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What to upgrade from Bluenote Koala? $3500 ish

I am thinking about upgrading from my BlueNote Koala Tube CD Player. I've done A-B comparisons to Audio Reseach CD3 MKII, BAT VK-D5 and Lector CDT.7. Each of those players resolved detail in a more musical way to my ears, and had a deeper more hologaphic soundstage. The Bluenote Koala is very dynamic, but has a rather forward solid state sound to it, albeit very musical. It is wonderful, but when I did the A-B tests, it was bested. I listen to jazz, Singer/Songwriter, blues, Rock. Artists such as: Keb'mo, Nora Jones, Diana Krall, Bruce Cokcburn, Amos Lee, James Blunt, James Taylor, Sting, Aaron Neville, Larry Carlton, Rippingtons, Russ Freeman, Brian Bromberg etc. Hence my search. I'd like to spend no more than $3500 or so. Here is my short list, new and used:

Cary 306/200 (Can't afford the 306SACD)
Cary 303/300
Audio Research CD3 MKII
BAT VK-D5 0r VK-D5SE
Resolution Opus 21
Rega Saturn
Dare I consider the new Shanling CD-T1500 or Raysonic CD128

My System:
Audio Research Vsi55 Tube Integrated
Proac Response 3.5 Floor standing Speakers
BlueNote Koala Tube CD Player (Sovtek 6922's)
Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun Speaker cables
Acoustic Zen Silver Ref II IC
Running Springs JACO Power Conditioner
Wireworld Silver Electra 5/2 PC on BlueNote Koala
Black Sand Silver Ref V/Oyaide 046 PC on ARC Integrated
Oyaide XXX AC Wall socket with Carbon fiber Mounting plate
FIM Isoltation roller blocks under components
Dedicated audio Acrylic Cable lifters
128x128groberts3
bobf
207 posts
 
Turn table G-3.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i just received the melody cd m10 player several days ago.
based upon a preliminary audition, i prefer it over the koala, especially after substituting nos ge 6sn7 in place of the chinese 6sn7.

the melody player is less irritating. still, i prefer my audionote cd2 with several of the 12 volt nos tubes in my collection.
foodfeak
6 posts
 
Less irritating could you explain? Sounds like when you listen to the Koala you want to slap a dog. Not something I would associate with the Koala in any stretch of the imagination.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
less irritating means less emphasis upon the upper midrange/lower treble.

most 24/96 players i have heard annoy me because of the "extra" emphsis in the upper mids and lower trebles.

i am looking for a cd player myself. i can see now that i will have a lot of difficulty finding any player, even if price were no consideration, which doesn't bother me.

it's a curse to have sensitive ears. cymbals, violin strings and acoustic guitars sound so timbrally inaccurate that it's not fun to listen to music.

maybe the prima luna prologue 8 with 6 tubes will be sufficiently warm to meet my requirements.

i have heard most of the well known brands and some of the smaller ones. i am not impressed. even the current audio aero capitole lacks some of the warmth of the earlier models.
alanbrain
69 posts
 
I feel the need to jump in here to clarify one issue.
I agree with Mr Tennis on the irritating being upper midrange/lower treble emphasis in the frequency response.

But, I dont think that irritating sindrome can only be perceived by people with sensitive ears.
On one side, For people with sensitive ears that kind of frequency response will be really annoying, almost like a little pain in the ear.
One the other side, for people with normal ears the irritating sindrome wont be as annoying but will be the main cause of a fatiguing sound which in a med term of time will take them away from their listening sessions. And they wont know why. A fatiguing sound can be define as a sound you cant listen to for a long period of time. Irritating is one of the main causes for a fatiguing sound.

So, for me and for a lot of people I know, irritating sound as described by Mr Tennis is something we always try to avoid.
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