Looking for a cd player that plays nice with classical orchestra.
I think it’s going to be hard to find. But if you want a new single box cd player, then look for one that uses R2R ladder conversion technology, (not delta sigma) this will give you the fullest and richest dynamic sounds from redbook CD. Same goes, if you go for separate transport and dac, this way there are now many dacs that are now discrete R2R ladder. Cheers George |
What's your budget? To appreciate all the characteristics involved in the writing and performing of orchestral music, then the mastering and reproduction, you may have to do some auditioning. A separate DAC and transport may yield better results. As George stated, a R2R ladder DAC will have no trouble playing large-scale classical well. |
Never heard a Hegel, but yes, it gets pretty good reviews. What is the “part shortage”? Is it the DAC chip? The chip manufacturer AKM lost their factory in a fire. My Bryston DAC recommendation and their CD players would be affected here as well. If it is chip availability issue, then I wouldn’t worry to much, as nothing really happens to break a DAC chip. If otoh its something else, like a disc transport, and someone has already returned the item, I’d be a bit more concerned. Is the dealer offering a return policy? And where is the service center located if there is a problem? Hopefully you don’t have to ship it back to Norway |
Musical Fidelity M6CD is lovely. Relatively neutral. Good separation as MF is well known for producing a good DAC. Was just looking in the distributors system and am not seeing it and believe it has been discontinued. So, hopefully someone has stock still. I like the Canor CD players as both have a tube input stage. Good, engaging sound. The 1.10 has a lovely 24Bit DAC and great caps. The 2.10 has a 32bit DAC but doesn't have the quite the same build, thus why it is a bit less expensive despite the newer DAC. Delivery time on these is usually 4-6 weeks. Another good option would be Naim. The CDx2 is brilliant but not inexpensive at $6500 and unless a retailer has stock, is out-of-stock with ne delivery date anytime soon. There is a less expensive CD5si for $1690. |
Just got the Technics SL-G700 today. Beautiful player, mine is in Black. I am liking what I hear so far. Using regular phono outputs with stock cables. Will get better cables later but so far, sounds great. Listening to Enya and it sounds heavenly. I also like the fact that I can stream Qobuz directly from the app in full resolution through Google Cast although that functionality is not really highlighted. |
@jay73I I started a thread a few months back asking whether anyone has experience with SL- G700. Your comments would be helpful there https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/anybody-own-the-technics-sl-g700-sacd-player |
I just went through a similar process and have similar priorities. Most of what I tried were transports into my Lampizator Atlantic. I tried: Audiolab CDT 6000 - Good for the money for sure. Not in the same league as the others. Jay’s Audio CDT2 MK2 - Great sounding transport. A little sharp on the highs for classical at times in my system-- ultimately why I got rid of it. But very exciting. Line Magnetic LM-24 CDP - Meh, did not do anything offensive. Definitely tamed the highs with its tube buffer stage. But ultimately not enough resolution. Simaudio Moon 260D Transport - This is what I ended up with. 95% of the resolution of the Jay’s transport with a taming of the digital glare/harshness in the top end. Really happy with this transport. They also make a version with a DAC. I have not heard it but I think it would be worth trying. I tried to get my hands on a used Hegel Mohican to try. But it never came up for sale while I was in the market. I would definitely advocate checking that out if you can. It was on my shortlist. One more option that gets pretty rave reviews, but is quite a bit more expensive, is the Marantz SA-10. They sell for over 7k new. |
