Which tube cd player do you like

Blcube - I bought an EAR Acute CD player, having heard that it was very analog-like. I was looking for something that might present certain classical CDs in a more positive light...with less "digititis". It did a very nice job of presenting CDs with less of the CD "edge" that can be very annoying. It has detail and air, but is not what I would call "forward" in presentation. You can also nudge the sound in different directions by tube-rolling.

I would say that, in its price range, the EAR Acute is well-worth considering as a very musical player.

CJ DV2B, one of the best Cd players I've heard at any price. Satisfying natural sound. The challenge is finding one used as they don't last long on the market.

Primaluna eight vacuum tube cd player. Heard at upscale audio. Great sound and like all Primaluna gear tons of flexibility, tune in the sound you desire with different tubes and op amp upgrades!

Cary 303 is worth a look. It offers variable O/S (including NOS) and both tube and ss output sections.

Good Luck

Marty

If you are looking at tube cdp's...
Do not make the mistake of assuming that because your are procuring a tube player it will automatically have a richer, warmer sound than all SS players. Not so. Only by comparison to other units, both tube and SS can you determine how any given player stands in terms of "warmth" and a more analogue-like sound.

This is a list of some of the players I have used more recently (past two years or so), and I have arranged them according to their "tube-like" characteristics, with no regard to their being tube based or SS (the list begins with less tube-like/warm tonality and moves to highest tube-like tonality):

Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler & PC upgrades (tube)
Rega Apollo (SS)
Rega Saturn (SS)
Ayon Audio CD-1 (tube)
Cambridge Audio Azur 840C* (SS)

* The Ayon and Cambridge Audio were about tied in terms of tube-like tonality and detail, with the Ayon slightly more "solid" sounding and the Cambridge more "airy" sounding.