Thanks for the responses so far. I’ve listened to the Gryphon Scorpio in an all Gryphon system, so it was tough to know what the CD Player was contributing. Good sound though. Which Esoteric has R2R Ladder multi bit DAC....all of them or just one in particular? I own a 205 (for a TV system) but have tried it in my main system, unfortunately is was disappointing in comparison to my Cary CD300 on every dimension. I’ve read good things about about Ayon but have not experienced one in person....I will seek one out. Aesthetix is week regarded but I have had a Tube CD player for 23 years....I’m kinda leaning to the best that SS has to offer....but I’ll add it to the audition list. So far The short list includes BDC3, Cantata, Eclipse, Scorpio.
Best redbook-only CD Player under $10k - Bryston BCD3, Resolution Audio Cantata 3.0, ....
I’m interested in hearing thoughts on great CD players under $10k. I prefer single box and not separate DAC and Transport. I’m ok with high quality used gear too. I’ve read good things about the two players in the title and I’ve heard the Esoteric K03x and was impressed (it outperformed the Wadia 781i quite easily). I’d be interested in hearing if anyone did some side-by-side comparisons too. I don’t have any SACDs so I don’t need that functionality. Thanks!
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goldman Cary 303/200 has a PCM1704 R2R multibit Esoteric CD Player Models with R2R Multibit converters are. ESOTERIC X-01 8 x PCM1704 ESOTERIC X-03 4 x PCM1704 ESOTERIC X-1 4 x AD1862N ESOTERIC X-1S 4 x AD1862N ESOTERIC X-10w / X-10WD 2 x AD1864N ESOTERIC X-25 4 x AD1862N Esoteric Dacs with R2R Multibit are. ESOTERIC D-01 8 x PCM1704 ESOTERIC D-1 2 x PCM64P ESOTERIC D-2 4 x PCM1701P ESOTERIC D-3 8 x AD1862N ESOTERIC D-10 2 x PCM64P ESOTERIC D-30 8 x PCM63P-K ESOTERIC D-70 4 x PCM1704 Cheers George |
The BCD-3 is well under $10000 and a solid performer. I've had one in my system now for just about a year. It betters a Sony ES5400 CD/SACD player that I still have in my system and a 20 year old Meridian 508.24 which it replaced. I would be surprised if you could find a better player for the price but if you are willing to go to the upper limits of your budget I suspect you could find a better player...but the returns IMO will be diminishing. As much as I enjoy the BCD-3 I find I am using it less and less as I have added digital streaming to my system and am finding that the sound quality of even modest streamers/dacs approach or equal the quality of the BDC-3. All this to suggest that might not want to go all in with your budget on a CD player unless you absolutely sure you will never get into streaming your files. |
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