How good is the Lector CD player?

Your "darkness" will occur when your Bluenote breaks.
I have nothing negative to say about Lector especially since they got rid of their old distributor.

I have owned the 7TL(recently sold the unit and ordered the NEW MK II version)
I also purchased a Stibbert about 9 months ago(early MK II version) and I truly have to say I could not own just 1 of them.
Both units do some incredible things.
I find the Stibbert to be more dynamic than the Lector,however,the Lector makes me feel like I'm listening to vinyl.
Some folks who grew up up in this digital world should throw an album on sometime soon and hear the life-like timbre of music again.
The Lector leans toward this flavor.
Warm,rich,involving,a wide soundstage with an effortless way of providing detail without ever being analytical.
I have tried and still have a slew of tubes that I have used
in both units.
The Stibbert seems to like the Siemens CCA tubes(have also used Amperex Pinch Waist, Amperex 6922 D-Getter's,to name a few.
The Stibbert has a deep clear soundstage that draws you into the music with fast and articulate speed and lower octave control.
The Lector uses a 12AT/ECC81 so your choices of premium tubes is a little more limited.
I enjoy using RCA 6201(Black plates),Mullard ECC81 "1962",
Valvo ECC81 "1962" and the RCA 12AT 7 (Black Plate which are easy to get).
I don't think you could go wrong with either of these fine players.
If the Lector 7TL MK II is even better than the original my choice between the 2 may be easier to make.

I unfortunately will not be able to now make the comparison
between the Lector MK II and my Bluenote Stibbert.
In Sept of 2006 the MK II version was to be available,however,I am not certain this player ever came to be.As of OCT 2006 there seems to a MK III already according to manufacturers website.
Regarding the prior availability and delay issue with the 7TL it appears this problem may still be around.
I paid for in full and placed an order in Sept and was told
that the unit would be re-stocked by the Distributor by the end of Sept.
As of the first of Nov. the units were not here in the US and I was given a refund.
I am still curious as to how the MK III player compares to the original unit and why the MK II version had such a short life span.
I am also curious as to how my Stibbert(latest model with all steel chassis,power supply,transport,etc) with the SoundFusion SF-60 suspension kit would have compared to the Lector.
Unfortunately,I may never know.

Just keep in mind that the perfomance you get with any cdp is system dependent. In one setup, depending on the player's synergy with that system it can sound awesome and in a different setup the same player can sound average or below. So much depends on the match of electronics and speakers with the player. So take everyone's, and I mean everyone's opinion about this player with that in mind. (with a huge grain of salt!!) The bottom line is how it will sound in your setup in your room. You won't know that until you have a listen. I have had very good gear here that just didn't sound good in my system- without careful matching of components you just can't get that optimum perfomance. Some of it is luck unless you know of proven systems and even then the room can muck up the works.

The previoos member is correct.
The sound and performance is system dependent.
I for one have had the opportunity to audition both the Lector and the Bluenote in my system.
I have a friend who owns the Stibbert and was very impressed with the sonics.
I brought my Lector 7TL over and we did some comparison listening.
In his system the Stibbert walked all over the Lector.
I was able to pry the Stibbert out of his hands for a week
and did some comparison listening in my system and found nearly the same results.
Better bottom end,soundstaging,effortless detail and the depth of field wasn't even close.
Going back to the Lector I found it flat and dark regardless of the tubes used.
Yes,it did take me forever to get my Lector and I am not surprised that member darealjaydee waited 2 months to just come up empty handed.
It just always seemed to be one excuse after another before I finally got my 7TL,however,I tolerated the wait and was satisfied once I had the 7tl in my system.
After hearing the Stibbert and having checked on the company's reputaion for availability I hope it will not take me as long to sell my Lector as it took to get it.
I say good thing member darealjaydee got his money back.
Go buy the Stibbert(they actually really make them)