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Cd Player shootout ; which is the best of the best

Want to have some fun and at the same time benefit from some savy advice, here is the deal.
My front end is a Wadia 861 (actually an 860x recently upgraded). The unit's presentation is exquisite, in fact it bettered or equaled in various areas a 270/27ix Wadia combo I was babysiting for a friend while waiting for mine. However I've been serously considering going one step further and send it to Steve Huntley of Great Northern Sound(GNS) for his further upgrade which it's know to yield a significant improvement in the performance of this unit.
While doing some research in this topic a couple of units have cough my eye as serious contenders to the title of "best of the best cd player" Now I am wondering if I would do better upgrading my 861 or switching to one of these, the contenders are:
* Wadia 861 (with the GNS modificaton)
* Audiomeca Mephisto 24/192
* Audio Aereo Capitole 24/192
* Electrocompaniet EMC-1 MK II 24/192
There maybe some other worthy contenders but for sanity purpouses I've limited the scope to these ones.
For matching purpouses the rest of my set-up includes Lamm M1.1 monoblocks driving Verity's Parsifals via XLO Limited speaker cables, balanced interconnects are XLO Limited.
The 861 goes directly into the amps. in my current set-up but with 2 of this units I would need some volume control and am thinking a Placette pasive unit since ther is no analog in my inmediate future. No offense to vinyl lovers, I recognize it's many strenghs but at this point in my life am not willing to deal with it's complications.
Have you had the chance to compare some of these units among themselves? Your experiences will be greatly welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
jmr
patmatt
86 posts
 
The Electrocompaniet is my favorite player regardless of cost. I would liken it's build quality to a Rolls Royce- Adequate! Meaning anything less................etc.
As far as sound quality, I am extremely impressed. Even a vinyl lover has got to respect this player. Detail is top notch. It definetly retrieves info as well as any player in it's price range and well beyond. It is exceptionally musical and gives the music a weight that easily helps suspend disbelief that the musicians are performing in your listening room. It is the player that I will buy one day. I am currently using a Wadia Model 8 trans. recently upgraded and feeding a Perpetual Tech. P1A/ P3A with Modwright upgrades as well. The sound is excellent, but the EC is something else entirely.
At the Talon Audio room at the show in New York, I popped in the remastered " Yellow Submarine" and listened to "Eleanor Rigby". It was, and I mean this sincerely-BREATHTAKING! A "pop" recording from 1966 literally left people gasping, wide-eyed and shaking their heads in disbelief. It was that incredible. So was everything else we through in it. Harry Connick's recording of "The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" was uncanny. His voice was as intimate with out going over board as some players can do as I think is possible.
I could go on, but I've gone on long enough. If there is a weak link with this player, it is the remote. It works just fine mind you, but is not of the build quality that you would expect. I for one will not let this effect my decision to purchase this unit. Make sure you run balanced from this player to the preamp if you can.

Good luck and please post back what you end up purchasing.
formulaone98f3
16 posts
 
1) The Wadia is a great player, but you might want to avoid its resolution-diminishing preamp. 2)The Electrocompaniet MKII is also a superb player. Although it can be a bit lean and ever-so-slightly bright, it renders a nicely textured sound.2) The Mephisto MKII is the ablest of the three players in every aspect, IMO. All of these CD players are practically on par with one another -- it's just a matter of taste.
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Hi there,

i have owned a Wadia 860x, and currently waiting on the delivery of a Bow ZZ Eight.

I have listened to all of the CDs you mentionned above, and in my honest opinion, none of them does EVERYTHING right.

The mephisto is pure velvet : musical, delicate, detailed but lacks a certain 'punch'
The Capitole is a lot like the mephisto, but does it better. Still lacks that 'punch'.
The Electrocompaniet EMC1 MkII is a more balanced player. It has the delivery the forementionned lack, but is maybe a little less fluid in its presentation.
Wadia 861 is highly detailed, highly musical, but misses the heart and soul of music sometimes.

These are just my opinions, and frankly i think they are ALL fantastic players. You really cant go wrong with any of them. I personnally went for the Bow because i absolutely fell in love with its character. If i were to choose any of the above, i would in the end go with the EMC MkII.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Bad
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