Need a new CD player. Suggestions please.
The past 3 years I've put together a modest new system including a NAD C538 that is failing. It doesn't sound as good as it used to even with an external DAC and if you skip a track it doesn't play the first few seconds of the next track.
Looking for a replacement has been frustrating. My last CD player was a Sony ES 400 disc changer that played everything including SACD. I almost wish I hadn't let it go when I moved.
The CD players that appeal to me are in the $3k to $5k range. I'm not sure I want to spend that much. Can somebody recommend a new CD player for $1k or less? I'm fine with a transport and don't mind using an external DAC. I have a smattering of SACD's but a non SACD player wouldn't be the end of the world.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
If you want SACD take a look at the Shanling Onix Zenith XST20. Also plays Mqa cds, outputs to I2s but hirez PCM over USB, $2k. Non SACD SMSL VMV T2 outputs over I2s too and can be a digital hub, $1k. SMSL P200T great unit does much of what the T2 can, $500 or less. Both SMSL units have clock inputs. |
+1 @erock79 …bought one last month and it has replaced my Marantz CD606, WIIM streamer, r2r DAC, lps and DDC. 5 for 1 and all upgrades. Am I happy, Yes… |
I bought my Marantz CD6005 player over 11 years ago. It was only 450 bucks back then. About 3 or 4 years ago, when shopping for new speakers for my 2-channel system, I A/B'd it in critical listening sessions against a 3K+ Rega CD player, using the same amp, same speakers and a small sampling of my own CDs that I was very, very familiar with. As far as my ears were concerned, the sound quality was the same. My CD6005 is still in use in my 2-channel system but now as a transport with the DA1 DAC of my McIntosh integrated amp. The difference in sound quality between the Marantz internal DAC and the McIntosh DA1 is infinitesimally slight. My wife and I think the MAC's DA1 provides a smidge more bass extension. The dilemma was trying to decide if the bass was as tight as the Marantz's DAC before re-wiring everything back to the Marantz. It continues to serve as a transport. A fellow audiophile friend was impressed enough with my CD6005 that he went out and bought the CD6006. Before buying my CD6005, I A/B's it against 2 NAD CD players back then. One was its price point rival. The other was around 2 or 3 hundred bucks more. IMHO, there was no contest. My ears immediately discounted the price point rival and the other more expensive deck after 30 or 40 seconds of critical listening. Moral of this story: listen to a few or several decks that interest you, in conditions as controlled as you can get them, and let your ears decide which you like best. |
