California Audio Labs – Icon Mk II CD Player - HDCD

I have no current  xperience with the CAL IconHDCD Power Boss but I did own one years back. Sold it in 2001 and bought in its place a Meridian 508.24. The Meridian, which wasn't exactly new in 2001, trounced the CAL in every area except one- the CAL's bass was better. Can't imagine thar a CAL Icon would stack up well against a current $2000 to $3,000 digital front end 

I guess I like this player quite well since it is about as good as Oppo's 103 (tho it lacks features like SACD, DVDs, or ability to stream).  The display is very comprehensive tho hard to read.

I have never compared it to a current $2000 to $3,000 digital front end, but if we reached a plateau in redbook CD playback 20 years ago for the better players like this one, then that money should go into better speakers, room treatments etc.

I am likely to buy a universal player in the near future, mainly just to reduce clutter on the stereo cabinet, and the # of remotes involved.  I'll either move the Cal Audio downstairs in the bedroom or sell it.

BTW, it plays into the following system: Sonic frontiers Line One pre; Sunfire amp; Maggie 1.5QRs.  I sometimes patch in a DacMagic but usually use that to decode Apple Lossless files coming over Wifi via an Apple TV3

Much Thanks! randy-11

Happy Listening!