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Advice needed re: new CD player purchase

Hello everyone. New member but long-time lurker here. My system: Bryston 4B-ST amp, Bryston BP25 preamp, and Meridian 508.24 CD player (all purchased in 1998 and all performing flawlessly), Kimber KCAG balanced interconnects, Audioquest speaker cable, and Esoteric power cords. I have Thiel CS2.4 loudspeakers.

I have about 4500 CDs (about 3% of which are hybrid SACDs). I love my system, but I want a new CD player. Am I right to think that advances in audio technology over the last 24 years have left my Meridian in the dust, sonically speaking? So I have been looking at various players. A few parameters: I will only buy new; I want XLR outputs; and I’d prefer to not spend over 5k.

I’m looking hard at the Bryston BCD-3, and the Technics SL-G700. Having owned Bryston products now for almost 24 years, I’m extremely impressed by their build quality and performance. However, the BCD-3 is not an SACD player. I’ve read a few solid reviews of the Technics, but I’m suspicious of their long-term reliability. There are no dealers where I live or within 200 miles. I looked at the Marantz line, and their only player with balanced outputs is the SA-10, which I’ve heard is awesome but I’m unwilling, at this point, to pay $7500 (although my mind is not closed on the matter).

Anyone here have either the Bryston or the Technics player? Will I notice a marked improvement with a new player (as compared to my 508.24)? Like most of you, this is my life. After work, I listen 2-3 hours per day, sometimes more on weekends. Thanks in advance for your advices.
jeroboam
mahler123
3,029 posts
 
I have the Bryston DAC 3, which has 4 HDMI inputs.  I play my SACDs by outputting from an Oppo 105 over HDMI into the Bryston.
From reading the OP I am unsure how you are currently playing SACD.  If you currently are unable to output SACD over HDMI, look for a Sony Blue Ray player that also outputs SACD.  This will also allow you to play Blu Ray Audio or concert discs into the Bryston as well.
yakbob
449 posts
 
@jeroboam:
I have the Yamaha CD-S2100 mentioned earlier. It is built well beyond their mass market offering. The transport is the same one used in their TOTL CD-S3100. The transport is exceptionally well designed and built, and does play SACD, but it's not one I would consider a one-box solution. The internal DAC is bested by a couple of external DACs I have in my system...but you can't pass the high-res output to an external DAC, so it defeats the purpose of SACD. So while the Yamaha works well in my system, it's not one I would recommend for you.
vassilis_t
35 posts
 
I would keep the 508, accepting its limitations. A step up will be the Aesthetix Romulus (at the price range indicated). I bought the SA-10 to play SACDs and is not at the same level as the Meridian. Excellent construction but the DAC should have been better. I will sell it at a loss. I made the same assumption of "progress / improvement with time." The two other choices you referenced, in my reference system sounded inferior to 508. The top of the line Yamaha is not bad, but Romulus is better. From all those I have tested (over 10) the last 18 months, Ypsilon and Aesthetix were by far the two best sounding. Enjoy the ride.
panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
436 posts
 
No disrespect to Bryston, but I'm pretty sure they OEM the physical transport from someone else. Engineering and building your own CD mechanism is almost like fabbing your own semiconductors - leave it to the specialists. I am just curious who that is.

And FWIW, I'm sure Bryston engineers their own electronics around the mechanism, and likewise, they don't actually make those components. Specialty manufacturers almost all are, in actuality, integrators - choosing techniques, technologies, and components to build a product meeting their specific requirements.
musichead's avatar
musichead
94 posts
 
FYI I just bought a new Rega Isis on a huge discount, around $5k US. Its normally just over $10k. I already have a really good DAC and was actually shopping for a transport. I was considering the Pro-ject transport at $3k but when the Isis popped up I jumped on it because it’s designed as a separate DAC and transport. Kinda no brainer for me as well because I have the Rega Osiris amp. The seller might have another Isis available on CAM. The Isis comes with a lifetime guarantee and Rega backs up each player with 2 matched CD drives incase there is an issue.
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