[Schizorabbit]

I'm starting from the bottom up in building an excellent headphone system, I already have a headphone amlifier (E.A.R. Yoshino HP4) as well as several headphones (Grado SR225, Sony CD3k, Audio Technica AThW1000, and Sennheiser HD600 w/Equinox) and I was wondering which CD player you would reccomend? As you can tell I've already burnt most of my money, so I'm looking to spend $500, on the best CD Player I can get my hands on. I've been looking at NAD C541i and the Arcam CD62. PLease list any other reccomendations, Thanks.

 

[dd3mon]

What Hi Fi just reviewed both these players and a couple others in the price range. The verdict? they said the 541i is still the player to beat - but the 62 is very nice in it's own right (got a 5 star rating, just not the group winner).

-dd3mon

 

[Habib]

Hi, I have the NAD C541i and I enjoy it a lot. My previous player was the Sony D-25S. So obviously it's a big improvement. I currently do not see the need to upgrade tho others might disagree with me. I've been told that it's on the warm side. I have no experience with other CD players so take it for what it is. Good luck on your search.

 

[zeplin]

schizorabbit,
i'm in the exact same situation as you are, and many people have been recommending to me the Rega Planet 2000. however, i am buying used because this player used is closer to 1k, and i believe that is out of your price range as it is mine too. it has been described to me as a very warm cd player with a bass accentuated frequency response. for me, the Rega Planet 2000 perfectly fits my needs becuase the rest of my components in my setup are solid state and on the bright side of things. so the warm sound provided by the Rega will hopefully, perfectly blend in. keep in mind though that i haven't heard this player. i'm just giving you another option to consider, as you have clearly asked for, stated in your post. but if you at all have the same taste as i do in the type of music being reproduced by certain sounding cd players, i think the Rega Planet is something you should really look into and consider in your final decision making. good luck, and be sure to report what you hear whenever you get whatever cd player you choose as it will benefit me

, no not just me, but also everyone else looking to upgrade their source.

 

[richpjr]

The new NAD 542 is now out and supposedly is a modest improvement to the 541i for the same price.

 

[Snufkin]

The new Arcam CD73 is out and cheaper than the CD62

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally posted by richpjr The new NAD 542 is now out and supposedly is a modest improvement to the 541i for the same price.

I thought the suggested price for the C542 was about US$2-300 over what the C541i currently retails for.

Please correct me if I am wrong - in fact, I would love to be wrong

(my wallet, on the other hand...

)

 

[richpjr]

Quote:

Originally posted by stymie miasma I thought the suggested price for the C542 was about US$2-300 over what the C541i currently retails for. Please correct me if I am wrong - in fact, I would love to be wrong (my wallet, on the other hand... )

Hmmm.... I could be wrong but I thought that I read an article saying that the price was supposed to be unchanged for the new replacements (also for the 521 replacement).

Now I guess I need to go look and find out!

 

[richpjr]

Here is the link I had read about it in:

http://www.whathifi.com/newsMainTemp...=7&storyID=152

According to it, the 542 will list for 330 pounds - isn't that about what the 541i lists for?

 

[stymie miasma]

Looks like you are right - I can't seem to find the webpage where I saw the C542 listed for about US$699.

It remains to be seen whether retailers let the C541i go for a tantalising discount - wouldn't that would be cool

 

[Snufkin]

Quote:

Originally posted by stymie miasma Looks like you are right - I can't seem to find the webpage where I saw the C542 listed for about US$699.

That's a bit more than what I paid for my CD73

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally posted by Snufkin That's a bit more than what I paid for my CD73

Well hopefully the price for the C542 stays around that of its precursor

In any case, I am not sure if there is anywhere local where I can audition Arcam products - and for a couple of hundred dollars more I think I would be more inclined to take a punt with the Jolida JD100

 

[davidmiya]

If you're got the money to burn, heck, I would go ahead and buy the NAD 542 brand new. Since this is a new release, you'll never find any used models for a year or so. I've read some review that promise a sonic improvement that'll clear up a few of the bass/brightness problems of the 541i (not that I would really consider them to be problems).

However, the NAD 541i is gonna go for DIRT CHEAP now that people like you are going for the NAD 542. Thus, it might be a good idea to buy used and pocket a few dollars to spend on goodies like IC's, power stuffs, and DAC's.

 

[enak]

Since you have such fine equiptment upstream, you might want the source to be in the same league to reap maximum benefits. I'm not sure what to get in that range, but maybe pm other members with a hp4 and similar headphones.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally posted by enak Since you have such fine equiptment upstream, you might want the source to be in the same league to reap maximum benefits. I'm not sure what to get in that range, but maybe pm other members with a hp4 and similar headphones.

My opinion: Sell the HP4. Now you have ~$2500 to spend. Buy a new Singlepower Supra ($1000), NOS tubes (say $200), and a really nice CD player on Audiogon for around $1000. The Arcam FMJ CD23 is a good choice for around that price. You might even have money left over for a great pair of interconnects.

You now have a fantastic amp but the Source is just as and perhaps more important than the amplifier. The setup above will sound fantastic with all your headphones.