CD Player buying decisions


I am in the market for a CD Player. I have been looking at prices and reviews of both new and used equipment. I would like some advise on what to purchase. Right now, I have a generic 14 year old JVC CD player that I have had since college.

I have about $550 to spend, but I would love to spend less so I can buy more music! I will be playing regular CDs and CD-Rs. I probably will not be buying SACDs or DVDs anytime soon as I am a two-channel guy. I listen to a lot of jangle pop, power pop, ethereal pop, and post punk.

Here is what I have been thinking about:
Used -
Linn Mimik II
Rotel 971
Rega Planet
AH! Tjoeb '99

New -
Music Hall MMF CD 25
NAD 541li

My system is as follows:
B&K ST-140 amp
Polk Audio Monitor 7 speakers
Onkyo Integra P-304 preamp
Superphon Revelation II preamp (currently getting upgraded with Black Gates caps)

Any advise is welcome.

Johncan
johncan

Showing 1 response by avideo

I would give the Music Hall MMF CD 25 a serious try. I purchased the Music Hall early this year when I was moving out of Adcom electronics into a McIntosh Amp, Preamp, and Tuner. The Music Hall sounded great right out of the box; and improved even more with some playing time.
I might mention that I tried the Music Hall CD Player out with both the Adcom and McIntosh electronics - and it worked well with both sets of gear. While there are certainly better players on the market; it will be hard to find anything better at the Music Hall's price point.
Also, at a later date you can improve the sound a bit by replacing the stock power cord and getting an isolation platform.