[Hiker]

I have given up on my search for a good universal player . . . for now at least. Right now I and running short on money, but I still need to buy a good cd player. Right now I have two players in mind: the Cambridge Audio Azur 640c and the Nad 542. I know that both of these sources are quite new, but does anyone have any information about them? I was considering a used Rega Planet 2000, but I do not think that I would like it as much as these other players. I am hoping that either of these two players would be a bit more detailed than the Rega. Any comments or opinions on any of these players would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Hiker

 

[Welly Wu]

Hiker,

Sorry to hear that a refurbished Denon DVD 2900 player is not available right now. I have two more suggestions for your consideration:

1. NAD C 541i HDCD/CD player
2. Philips 963SA

I had the NAD C 541i for three to four months and I can attest to how it just elevated my expectations of Redbook CD playback performance. A lot of the articles that I am reading concerning both the C 541i vs. C 542 player seem to indicate that the latter builds upon the strengths of its predecessor and offers a more refined sound. However, it should be noted that it should retail for $600 USD when it hits the states. A used C 541i will offer terrific sound at a terrific price (i.e., $200 USD). They are also much easier to find than a refurbished Denon DVD 2900 or even a DVD 5900.

I have not heard the Philips 963SA but both you and I know that it is purported to be a tremendous bang-for-your-buck player. It also does give you DVD-Video playback (a la 14bit Faroudja processor) and Redbook CD upsampling (24bit/172kHz). IMHO, SACD simply trounces DVD-Audio as a high resolution format. It does so because it is smooth, natural, effortless, and refined. Music is musical and not hyped up digital bits of 1s and 0s. Lastly, SACD titles are simply more plentiful, more compelling, and enjoy much more organized support by its proponents.

The way I see it is that the NAD C 542 is more recent in terms of its build and hopefully both its analog & DAC sections. The Philips 963SA is a recent model as well and it's reputation is solid and proven. Whatever you decide, I hope you get it for a good price and you're happy with your decision.

 

[raif]

Personally, I purchased a used sony 500v. I haven't had much experience with high end players but you can find this guy for around 100 bucks. That is dirt-cheap if you ask me.
The problem I have is that between the 100 dollar range up to over $1000 all sources have one setback or another. e.g. Nad, Rega -> no sacd/dvda support, philips-> mixed reviews, etc. My view was, I can spend 100 bucks and be mildly happy, or spend an extra $300-$1000 and still not be completely satisfied.

Also the option of having the sacd mods is a cool upgrade path and is reported to give phenominal musicality at a very low price.(as is the case with most diy projects)

As for why the 500v versus the sony 555 and 775, easy.... I hate disk changers.

 

[Hiker]

I would possibly consider one of the Sonys, but I figure that by the time I will upgrade my player, I will be able to afford a higher end player. Right now I am looking mainly for a good redbook player since that format makes up my entire collection. I can't really afford to get into high-rez right now. I would end up spending a lot of money on new SACDs and DVD-As instead of saving up for a truely good source in the future. This is one of the main reasons why I will not get the Denon 2900 as I was originally planing on doing. I am also not getting it because I cannot find it anywhere for a price that I am willing to pay.

I am not too sure about the Philips because of the mixed reviews I hear about it. It may be excellent at DVD and SACD, but I am mainly concerned about redbook performance right now. I have a DVD player that will hold me over just fine until I get a universal player down the line so that is not really necessary.

Thanks for the recommendations so far. If anyone else has anything to add about the players Im interested in or any other players that might suit me well, feel free to comment.

 

[Xeno7651]

I would suggest looking into the Music Hall CD25. This player offers extremely good redbook playback for the money. It can also be modded later. I got the Underwood Level 1+ modded and it just sounds amazing. I also heard the 963SA briefly and thought it sounds pretty good on redbook, though no where near the modded CD25.

 

[purk]

Hi,
How about a used Sony SCD-C333ES in redbook? Is the redbook in the Musichall and Phillips is better than teh C333ES? Thanks.

Purk

 

[Hiker]

Quote:

Originally posted by Xeno7651 I would suggest looking into the Music Hall CD25. This player offers extremely good redbook playback for the money. It can also be modded later. I got the Underwood Level 1+ modded and it just sounds amazing. I also heard the 963SA briefly and thought it sounds pretty good on redbook, though no where near the modded CD25.

I cannot really afford the mods now so I would have to go with an unmodded Music Hall. How would an unmodded CD25 sound against the NAD 542, Cabridge Audio 640c, or possibly something like the Rega Planet?

 

[pbirkett]

If you can find a second hand Rotel RCD-02 that would make a good buy IMO, a very nice sounding little player.

 

[Xeno7651]

purk:
I haven't heard the C333ES, so I don't know how it will compare to the Music Hall or Philips. I did own the CE775 for a short time and thought its redbook performance to be near the level of the Philips. So my guess is that the C333ES should be in the same league as the unmodded Music Hall or Philips.

Hiker:
I don't have any experience with NAD, Cambridge or Rega Planet. However, I prefered the unmodded Music Hall to the Philips 963 on redbook. If you're going pure redbook, you won't regret with the unmodded Music Hall. Build quality is also excellent.

 

[GlowWorm]

Marantz 6000 OSE for $250. http://www.jeffssoundvalues.com/Inve...Components.htm

 

[Hiker]

Quote:

Originally posted by GlowWorm Marantz 6000 OSE for $250. http://www.jeffssoundvalues.com/Inve...Components.htm

I have not heard much about this player. Ill take a little bit of a look into it. I also noticed that this website has a demo Music Hall CD25 for a good price.

 

[bundee1]

I love my music hall. I also own the ns500v and when I compare them the ns500v seems to be missing something. The music hall fills in all the gaps making the music sound fuller and smoother with nice detail. Im changing almost everything in my system except my music hall. Its nicely built too. If you get one make sure to get one with the new remote not the phaser they pried out of Capt Kirks cold dead hands.

 

[Hiker]

Acutally, I think the Rega Planet 2000 is back into consideration again. I found a used one at a good price which is extremely tempting now . . .

 

[Hiker]

. . . so tempting that I got it. Its the Rega Planet for me now!

 

[woodytone]

what is all this "redbook" word ive been reading?