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Is my dealer lying to me?

This past weekend I went to listen to some speakers. I've been planning to buy CD player also, but that was not this weekend's purpose.

At first we were using a YMB player, McCormick amp, and Soliloquy 5.3 speakers. The speakers is what I was auditioning.

The CD player he is trying to sell me is the Cambridge Audio D500ES, I beleive. Price:400

Big difference I know between the YMB ($2500)and the Cambridge ($400). But it wasn't $2100 in difference in sound I can tell you that. What concerns me is the difference between his comments and the perceived opinions of people on this board. In other threads, there are quite a bit of "ditch the Cambridge" comments.

The dealers comments were "best player under $2000"... "chris sold his $2500 Theta and picked this one up because it's that good, and pocketed the money"... etc.

I'm not asking if this is the best player under $2000. But how does it compare to Arcam and Rega models at $500-700?

Obvisouly, he recommends the Soliloquy 5.3 also. I liked them but wasn't as impressed as much as I thought I would be. The guy has a small shop and seems honest, but it seems this cambridge is not very well respected in this forum.

I've gotten rid of alot of my gear. What I have left to use is a Yamaha RXV-995 receiver. An amp will come, hopefully sooner than later, but I need speakers and a CD player now unless I want to continue to use my DVD player for CDs.

Any comments?
gunbunny
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I think I agree with Sdcampbell ... I have not been able to hear much difference between my Marantz CD67SE and an expensive Meridian player I borrowed, and certainly not a $2k difference. In my experience the interconnect makes more difference than the CD player. I have a modest system of Densen B-100 amp and Spica Angelus, similar in price to the Soliloquys. Therefore your dealer could well be truthful .... I too have long suspected that high-end CD players do not justify their price tags, but I have never heard a dealer say so. On the other hand putting more money into the amp and speakers (and room treatment and cable) makes a profound difference (again my experience).
Patmatt is also correct that you should go with your ears.

Sorry I can't help with comparisons with the Arcam and Rega ... and at that price point I would also consider the Creek CD43 (not because I've heard it, but because lots of people seem to like it). I also wouldn't rule out Marantz ... I've been very happy with the sound and build of mine, and it only cost me $250 at a sale ... leaving plenty of cash for the rest of the system, and for a later DAC (if it makes an audible difference)
thsalmon
348 posts
 
I think the Cambridge is a very nice player for the money. I friend of mine has one, and I really can't think of any budget players that sound any better. In my opinion, you should get the very best source components that you can reasonably afford, because no future upgrades to your speakers or amplifier will be able to improve its' sound downstream. You can probably find a used Rega Planet 2000 (a huge improvement over the original planet) or a used Arcam Diva CD 72 for around $600 to 650 on Audiogon or eBay.
gunbunny OP
43 posts
 
well, the D500SE is supposed to be considerably better than the D500. The dealer is going to come to my house with it and let me compare it to whatever else I can get my hands on then. Sounds reasonable.
argent
245 posts
 
Musical Fidelity A3CD. I don't see how you can go wrong with this one. $995 new online (only place to buy it). I don't own one, but from what I've read I believe you should take a listen. Others here might agree. Most online stores have a good return policy.
ultrakaz
187 posts
 
I agree with the above posts that high end cd players are grossly overpriced and that your money is way better spent on speakers and amplification.

Like with all components there is a point of diminishing returns, where you have to expend significantly more to get a little bit better sound. With cd players this point seems to be around $500. To be sure there are differences between players in this price range and up to $2000, but they are minor.

What you are really paying for in a more expensive player is better construction (hopefully), hype (likely) and lack of efficiency (the smaller the company or production run the more it costs them to build the player). I've heard cheap dvd players from mainstream manufacturers sound better than "megabuck" cd players from small high end companies.

The most important thing is to satisfy yourself and not follow blindly what you read in the magazines or this or any other discussion forum. Therefore, it really should not matter what your dealer says, simply trust your ears. And if you are lucky you will not care about the minor difference in sound that a $2000 player will give you.
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