[bixby]

$17K Cd player, here in the US, the market may be limited to geriatrics with a ton of cash and ones who never figured out how to rip a CD. Or vinyl young ones who made a wad of cash in social media and got bored with vinyl. What's next Altoids, real Marlboros, and bell bottoms (again)?

 

[Stax 7]

Riding on the tail of their CD Transport but not at that price.

 

[Voxata]

This will be perfect for my Bob Marley and Dr. Dre cd collection.

 

[dumpsterfire]

I’m sorry, it’s $16k-$18k but it can’t do gapless playback??

 

[Inju]

I read Shanling's reply that they make products for OEM at higher price points than this and it really made me interested. Just FYI, Shanling made the T300 in 2004 but the Kalista CD player design and planning started in 2001.

https://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/metronome/kalista.html

Regardless of the design, if Shanling makes a product with the same handcrafted nature and precision as the Kalista, with the same sound quality and passion as the Kalista, then I say go for it and charge whatever you believe it's worth. Good luck!

 

[alota]

i´m sure there is a market for this target price, especially people who spend to show off. just i don´t understand a cd-player in 2024

 

[zen87192]

FMHM!!

 

[tutetibiimperes]

That’s a hefty price for a redbook CD player.

Heck, that’s more than the Esoteric SACD player, and when I’ve been to audio shows the ultra high end rooms like Von Schweikert have racks of Esoteric gear.

I’m not sure what the market is for this, but there are a lot of people with more money than they know what to do with, so I’m sure they’ll sell a limited number, and the profit margin has to be ridiculously high on these, maybe selling one pays for the production of the entire run.

 

[aznablerey]

Well someone with money to burn and a fierce case of fomo is going to help shanling sell this. Frankly, given what’s on the market for cd transports, this is obscenely overpriced. Even over designed. Sorry to be a negative Nancy, but this seems ridiculous.

 

[bavlf]

A very beautiful mechanism on this Shanling CD-T35, the Philips, a transport with the knowledge acquired with LP turntables, like many high end CD players in the 90s (and also expensive!) but sublimated with the magnificent current DACs.

A beautiful object which when you have thousands of CDs in your library is a dream.

But head fi geeks can't understand!

 

[alota]

A very beautiful mechanism on this Shanling CD-T35, the Philips, a transport with the knowledge acquired with LP turntables, like many high end CD players in the 90s (and also expensive!) but sublimated with the magnificent current DACs.

A beautiful object which when you have thousands of CDs in your library is a dream.

But head fi geeks can't understand!

We understand perfectly. Yes philips was the best mechanism. But a player is dac and output stage too

 

[BLacklWf]

When a company who usually produces budget priced products to launch something like this, the purpose usually is Marketing. Let's say they spent $200k in the development and research cost for it. That's a well worth the news coverage they get for it. So, their money isn't entirely wasted. If the marketing push is successful, the company can shift up its image. But, do they expect to make a profit out of it? Possibly, but usually NOT. They know it better than anyone that they will sell no more than a handful of it if not a zero true sale. Well.. I'm sure the CEO's wife and cousins will buy at a 80% discount for the sales record. And, some close relation distributors will get 60% discount if they ever decided to put it in their inventory.

So, here is how the manufacturing process usually works for a product like it. They buy very limited materials to hand produce 10-100 units and some spare parts for the services later. Then, they usually close down the entire manufacturing line by the time they announce it or shortly after it. The tools (which are expensive) they purchased for it will be used for the future products. But, the products? They use it on the shows. They send some units to the reviewers. They send some to close relationship dealers for the display. But, again it's a pure marketing move, and they do not really expect many, if not any, real consumer will buy it. But, for those real consumers who actually buys it... Well, I will stop it there.

Anyway, I like companies who are ambitious. So, kudos to Shanling for pulling it out.

 

[twister6]

....

I have nothing to add to this discussion since I don't have any experience with high end CD players or desktop systems. And from my personal experience of reviewing high end DAPs, IEMs, and cables, the overall "high end" market is still very strong with prices only going up, often driven by demand. Some people buy these products because they appreciate high fidelity and will pay extra thousands of dollars for even 1-2% improvement in sound quality. Others buy it as a statement because they can afford it and enjoy the aesthetics. Also, please keep in mind, for some people $18k CD player is like $1k for many others.

But, I do want to comment about that Kalista/DreamPlay in the picture above. As soon as I saw it, it brought back painful memories of staring at this damn speakerphone during so many hours of conference calls lol

 

[ahossam]

For that money I rather spend it on desktop amp

 

[alota]

For that money I rather spend it on desktop amp

Or top amp+top dac+top headphone