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$5000 universal player ... am I a fool ?

So now ... recently my old reference source player finally died and I needed to upgrade to keep up with the times, and I'm not sure if I played the part of a fool or no.
Redbook CD is of the utmost importance to me, even though it is done in the context of my home theater system, Egads ! So I went on the search to find a DVD player that would hold it's own against about any CD player in the $5000 range on down. I'm fairly sure I found that in the Lexicon RT-20 I purchased used off these forums. SQ is as good as any CDP I have owned up to about $7000.
Here is my dilema though : Blu Ray seems to be the future, and this "universal" player does not play Blu Ray.
I've read EVERY long post on these forums about Blu Ray playing 2ch audio, but there seems to be absolutely ZERO concensus about this subject.
So simply put, are there ANY Blu Ray players that MAY equal my RT-20 from it's analogue outputs ? Anyone heard a good comparison, or are we still just guessing ?
timtim
sonicbob
31 posts
 
Hello,
I have heard some very nice high end units but ended up buying a Marantz SA-8001. This is a very smooth sounding player with dual mono discrete circuits. No cheap op-amps.
It is a 2-channel cd/sacd only player and does very good on redbook cds.
I think i would buy a lower priced blu-ray just for blu-ray until the technology brings the price down and look for a good 2 channel cd/sacd player.

Cheers
Bob
Post removed 
blindjim
3,092 posts
 

Keep the Lexicon and buy the Oppo once they fully release it for 'prime time' (oppo is still getting feedback via a limited release and implementing DVD audio as a firmware update) later this year.... without too many compromises, you'll have both worlds at your disposal.... and not have spent tons to attain them.
jylee
306 posts
 

SQ is as good as any CDP I have owned up to about $7000.
Can you list some of those CDPs and some comparison of SQ?
4musica44107
520 posts
 
I second the Ayre c5xe as an excellent universal player within your budget. I want to eventually (read: soon) add SACD capability to one of my systems, and so far the Ayre is the player to beat in the price range you mention. Still want to compare it to the McIntosh MCD-301 and the Marantz SA-8001 before pulling the trigger, though.

I actually listen to CDs periodically in our home theater (doing that right now, actually) because the electronics are pretty good (Anthem AVM-50 and Anthem Statement A-5 and a Rega Saturn CDP) and the front LRs are my old (1998) but still incredible Aerial 10Ts. I initially did what "Bob reynolds" suggested - digital out from the Saturn to the AVM-50, but found the sound unsatisfactory in terms of detail and soundstaging. So I tried some good interconnects (Auditorium 23) for the analog outs and WOW, what a difference! IMHO the analog outs were better in every way. But that has been MY experience. You could run the same type of comparison and come to the exact opposite conclusion. Regardless, I believe the comparison is worth the attempt!

Good luck!
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