I can't really hear a big difference

Dennis....It may also be the case that you need time to develop an ear for this kind of thing. Knowing what to listen for (along with your own tastes) takes time and experience.

i'm almost beginning to think maybe the tubes are going out or something. more than half the time i think the sherwood sounds BETTER.

maybe i need an ear.. but DAMN, it's almost impossible to hear the difference. i may send it to BAT, get the DAC upgrade and have the unit checked out before i resell it... that's after the test i do with new interconnects.

Dennis, some people, some of them real professionals in audio design work, some experienced reviewers, and a whole lot of just everyday music lovers, maintain that you cant tell a difference between any two modern cd players in a blind test with levels matched. Maybe they are right. I have always imagined that I heard differences, but I could be totally wrong. What does seem to be true is that the differences between cd players these days, if there are any, are more and more subtle, and insignificant compared to the diferences you can make just be moving your speakers around. If the sherwood does what you want a cd player to do, why bother with anything more expensive?

hey paul, it's not that the sherwood does what i want it to do. i mean, it does sound good, but i feel like it could sound better. and maybe i'm just trying to get something out of a format that cannot supply what i'm looking for... guess i'm just shocked and disappointed that i didn't get that same jump the way i did when i switched out the NAD for the VTL.

I recently sold my Linn Mimik CD player to purchase a Karik but circumstances caused an extended delay. While waiting for the Karik I resorted to my cheap sony CD player to get me by. I had done listening comparisons between the Mimik and the Sony in the past and found the differences to be quite subtle - particularily a/b comparisons. It was only with extended listening that I truly began to appreciate the strengths and refinement of the Mimik, and the utter noise that came out of the Sony. It got to the point that I almost stopped listening to music on the Sony because in my high resoluton system it eventually became downright grating. When the Karik finally arrived what had previously seemed to me a subtle difference suddenly became a critical night and day difference. the Karik satisfied all of the expectations previously set by the Mimik but with even greater resolution more finesse - and I soon gave the Sony to the Goodwill Society.

Regarding the differences in volume levels of your CD players, it could be the output levels of those particular players but also the absence of grating noise and distortions that make the BAT seem softer.

- the Sony CD player was an early 90's $300-400 player.