Hello, everyone! I am going to be graduating from high school shortly, and my parents seemed eager to know what I might want as a graduation present. We talked it over for a while and basically ruled out buying a new violin or bow (the former would be in the $30,000 range and my current bow is already top notch), or computer upgrades (I have a nice budget setup already).

In my simple life that basically narrows it down to the audiophile habit. I am considering the possibility of an audio upgrade and naturally that means a good source.

So, what I would like to know is,
1. What are the best sources in the $1,000 to $3,000 range or so for CD or possibly SACD?

2. What components would you recommend buying with them?

I am using the HD-600s with a cardas cable and some sort of headroom amp.

Thanks in advance guys!

Cheers,
Geek

I use a Cary 303/200 with a Blockhead. It does quite well. I've also used a 308 with a variety of other systems. It sounds quite nice too.

The Cary 308 goes for about $1,200 street. The 308T for $2,500 list. The 303/200 for $3,000 list, but less street (it cost me $1,000 plus a used 303/100). If you're comfortable with used, I see two 306/200s in your price range on Audiogon.

Others will offer other brands, but I've always liked the Cary house sound. If you haven't already done so, you should at least listen before dismissing them from your short list.

See the Audio Asylum for much detailed reviews.

Dang! I wish i had such nice parents!

I would think one of the universal players for that price...or actually, you could afford the Philips 963SA and a separate DVD-A player for that price...but then you'd have to get a source switcher like the MF A3^CR2 Pre-amp.

I'd spring for a VPI Scout for $1600 + a Dynavector or Grado cart. and also spend ~$1000 for a phonostage. I have a 555ES SACD player and although this isn't the best SACD player by any means, the vinyl setup totally trounces it. There something special about vinyl that I'm sure you would be able to pick up on as a violinist. Everything just sounds right and more musical. If your budget can be increased to $4-5K total, then you can spend $2.5K on the vinyl setup, $1K on a nice preamp, and also $1K-1.5K on some nice speakers. All of these (besides the Scout & cart.) you could buy used off of Audiogon. $1.5K can buy retail $3.5-4.0K speakers. You'll have a serious system for some music listening. By the way, is your bow an Alfred Lamy?

$3000 can get you quite alot. For SACD there's the Sony SCD1. If you want to go alittle cheaper I'd recommend the Cary 308/T player. It have the CD301 for redbook playback and it's awesome.

Also your preamp could double as a headamp. You could get an integrated Cary 300SEI and kill three birds with one stone, supposed to have a killer headphone output (headphone amp, preamp, poweramp).

I'd second the Cary option. Plus you can spend extra cash tube rolling. Man.. I wish my parents are as generous as yours.

Lucky you! I would get the Sony XA-777ES -- smack dab in the middle of your price range, great build quality, great sound, five year warrantee, moddable, SACD, etc. Only real drawback is no DVD-A -- but is that really much of a drawback?

Just for something to think about, I'll suggest a different route: a CD/SACD transport and a stand-alone digital-to-analog convertor. I'm using a NAD C541i hooked to a Monarchy Audio digital interface processor feeding an MSB Nelson Link III digital-to-analog convertor with MSB's Power Base. There are many other choices for such a combination of components. You could get an SACD source (which the NAD is not) and use a different DAC, such as the Bel Canto DAC2. And there are other digital signal/interface processors out there as well. A DIP/DSP is not necessary, but can sure improve the signal. You can usually achieve better sound for less money using this approach. But a basic decision first seems to be whether or not you'll want the capabilities to play the less available formats such as SACD and vinyl.

Shigaraki--it just barely makes your budget.

Unfortunnately, your system's weak link will then be you amplification. Perhaps you could divert a modest part of your budget to that area?

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I will be looking into these various source ideas. Some of you may have also noticed that I asked a question about decent amps on the amp forum. I might consider this as well.

TimSchirmer and jaskin,

Yeah, I'm very grateful for their kindness. They are getting tons of phone calls from relatives, asking what I want as a graduation present. The relatives don't really know yet..

yidimsum,

My bow is actually a Codabow Classic model. It's a really good composite model and on all tiers it performs better than any other bow I have tried, but is slightly harsh when played at extremely loud volumes. It has excellent spring, balance, and dynamics and good tonality, plus lacks the problems of the wood bows and costs a fraction of similar models. The drawbacks are that it's really difficult to get rehaired properly and it's not quite as organic as a true upper class wood model.

I think that going vinyl is an excellent idea, considering my parents do have a few records from their younger years stored up. However, I have mostly redbook CD format. I apologise for not explicitly stating that. Buying vinyl copies of my 150 or so redbooks would break my budget. However, if I ever become rich I will definitely consider going all-out vinyl!

SuperGiraffe,

The Sony XA-777ES sounds like a good choice. I will look into it further and my listening centers around CD with a bit of SACD thrown in. I have no DVD-A and I feel I have a great budget SACD/DVD-A player already, the DVP-NS500V.

Dusty Chalk,
I will add the Philips 963SA to my list. Definitely worthy of consideration considering some of the reviews I've read!

smokey,

The cary 303/200 is a strong possibility. I might have to go hijack a blockhead to go with it, too.

Thank you for your replies, comments, and suggestions once again. My list is as follows (in no particular order):

1. Cary 303/200
2. Philips 963SA
3. Sony XA-777ES
4. NAD C541i + Monarchy Audio processor + MSB Nelson Link III DAC or similar combo

I'm really going to look into these.

Cheers,
Geek

Check out the Sony XA777ES. You can find it used for around $2K, that leaves you with $1000 left over to buy a Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2 ($875), a new solid state amp that is generating a buzz here (I'm biased, I own one). That leaves $125 for a nice pair of cables off audiogon but if you can, look to the $200-$300 cables for equipment like the above.

BTW, with a nice source, you know you need an amp that is on the same level to get all you can out of it. What amp do you have now?

Mark

Hey, I tried the very first versions of the Coda Bow and they were a little too stiff for my violin. I think they went for $500. Drew out a loud sound but nuances were lost. They had a 30 day trial offer so I just returned in. It all depends on matching bow to violin. The classic french makers made some of the best bows.

not saying that i've heard them all, but if you're interested in vinyl i'd say..

try to audition or pickup: used 303/200, XA-777ES, or arcam fmj cd23t. and then buy an mmf-7 or similarly priced turntable. might need to throw some money into phono amp and record cleaner, but then you would have not the best, but really good of both worlds.

however, if you want to go the cd route (not a bad idea) i'd also highly recommend a cary 306/200. buying a source like this will last you till redbook dies and can live on with you through your various systems (at least that's my plans for it).