[squall2072]

So... its crunch time for the $1000 sources. A battle for the best overall sounding source at or below this price. IYO of course

If you had the option which would you go for and why? Please include models so we can finally sort out the best source for $1000.

There are alot of options and I'm sure there is no real "best" but hey with so many new players and options out there its about time we sat down, had a beer, played some poker and discussed the question

So what gets your vote??


BTW I have a royal flush

 

[Jon L]

I feel for your dilemma, since I'm in the same shoes. In a way, it's very good for us consumers that the price

erformance curve has really come down in recent months.

As a result, there are some great options in the $1000 arena, including Lavry DA10, CEC DA53/AQVox, Benchmark, Eastsound, etc.

But there's also a huge performance "hole" created in the $2000-$4000 range due to the emergence of $1000 pieces. If I wanted just a little more intangible "something" over Lavry/AQvox, I will have to jump way higher in the price range and look at $3500-4500 DAC's in the USED market! The law of diminishing returns really kicks in after $1000 in digital gear these days.

 

[SennFan]

I would go the former route (dedicated CD source). Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I have had better experience this way. What kind of sound are you going for? or better yet what kind of music do you most often listen to? Do you prefer a brighter sound? There is a Classe CDP-1 on Agon. Although I don't have any personal experience w. Classe, I have heard great things. If I were in the market for $1000- I would consider it. Good luck!

 

[squall2072]

I was creating the thread for everyone looking into a $1000 source but I love the rega planet I have I was just wondering what were the options out there and what each one would bring to the table* in terms of sound and build quality.


(*whether it be a poker table or not

)

 

[HumanMedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squall2072 I was creating the thread for everyone looking into a $1000 source but I love the rega planet I have I was just wondering what were the options out there and what each one would bring to the table* in terms of sound and build quality.

Firstly check our the successor to the Planet, the Rega Apollo. Its apparently a big step up, at the same price.

I cant answer how it will compare with sub $k DACs, but I would love to know as well.

 

[Garbz]

Many people will be familiar with my common rants about this topic. Given a straight $1000 budget your more likely to get better sound out of a dedicated CD player. Yes this doesn't hold true for all combinations of CD players and DACs because there's a lot of crap on both sides of the fence.

But generally a dedicated CD player has an all out advantage over a DAC. No data conversion, no multiplexing of the signal and clock, no clock recovery, no reclocking (which causes as many problems as it solves), no conversion from AES or S/PDIF back to I2S.

If you take all this into account, the same meticulous attention paid to both a CD player and a DAC, the cheap cdplayer + cable + DAC couldn't outperform a dedicated CD player on the price point. Some do but I already mentioned this above.

I second the Rega Planet, I've heard it although don't know it's price point. That said if NAIM Audio also make a cdplayer for that price it's also worth looking into. Then lateron you can slap a $2000 DAC onto your $1000 source or go through the hassle of selling it and buying a $3000 CD player