The best CD Player for the money

Meridian 508.24...after all those years..still the best to my years..

The original post prompting all these replies is nearly 12 years old... Still the question--"What's the best CD player for the money" would appear to be a popular topic for discussion, judging from the answers Audiogoners continue to post more than a decade on. So here's my contribution (having recently replaced my aging digital separates with a new single-box player):

First, a caveat: I have no idea what the "best" player is in the entry-level high-end category (which, for argument's sake let's say is in the $500-$1,200 range.) Nor do I have a better idea of what most much more expensive (say $5,000 and way north of that) players sound like outside of audio showrooms, where they tend to be plugged into six-figure systems.

But for my money (which was under $3,000) the best player I found was the tube-based Prima Luna Classic. It retails for $3k, but their US distributor (Upscale Audio)has some open-box models for $500 less (or did, last time I checked.) I got one of those, along with a set up upgraded NOS tubes (Phillips/Mullard (real ones) and Telefunkens) for just under $3k including shipping, and the sound is heavenly... Deep, tight, bass (awesome, really), beautiful,delicate highs, and a very smooth and detailed mid-range. And the soundstage... Oh, the soundstage! Really good, from top to bottom, for its price. Are there better players? I'm sure there are... but I haven't yet heard one in this price range that beats it. Build quality (at least from what I can tell from the outside) and finsh are also top-notch. Warning: It sounds pretty thin and anemic straight out of the box and needs about 120 hours of on-time to really break in.

As to aesthetics, the look is decidely retro... (think of a piece of lab equipment in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein). Some people love it; others hate it. Loving the look of glowing, glassey tubes, I'm in the former camp, but tastes do vary... Looks aside, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new player in this price category. It's the first player I've had in my system that sounds every bit as good (and in some ways even better) than my twice-as-expensive analogue end.

It depends on the media. The old CD's play best on old technology...and the high end expensive players are not discernible...or not accurate!! You can put a Magnavox in a Krell system and get outstanding CD playback. As to media...I am not enthused with SACD. My best CD's are AAD...90's. I know the SACD is frequently AAD but so far I have not gotten a good one. ..at least as it comes through my Sony SCD-C2000ES. I do not trust the high end pseudo engineers to give us a good CD player. I am going to try a Marantz CD-5004 or a Toshiba something. NAIM and Van Alstine and Cary do not appeal to me. My best sound is now coming from off the air tapes I recorded in Bloomington, MN ..pulling KSJN, KTCZ and a classical Northfield station ... late at night. Every time I fire up my Toshiba DX-900 vcr tapes..PCM or Hi-Fi mode...my guest(s) comment "WOW! That is some CD!" (When I sold my Magnepan's the buyer demanded I "..get that awesome demo cd out of there... anything would sound great with that in there.. and put something normal on.." so I bent over completely and punched in the VCR.... then he wanted to buy my tuner!. He called me for three months wanting me to help him select his FM tuner!) Anyway .. of course it was the tape of great music from the radio station's cd player... FM translated by my renowned and obscure tuners from Luxman, Denon, Yamaha, Technics and Pioneer (Magnum-Dynalab and McIntosh never cut it for me. The peak of FM tuners was Japan 1987-88. Look at the specs... THEN listen). I had a cheap Radio Shack antenna in the attic. But then I did live on the highest hill in Hennepin County. What I am saying is...in the days of analog masters and FM station operators with skill and integrity and apparently great pro cd players, and conscientous engineers.. we got GREAT sound. I suspect those days are over...in the face of today's national leadership meltdowns ..... incompetent leaders in business and institutions everywhere. ps Deutsch Grammophone did some great CD's. And whether it is Mozart, Chopin, Ahmad Jamal, David Lanz, Jeff Beck, Los Lobos, Sarah Brightman, Bonnie Rait, Johnny Cash, Ac-DC, David Garrett, EmmyLou Harris, Doc Severinsen, BigHead Todd, Peter Gabriel, Roseanne Cash, Yanni or Enya..to mention a few... the music is where it is at and there is multiple lifetimes of it out there.... Oh man, a KSJN 90's tape is spewing some great classical as I write this.. I am almost tearing up again. It is the music foremost. What is giving me the sound? Since I no longer have the space for my two Magnepan 3.6R.NO SUBWOOFER!!...I am listening to..are you sitting down?..Pinnacle PN5+ with a carefully leveled and slopped ..forgot the name...self powered 15" sub-woofer that rarely is audible. The room is quiet and average size and those Pinnacles are ....incredible...with a little help from my Luxman amp maybe... What does your NPR station use to play music CD's? Maybe you should get one of those....

Audiogon28221.... I disagree with almost everything you've said so far.

Come on Zman...it is his first post/reply. People do want attention...don't they?