Best cd player for around $500

[Bart Oetken]

Was looking at some audiophile grade cd players lately to update from my onkyo cd player.

I was looking at the Cambridge 650 C. Looks like a nice unit and won a 5 star award this year.

Was wondering if there was any other ideas for cd players out there?

Thanks

Bart

[GranteedEV]

For that kind of Money i'd be looking at an Oppo BDP-93 / 95

[cjd]

Agree on the Oppo stuff. Plus it's also the best BD player you can get right now IMO. Of course, I'm swayed by subtitle shift...

[kevinr]

TEAC PDH 6000 , you can get one open box for $579

[ssyfert]

Marantz CD5004, I have the previous model and it's a really nice unit.

[Mayhem13]

None will outperform an repurposed PC jukebox with external USB DAC. I see absolutely no reason to purchase a standalone CD player anymore.

[edlafontaine]

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-C-7030-C...hu-rd_add_1_dp

Wolfson 192/24 DAC, $200

[ridikas]

Any Rotel CD player on Audiogon. Rotel has absolutely zero competition within any reasonable budget. To get something better, you'll have to spend $5000+ for DCS, etc. I've been down this road numerous times and I promise you, there is virtually no competition. Rotel is king always hands down.

[Face]

None will outperform an repurposed PC jukebox with external USB DAC. I see absolutely no reason to purchase a standalone CD player anymore.

Another vote for Oppo or an external DAC.

If you're dead set on a CDP, Cambridge has a nice clean sound. If you want something laid back, check out Marantz.

[John_Frum]

Sony PS1, ~$15

[kevinr]

My Marantz 5004 is a great deal for the money but the transport is suspect . Mine pooped out the month after the 3 yr. warranty ran out . It's a fairly common problem with the unit's drawer mechanism and I "fixed" it by holding the transport and gently tugging it to the out position after pressing open drawer so it catches the mechanical finger to retain the drawer in the out position . Otherwise it goes in and out and closes instantly all in one motion . Since then it acts up once in a while..... but still works most of the time. I have it hooked up to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC.
I'm looking at getting the TEAC ( which has a lot of trickle down from the TEAC higher priced Esoteric line ) or getting the Tascam CD player with the same trusty TEAC transport mechanism and hooking it up to an outboard DAC.
Hooking my MF DAC to my Sony CD carousel player's toslink out with a good cable yielded dreck sound.
I really want to go to a PC for music at some point, but for me there's still something to be said for a quality CD transport player after I read all the
( for me ) mind numbing forums and blogs about options and costs.
USB vs. Firewire , Mini vs. G5 , Windows vs. Squeezebox, galvanic isolation, PC USB bus isolation, special cooling and custom fans ,and the list goes on.
I had my iMac at work hooked up with the cheap and cheerful Behringer USB audio interface and it's cool..... but noisy with the fan . Plus no liner notes to refer to .
Lots of choices though. If you want to go wireless or have a fairly good size house it is easier.

[Paul K.]

I second ridikas' suggestion specifically for the Rotel RCD1072 which you can get for $350-$450 used on AudiogoN (and it's received extremely favorable reviews).
Paul

Any Rotel CD player on Audiogon. Rotel has absolutely zero competition within any reasonable budget. To get something better, you'll have to spend $5000+ for DCS, etc. I've been down this road numerous times and I promise you, there is virtually no competition. Rotel is king always hands down.

[johnastockman]

I was originally going with a Cambridge unit, but after some of their customer service issues, or rather lack of customer service and reliability, they came off the list. I found the SQ of the Cambridge ones I listened to (the 340, 550 and 640) to be quite good, though, the main reason I was initially going to get a 550. Rotel was excellent also, but I didn't write down the model # of the ones I listened to. That Marantz unit mentioned is also a great choice. After a year of auditioning various offerings, I'm very glad I got the Emotiva ERC-1. Perusing my notes that I took at Definitive Audio in Seattle, I would have still chose the ERC-1 over the other brands. Unfortunately, the only place left in western Washington to hear anything above mass-market stuff is at Definitive and Speakerlab in Seattle. After a year-and-a-half enjoying the Sq of the ERC-1, I have no regrets about choosing the Emotiva over the Cambridge and some of the other higher-cost units. Shawn A. has nothing but great things to say about his Oppo, so don't overlook that one. Let us know what you end up with.


John A.

[kevinr]

Emotiva's Cd player was on sale at Christmas . Not sure if they still are .
There's something to be said for their 5 year warranty although the entry level column in last month's Stereophile gave it a pretty lukewarm review.
John Atkinson's lab report of it will be in next month's Stereophile

[djkest]

Emotiva's Cd player was on sale at Christmas . Not sure if they still are .
There's something to be said for their 5 year warranty although the entry level column in last month's Stereophile gave it a pretty lukewarm review.
John Atkinson's lab report of it will be in next month's Stereophile

I wouldn't worry too much about stereophile. Isn't this the same magazine that have given glowing reviews to extremely expensive but poor performing speakers? Hard to trust them anymore.

[johnastockman]

I wouldn't worry too much about stereophile. Isn't this the same magazine that have given glowing reviews to extremely expensive but poor performing speakers? Hard to trust them anymore.

You're right, I wouldn't either. Sure, everyone has different criteria and expectations with audio reproduction and their chosen equipment. After 20 years of listening, evaluating and taking tons of notes for my job, I'm fairly familiar with taking measurements and the actual listening...and what to listen for. We'd take stuff home and listen in our own environments. Aural memory is very short. That's why I was taught to take notes, be somewhat of a "student" when it comes to evaluations. I did the same thing when listening to all the different CD players. Trust your own personal evaluations and experiences. If you can get a chance to go somewhere and do that; less and less opportunity to go some place where you can audition various equipment brands...other than mass-market offerings, that is. But I would encourage anyone who cares about the quality of their own listening experience to not take stock in anything that a magazine reviewer has to say. Look at how many magazine-types say that bose has good SQ and is great value. I'd take more value in what someone here has to say about any given piece of equipment than some words in that magazine.


John A.

[Paul K.]

At the risk of starting a flame war, when objective measurements pretty much agree with a reviewer's subjective opinion, to the extent possible, I place much more stock in that review and reviewer, even from Stereophile.
Paul

You're right, I wouldn't either. Sure, everyone has different criteria and expectations with audio reproduction and their chosen equipment. After 20 years of listening, evaluating and taking tons of notes for my job, I'm fairly familiar with taking measurements and the actual listening...and what to listen for. We'd take stuff home and listen in our own environments. Aural memory is very short. That's why I was taught to take notes, be somewhat of a "student" when it comes to evaluations. I did the same thing when listening to all the different CD players. Trust your own personal evaluations and experiences. If you can get a chance to go somewhere and do that; less and less opportunity to go some place where you can audition various equipment brands...other than mass-market offerings, that is. But I would encourage anyone who cares about the quality of their own listening experience to not take stock in anything that a magazine reviewer has to say. Look at how many magazine-types say that bose has good SQ and is great value. I'd take more value in what someone here has to say about any given piece of equipment than some words in that magazine.


John A.

[jinjuku]

None will outperform an repurposed PC jukebox with external USB DAC. I see absolutely no reason to purchase a standalone CD player anymore.

Mayhem makes a good point. If you can give serious consideration to a PC with Sound Card (either internal or external).

I'm running with an EMU 1212M internal PCIe and just a great card for the $$. There is also a list that you can run with Vortex Box. Its a free Linux distribution that is tailored for Audio Playback and ripping.

Vortexbox.org

[jclin4]

Mayhem makes a good point. If you can give serious consideration to a PC with Sound Card (either internal or external).

I'm running with an EMU 1212M internal PCIe and just a great card for the $$. There is also a list that you can run with Vortex Box. Its a free Linux distribution that is tailored for Audio Playback and ripping.

Vortexbox.org

I'm beginning to become a convert to PC audio. I'm using the analog outputs on the Juli@ card on a linux-based system (Voyage MPD, not vortexbox), and am quite impressed with the quality that is possible.