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Next Upgrade to My Totem Arros Setup - Need Help

Hi,

I need your expert help in upgrading my stereo set-up. I like my current set-up immensely.

My System: Totem Arros, Primaluna Prologue 2, Signal Cable, Hero Inter Connects, old Sony DVD/CD Player.

My upgrade plan is to add a CD Player & Sub-Woofer.

CD Player Options: Rega Appollo, Naim CD5i, CA Azur 840C, Cairn fog V2 (not easily available), Simaudio Moon Equinox , Sony dvp-ns999es, any good tubed CDP (All Pre-Owned)

Sub-Woofer Options: REL Strata III, REL Storm III

So I need your help for the following questions:

1. Which change will make more positive impact on the sound system....CDP or Sub ? ( I will go with the second upgrade few months down the lane ).

2. If CDP needs to be upgraded, what would you recommend between Naim, Rega, CA, Cairn Fog, sim and tubed cdps for my system (primaluna 2 and Arros) ? I like warm organic music with excellent vocals, instruments and strings with good BASS. Just want to remind again that I am using tube integrated (primaluna 2) for getting the warm preso and planning to add REL Sub for the quality BASS.

3. Since I already have a tube integrated in the line, should I be looking for a CDP that delivers excellent PRaT and Bass like Nait CD5i / Simaudio (or) more warm presentation of Rega (or) more warmer tubed cd players?

4. I read great reviews of 840C and it was being compared to Naim CD5i. I would like to know the system harmony of CA 840C with Primaluna 2 and Totem Arros for my music ?

5. Since I would like to add more Quality BASS (using REL), which of these CDPs make more sense ?

6. How does a modestly priced Sony dvp-ns999es (pre-owned) compete with the likes of Naim, Sim, Rega, etc ?

I will be eagerly awaiting your feedback for improving my 2 channel system. Thanking you all in advance

Mike
willmi

Showing 3 responses by rbstehno

rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
i used to own the totem arros, great speakers. i also used a rel strata III with my totem model 1's with great success. i did use it with my arros for a short time and it fit well there too. in my room, i put the arros in the corners and it had plenty of bass for a 12x13ft room. as for a cd player, i would stay away from the sony's, too cool sounding. a nice cheap player was the phillips 963sa cd/sacd/dvd player with 96/192 specs. i have a couple around the house (i also have the sony dvp9000 that i don't use anymore) that sound very nice. if you have the money, i use a classe cdp-10 player in my audio room that got great reviews ands sounds fantastic. you can pick 1 up for around $1300 used.
rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
i used the sony as a 1 player that did all in my setup but i used an external tube dac for cd. the sony is very good at sacd and dvd/video, but its cd playback is on the cool side. even when i auditioned the 777 and sacd-1, i didn't like the cool side cd playback, even with playing with the filters. the philips 963sa has a much better cd output. hifi+ did a big article on this a couple of years ago. as for the classe cd player, i liked it much better over the naim units i auditioned and the apollo unit, didn't look at the ca 840c. this classe unit was rated very favorable in all the reviews and i still prefer it to the new classe players. i used to own the cdp 1.5 classe unit, but the cdp-10 is better than that 1. since it is a fully balanced player, along with my other balanced classe pieces, using balanced interconnects is a plus.
i will be setting up another alternative to using a cd player in my audio room and that is using a central music server. i currently have a whole house music server setup for everywhere but my dedicated audio room. i use an apple computer along with airport express units, then i have anti-jitter devices hooked up to the airport express units, then the signal goes to an external dac. the manley dac i will be using in m audio room cost as much as the cd player and sounds fantastic.
rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
the naim and rega sounded pretty dull to me compared to the cdp-10. i like a warm sound but with detail. i did listen to the simaudio eclipse when looking at the classe unit and i liked the classe better. i like simaudio equipment but prefer classe. the cdp-10 comes with hdcd capability and i have quite a few of these discs (jazz). also, i have an external dac that cost more than the cdp-10 and i prefer the sound coming straight from the cdp-10. the dac is used for other digital audio sources. the best bet would be for you to audition the different players with your equipment in your room to see which 1 you prefer. i will go out on a limb here and suggest the philips 963sa unit over the naim and apollo, it is that good especially at the price you can get them for. 5 channels, upsampling, sacd, dvd, etc... check out the hifi+ review on it a couple years back. they put in a couple thousand $$$ worth of modifications to it and at the end, they said just to add new feet and a power cord. if you can't afford the cdp-10 now, get a philips for the interim until you can get what you want. then move the philips to another room.
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