Which is the best CD-Player up to $ 10k ?

Guys, thats why our hobby is so great
As Audiofeil said you can reach the desired results following many different approaches. It would be boring any other way.

Regards,

Michael

Cincy_bob, what Argyro is saying is that it is best to have a very revealing source, and then you mask it downstream with cables, speakers, amps, et al.

As I said before, there are many ways to accomplish good sound.

Some, like Argyro, prefer a true source and 'smoothing' cables and/or speakers. Others may choose more 'true' speakers and cables, but want a more 'smoothing' CDP.

Bottom line is we all are seeking the same grail, but have different means of approaching it.

Cheers,
John

Dcs must have deep pockets if they can loan $20,000 cd players demo models to potential customers.

The upshot is you get to test it out but its much more expnesive so in essence if you buy it you are paying for the luxury of the home audition

On the other hand, the playback designs cost less than the emm labs, dcs so don't have budget for demo tester models.

I personally would insist upon a listen first except for jonathan at chambers audio since his taste is impeccable, word is golden, reasonable prices

John, I understand your point, and I don't disagree. The only thing I might add is that I do think it is possible to put together an audio system that is faithful to the sound of live music and that does not require any of the components to do any "smoothing" per se. The notion that an audio system needs to have something in the chain to achieve some masking or smoothing of the sound implies that there is something inherently unmusical, unnatural or flawed with the recording/mastering/pressing process or the software format itself.

I'm not sure that's the case. Personally, I try not to introduce any component into my main system that has the effect of masking or smoothing over anything. Components that mask or smooth things over tend to compromise resolution, clarity and transparency.

As for the AMR CDP and the EMM Labs gear, there seems to be a basic assumption underlying some of the posts here that the EMM Labs gear is inherently more resolving. However, I have not found this to be the case. I have found both the AMR CDP and the EMM Labs separates to be very highly revolving components, and I have not personally found that one has an edge over the other in this area.

I would agree with the general notion that the EMM Labs gear tends to sound more analytical, while the AMR CDP tends to sound more musical. However, I doubt anyone has any real basis to assert that either source is inherently more neutral or more accurate than the other. As some have pointed out, that's a difficult assertion to make since we all lack a reference "neutral" benchmark.

I am very interested in trying the Payback Designs CDP to hear for myself how it stacks up. The advances that have been made in digital playback in recent years are really very encouraging.

Interesting discussion about how to achieve the best sound. I feel that a high-quality source that is faithful to the recording is the place to start. I would give equal footing to the source and the speakers. I've invested more in proper set-up for the source than in any other component in 3 different systems.

What goes in between the source and the speakers should not smooth or mask, but help let the source realize its greatest potential. This means quality components, attention to power, cabling, connections, and isolation. Many high-quality components respond quite favorably to optimization and tweaking. The concept of a cable that removes information, without taking the proper pains to set-up correctly, seems to be going in the wrong direction.

As a generality, going from around the 5k to 10k price tag for digital results in a 3-fold improvement in performance.