Old CD player back from the dead—prompting many questions!

Now I have questions! (Caution: This may be boring)

For many years (almost 20) I ran a California Audio Labs Icon MkII CD player, purchased new for something like $1500 (a lot of $ back in the late 1990s, for me) and I gave up vinyl (yes, I am an old heretic). It was very highly rated back then.

About 6 years ago I was overhauling my whole system after my beloved 20 year old McCormack DNA-1 amp died (yes, I keep my gear a long time), so I put the CalAudio into deep storage, thinking it was old, and got a well-rated Rega Apollo CDP II cd player. $1200, iirc, and I was very happy with it. I don’t have super deep pockets for audio, and love great bang for the buck. I had been tempted a few years ago, before streaming, to get the Bryston CD player, which one reliable audio reviewer said could be his last CD player, but it was $4000. I just read glowing reviews last night of CD players for $10,000-20,000 but that ain’t happenin’!

Since then I have gone almost 100% to streaming (Small Green Computer Sonictransporter and Sonore MicroRendu, which may get upgraded soon to the Ultra or Optical model Rendu) using Tidal and Roon. In 2018 I bought a (well-reviewed by Robert Harley) DAC/preamp by Audio Alchemy, which I still use though I covet the new T+A 200 DAC/preamp and several other DACs. I am thinking of getting an integrated amp (Aesthetix Mimas) or mono blocks, and until I sort that out I am stuck in place. As they say, you only solve one variable in an equation at a time, and I hate auditioning. For me, if I won the lotto, I would hire a brilliant consultant to hold my hand and help me build my end-game system.

I kept and ripped all my 700+ CDs, but only occasionally play them. I have been pleasantly surprised that when I have A-B’d CD vs streamed hi-res and MQA tracks via Roon, the quality is very close and in the case of MQA, sometimes better (let’s not start an MQA argument!). This week, I fired up the Apollo and grabbed a few favorite CDs I use to audition gear at dealers, especially Alison Kraus & Union Station’s "New Favorite". My Apollo started skipping and stuttering! What the what? For 6 years it’s been flawless. I found their main non-warranty repair guy in CA and emailed and spoke to him, and learned that Rega has discontinued that Apollo II in favor of all-in-one CD/DAC players. Grrr. My unit is repairable for about $325 he thinks, so it will get shipped today. I continue to use it once repaired, and the CalAudio will be the backup. I am now reading CD player reviews but given I mostly stream I am reluctant to spend $3000-4000 on a CD player for occasional use and would rather plow that money into a DAC and other components.

I dug out the old CalAudio Icon to see if it still worked, as a backup. Everything lit up, the tray opened, but pressing play—nothing. Unresponsive—dammit. So, I left it on and ran some errands and a few hours later pressed play and voila! I had music. I guess after 6 years it needed time to awaken from its deep sleep. When I last used it it was before my DAC/preamp, and I used an RCA connection then to my old passive line stage, but this time I am using SPDIF/coax into my DAC/preamp. And it sounds great! A-B testing with Tidal/Roon and it is so very close, which means it is nearly or as good as the Rega Apollo. I am actually a bit shocked... this is a 25 year old CD player!

❓Now to the questions:

1. Could the CalAudio still really be that good, or is my DAC not good enough to reveal that the Cal isn’t that good? Maybe I wasn’t getting full value from it when I used it all those years without a standalone DAC, and was using a passive line stage and the CalAudio’s internal DAC?
2. How much better can CDs sound, with a better DAC and player? The guy repairing my Rega assured me that CDs played in a $6000 Audio Note CD player and with top shelf DAC (>$3000? $5000? $10,000?) will absolutely sound MUCH better than anything streamed. He was adamant. I am not yet convinced, but am I wrong?
3. Is the DAC substantially more important than the player, ie, if keeping the Rega or CalAudio am I going to see a major improvement by bettering my DAC? Maybe a dumb question and the answer is "Duh!"
4. I know all about the Law of Diminishing Returns in hi-fi, which is why I haven’t considered spending a lot more on a new CD player, but can the $4000 Bryston or an even "better" Audio Note be significantly better? 10% better for 4X the cost? 20% better? Mo bettah? I resist Death by $1000 Papercuts.
5. When I read reviews it is with skepticism, of course. Here is a glowing review of the below-the-radar $2000 Sparkler Ballade CD player (from Japan?) by Marc Phillips: "Then you have the Sparkler Audio S515u “Ballade,” which is the best of both worlds. It’s not so expensive that you’ll talk yourself out of buying it when your existing CD player loses its laser assembly and becomes a 50-pound paperweight. More importantly, it sounds so musical and right, and it does it with panache and style. I could totally see myself in one of these babies, and never worry again about how I’m going to listen to CDs twenty years from now." I called the distributor in Canada, a very nice fellow named Victor Kung, who proceeded to tell me that unless I was using tube gear and a 300B single-ended amp, he wouldn’t want to sell me one. He said it doesn’t sound good with solid state amps and gear. Really? THAT is a new one for me. https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2022/09/16/sparkler-audio-s515u-ballade-cd-player-review/
6. I think the smart money is on my upgrading my DAC, which will benefit my streaming, and then audition some CD players who I need/want to upgrade. Yes?
7. My whole system is in flux, but I know the preamp is the heart, and that is why the T+A DAC/pre is appealing... a 2 for 1 box. Then choose the amp or keep mine (Odyssey Khartago+++) or switch to an integrated.

➡ I would appreciate any thoughtful advice on CD players (to be used as a transport, though the really high-end ones often have excellent onboard DACS). How much is enough, the benefits of spending more than $1000-1500, etc. I have spent a ton of time reading DAC reviews and posts here.

Thanks for hanging in there on this long-winded tome! PD

(I’m running Vandersteen 2CE Signature III speakers (the latest) which may get upgraded to Treo CTs, though I have considered but not yet heard the Larsen 8 speakers). Random item: I’ve thought of getting monoblock amps, but wonder if those really offer something that a good stereo amp doesn’t (especially a true dual-mono amp). Maybe I will do a separate post after searching here.