Differences in CD players? Am I crazy?

What kind of carbon cable are those, Vandenhuls? Those cables usually has a more mellow midrange which would be a good mix with the Teac player which tends to sound a bit hard and analytic. Also, how old is the Teac player? I know most of the VRDS units were built quite a while ago. So, the DACs are a bit dated compared to recent DVD players as well. Also, high end units respond better when you have better powercords and interconnects as you have experienced.

Oh boy, another victim. Welcome Tomek. Now you're cursed forever. :)

If you really want to be driven crazy, and bankrupt, try to hear a really good LP playback system. That will shock you silly. (Don't shoot me guys, I know this is the D side.)

Tomek,

When you did this last audition, were the levels matched? They must be at the same volume level or you ain't really heard nothin' new or better. One of the most common "mods" is a change/alteration of an op-amp which would change the volume level quite a bit.

Don't forget the power of suggestion as well as the urge to be friendly and communal with the demonstrator. These are very powerful and can lead to false results. We see this in medicine all the time, that is why drug and therapy trials require Double Blind Testing for ultimate validity.

Charlie Daniell, DVM

For what it's worth, I've observed non-audiophiles be able to quickly hear changes among mid-fi CD players auditioned through mid-fi systems - even when they weren't expecting to be able to do so - and also other listeners who professed they couldn't hear any differences under similar circumstances, even if I could (all tests casually level-matched). Even in my own higher-resolution system, there have been times where direct comparisions have left me wondering whether small improvements in CD performance were really worth what they cost, but other times when differences seemed quite obvious and important. This may not be of much help, but I suspect your dilemma results from some combination of there not being an earth-shaking difference between the sounds of your players (which is not to say no differences at all), and your lacking the system and possibly the ear-education to fully discern or appreciate what differences do make it through to the listening position. Aside from your experience at the dealer's, I would counsel you to conduct more extended listening sessions using a wider variety of disks - you may find that a clearer picture of the situation emerges over time.

Elmuncy, if you could not tell the difference from CD to SACD in your setup, I think there is something definitely not right. Perhaps, try to change speaker placement in your room.