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Decent CD Players

I'm in the midst of putting together a 2 channel system. I have listened to a lot of CD players and I don't think that any players, regardless of price, have really met my ideal. I'm looking for a player that is transparent, has good timing (is not slow as some players seem to be), clear midrange, good bass, good staging and handles the highs well. The budget is around $1,500.

I won't bore you with all of the players I have listed to, but here are two players that could serve as a benchmark. I would say that Arcam's CD92 is pretty clear but not that engaging. The player is dull. I have not listened to the FMJ CD23 but understand that is similar to the 92. The Musical Fidelity A3 is fairly decent but still fails overall. If I had the financial resources, I suppose that I would purchase a Meridian 508.24. This is not much info to go on, but do you have any recommendations?
biscayne
dburdick
61 posts
 
If you can stretch your budget by a couple hundred, I highly recommend the Resolution Audio CD55. There's one for sale here now for $1750. I haven't heard a better player for this used price. If you don't want to spend the extra $$, I'll second the suggestion for the Theta Miles. The Miles has great bass and it really does acoustic instruments well. It doesn't have quite the open/airy top end that some of the newer players have, but for its used price, a great deal.
Good luck.
edpadden
11 posts
 
I would try a Rotel or an Adcom before you drop the big bucks for a high dollar unit. They will get you in the ball park as far as sound.
aball
2,018 posts
 
I second the Meridians and also the Sony 9000es. I am impressed by the latter at its price point - Sony can come up with some great equipement.
mikem1062
4 posts
 
I think you might be able to find a used Granite Audio Model 657 CDP roughly within your price range.

The 657 offers a tube output section that basically brought tears to me eyes. Maybe not a very informative statement from a technical perspective, but it does sort of convey the emotional response I've felt myself and witnessed in others who hear the unit for the first time.

There aren't a lot of reviews out on this unit, but looking around you may find a thread here and there discussing the model.
sonic_genius
528 posts
 
For $350 on the used market consider a Sony DVPS-7700. This was a great DVD/CD player. It has digital out but only at 44k. If bested many so-called high end combos I have tried.
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