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Player that excels at imaging..

My quest still continues for a new cd player.Most important is finding a player that excels at imaging.Don't get me wrong all the other things are important to - bass ,extended treble,natural midrange,etc.But nothing gets to me more in a system than when you get a nice wide soundstadge with great imaging.Players I'm looking at are Cary 303/300,Audio research 5,Resolution audio opus 21.My current player is a Sonic frontiers cd-1.It lacks the imaging & bass I'm looking for to complete my system.My other gear is Pass labs.Any opinions whould be helpfull..
spaz
spaz OP
105 posts
 
I have played in the past with power cords and never made a final decision..I have tried cords from ESP,Cardas,and a few others.Some of these cords gave me a slightly better sound.I'm still using the stock cord on the SF cd-1...
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I've heard dozens of different kinds of power cords, but I've only heard one power cord give the kind of performance that you seem to be looking for, Virtual Dynamics. Now I'm not a big fan of VD cords/cables, as that front row presentation is not for me.

If you insist that it's the CDP that is the culprit, my only reco that would suit your tases would be the EMM Labs CDSA-SE.....I don't know that it will fit your pocketbook though.

Cheers,
John
spaz OP
105 posts
 
I hear the Emm Labs gear is top knotch but evrn used seems out of reach at this point.At there asking price it should be great..The quest is finding a real world priced cdp..
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Yeah, I thought the EMM Labs stuff was out of your price range, which is why I recommended the VD power cord......much cheaper, but will give you a similar performance change.
rtn1
535 posts
 
Agree with the power cord.

Disagree with the Pass Labs limitation.

Wadia is great at imaging (ie. 381 or 581). I believe having a wide and layered soundstage that is correct requires brute resolution. There are many components that increase soundstage in an unconvincing manner. For me, musicians need to have have the correct position, size, and stability. This must hold across different venues, genres, and volumes. The soundstage must have the appropriate distance, width, depth, and layering. You should be able to point to each musician individually.

You probably need to look at CDP 6-12k new for a breakthrough in price/performance. There are probably a dozen brands to consider. You still need a power cord, though.

It doesn't look like you can reduce toe-in or increase speaker width, so probably not much to do there. However, do play with speaker position every time you demo a new piece of equipment. Speaker position can be used to highlight or hide certain aspects of your system, so a change necessitates re-evaluation.
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