ML no39, Wadia 850, Classe 1.0, or Sony?

Have you read reviews of any of these? It might give you some idea of how they perform, although the reviewer usually doesn't compare one directly with another. Sometimes they do...I think it was either The Inner Ear, or The Audiophile Voice that reviewed the CD50 about a year ago. (There are many others for it.) The Wadia 850 was reviewed in Stereophile about 2 years ago. I'm not sure about the Classe player, but SPHL reviewed the Classe DAC-1 about 5 years ago. There are many reviews of the Sony just about everywhere. I don't recall seeing any of the ML 39, but I'm sure there are several.

Hi Tom; You've described your preferences in music and music character, but much also depends on your room acoustics, and the rest of your system. I use and like the Sony XA-7 and consider it to be tonally well balanced or near neutral. But in my room, and with my system, it is tilted to the "polite" side of the music spectrum rather than the forward "in your face" side, so it may not appeal to you. But if you have a bright room you may actually prefer components that are somewhat laidback; in a dull, overdamped room brighter electronics may be preferred. Most people buy their electronics then tear their hair out until they get the music quality they want by Judiciously treating the room-- I know I did when I first got involved in this crazy affliction. Consideration of room acoustics is absolutely critical (unless you're lucky enough to stumble into the right combination of electronics and room acoustics accidentally). There's absolutely no substitute for in-home audition. Yeah I know, I like to read reviews too, and it's a good place to start, but I've read teriffic reviews of components only to be disappointed when I actually got the thing in "my system". Sorry, didn't mean to lecture, just want to help out.

Good advice and I agree that trying it in my system would be optimum. However, I have no way to Demo the Classe or Sony and the dealer for ML in my area is more interested in selling me a 39 rather than letting me try it out at home. I will probably try to buy something used so if its not right in my system, I won't loose too much $$$. So that's why I'm trying to get some comparitive advice. And to answer Carl's note, I have read many reviews on these players and for the most part people often say "I bought one and love it". No comparision to other the players. -Tom

Tom, It is a rare individual indeed who has actually had more than one of these players in their possession. I think that is why you are getting feedback refering only to one player, and not any direct comparisons between the players. Unfortunately, I can only continue in that tradition. I own the Sony XA7-ES and enjoy it very much. I also listen to a lot of pop/rock music (Rickie Lee Jones, Maria McKee, Jude Cole, Michael McDermott, etc). I listened to a Wadia (can't remember which) and it was excellent. Pretty much all Levinson products perform well also (although I didn't listen to any of their CD players). I don't know anything about the Classe. What prompted me to buy the Sony over other top players was: 1)Price - since it is now a discontinued model, you can pick one up CHEAP. I bought mine for $1,500 - Brand New. 2)Warranty - 5 Years. 3)Service - Sony service is readily available across the 50 states. I have not been disappointed in the least and it is an incredible bargain compared to the other units you are evaluating. Sorry I can not offer any direct comparisons, but I hope you find this information helpful nonetheless.

CD50, $1600 or less, used. I just don't see any of these beating it in any way. You don't even need to spend a lot on a preamp, since you don't need one. I wish you were in my area, you could hear mine.