mcintosh mcd 301vs 201

I have owned 2 McIntosh CDP's in the past (MCD201 & MVP871). Did not care for either, even though they were used in a McIntosh system. There are much better players out there for the same price. Just my opinion.

If I understand correctly the McIntosh sales literature, both players use the same DAC and transport.
The transport reads at 4x speed and corrects errors on the fly.
The MCD 301 implements a cast aluminum box surrounding the transport, in order to reduce motor noise.

I have auditioned an MCD 201 and for the price, it is an excellent sounding CD player, even better on SACD.

get the 301
it is a fine player
holds its resale
buy used

The MCD201 was known to have issues that were resolved with the MCD301. The used market for the 301 in mint condition should be around $3000. Good luck.