Warm, smooth cd with good bass under 1700 used ok

i have the latest audio analogue maestro cd player. warm, detailed and non digititis-inducing sound.it has balanced outputs as well. it is much better than the older maestro. i prefer it to the well-regarded marantz scd-14 and the meridian 588.
good hunting !

Your shortlist looks promising, but I would steer clear of the Audio Analogue and the Rega. The best bet of all is a CEC TL1 or TL2, matched up with a DAC like Sonic Frontiers, or from one of the manufacturers on your shortlist.

Stick to a one box player in your price range.

Can't beat this, and for those of you who haven't heard it - don't put it down until you do! The absolute best digital for the money. Pick up a reliable transport - as long as it has Coax digital out, the brand (or price!) doesn't really matter. Then get an Audio Van Alstine OmegaStar DAC. Hook it up, let it break in for a week, and hear the sweetest, least fatiguing digital you can imagine for far less than $2000. Great bass control, good extension, sweet midrange, detailed high end. At least do yourself a favor & audition it. Check out Frank Van Alstine's Website at -
http://www.avahifi.com/fetdac.htm
- then give him a call & try one out. It will end your digital search. Remember - great sound doesn't have cost a fortune, nor carry a fancy name. Competent, well thought out design principles applied to Hi-fi gear shouldn't really be expensive. Spend your money listening to music - not buying more over-hyped Hi-fi gear.

Maybe you put some of the money back in your pocket and look at the products from MSB, say a used gold link!!!

Use the proceed as a transport, its realy a good transport, and I'm certain a dealer would loan you a gold for evaluation.

Its worth a try and would save money while giving a large improvment in sound quality.

Looking for good bass and finesse? You should consider the Theta Miles. It does all music well and comes balanced (optional). Used will be around $1100 ($1300 balanced). Also Meridian 508-24 should fit the bill. Cary 303 seems to be the rage at this time and will fit the budget (used $1700 price range). I don't know if it has the bass qualities you are looking for.

I don't mean to muddy the waters but About 6-8 months ago I was searching for the same qualities in a cdp and my search led me to these players. The Theta fit my budget and added the bass that I needed. It is also forgiving of poorly recorded cd's. Hope this helps. Good luck in your search.

The only clear choice is an Audio Research CD1 used for around $1200 or an Audio Research CD2 used for around $1700. I have a CD1, and before I got it, CD never did a thing for me. It has great bass and is very smooth. The CD2 is even better. They both have any sort of input output you could ask for. You can't go wrong with one of these!

A few years ago I went through a few too many CD players, ML39, ARC CD-2, Sony 7es, and a few seperate transport/DAC combos..
...and I still like the sound of the Classe CDP-1 best.

Agree with Loontoon, but would suggest trying the EVO Millenium DAC II. Ric provides a 30-day money back trial so you have nothing but shipping cost to lose and it's a great dac.

If you want to stick to one-box, add the Aero Audio Prima to your short list. Not up to its big brother the Capitole, but its the best I heard for $1500 list, and I'm using one in my second system and very happy.

If you can find the Audiomeca for that price jump on it.

Thanks to all who responded! I went with one not on my mentioned short list and am very happy so far- Alchemist prodect 8 cd with 24/192 upsampling. In case anyone else is looking in this catagory, this player is awesome at its price very close and in some ways better than the RA CD55. Thanks Stewart at SOS.

hi scott, i know ya already made a purchase, but i think ya need to spend another $350... ;~)

i own an alchemist nexus, & have compared it to the resolution audio cd50 - it's like tryin' to split hairs to find differences between 'em... *but*, my 6-yr-old $500-retail nad cd-changer hooked up to a modded art di/o dac ($350 brand-new, w/mods, or cheaper, if you can diy), absolutely smokes both of 'em. the alchemist is hooked up to an auxilliary system in the computer-room; the nad & art di/o reside in the main rig...

doug s.