Really good CD players?

Sorry for the repost - I accidentally posted this in private ads, but wasn't sure how to move it,

I know this is a tricky question, personal taste and all, but I really do need a new CD player. The Cyrus CD8/PSXR just doesn't cut the mustard. Too bright. Too hifi and no real welly. It's okay for well recorded acoustic music but with anything rockist or brash, it just sounds frazzled to me. I've had enough. Since I live in the arse end of nowhere, dealer demos are pretty impractical - plus unless I can hear kit in my room, in my system I don't feel I've really heard it. I seek your wisdom.
I've cruised fee-bay for good high end decks and there seem to be a few about (mostly dealer sales). Examples that have caught my eye so far include various Meridian (506 and G08 crop up fairly regularly), Wadia 302, Copland (the valve one, 289 I think) or even a Marantz CD7. I want detail; deep, controlled bass and smooth open treble (don't we all). Basically I want something that will make me want to delve through my CD collection like my Gyro/Orbe does with my vinyl. £1000 - £1500 I guess, pref s/h for value. Could go higher for perfection

Amp = Glasshouse TVC > WAD6550
Speakers = Monitor GR10

Over to you!

 

I've got a Meridian 588 which is very good. Of the other CDs I've heard that I liked I don't know if you could get an Audio Synthesis DAC and get a cheaper transport.

Not heard but would definitely take a look at www.lessloss.com and Lyngdorf CD1.

A little off track, but if you want 'detail; deep, controlled bass and smooth open treble' take a listen to the Lyngdorf TDA2200+, at around 3k it's out of your price bracket, but it is in my mind the ultimate digital solution, and sounds incredible. (I'm not the only one, check out Robert E Greene's review on www.lyngdorf.com.) You could listen to it 24 hours a day with zero listening fatigue!

 

Try new Linn Majik or 2ndhand Ikemi. Pay attention to setup, especially to vibroisolation(ball-bearing devices are my favorites).
Personally I use Ikemi.

 

Given your critique of the Cyrus I think you'd probably like the Meridian 500 series. If you're open to Transport/Dac combos I'd also put in a strong recommendation for a Monarchy dac which I think has the sound you're looking for. http://www.monarchyaudio.com/ You might pick up an M22C second hand, but even the new M24 would be within budget with a cheap trannie. You may have to import from the US but CC Poon is a great guy to deal with in my experience.

 

Okay Folks, a few suggestions for products I've never heard of.

What about a s/h Wadia 302, though? Has anyone here heard one. Likewise the Marantz CD7 - both look to be very heavily engineered (a good sign when buying s/h IMHO). And both have been favourably reviewed in the past (not necessarily a good sign IME). I stumbled on a very suprising review of the Naim CDX2 from Marc Philips (aka Vinyl Anachronist) He was very positive about attributes I woudn't normally associate with that company (i.e. soundstage!). This is a guy with an Orbe and 2watt amps / > 101 db sensitivity Zu speakers. Is this an outlier in Naimworld?

I'd not really considered the DAC option - I have an old 203 sitting on the shelf and it doesn't seem very noticeably different from the dual mono 2 bit DACs in the Cyrus. I culd do with keeping the box count down too (running out of space)!

 

My advice: be brave!

If you are looking for mainstream gear w/ analog sound try the Naim CD5i (or a Rega for a more laidback sound).

If you're brave enough you could try something like the

AhTjoeb
http://www.hifi-planet.com/hpah1.htm

Melody
http://www.melody-europe.com/CDM10.htm

47labs Shigaraki
http://www.midlandaudiox-change.co.uk/
http://www.sakurasystems.com/intro.html

Eastern Electric
http://www.easternelectric.co.uk/easternelectric/minimaxcd/index.htm

or the Opera Audio Consonance Linear
http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/refcd120_linear.htm

 

P.S.: The 203 is 20 years old... What a dinossaur!!! CD playback has improved enourmously. But if you want a combo be prepared to spend twice as much.

 

How about BAT?

 

I have a classe cdp 100 going spare if your interested. pm if so.

cheers //lamboy

 

Second Hand Audionet ART V2's are in your price bracket.

Some say they don't come much better and its a looker too.

 

I rather like my Lyngdorf CD-1, although I have never used it as a standalone CDP, rather as a transport feeding a Lyngdorf TDA2200. Its sound is detailed, articulate, organic and above all musical. As I live in Norwich, you are welcome to have a listen.

 

Second hand TEAC VRDS will leave lots of money to spend on CD's

 

Seems to me, as it has been said, that you are looking for something that is not brash or too cerebral...

Meridians fit the bill. My most favoured is the 508.24 but this one is more "transparent" than the 588. Horses for courses...

Others that you might like are the Electrocompaniet, very lush sound; the ARC CD2 or CD3 - are expensive and perhaps less lush but very open and good soundstage - and the GamuT (the CD3 I think is recent and I haven't heard it or the CD1 but was told many good things about them and I am personally very curious about it too). The CD1 should be in your budget 2nd hand.

The Opera ones are also very refined and good vfm. If I hadn't spent so much on vinyl I should have myself one of these by now... but I always end up preferring to save the cd player money and eventually use it on something for the TT...

HTH,
Jack

 

I had the old 506.24 meridian and liked it, but found the 588 a little too refined although very good in terms of reproduction. The wadia 830 is the predecessor of the 302 and is super. I even compared the 830 to the more expensive 850 and wouldnt have changed the 830. I got the 850 at a bargain price too, had I wanted it. the 850 was clean and excellent in hifi terms , but personally, it didnt involve me anywhere near as much as the 830. then again thats my own opinion only...around 1200 second hand , though one went for 950 something recently

 

Many thanks for all your replies. Now I'm really confused. When it comes to TTs, I feel I'm in safe water. Ask the same question about CD players and get almost no agreement! I did a fair amount of reading on here and pinkfish before posting, and found wildly divergent opinons about almost every piece of kit mentioned - the Wadia 302 I was considering is described in another thread on here as 'pants' and again as wildly over-rated. Meridian ? Bass slam? Yes!... oh wait... 'No!'. Obviously I don't expct objective opnions about Naim or Linn but the lack of ANY consensus is something I really hadn't expected. Actually, I realised how indoctrinated I've become by the anti - Naim/Linn arguments when I considered my instinctive recoil against a CDX2 that I've never heard.

In practical terms, I'm slightly concerned about the long term servicing/repair options for some of these less well known products. I'd be safe with Meridian or Naim, but will any of these guys even exist in 5 years time. Sorry for the ramble but sometimes putting up with the devil you know and blowing all your spare cash on more music is easier than buying new kit.

If only an honest hifi press were possible. I might actually buy something. Now there's a thought.

 

I'm quite partial to the Lector CDP.

You can hear one at the emporium, quite near you.

lovely sounding, and looking.

A second hand meridian 588 is always a good buy, at circa £1k.

DAC 64 and a meridian transport makes some very nice noises I think.

 

I sympathise with the confusion - the problem is there really is so much that's subjective about what people like. Sounds like you're leaning towards well-known and established brands. I think there's a bit of a consensus at least on this thread, that you might like one of the Meridian 500 series. They hold their value very well second hand, so you wouldn't lose much by having a punt on one, and in my experience, a 506.24 would definitely address the issues you have with the Cyrus.

 

Partly. But really basic stuff like bass slam should be uncontentious - and the argument was really all or nothing wrt Meridian. Similarly describing a player as expensive as the Wadia 302 as 'pants' (unqualified) is really confusing. A 25 quid Alba DVD player from Lidl might be pants but I'm pretty sure the Wadia has strengths and weaknesses. These debates really seem much more contentious in the CD world than in TT-land (okay...except where Linn are concerned!). I guess the number of variables that need to be engineered-in are so much greater that quite minor changes made between revisions of the same player can be significant. I'm currently torn between a Meridian 506 or 508 (any opinions as to the differences) and doing nothing. Wouldn't mind hearing a Naim CDX2 just out of interest...

 

Try a Resolution Audio Opus 21 - best in the business!So detailed and smooth.

 

Generally speaking, most agree that the 302 is not a true representation of the Wadia sound. For that you need to go for the 850/860/861, or older models such as the 6/8/15/21. I have the 6 and am very happy with it. That said I am tempted by Resolution Audio, or Esoteric. In your price range, a Wadia 15/21 or 850 should be findable second hand