My beloved CDP finally bit the dust


Time for a  new front end.The laser and transport mechanism was designed as an entire unit,easily replaceable in my Vincent S6.Except the unit is no longer available.I've enjoyed it for the past nine years and I will miss it terribly.
I've got a Cambridge CXC along with a Parasound Zdac v2 on the way as a replacement.I don't stream,just enjoy physical media for now.Both are returnable if one or both don't work out.I didn't want to spend $$$ an end up in the same situation a few years down the road.I could up the budget but I'm not sure it's necessary.I'm hoping for a similar smooth sound with detail that's not harsh.
So what do you guys and gals think?Am I on the right track?My other components are LTA MZ2,Aric Audio Transcend Push Pull amp,Tekton Impact Monitors,four subs.Blues and rock,acoustic and electric is my preference for music.Any suggestions for 'plan B' components are welcome.
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Cerious is one I'm thinking about.I do like their ics.Wireworld gold sounds interesting too.
Given what you’re looking for, a tubed NOS DAC would seem to be a great option. If cost is an issue I don’t think you’ll go wrong with the Mhdt Orchid (see recent 6moons review), but if you have a higher budget the Audio Mirror with upgrades looks very interesting too. Both offer trial periods so you can try before you buy, which is huge. My guess is you’ll notice improvements over your Vincent either way.

On the digital cable front, I’d recommend trying a $40 Apogee Wyde Eye cable (go balanced if you can) before spending several hundred dollars.  I’ve used mine for many years, and it was John Atkinson’s (editor of Stereophile) reference for a while. It’s a neutral yet very natural sounding cable that I think will, in combination with either of the above DACs, do very well in delivering the qualities you’re looking for while saving you some $$$. Heck, not much to lose in trying and you can probably return it through Amazon if you don’t like it. Make sure you give some good hours for burn-in as usual, and definitely pay attention to the direction arrows if/when you install the cable (I installed mine backwards once and it was not good). Hope this helps, and best of luck.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6XL1XW/ref=twister_B01MUH69P1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Best of luck.
An excellent sounding one box solution is the Sparkler Audio S503 Spiral CD player. I’ve had mine for about 6 months and love how natural it sounds. Sparkler is a company formed by the top engineer for 47 Labs. The great Phillips TDA 1543 NOS 16 bit dac chip is used. A minimalist approach that delivers the heart of the music. Check it out...
http://www.sparkler-audio.com/portfolio/S503_en.html
The Sparkler looks pretty cool,thanks for the link.
I went with a Furutech digital cable reasoning it would get the signal from the transport to the dac cleanly without a 'flavor'.It definitely got rid of the digital glare.After changing some tubes around and trying several isolation tweaks the little Parasound dac sounds very very good with simple music.It can't handle massed instruments or even vocals.Then it becomes a congested mess.But it really sounds fantastic with one or two vocalists and two or three acoustic or electric instruments.Beautiful timbre,micro and macro detail,etc.If that's the only type of music I listened to I would be thrilled with this little dac.
I've enjoyed playing around with it but it's not the one for me.Next up is going to be a Tubadour lll.I'm waiting for Vlad to get back with me about upgrade pricing.
The Audio Mirror Tubadour arrived today.It's only been playing for a couple of hours.What can I say except I'm extremely happy with it.Warm,organic,but so much detail.My favorite music all sounds like new and better versions.