Ffodor
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2004
- Posts
- 25
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- 10
I finally decided to start upgrading my gear incrementally, starting with the CD player and the interconnects, then with an integrated amplifier (in 2-3 months), then a headphone amplifier and some cans like the Senns 580 (6 months) and finally some half-decent speakers (1 year, if everything holds). Currently, my components will be considered very low-end by most here: a Marantz 5-disc changer (CC-38), a Marantz receiver (SR-48mkII) and PSB alpha bookshelf speakers. I have Grado SR-60s, that I connect directly on the jack of the receiver.
I am just coming back from a listening session of 4 or 5 under US 1000$ CD players, and I have picked 2 that I will try out for the week-end with my fairly miserable receiver and speakers (ok, ok, they are not so bad, they gave me and still give me a lot of pleasure). The two that I have selected are possibly the most opposite I heard, the Rotel RCD-1072 and the Shanling CD-T80 (a tube player).
In store, with a reference system, the Rotel sounded very dynamic and detailed, punchy and with a lot of rhythm. Details in the higher end of the spectrum were especially fantastic (the salesman found it too bright, but I disagreed). The dynamic shift from silence to orchestral explosion was very impressive. By comparison, the Shanling was much smoother, very musical and with a round voluptuous sound. What it lost in detail, it gained in loveliness. I listened to 2 or 3 female latino singers on this (don't remember the name, sorry) and I fell in love ... 2 or 3 times.
Anyone knows these players and has comments on them? Maybe more importantly, anyone can share impressions on the differences (strengths and weaknesses) of tube players versus solid state players. I went to the store with the firm belief that I would not buy a tube player, but now I am wavering. Sure, Beethoven's 5th or Rancid are not as exciting but, hey, falling in love with every female singer... Final question: what kind of music should I listen to, to expose the potential deficiencies of each player?
BTW, I like a wide variety of musical genres. In order of importance my listening can be roughly divided in: classical (35%, with 20% chamber and instrumental and 15% orchestral and choral), hard rock/punk/metal (20%, from the 70s to the naughties), pop/rock/folk (20%, including the Beatles, Neil Young, cheesy 80s songs, Cowboy Junkies, Lou Reed, etc.), jazz (10% from Coltrane to N. Simone to acid jazz, but no big band stuff), French sing-songwriters (5%) and a lot of other stuff. I do not like hip hop, most rap, dance, electronic...
Thanks in advance.
p.s. BTW, here are the other CD players I listened to:
- Shanling CD-S100 (solid state brothers of the T80) Verdict: way too bright and harsh, total opposite of its tube sibling.
- Rega Planet 2000 Verdict: interesting, but a little veiled, without the excitement of the Rotel and without the "falling in love" factor
- Audio Refinement ??? (don't know the model, sorry) Verdict: very similar to the Rega, quite musical but even less exciting
- Cambridge Azur 640C Verdict: seemed interesting, but heard at another store, in poorer conditions and with a fairly bad salesperson. Unfortunately, I won't go back there.
I am just coming back from a listening session of 4 or 5 under US 1000$ CD players, and I have picked 2 that I will try out for the week-end with my fairly miserable receiver and speakers (ok, ok, they are not so bad, they gave me and still give me a lot of pleasure). The two that I have selected are possibly the most opposite I heard, the Rotel RCD-1072 and the Shanling CD-T80 (a tube player).
In store, with a reference system, the Rotel sounded very dynamic and detailed, punchy and with a lot of rhythm. Details in the higher end of the spectrum were especially fantastic (the salesman found it too bright, but I disagreed). The dynamic shift from silence to orchestral explosion was very impressive. By comparison, the Shanling was much smoother, very musical and with a round voluptuous sound. What it lost in detail, it gained in loveliness. I listened to 2 or 3 female latino singers on this (don't remember the name, sorry) and I fell in love ... 2 or 3 times.
Anyone knows these players and has comments on them? Maybe more importantly, anyone can share impressions on the differences (strengths and weaknesses) of tube players versus solid state players. I went to the store with the firm belief that I would not buy a tube player, but now I am wavering. Sure, Beethoven's 5th or Rancid are not as exciting but, hey, falling in love with every female singer... Final question: what kind of music should I listen to, to expose the potential deficiencies of each player?
BTW, I like a wide variety of musical genres. In order of importance my listening can be roughly divided in: classical (35%, with 20% chamber and instrumental and 15% orchestral and choral), hard rock/punk/metal (20%, from the 70s to the naughties), pop/rock/folk (20%, including the Beatles, Neil Young, cheesy 80s songs, Cowboy Junkies, Lou Reed, etc.), jazz (10% from Coltrane to N. Simone to acid jazz, but no big band stuff), French sing-songwriters (5%) and a lot of other stuff. I do not like hip hop, most rap, dance, electronic...
Thanks in advance.
p.s. BTW, here are the other CD players I listened to:
- Shanling CD-S100 (solid state brothers of the T80) Verdict: way too bright and harsh, total opposite of its tube sibling.
- Rega Planet 2000 Verdict: interesting, but a little veiled, without the excitement of the Rotel and without the "falling in love" factor
- Audio Refinement ??? (don't know the model, sorry) Verdict: very similar to the Rega, quite musical but even less exciting
- Cambridge Azur 640C Verdict: seemed interesting, but heard at another store, in poorer conditions and with a fairly bad salesperson. Unfortunately, I won't go back there.