Opinions: ML 390S, Esoteric D70, Opus21, Capitole?


I'm looking to buy either a CD player with volume control or a DAC with volume control, and a couple of digital inputs. To get the most mileage out of my dough I'll buy used and likely "older" units, but then I also hear about how much digital has improved in "recent years". Been doing a fair amount of reading and would like your opinions to help narrow my search a bit more:

1. Esoteric D70. $2500. Would initially feed it from my CD player and later buy the P70. Had rave reviews back in 2004. Digital volume control. Very dependable, I hear.

2. Levinson 390S. $3500. Analog volume control. One less power cord and IC. Read comments of it having issues with reliability, though. Very good reviews in '04.

3. Opus 21. $3500. Very good reviews a few years back. Users seem to love it.

4. Audio Aero Capitole II SE. $3500. Users love it. Again one less PC and IC. Dependable?
5. McIntosh MDA1000. $4500. People at the Mac forum rave about it. Seems it would fit nicely with my Mac amp MC275. I don't know that Mac makes first class front ends, though, so I'm wondering how it might compare to the above.

6. Theta Gen.VIII. $5000. We are getting too expensive for me, but...Fantastic reviews once upon a time.

7. McIntosh MCD500. $5000. Again, maybe too expensive and a lot of good talk about it at the Mac forum, but the guys there might have a skewed perception. Recent launch and almost no talk about it here on Audiogon. Is it better than the players above from around 2002-04?

Sorry for the long post. Rest of system is Rotel CD player and pre amp (both going away ASAP), a MC275, B&W 804s, and Rel Storm III. SACD would be nice to have, but not needed.
I live overseas now. Auditioning is not posible and buying and selling is complicated, so I need to try and make a safe bet.

Thank you for withstanding this long post!
lewinskih01

Showing 1 response by casouza

I would like to add that the Phillips CD Pro2 transport used in the Capitole is in current production and available through Phillips parts centers and jukebox parts / repair centers, for example Pinvam.com and Enco Systems. The european distributor is Daisy Laser.

The CD Pro2 transport was originally designed for professional use: radio stations playing Cds 24/7 and heavy-usage jukeboxes.
Krell, Electrocompaniet, Metronome, Audio Aero, ARC and several other manufacturers adopted it as a high-end transport, because its output (laser eye pattern) is very clean.
It is a complete unit with servo circuits, SPIF and I2S outputs, so if it ever fails, a DIY-inclined user can replace a CD Pro2 in less than 30 minutes, there are just 4 screws to remove and 4 cables to plug. It does not require adjustments (ever). All the adjustmens are done digitally, on the fly.
My transport has about 5 years of heavy use and as far as I can remember it never failed to play a disc, including mildly scratched CDs, CDR, CDRW and hybrid SACDs.