[fh6350885]

Hello, everybody:

I originally aim at PC hifi, but as a student, I was limited to have both audio interface & DACs because of my low budget.

Now I have decided to buy a CD player instead since the CD player might give me a much greater improvement than do the DACs of same price. My budget is about $500 (if might be a little flexible) and second-hand used CD player will be very welcome.

I did quite a bit research on a few forums, and check the selling info on the site like AudiogoN.com. The followings interest me a lot:

1. Rega Planet 2000 (Used)
2. Denon 1500AE (Actually I do not know where to buy it)
3. Arcam 73CD (Used, somebody said it is the best within $1000)
5. myryad Z110 (Used)
6. Nad c545/c542 (Could any body tell the difference between them?)
7. Creek Evolution (Used, it is difficult to find a used one)
8. Onix CD15 (Used, also difficult to find a used one)
9. Musical Hall CD25 (Used)
10.Meridian 506 (Used)
11.Anything You Think Is Suitable!

The most of above could be found on audiogon.com.

I prefer the one which has a relatively good part of transport, cuz I might buy a decent DAC later. My headphone is k701s, and I plan to buy a amp later.

Could anybody give some suggestion about any machines above. If possible, could you guys tell me where to buy them as an additional favor?

Thank you in advance!!!

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Everyone is saying really good things about the Emotiva erc-1, its only 399 brand new.

Emotiva Audio ERC-1 Reference Compact Disc Player

 

[THAY BRAN]

Evo2 recently released so expect to see more mark 1s on the secondhand sites.The Arcam is probably the best choice.

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fh6350885 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I originally aim at PC hifi, but as a student, I was limited to have both audio interface & DACs because of my low budget. Now I have decided to buy a CD player instead since the CD player might give me a much greater improvement than do the DACs of same price.

Hi fh6350885.
If you still have your DAC you could try Little Dot transport (Little Dot Models and Pricing Index) and save the rest of your money to buy a better DAC in the future.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[mrarroyo]

I have an Arcam DV73 and a Meridian 506.20 and IMO the Meridian is the better sounding. I had an NAD C542 which is cheaper and I really liked its sound signature (on the warm side), it also plays HDCD's. Good luck.

 

[Frank I]

The marantz DV6001 available from Music Direct for 299.. is outstanding. I use it with my K701 and couldnt be happier. The SACD and redbook are spectacular. If you want redbook only the Onkyo DX 7555 can be had for around 500.00 from JR Music and its class B rated.

 

[fh6350885]

I really appreciate you guy's help.

I tend to buy a CD player around 500 bucks. A friend suggest the 506.20, since he has the 508.24. He believes 506.24 should pretty good for me, but he is not sure the 20bit version.

Little dot transport seems a pretty good option. But that means I need a DAC right now. I haven't planned to buy DAC so early. I might buy it very later. So it is out of my range. thanks

I also heard something about arcam's machine. Based on the reviews I have read, some models have problems on disk reading. I am really afraid of that. No one wants to buy a unstable CD player.

thank you

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fh6350885 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tend to buy a CD player around 500 bucks. A friend suggest the 506.20, since he has the 508.24. He believes 506.24 should pretty good for me, but he is not sure the 20bit version.

While Meridian makes pretty decent sources, I would avoid its older players as I've heard that transports for older Meridians are difficult to find and may be a bit expensive.

 

[fh6350885]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWysokinski /img/forum/go_quote.gif While Meridian makes pretty decent sources, I would avoid its older players as I've heard that transports for older Meridians are difficult to find and may be a bit expensive.

Thank you, man. But what do you mean by "older"? Do you mean those that are out of the market?
In addition, if I bought a pre-owned meridian cd player, I should have a transport. Do you mean that I will have a problem when I want to update the transport?

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fh6350885 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you, man. But what do you mean by "older"? Do you mean those that are out of the market? In addition, if I bought a pre-owned meridian cd player, I should have a transport. Do you mean that I will have a problem when I want to update the transport?

By older I mean 50x models. The problem with a transport may arise if you buy a second hand player and its transport fail in the future. In such situation finding a new transport (laser, cd mechanism) may be difficult.

 

[jlaakso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWysokinski /img/forum/go_quote.gif By older I mean 50x models. The problem with a transport may arise if you buy a second hand player and its transport fail in the future. In such situation finding a new transport (laser, cd mechanism) may be difficult.

Meridian 50x uses CDM 12(.x) transport mechanisms. They can be replaced with newer versions: Philips CDM12 / CD-Pro / CD-Pro2 / CD-ProM / CD-Pro2LF - Marantzphilips.nl

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlaakso /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meridian 50x uses CDM 12(.x) transport mechanisms. They can be replaced with newer versions: Philips CDM12 / CD-Pro / CD-Pro2 / CD-ProM / CD-Pro2LF - Marantzphilips.nl

Oh, I didn't know that. That's very good, these are very fine transports.

 

[fh6350885]

That seems a big problem. The transport is not a low cost.

Now I am wavering among these:

Meridian 506.20 (it is a little out of my budget)
Rega Apollo (Someone might give me an offer)
Myryad z110 (This seems a old machine,and much cheaper)
NAD c545/542
Music Hall cd25.2(Could anyone tell me something about it?)

I really appreciate it if someone could do a brief comparison and help me narrow it so that I could make an easier choice, thank you in advance!

 

[Sanjaygolf]

I second the choice of the Emotiva ERC-1. I have it after previously owning the Cambridge 640C and it blows it away. Emotiva has a 30 day free trial so unlike those used players you could always send it back.

 

[jeffreyj900]

I owned a highly modified Music Hall CD-25 that I liked (Zap Filter, Clock, bunch of other mods). It played HDCD as well which was nice. Would give you a nice upgrade path in the future (ie: to mod it). You can switch out the opamps pretty easily. There are threads on it here.

I also owned a Meridian G07. Really liked it, and don't think you can go wrong with a Meridian. I would make an offer on Audiogon.com. I recently sold my G07 there. Times are tough. For instance, there is a 506.20 there now for $595.00 plus shipping. I bet you could get it for somewhere between $500-$550 shipped. Figure shipping would cost between $50-$80 insured. I paid $85 to ship the G07 to California.

I currently own an Exemplar Denon 3910. You can pick up an un-modified Denon 3910 on Audiogon.com for around $350.00. There is one on there now for $360.00 shipped. I like it because it plays SACD, HDCD and DVD-A. You can also use it as a DVD player. It's built like a tank. Just a thought.... I am really enjoying SACD and DVD-A! Here is a link to a review from Enjoy The Music.