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CD player to compete with my vinyl rig?

Greetings,

I find that I have stopped buying CDs, which I regret because there is so much great new music out there.

My player is a Cambridge 640c and listening to it just doesn't do the 'suspension of disbelief' thing. It has all the right stuff: black backgrounds, dynamics, PRAT, detail, air, frequency extension, but as soon as the orchestral strings well up or the horns start, I want to turn it off. The timbral qualities are weird (especially massed strings, voices) and the sense of real people playing instruments isn't there. There's a sheen and confusion to the soundscape. My vinyl rig offers by far the more realistic experience. I have multiple copies of Mahler's 2nd Symphony on both CD and vinyl, and I never listen to the CDs any more.

I would like to find a CD player that makes me want to listen to CDs as much as vinyl!

I'm looking at reviews of the Rega Apollo R, the Teac PD H600, Audiolab 8200CD and the Decware Zen triode player. (Yes, around $1000 budget).

My rig: Pro-ject 2 Xperience/Shure V15-IV, Jico SAS, Cambridge 640c, Rogue Cronus Magnum/KT120 tubes, LS3/5a speakers, Kimber, Zu cabling.

Music tastes: Sibelius, Mahler, Bruckner, Bach, fifties torch singers.

I would love to hear suggestions from members!
Thanks
sumaato
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
the original cdx (naim, citca 1992), would compete with anything out there.

of course its all opinion.

with respect to analogue, there are many cartridges that have such an imbalanced frequency response, especially a peaky lower treble), that most well constructed cd components are preferable.

it is fruitless to compare "analog to digital".

it makes more sense to compare a specific turntable, arm and cartridge with a cd source.

the original tempest would be a worthy competitor to many analog setups.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Let us know what u decide. I was in the same position...looking for a CDP that would reproduce classical as close as possible to vinyl. (and with the $1000 budget).
sumaato OP
100 posts
 
So far, I like the idea of a CDR with a tube output stage. From comments here and elsewhere, it seems that it might shift the listening experience closer to the joy I get from vinyl. I'm pondering the options, but the Jolida sounds compelling.

I want to be able to surf the thrift stores in ten years time, cruising for CDs like I now cruise for vinyl! Maybe the Jolida will still be working for me then. I'll let you know what gets my money....thanks people.
realhifi
159 posts
 
I troll for used cds now and will in future but as soon as I get them home I rip them into a NAS drive and listen through a Linn DS unit. The ability to keep track of my extensive library easily and to surf my collection has made listening to music much more engaging by finding gems I had forgotten about or simply had not thought of forever. SUPERB sound, I am talking about competing with ARC's (and others) best cd players. Really.

PS. This is coming from a die hard vinyl junkie.
PPS. I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the Cambridge. Not sure why it got so popular.
sumaato OP
100 posts
 
Thanks Realhifi. The Linn DS unit is out of my reach. Perhaps this kind of unit will enter mainstream mid-fi in the future. I hope so.

Do you think the Cambridge 640c kind of presentation is last-generation technology which is now clearly eclipsed by the latest $1000 CDR? I'm wondering if (for example) the Rega Apollo R represents a generational shift in CDR sound, or are the differences minor?
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