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NAD C565bee/Rega Apollo vs. DAC MHDT Paradisea 3

After years of primarily playing vinyl, I'd like to add a digital source to my system; McIntosh MA-230, Thorens 320, Focal 807v. The idea here is that I can play CDs as well as mp3s from my Apple computer. Doing some research and checking my wife's approval rate (WAR), it boils down to the following two options:
1) A NAD C565bee or maybe a Rega Apollo.
2) A cheap cd player in combination with a MHDT Paradisea 3 or a Cambridge DAC Magic.
I would appreciate to hear on how a decent cd player (e.g., NAD/Rega) compares to the DACs (e.g., MHDT/Cambridge)?
Thanks
kossi

Showing 1 response by hieule5

hieule5
115 posts
 
NAD 565BEE is a good player. The NAD built in DAC is quite good and you can connect your computer to a NAD 565BEE's DAC as mentioned above. I do not know if Rega Apollo has a digital input so I cannot comment on that.

MP3 files that I converted from WAVE files (regular audio CDs) and saved onto my IPOD connecting to my NAD amps when played back for some reasons do not sound as good as the regular CDs when I play them via my cheap NAD 545BEE.

To my ears, a regular CD playing thru a regular CD player sounds more analog more real than a lossless file song downloaded from Apple website. MP3 files are too much digital but it is just my $0.02.
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