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CD player suggestions under $700

Hello, I'm looking to purchase a new CD player to replace my old Nakamichi that is starting to get a little noisy with an internal hum and would like to get something with a more current DAC.  I listen to vinyl and stream most of the time and only play CD's about 10% of my listening time but do think many of my older AAD CD's sound better than streaming with my Bluesound Node 2i. 

I'll be pairing the CD Player up with a PS Audio Gain Cell and Vandersteen Treo's. 

Does anyone have any experience with the Music Hall c-dac 15.3? I'd also like recommendations for other CD players with onboard DAC's. 

Thanks. 
128x128relayer101
relayer101's avatar
relayer101 OP
606 posts
 
Thanks. The Marantz is on my list also. A few friends of mine have Marantz CD players and they sound great and are very well built.

Does anyone have any experience testing a short 3' run of balanced interconnects vs RCA interconnects from a source to Preamplifier and was there was a noticeable difference? 
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stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,251 posts
 
I tried it with a pair of AudioQuest King Cobra cables, I could hear no difference on my McIntosh based system
relayer101's avatar
relayer101 OP
606 posts
 
Thanks for the info on my cable question. I didn't expect there would be a noticeable difference with that short of a run. I appreciate the input.

Marantz released a new version of the CD6006 and is now a CD6007 with an updated DAC that looks like a very nice CD player for $600 and it was on What HiFi's list of top CD players for 2021 in the price range. Although I'm not sure just how much weight What HiFi carries on the forums. 

Rotel has a few nice CD Players in the $800-$1000 range also so I may be raising my budget before this is all over. 

johnss
564 posts
 
At that price level, I would skip the CD player, and opt for a Denafrips Ares DAC with a 100 dollar DVD player with digital out....
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