Best redbook CD player

gentlemen:

i am considering a lector 7 mk 1. i believe it is either 18 or 20 bit, with a 12at7-based tube output stage.

my friend owns one. i have heard the player many times.
i have seen a couple used, for under $1600. my only concern is the transport.

after what i heard last night, it might seem that the computer and software could be the heart of a digital front-end.

i visited a friend who uses his apple computer to send a wireless signal to a denon transport, via optical cable.
my friend was commenting on the foolishness of audiophiles who buy expensive cd players, when a computer may be a more efficient way to get a digital signal to a dac, than a transport.

OK Mrtennis, it makes sense and probably is in the future for many of us. The question remains how to accomplish this. The whole thing about mixing a computer with high end stereo makes me queasy for some reason.

Are you saying you want the Lector as the DAC and the mac instead of a transport?

By the way I love the Lector, but missed my chance to get an MK3 at a good price. They come up used, but not frequently.

Sony XA7E.S. the sheer number of players that have bowed

down to the Sony continues to grow. The Japanese put both

feet into building this masterpiece of reliability and

ability to resolve, and transfer the entire contents of the

Disc to Your speakers. I am not alone, here is a fellow

Sony owners take...

A nice condition and perfectly working Streophile Class A rated Sony CDP-XA7ES. Bought used 2 years ago but played less than 50 hours as I have many cd players. The XA7ES is one of the best sounding redbook player ever released by Sony and it is on par if not better sounding than my stock Sony SCD-1 and SCD-777ES. I also like the sound of the XA7ES better than the Cambridge 840C that I used to have. A bargain at the asking price. You can add on external DAC for even better performance. You will not find a better redbook player than the XA7ES at the asking price

For $650 a steal.

Enjoy The Music!

Actually, just as much as I hate to admit it, MrT just might be on point on his reco here. Just look at this thread also posted today, to see some high end transport nightmares. Read Trejla's reply in particular, this from an importer/distributor. As Joe puts it so well:

12-19-08: Trelja
I consider them (transports) the achilles heel of the high-end audio hobby, and do not recommend costly CD players in most instances, as one is simply buying a glamorous case and (hopefully) well designed/implemented power supply and output section all wrapped around a cheap piece of junk that is more than likely destined for the type of failure that leaves one's machine not much beyond a large, expensive doorstop.

At the very least, if you cannot go with a computer drive now, you may consider an inexpensive transport with a high quality DAC instead of a CDP. One that you can still use when you are ready to make the move to a music server in the future.

Cheers,
John