A good Red book CD spinner, I was in this buying conundrum a while ago; I thought about a Krell Cipher, of which there is one for sale at US Audio Mart, but decided against it because it uses a proprietary CAST cable to perform best. Next, Esoteric’s spinner in the K-05Xs that upsamples to 34 bits - I thought, terrific, until I saw the eye-watering price. I considered the new Levinson red book spinner but when I read that it’s transport was lifted out of car audio division, ehhhh - nope. I then listened to an Audio Research CD8 then the current CD9; yup, that’s pretty good stuff; a used CD8 was reachable, but the Killer CD9 was not unless I was to undergo a top ramen diet for the next year…. I then ran across the newish Luxman D-03X spinner with MQA capability, but not SACD. Ooh-la-la! After a brief listen of Hotel California from the Eagles live album, yup - I found my player. It’ll stream TIDAL as a DAC, and there is a certain musicality about it that makes it jump so to speak, or in audiophile speak, its transient response is sharp, and the background is fairly black. What’s nice is that there is a faint touch of midrange bloom that helps with that lit from within sound that really captures my attention. This will have to do until I win the Lottery, then I’ll go buy a complete Esoteric Grandioso rig, but until then, I don’t feel I’m missing out on too terribly much.
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.
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.
- ...
- 89 posts total
- 89 posts total