I recently upgraded from an Ah Tjoeb '99 to a Cary 308 (my budget was less than $1000). I would highly recommend a Cary CD player. I listen to wide array of music (Rock, R&B, Jazz, etc...) and this player performs well with all. And the 303/200 is supposedly a step-up in all regards over the 308.
Bass performance was a big step up over the Ah!. Tighter, deeper and with more slam.
The 308 was also more detailed than the Ah! and a Marantz DV4200(DVD player) that I did the A/B testing with. The DVD player was also stronger in the bass department compared to the Ah!... But the bass did not sound as natural as it does through the Cary.
I have found a couple poorly recorded discs in my collection that the Cary is less forgiving with than the Ah!, but turning off the upsampling helps with these discs...
Also of note is the superb build quality of the Cary! I found it to have the best build quality of any of the players I auditioned (Classe, Arcam CD72T, Nad -- These players I auditioned new in stores so I did not A/B... I found the Arcam too forward, and the Nad too dull sounding. The Classe was good... but I felt I could do better for the money, it didn't seem as involving as the Ah!).
You are in a diferent price point than me so you will certainly have more quality options, but definatly try the Cary if you have the opportunity (it also decoded HDCD which is a nice feature).
Bass performance was a big step up over the Ah!. Tighter, deeper and with more slam.
The 308 was also more detailed than the Ah! and a Marantz DV4200(DVD player) that I did the A/B testing with. The DVD player was also stronger in the bass department compared to the Ah!... But the bass did not sound as natural as it does through the Cary.
I have found a couple poorly recorded discs in my collection that the Cary is less forgiving with than the Ah!, but turning off the upsampling helps with these discs...
Also of note is the superb build quality of the Cary! I found it to have the best build quality of any of the players I auditioned (Classe, Arcam CD72T, Nad -- These players I auditioned new in stores so I did not A/B... I found the Arcam too forward, and the Nad too dull sounding. The Classe was good... but I felt I could do better for the money, it didn't seem as involving as the Ah!).
You are in a diferent price point than me so you will certainly have more quality options, but definatly try the Cary if you have the opportunity (it also decoded HDCD which is a nice feature).