[Anarchy965]

I'm looking to get a good CD player under $200. What do you recommend around this price? This'll be the start of my new home rig. Thanks.

 

[Spareribs]

Any of the Oppo brand players around $150. They get rave reviews and considered to be excellent.

 

[Icarium]

Yeah Oppo 970 was supposedly amazing with a great feature set. Question is if the 980 which has a vastly improved feature set sounds as good or better as the 970. I havent' been able to get a straight answer yet! But it probably is at least equal. Can't go wrong for 170.

 

[Anarchy965]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah Oppo 970 was supposedly amazing with a great feature set.

This one right?

 

[BigAmish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anarchy965 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This one right?

Yep!

I've got one & love it, but I have not made any A/B comparisons with any truly audiophile level CDP to know how it stacks up. Audio equipment reviewers seem ga-ga for it, if that means anything to you.

Note that since the new version 980H came out, the 970 HD can be purchased from amazon.com for $150 (w/free shipping) until they run out of stock. I also hear you can call Oppo & ask for a refurb 970HD for ~$100, if they have any to part with. I'm seriously thinking about picking up another one for my den as a 'dedicated' CD/SACD/DVD-A player.

 

[chesebert]

Oppo just sounds like another cheap CDP FOTM like the 3950. You are better off just getting a DAC in that price range and use your PC as the transport. Maybe you can even try SB3, to which you can add a real PSU and a real DAC later on

I hate for the OP to be lead down a path of cheap players promising the world only to be utterly disappointed when compare to even modestly priced real audiophile quality player. Just remember you can always buy used to save money

 

[roastpuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah Oppo 970 was supposedly amazing with a great feature set. Question is if the 980 which has a vastly improved feature set sounds as good or better as the 970. I havent' been able to get a straight answer yet! But it probably is at least equal. Can't go wrong for 170.

Well, I used to have a 970HD until my IR receiver on it went kaput, at which point I enacted my direct replacement warranty and paid a little extra to upgrade to the 980HD. Feature-wise, it's much better than the 970HD - I especially love the on-unit controls, which allows me to control playback without having to use the remote. The new design is also sleeker and much less 'generic Asian player' than before - it evokes a classier, pricier appearance similar to the black Arcam players.

Sound-wise, it's as good, if not a little better, than the 970HD, straight out into my headphone amp. Mind you, I only had my 970HD for a little over a month before it broke down, so this may or may not be accurate, as I did not conduct any serious listening tests. It was exam time... too busy with my books!

What's really nifty is the variable output volume into the 2-channel output... it's really helpful in giving me more range on the headphone amp to play with, and the same with my speaker amp.

Definitely worth it, in my opinion. And if Jahn deems the 970HD good enough to use with $2k Grado HP-1's... well, it's good enough for me!

EDIT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oppo just sounds like another cheap CDP FOTM like the 3950. You are better off just getting a DAC in that price range and use your PC as the transport. Maybe you can even try SB3, to which you can add a real PSU and a real DAC later on

Cheese, the Oppo's been around for quite a while, and I don't think it's a FOTM... several members have said it's a solid CDP for a good price. The Beresford DAC is the current source that is FOTM-ing, I think.

 

[gz76]

Plus it does SACD.

 

[MatsudaMan]

Oppo is great for video, lousy for sound. I have the 970hd and it sounds muffled and lacking in detail, dynamics, and tonality compared with even a lower end cambridge audio player (d500se blows it out of the water!).

It's just that they are not an audiophile company - cheap parts, weak power supply, etc.

Go to audiogon and find yourself a proper cd player used. If you have ears, you'll be happy you did.

 

[john_deere_boy]

For under $200, you can not go wrong with an oppo. When your ready to upgrade, ad a Musical Fidelity tube buffer.

 

[fkclo]

The Shanling PCD300A should be close enough.

It was introduced earlier this year as a destkop CD. In the "P" family there is also a headphone amplifier with pre-amp function. I read the Shanling catalogue at the 2007 Hong Kong HiEnd show that a DAC is also planned.

The CD comes in two version: the PCD300A comes with a headphone amp. More information on spec. in English here :-

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpo...61&postcount=1

The other version is PCD300 which does not have a built in Headphone amp.

This CD player plays redbook CD only. Not for SACD.

I bought this CD Player for my office use and have it for 2 weeks now. Sound very good - very detailed, but a bit on the warm side. The PCM1738 DAC is doing a proper job. The build in headphone amp is also pretty good ( just slightly less than the Pocket Reference II). And the price is only US$218.00 for a new, 230V version in Hong Kong, already including a very good looking remote and a power cord. One of the best buy this year.

The headphone amp volume control is via a digital volume control operate from the remote. The same volume control also affects the line out.

F. Lo

 

[bennet]

oppo is a good choice.

 

[trains are bad]

I like my oppo a lot.

 

[Girardian]

EastSound E5s -- not sure what they are going for used and definately over your budget but such a great player for the money it's worth saving up for this unit IMO.

 

[soloz2]

get a used Marantz CD5001