current Pioneer as far as its performance as a DVD player.

I'm not sure how I'd want to hook up a new player. My understanding is that most of the players that I've referenced have both analog and digital outputs. My initial plans were to use the analog outs and go into one of my openings on the 1050 (i.e. tape, etc that aren't used) or to the left and right fronts of the direct connect and by-pass all of the 1050's signal processing. At least I think that I've got those options with an analog input.

Other upgrades that I've done (at least I considered them upgrades):
Outlaw 1050 for an old Yamaha prologic unit; Monitor Audio Silver 5i's for Klipsch KG-2.5's; Internally bi-wired Audioquest Slates on the front right and left channels for some OFC heavy guage multi-strand wire; and replaced the cheap white and red interconnects that came with the CD player with pair of heavier no-name interconnects (i.e. ~$15).

The upgrade that amazed me the most was the $15 interconnects in place of the cheap ones that normally come with equipment. It is not that they gave me the biggest improvement, but, it was the biggest improvement relative to the cost. Without even saying anything to my wife, she asked if something was different with the stereo because it sounded better.

I'm thinking (hoping) that there is still more improvement to be gained by getting a good CD player.


Chris

This ia very difficult upgrade!I have had Sony,Rotel and Pioneer.I could not listen to the Sony,(terrible)so I switched to Pioneer which is far superior to Sony and very close to my low end Rotel.I hope this helps

The Rotel, Rega, Creek are all good. There is also the Njoe Tjoeb 4000, which has a tube output stage. If you can find these used they can be a bargain. I've always disliked the Sony ES and Pioneer Elite series stuff, it still sounds Japanese to me.

If you want some surprisingly good interconnects to replace the $15 ones, try the Outlaw cables.

And what does that sound like? Slightly worse than Dutch but maybe a little better than Chinese- or French?

Thanks for the input from everyone.

I talked with a salesman that I've bought from in the past about the SACD and DVD-audio vs. HDCD and regular old CDP's. He was pointing me more towards a good quality CDP (non-SACD) primarily because he knew that the SACD's he sells were out of my price range. I was still tempted to try to get one on-lne until I came across a slightly older NAD player for a song.

I installed the NAD C-540 last night and am really pleased. For the price that I paid, it was basically a no-brainer for me to get a brand new quality unit even though it does not have the advanced decoding capabilities. Right now I think that I'll enjoy this and wait to see what happens to CD formats and pricing and then think about another purchase in a couple of years.

I can't believe how much different my music sounds through this new player. My wife even gave an unsolicited comment on how good she thought Diana Krall sounded when I put in one of her CD's and then made additional comments (all positive) when I put in some instrumental jazz.

I know that I'm compromising by not currently going with the SACD (as some of you have suggested), but, unfortunately I have limited resources that I can allocate to hi-fi purchases.

I got lucky in that a guy that lives near me has closed down his small AV business that specialized in custom installation. He still has significant inventory that he is trying to liquidate and the pricing is great for brand new stuff.

Chris