Best CD Player in the $2000 - $3500 Range Used...

[newmanoc]

[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that some of those people also advocate putting rocks on your CD player and painting your CDs. [/QUOTE]

If you are talking about placing a thin (3/4 inch) slab of marble on the top of a player, I haven't tried this, but depending on the player in question I wouldn't dismiss this tweak until I had. Vibration is the silent killer of good audio. As to using green marker on the rim of CD's , I agree this is silly, and no one I have come to respect suggests anything to the contrary.

[/QUOTE] I have bought quite a bit of very high end stuff on Audigon, but there are quite a few people who equate high price tags with sound decisions.
[/QUOTE]

Again, there are people to ignore and people to trust in every forum. Audiogon is no different. It takes a little time to tell who is for real, and who is for show.

 

[Sleestack]

If you are talking about placing a thin (3/4 inch) slab of marble on the top of a player, I haven't tried this, but depending on the player in question I would't dismiss this tweak until had. Vibration is the silent killer of good audio. As to using green marker on the rim of CD's , I agree this is silly, and no one I have come to respect suggests anything to the contrary.



Again, there are people to ignore and people to trust in every forum. Audiogon is no different. It takes a little time to tell who is for real, and who is for show.[/QUOTE]

No, I am actually talking about a jar of rocks. LOL.

Definitley some great sellers on Audigon. Nevertheless, your ears and brain are alwasy going to be the final judge. I auditioned a few of the Esoteric untis based on the advice of a very well respected Audigon seller. Nothing wrong with them, but they just didn't sound great to me.

 

[Sleestack]

Delete.

 

[newmanoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack I'm not sure what "lifeless" or "missing the soul" of music means, but they certainly aren't phrases that come to mind when I think about the G08.

What I mean by this is that for me the GO8 did not convey music in an involving way, that is I was not emotionally engaged by it to the degree that I have been by other players. I think that is what most people mean by these sorts of phrases.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack Please just audition a G08 for yourself.... Everyone is going to champion their final choice so unless you know that someone has the same tastes as you, listening is the only way you will ever know.

The best advice that could be given and I couldn't agree more. It was indeed all I was attempting to accomplish by my post. On this site for some time there has been no small degree of group think going on with respect to the G08, and it is important for other perspectives to be heard when someone is considering spending this much on a player.

Sleestack, to you of course, I mean no offense. You ARE well informed, and having done many A/B trials, have made your choice based on your own ears.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case for those whe recommend the GO8 here (or any audio equipment anywhere, for that matter).

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack Sleestack, to you of course, I mean no offense. You ARE well informed, and having done many A/B trials, have made your choice based on your own ears. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for those whe recommend the GO8 here (or any audio equipment anywhere, for that matter).

Please don't mistake me either. Just a lively discussion form my perspective. No offense taken whatsoever. The G08 is my favorite source for now, but that may change when my moddd 3910 and Classe SACD2 arrive. I also very much like the Onix CD-2 I just picked up and it was under $1K.

 

[gongos]

It seems that most everyone took my PC audio suggestion and tossed it away, which I think is a big mistake. I used a USB to S/PDIF coaxial converter from www.empiricalaudio.com, who also modify transports. He believes a moderate PC setup would trump any cd player regardless of price, even his own highly modified transports, and I'd agree. I did a direct a/b with one of the converters and a transport--sony 7700--using the same DAC--a CI Audio VDA with Modwright upgrades. The converter blew the 7700 away. It was so obvious I didn't even have to do any hard critical listening. Before the 7700 I owned a fully tricked out tube modified Modwright Sony 999es so I have some experience with high quality players, ie $2000 to $3500 ones. I can tell you this, I'd would never trade my PC setup back for the 999es. The music has much more impact and sounds so natural, among a number of other things, with the converter it's amazing. Great PC playback is unlike any digital source you've ever heard.

I'd be more than happy to let anyone come over for a direct a/b comparison of their CD player of choice.

Cost of my PC setup: converter $950, DAC $400, extra hard drive $150.
Total: $1500 = unequaled digital playback.

Good luck, finding the right source can be a huge pain Luckily for me, my search has ended.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gongos It seems that most everyone took my PC audio suggestion and tossed it away, which I think is a big mistake. I used a USB to S/PDIF coaxial converter from www.empiricalaudio.com, who also modify transports. He believes a moderate PC setup would trump any cd player regardless of price, even his own highly modified transports, and I'd agree. I did a direct a/b with one of the converters and a transport--sony 7700--using the same DAC--a CI Audio VDA with Modwright upgrades. The converter blew the 7700 away. It was so obvious I didn't even have to do any hard critical listening. Before the 7700 I owned a fully tricked out tube modified Modwright Sony 999es so I have some experience with high quality players, ie $2000 to $3500 ones. I can tell you this, I'd would never trade my PC setup back for the 999es. The music has much more impact and sounds so natural, among a number of other things, with the converter it's amazing. Great PC playback is unlike any digital source you've ever heard. I'd be more than happy to let anyone come over for a direct a/b comparison of their CD player of choice. Cost of my PC setup: converter $950, DAC $400, extra hard drive $150. Total: $1500 = unequaled digital playback. Good luck, finding the right source can be a huge pain Luckily for me, my search has ended.

Interesting. I'm going to have to pick up one of those converters. They are quite cheap. Isn't the choice of the DAC going to be make a big difference?

 

[gongos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack Interesting. I'm going to have to pick up one of those converters. They are quite cheap. Isn't the choice of the DAC going to be make a big difference?

There's no doubt the DAC you choose will make a big difference, you don't want to buy a turkey. There are a number of great less expensive choices out there--Dack!, Audio Mirror, Channel Island, and many other used DAC's. It's mostly just a matter of picking your flavor of choice. Even with a cheap DAC, I wouldn't hesitate to put the converter up against any CD player.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gongos There's no doubt the DAC you choose will make a big difference, you don't want to buy a turkey. There are a number of great less expensive choices out there--Dack!, Audio Mirror, Channel Island, and many other used DAC's. It's mostly just a matter of picking your flavor of choice. Even with a cheap DAC, I wouldn't hesitate to put the converter up against any CD player.

I have several DACS and very much like the X-DAC v3. Nevertheless, no matter what you feed into a DAC, it is going very much affect what comes out, both in its coversion and its analog output stage. Thus, I'm a bit confused out how the converter alone could cause a PC based setup to trump any CD plyer. I guess I'll see for myself.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolRage Thanks very much for the in depth review. Right now i do believe i'm leaning toward a G08. It's right in my price range and based on your review and others i've read sound like it has all the qualities i'm looking for. Again, thanks alot.

No problem - however take newmanoc's words to heart as well. Biggest criticism of Meridian is a relatively softer attack and transient compared to other more pratty players. If you had listed different criteria in what your looking for, most likely i would have easily recommended something else, and I hope I was clear in my recommendation that i was basing it purely on what you said you were looking for. In your case, i think it could be a winner, but just be warned about that lack of impact, softer transients, and in general what others call "boogie woogie factor."

Something being emotional is also something different between each person. Others like to really feel the hits and smacks and crashes of music, an attack accentuated approach, very lively and dynamic sounding, and something like a Naim fits the bill. To others, emotional is vastness of stage, liquidity and smoothness, balance across the spectrum, and the meridian fits that as well. Different flavors - however, I've got $5 on it downstairs that your a meridian man

 

[newmanoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gongos It seems that most everyone took my PC audio suggestion and tossed it away, which I think is a big mistake. I used a USB to S/PDIF coaxial converter from www.empiricalaudio.com, who also modify transports. He believes a moderate PC setup would trump any cd player regardless of price, even his own highly modified transports, and I'd agree. I did a direct a/b with one of the converters and a transport--sony 7700--using the same DAC--a CI Audio VDA with Modwright upgrades. The converter blew the 7700 away. It was so obvious I didn't even have to do any hard critical listening. Before the 7700 I owned a fully tricked out tube modified Modwright Sony 999es so I have some experience with high quality players, ie $2000 to $3500 ones. I can tell you this, I'd would never trade my PC setup back for the 999es. The music has much more impact and sounds so natural, among a number of other things, with the converter it's amazing. Great PC playback is unlike any digital source you've ever heard. I'd be more than happy to let anyone come over for a direct a/b comparison of their CD player of choice. Cost of my PC setup: converter $950, DAC $400, extra hard drive $150. Total: $1500 = unequaled digital playback. Good luck, finding the right source can be a huge pain Luckily for me, my search has ended.

If you live anywhere in Michigan, I'd love to do the A/B, and I'll buy the lunch. As I said before, I don't dismiss the ability of computer audio to produce good sound and to compete with CDP's at certain price points. BUT....

You cite doing one A/B using a 5 year old DVD player design (that sold for 1k originally) and comparing it to a moded computer system using the same DAC. And based on this, (and some other guy's opinion) you conclude "a moderate PC setup would trump any cd player regardless of price."

This claim is just what I said it is earlier in the thread - very, very rash. I also need to point out that your being familiar with a Modwright Sony 999es does not even begin to qualify you to make judgements about what can be achieved by stand alone audio equipment at its best. I am sorry if this seems unkind, but your emphatically stated opinions are so far away from your real world experience (and from the opinions of people who DO have the experience) that you need to be called on it.

 

[gongos]

I guess my main point is the PC audio setup I run simply sounds different than any stand alone player I've encountered, it's a sound I prefer, and I don't believe any CD player is capable of mimicing the qualities the PC offers. Could there be one? Sure. Am I going to try them all? No. As for the 7700, many people consider it a fantastic transport regardless of price. I brought up the 999es because it's thought of quite highly in the $2000 to $3500 price range, in fact a reviewer for Positive-Feedback.com said it was the best player he's ever heard, the original poster was interested in--and to point out my $1500 PC setup offers a better listening experience. I might be rash, but until I hear something that changes my mind... Other people who've experienced this setup tend to agree with me, including the owner of empirical audio, who works on both items and has extensive experience with oodles of players. Have you used one of empirical audio's converters personally? I live in Kirkland, WA so you'd have to buy lunch and a plane ticket for an a/b day.

 

[newmanoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gongos I guess my main point is the PC audio setup I run simply sounds different than any stand alone player I've encountered, it's a sound I prefer, and I don't believe any CD player is capable of mimicing the qualities the PC offers. Could there be one? Sure. Am I going to try them all? No. As for the 7700, many people consider it a fantastic transport regardless of price. I brought up the 999es because it's thought of quite highly in the $2000 to $3500 price range, in fact a reviewer for Positive-Feedback.com said it was the best player he's ever heard, the original poster was interested in--and to point out my $1500 PC setup offers a better listening experience. I might be rash, but until I hear something that changes my mind... Other people who've experienced this setup tend to agree with me, including the owner of empirical audio, who works on both items and has extensive experience with oodles of players. Have you used one of empirical audio's converters personally? I live in Kirkland, WA so you'd have to buy lunch and a plane ticket for an a/b day.

I don't want you to read into my post that I think that the Modright 999s isn't a fine player, nor that I am dismissing the 7700 as a transport, nor that I question your ears, tastes, etc. I am just wary (and weary) of people making extreme statements about computer audio, such as declaring it hands down beats the stand alone CDP's (which they almost always haven't heard) from the greatest audio companies the world. Some of these companies, like Linn, also make their own hard drive based music systems that are great, but even these don't beat their best CDP's (or haven't thus far).

I like enthusiasm. It is one reason I like head-fi so much. But many people read these forums to learn, and can make decisions with what is often their rare disposable income based on what they read.

That you have experience with a computer based system that makes you very happy, and happier than you were with a modified 999s that cost twice as much, is a very important thing for you to say and to share. But when you go beyond this and make broad, unsupported statements, it is important for me and others to challenge them.

I'm being pedantic - not my best side. It might be a good idea to stop listening to me and go listen to some music.

 

[newmanoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 Something being emotional is also something different between each person. Others like to really feel the hits and smacks and crashes of music, an attack accentuated approach, very lively and dynamic sounding, and something like a Naim fits the bill. To others, emotional is vastness of stage, liquidity and smoothness, balance across the spectrum...

I am definitely into PRAT, which admittedly is not what everyone seeks. Music with smoothness and bloom, but without rock solid timing, doesn't do it for me at all. But for others (a lot of tube guys especially) it is what they spend their time and money trying to maximize beyond all else. There are a lot of things that go into how we personally get involved in music, and it does vary.

Although I never thought of it using quite this language, I like being a "hits, smacks, crashes" kind of guy. You know, manly audio and all.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newmanoc I am definitely into PRAT, which admittedly is not what everyone seeks. Music with smoothness and bloom, but without rock solid timing, doesn't do it for me at all. But for others (a lot of tube guys especially) it is what they spend their time and money trying to maximize beyond all else. There are a lot of things that go into how we personally get involved in music, and it does vary. Although I never thought of it using quite this language, I like being a "hits, smacks, crashes" kind of guy. You know, manly audio and all.

Check out a Cary 306/200. They can be found in the $2K range used and excell in a powerful presentation that can be listened to for hours at a time.