More CD Player selection woes

Trelja. Very sorry your experience with an inferior made Chinese product has clouded your perception of what is available for purchase by discerning audiophiles. Making sweeping generalizations (at best) or displaying a personal bias against products because of place of origin and without having actually tested most of the products you disparage is unacceptable.

The Chinese own the electronics universe and yes they do build products that are unreliable and disposable. Just check out some of the major discount stores to get a sampling of unreliable planned obsolescence.

However, those manufactures that choose to work smartly and take advantage of what the Chinese offer can do very well. Companies such as Prima Luna and Raysonic built great sounding products that are reliable.

I own the Raysonic 128 and in some respects it sounds better than my Esoteric DV-50 (for redbook). It is without a doubt the most analog sounding CD player I have ever owned. And it gets played a lot. I also own the Shanling T-80and it is also reliable and musical, but clearly not in the league of the 128 or DV-50. I have also owned a number of Prima Luna pieces--- the Pre 3 and the Prologue 1. They both sounded excellent (not as good as my Wyetech) and were musically satisfying.

Manufacturing a product inevitably results in compromise. Therefore I suggest that one listen to what other actual owners have to say about the reliability of a product before you commit to purchasing. I know that there is a lot of crap products that are out there and it is inevitable that a lot of them are Chinese made products built to a specific price point. I certainly appreciate that you have experienced the negative side of things but many of us have also found great products at reasonable prices that exceed expectations.

We live in interesting times and as this discussion illustrates purchasing quality audio products isn't getting easier. Confidence in a product comes from many people having a long term positive experience with their audio gear. I guess I fall into that camp.
E.buzz. Listen to what actual owners have to say before you draw conclusions. Don't let someone else's agenda take the fun out of our hobby.

Michael

I have a Cambridge Audio 840C CD player for more than a year now. I brought it over NAD M5 CD/SACD, Rega Apollo, Sony ES-???? SACD Player, Music Hall CD25, Naim CD5i and a bunch of other CD players in that price range.

Cambridge Audio 840C is a bit analytical, with not a very large soundstage, but Cambridge Audio 840C is undoubtedly the best in that price range, and competes with players way above its price range. I have a tube preamp, so I do not find it that analytical, and it has integrated with my system very well. Also it has two Digital Inputs.

This certainly has turned into an interesting discussion on the merits of audio gear from various companies and countries, and I appreciate the education I'm getting from all of you.

Vinylrowe, you say that I should: "Listen to what actual owners have to say before you draw conclusions. Don't let someone else's agenda take the fun out of our hobby." I'm certainly doing that and appreciate and respect the expertise of all those who have lauded the merits of these Chinese players, but you also opine that: "Confidence in a product comes from many people having a long term positive experience with their audio gear."
The problem I have with the Chinese players is: for how long has that "positive experience" been? Have these players been around long enough to develop the track record for service etc., that the European and other players have established. The issue may be moot for me when it comes to the Raysonic because it’s a top loading player that will not fit into my rack. I won’t quit just yet on some of the others though.

I am, however, being drawn to the Italian Lector 0.6T and Audio Analogue Maestro player and am still considering the Cambridge player.

Vinylrowe, you may be interested in this. I heard good things about the Russian 6N1P-EV tubes and although they're not drop-in replacements for the 6922/6DJ8 types used in the Raysonic, they are very similar. I queried Raysonic and they gave me the go-ahead to substitute. I like them better in my 128 than the best 6922s I had been using using (JAN Philips). Many Eastern European Ebay sellers seem to have them -- mine came from a Ukrainian seller @$17.00 for all four, including shipping to Potomac, MD, and they got here in 10 days! Two friends have also bought them and love them. Dave

E.buzz. Like all things in life nothing is certain. I did my homework, stared at photo's of the inside of equipment I was interested in (thanks to 6moons) concluded the engineering and construction looked good. Perhaps I have been lucky so far but I assure you my equipment is run daily and after 18 months everything is holding together. The stock market has forever altered the way I view long term reliability. In other words go short .......go long? To me it doesn't really matter as long as it works now and puts a smile on my face.

Dave. Thanks for the tip. I will give it the Billy Taylor test...