[mclaren20]

Im am catching the upgrade bug again, and Im going to bite the bullet and get a good CDP. I need a redbook only player around $600 or so.

I had the NAD c541i for a few days, but a friend of mine bought it from me cause I needed the cash. Well, I dont need it anymore, so I figure my Denon has to go. I only had about 2 hours of listening off and on with the unit, so I really didnt get to listen to it.

Ive read great things about the Rega, so its the highest on my list. Is there anythign else I should consider in this price range?

 

[joejr]

Having own the Rega 2000,I would suggest the new cambridge Azur 640c,Found for about $450 new.
Both players are very similar in terms of being warm sounding and laidback.But i find the Azur 640C to have better Lower end Control.

 

[mclaren20]

Thanks for the comments, anyone else?

 

[DarkAngel]

TAS just awarded the Rotel RCD 1072 product of the year for 2003, also has full review on page 64 of current Feb/March issue, retails for $699 new, looks sharp.

I have not heard this CDP, just passing on info I have seen.

Rotel TAS Review

 

[Der Wolf]

I have recently auditioned many lower end CDPs. (I wanted to give my mother a nice player for her birthday...)

I auditioned:

Arcam CD 72T
Arcam CD 73T
Cambridge Azur 640c
NAD 542
Rega Planet 2000
Cyrus CD 6
Rotel RCD-02
Creek CD 50 MK II

Here is my mini review:

Arcam CD 72T
A fast and lively player. very exciting and fun to listen to. A bit hard arround the edges maybe. Good treble extension, a very nice and realistic midrange, a bit bass shy. Good detail.

Arcam CD 73T
Much rounder than the 72T. But a bit boring in comparrision. Not as detailed, a tad better bass, not as much treble extension. Midrange nothing spectacular. Too polite for me...

Cambridge Azur 640c
I didn't like this one at all. Very harsh treble, midrange (especially vocals) too thin. The player sounded "incomplete" to my ears. But a nice, punchy bass.

NAD 542
A nice player, but not as refined as the Arcams. Good midrange, good bass, treble a bit recessed. Not very detailed, and a bit polite.

Rega Planet 2000
I was a bit disappointed with this one. Not very much detail, treble a bit recessed. But a nice midrange. good, but not spectacular bass.

Cyrus CD 6
A nice player overall. Fast and lively. good detail, and a nice midrange. A bit lacking in treble extension. Pacement of the control buttons on the front is horrible...

Rotel RCD-02
I was really impressed with this player. did almost everything right. A bit lacking in detail maybe. Very good midrange and very nice vocals. In the end my mother decided on the Rotel...

Creek CD 50 MK II
The best of the pack by far. Very good detail, nice and involving midrange, nice treble extension and good bass. Very good buil quality. But a bit more than twice the price of the Rotel...


Hope this helps.

Lukas

 

[NetRunner]

If going just going by what magazines like about players:.. What Hi-Fi didn't think Rotel RCD 1072 was the best (4/5, in Sep/03 Supertest). They tought it was too polite (but only considering the opposition in the price class), they did find it musical and nice sounding. Arcam CD82T, Roksan Kandy MkIII and Cyrus CD6 went ahead. Cyrus won. FYI.. (They have not reviewed Rega 2000..)

 

[buzzlulu]

For what it is worth I just finished putting my "old" HiFi system back together (I kept my ProAc speakers and everything else is new). I ended up with a Naim system- Nait 5 and a CD5 player.

I auditioned the following:

Arcam 73+ -not impressed at all
Rega Planet 2000 - better than the Arcam however just OK
Rotel 1070 (not the new 1072)-interesting player
Arcam FMJ23- even though it is discontinued I SERIOUSLY considered purchasing my dealers demo piece
Linn Genki - I was GOING to purchase this player before going all Naim
Linn Ikemi - the last player I listened to before commiting to the Naim. However once I listened it compared to the Naim I ended up rejecting it

Naim CD5 - the player I ultimately ended up with

Gregg

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally posted by Der Wolf Cambridge Azur 640c I didn't like this one at all. Very harsh treble, midrange (especially vocals) too thin. The player sounded "incomplete" to my ears. But a nice, punchy bass.

What was the associated equipment? Did you test all these players in the same system? I have to ask because your impressions are almost the opposite of what I found when I auditioned the 640C. I found it very full sounding with a nice sweet top end and midrange, bass wasn't as punchy as the Arcam I listened to but seemed more natural and balanced. Strange...

 

[tom hankins]

Check the gear forsale forum there is a Musical Fidelity A3 24 bit CDP for 600.00 for sale by immtbiker. These are very nice sounding players and at this price is alot of cdp. They sold for around 1400.00 new. I mentioned this player in another thread also so it may be gone. A very good player for the money he's asking.

 

[Sync]

Because I like to live through other members here I say at least have a look at the Njoe Tjoeb 4000. Dont ask me how it sounds, Ive never heard it, but I do think its definitely one you should have on your list. Im not vouching for it, im just saying a used one is in your price range. Happy hunting

 

[joejr]

Der Wolf Mentioned 8 Excellent players for their price range,But the drawn conclusions regarding these players are far from accurate,Unless they where A/B within the same sound system and listening room,How could some one come up with such reviews.I could understand going from one dealer to another and listening to these various players,But once again you'll be listening also to other speakers,amps.cables and most important,Acoustic enviroment.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Headfellows,

Quote:

Originally posted by joejr Der Wolf Mentioned 8 Excellent players for their price range,But the drawn conclusions regarding these players are far from accurate,Unless they where A/B within the same sound system and listening room,How could some one come up with such reviews.I could understand going from one dealer to another and listening to these various players,But once again you'll be listening also to other speakers,amps.cables and most important,Acoustic enviroment.

I agree. I would consider such a review valid if the same headphones, cables, and headphone amp were used while auditioning from store to store though. Of course, given the subjectivity of audio our mileages will always vary regardless of method validity.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[bifcake]

Quote:

Originally posted by tom hankins Check the gear forsale forum there is a Musical Fidelity A3 24 bit CDP for 600.00 for sale by immtbiker. These are very nice sounding players and at this price is alot of cdp. They sold for around 1400.00 new. I mentioned this player in another thread also so it may be gone. A very good player for the money he's asking.

I would second that recommendation. I liked this player quite a bit. You would definitely do well to audition it.

 

[Der Wolf]

Hi elnero,

the associated equipment was a Musical Fidelity a308 integrated and BC Acoustic loudspeakers. And I auditioned it against the NAD, the Cyrus and the Arcam CD 72T. I can't help it, but those are my impressions. I have no intention to bash it here or anything, I just wanted to give my impressions. Also I would never buy audio equipment without auditioning it. To find the system I now own, I spend countless hours of auditioning gear...


Hi joejr,

I just wanted to give some impressions of the players I heard. I think, that this has much more value than some people recommending things, they haven't even heard. Also my impressions are only mine. When people recommend a loudspeaker for example and state it's a warm and dark sounding speaker, do you think that person has heard all speakers out there with the same equipment?

Well, no harm done, I just wanted to give some advice.


Lukas

 

[nilanjan]

There are many excellent players among the ones recommended. However, as we all know, CD players produce no sound at all on their own. So the real key is system matching - i.e., how well the components in your system interact with one another.

I can recommend the mid-priced Rotel players at least in the context of my own system - Cary preamp, Rotel amp and Vandersteen speakers. They are well built, have quality DAC's and last forever.