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Has CD playback evolved in the last 5 years?

A recent thread asked if an older, inexpensive player should be repaired or replaced; and that has me asking the question - has cd playback technology evolved to the point where it's now prudent to replace older (say 5 years or more) players because of advancements in technology? I have an older Arcam FMJ 23 that sounds really nice, but I'm wondering if new players or DACs will give me better sonics than my Arcam. (I live in an area where I can't audition equipment very easily)
rockyboy
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
there is no arguing with impprovements in technology, but, someone may prefer a dac or player that is 15 years old to many dacs and/or players in current production.
Mrtennis

Nailed it. My cdp is more than 10 years old but I prefer it to every newer cdp I've tried.
chazro's avatar
chazro
635 posts
 
Don't know about recent improvements but as far as the Arcam CD23's concerned, one of the reasons it's considered one of the better CD players is due to it's DAC; "a variation of the 'Ring' DAC, manufactured by DCS which the company used in it's own $15,000 Elgar machine." Arcam had a falling out with DCS which resulted in them using a different DAC in it's subsequent units. The 23's a rare bird, I'd do listening comparisons before getting rid of it!
chazro's avatar
chazro
635 posts
 
Don't know about recent improvements but as far as the Arcam CD23's concerned, one of the reasons it's considered one of the better CD players is due to it's DAC; "a variation of the 'Ring' DAC, manufactured by DCS which the company used in it's own $15,000 Elgar machine." Arcam had a falling out with DCS which resulted in them using a different DAC in it's subsequent units. The 23's a rare bird, I'd do listening comparisons before getting rid of it!
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I don't think 5 years is a good number to use. Aside from some small improvements, CD players have not seemed to progress much in sound quality using a 5 year time line. If you move out to 10 years, a much better case can be made.
mrvco
52 posts
 
I'd say the major change has been that there are a seemingly endless number of high-quality external DAC's available to meet just about any budget.
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