Need a knowledge update! (CD player)

[DanG]

My last CD player was the Meridian 508.20 and was by far the best one I've had. Before that it was the mid-fi Marantz. I only bought the Meridian about three years ago (sold it last year for financial reasons) because it was so cheap -- I was in the market for a 506 but found a 508 for just a couple fistfuls of dollars more. Since I got it, I bought the K Works Empowered power cord as well. I used the CD player with DH Labs Air Matrix interconnects, my Melos SHA-1, and Alessandro MS Pros or Etymotics.

I've been (I think understandably) away from the audio scene for a while but now I'm getting my discharge in under two months and I'm coming back home to a system without a source! If I set a limit of about $600 for my next CD player, what could I get (including used) that would minimize the downgrade shock? Do I need a Meri 506? A Linn Mimik or maybe Genki? One of the tubed CD players?

I'm really looking for something which is as close as possible in quality to the 508.20. Unfortunately, I'm absolutely not willing to spend over $1000 on a CD player which seems to be the going price nowadays.

What do I do???

 

[recstar24]

You obviously like the meridian sound, so i would say stick with a meridian. I would try to go to a 24 bit player, as i believe you will see it is a marked improvement over your 20 bit siblings. A 506.24 can be had for around your budget, but they dont come around too much, usually you see the 506.20's and those could be had around for less than 600. There is 507.24 on audiogon however for 900, which is an amazing deal.

Oh yeah, i'll give you a premature heartwarming "welcome back home" and good luck on your future discharge

 

[DanG]

Thanks for the recommendation and the kind words, Rec. I had been looking into the 507 as well as the 506 before I got the 508.20, but there was almost no information on the player. Did you by any chance audition it along with the 508.24? I'm just afraid it's just a slightly updated 506.24 and without a review I wouldn't be able to bring myself to spend the extra money over the 506. And from the other end, it seems worthwhile to spend the extra $100 or so for the balanced 508 instead.

So I guess some of the main players on my list that I'm interested in are the:
Meridian 506, 507, 508.20
Linn Mimik, Genki
Audio Note
Arcam

Can anyone comment on these? I'd especially appreciate comparisons with the 508.20 or even the 506 or 508.24 as these are apparently more or less similar.

Also, Rec, could you comment on the differences between the Jolida and 508.24? I'm assuming you preferred the 508 to the Jolida, but why? And did you listen to many other tubed CD players like the Minimax?

 

[digihead]

Unfortunately haven't heard the Meridians (yet). I do own a Linn Genki and a Sony C555ES. The Genki fits in great with my home Linn system. However, for headphone purposes, I would choose the C555ES any day. Its a beautiful player. You can also get it modded in the future should you decide to do so. The 555ES can be had used for around $500.

 

[recstar24]

DanG, the 508.24 was a much smoother cdp across the whole spectrum than my jolida. I thought the jolida was a such a smooth player, but the meridian really showed its deficiency in detail and resolution power, and made the jolida sound grainy at times in comparison. The bass is much tighter on the meridian, and can get somewhat bloaty on the jolida - the jolida really was a musical toe tapper, whereas the meridian 508.24 will throw everything at you but in a very smooth manner, it lays everything on the table, whereas the jolida would entice you with the midrange and somewhat gloss over the highs to give you the eprception of a smooth presentation.

I have not heard the minimax, but it might be a viable option if you are looking for a one box solution with the use of an amp, since the internal amp is supposed to be of high quality and fed by the output tubes.