CDP to buy blind for Graham Slee Solo MC + HD600s

not familiar with cyrus gear or the graham, however i've heard a good number of cdp's with hd600.

i'm not a fan of any MF products and for the meridians, i only liked their older 506 and 508 20bit models. the later versions kinda killed their flavor by trying to up the attack and dynamics. similar to the direction that hd650 went. if you happen to like the changes, my post might be less helpful and good luck anyway.

i find the hd600 mates best with smooth & refined players instead of the more hi-fi aggresssive type, the exception being krell kav 300cd which was a balls to the wall exciting and fun sound but i found it got fatiguing after an album or two.

best cdp i've heard with hd600 was electrocompaniet emc-1 but it's a little over $2k used. they do however produce a dac called ecd-1 that has the same circuit as the cdp and goes for under 2k.
its sound is very milky almost analog like with richness in the mids like no other. flavored approach

next up was cary cd 306/200 its sound probably resembles that of the senns more than the others i'm listing with a more neutral response. has great bass and is very refined yet maintains resolving power. balanced approach

sonic frontiers sfcd-1 - relaxed sound, with a touch of warmth in the body. a gentle approach.

sim audio moon nova. cleanest sounding of the bunch.

audio aero prima. tremendous depth and texture, this is the player if you listen to a lot of recorded live music.

arcam fmj cd23. has a forward presentation. i liked its treble response the best with the senns. the hd600 has kinda grainy treble and for some reason that tizz and bite are gone with this player without losing out low level detail.

If you don't mind using your PC as the transport then DAC could also be an option. The models that are popular in this forum could actually be tried out before purchase in the UK - take a little effort though but possible.

Then why not try out both Meridian and MF in shop to see which one you like best? It shouldn't be too difficult to find either of the units. Since Graham Slee is very small you could also bring it & HD600 to test out the CD players in the shop.

Can you really not demo before buying? I would think you would do better with a Cambridge 740/840C or Arcam FMJwhatever than MF or obsolete Meridian.

Why MF gear gets good reviews in the UK rags truly baffles me - I've heard many MF CDPs and amps and never liked any of them! It's all subjective, but for me, MF is the epitome of solid state screechy unorganic sound. Their internals are also seriously unimpressive. They seem to spend most their budget on shiny casework, truly crap "power supply" "upgrades", and obsoleting their own product ranges.

You can get the Cambridge on 30 day trial from Richer Sounds; there's also some kind of deal on their website.

If you don't want to spend this much, then I'd go for an Arcam - even new FMJs are in your budget.

Wait till you see the inside of a CMoy as well, and have had a chance to match it against the iBasso with volume control. But have a bag at hand to catch the fluid.

Do keep in mind when you take your amp to the shops for testing this weekend it will not been fully run in yet.

As for reviews etc, it may or may not be 100% correct (or may not suit you or your amp/ headphone setup) so try them all out and see what you think. Purchase only when you are 100% happy.

i also have the same question
got some ideas from this thread

kendal3334 do also have a look at wifi DACs which looks interesting. Seems more and more manufacturers are making those recently.

A few years ago, I carried my Slee and Senns to a hi-fi shop to audition the Arcam FMJ 33 and Meridian G07 and G08. I ended up getting the G08 second-hand from Audiogon. Still very happy with this set-up.