[mikerewak]

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[JMT]

Hi Mike, welcome to Head-Fi. Not knowing what your budget is, it's hard to make a recommendation. But, check out this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...threadid=10974

This Sony player has gotten some great reviews from many members here. You might also want to check Audiogon, many times there are some pretty good deals on "previously owned" components.

BTW, sorry about your wallet.

 

[john_jcb]

The Sony DVP-NS500V is a very good player for roughly $150. I have one and have been very pleased with it.

 

[carlo]

mike,

welcome to head-fi, now give me your wallet. (sorry, inside joke)

respectfully, i suggest that you hold off on the rs-1 purchase and instead pick up lower end grados (sr-225 for example) and devote the price difference (along with your original cd budget) to your source. if you take the time to cruise the archives here, audioasylum, and the professional press you'll get a good short list of players to consider. as jmt said audiogon is a haven for deals, be patient and something is bound to come up.
Quote:

I was wondering what the least expensive cd player out there is that will do these headphones justice.

i haven't heard the do everything sony unit, but the lowest priced cd player i could live with is the nad c541i, plus discounts on refurbished, used, and b stock units abound.

regards,
carlo.

 

[DanG]

I agree with what Carlo says in terms of choosing lower-end headphones and re-allocating the rest of the budget. However, I suggest you spend only some of that new larger budget on the source and make sure to get a good headphone amp for those Grados. Or, perhaps, if you get the 225 for example, you may want to get a good source and then buy an amp later. If you sell your SR-80 here on Head-Fi or to a friend your budget should increase and you'll be that much closer to being able to get a good amp.

The Mapletree tube amps have been said to be pretty good for Grados, and while I haven't heard them, I've found tubes to be good for Grados (I currently have the HP-2 and have owned the RS-2 and Music Series Pro). My HP-2 goes wonderfully with the Melos SHA-1, and my previous Grados were great with the old Wheatfield HA-1. However, even the Altoid amp that JMT built for me did wonders for the MSPro compared to the headphone jack of my CD player.

So, to sum up... get lower-end Grados or stick with the ones you have, and allocate your budget primarily to source and then try to get a headphone amp. While I don't believe that a headphone system is only as good as its weakest part, the source is very important and worth taking seriously. And as any good Head-Fier will tell you, an outboard amp is very necessary for all good cans.