Upgrading my CD Player

[arj]

Truth is even if you put a component in, what you hear is the system ... and synergy between components is not so straightforward ! Also from a price point of view there is nothing which can beat used..as long as the seller is Trusted.

the Cyrus is really good as a cd player and so is the Primare. From a system point of view both the MF as well as the Quad are both on the Warmer, darker side so even a supposedly "thin" cdplayer will not sound thin on your system.

One advantage of the Cyrus, if i remember right is that it can be upgraded for pure transport duties too .you may have found the CD loading frustrating but it is just a matter of getting used to. believe me my CDM Pro2 can be pretty time consuming !.

Sorry for more confusion but in case the Ayon is above your planned budget,(BTW it can be used ass a DAC as well ! as it has a digi in ) I somehow feel you might just prefer the CEC TL51. it is one of the most organic cd players around although not the most detailed. another one i can think of in case you can find one is the Ayre CX7 which detailed and clean and organic...perhaps one of the best buys today.

In case you feel you are being forced due to lack of choice to your current choice, it maybe more sensible to hold of and wait till something comes up rather than rush into a sub optimal requirement just because it is the best available choice you have now.
My apologies again in case i have created even more confusion.

 

[arj]

The CDPro2 is a class act with pure glass optics - a very heavy-duty Pro transport from Philips with manufacturing strictly limited to western European plant only. That thing lasts a lifetime! So does a TL0 from CEC once you can muster enough muscle to set it up ..... :lol:

true..on CDMPro2s putting in a cd is a kind of a ritual..but the sound is simply amazing. organic and detailed and its built like a rock...can actually hear difference in Isolation

The TL0 is legendry..and $$$ the ones which i could squeeze into my budget were really old and hence got a bit scared.

 

[unleash_me]

Tube ARC amplification with the D28s - ARC VT-100 MK3 with a CEC TL-1 as transport & Theta ProGen 8 DAC driving the power Direct). Very classy yet simple setup.

What did you plan to drive them with?

Ooh! now that gives me goosebumps already but at the risk of being a spoilsport, I was planning to run them with my modest 15S1 combo from Marantz at that time.

 

[murali]

Hi arj
I listen to all type of music , mostly slow numbers some Ghazals , Classicals, Soft Rocks , few soft Malayalam Songs , Kishore Kumar , Rafi , Some this and some that which is soft.
I am not into Bass kind of music so bass is not my preferrece here. i am not looking for a forward sound at all. I heard a Cyrus 8SE , I liked the sound very much but the loading thing is more frustrating. I would be very happy if it was a CD 8x or even a CD6s would be good for me. I am looking for that type of sound---am i confusing you?????? I have heard the NAD and marantz and those are normal once , I have not heard any CDP beyond Cyrus and Musical Fidelity. I am even open to purchase a CD6s from Cyrus. Is the Primare a better player then the Cyrus? ??. never heard the primare so far. Kindly advice.

Since in the beginning you said that your budget was around Rs 1 lakh, even if you look for a used high-end one-box player from abroad, you cannot afford to spend more than $1500 for it, considering the shipping cost and duties etc. In such a case, it will be better to settle for a new player from any authorised distributor in India so that you are assured of support and services, if they give.

I wrote earlier that I chose the Arcam after listening to several others in the $1000-2000 range, including Primare, Linn, Cyrus, Linn, Quad etc, all those European brands. To me, the Arcam was the most "musically involving" player leaving aside all those audiophile terms like thin, forward etc. My experience is that the truely high-end source starts somewhere around $3000 and the Arcam FMJ versions are almost there. Otherwise, look for a used Resolution Audio or Ayre. I have heard good things about Audio Aero, Gamut etc but never got a chance to listen to them. Even now, if you look in audiogon.com, there is a Gamut player (used) available in your price range but I don't know how good it is.

Good luck in your quest.

murali

 

[tharun]

What will the Price of the CEC TL51 , and where is it available in India? Also how good is the Musical Fidelity A5 CDplayer, In their website it says that its the best player MF has ever produced and only 1500 of them are available world wide.

 

[rikhav]

Tharun and others, sorry for being offtopic
From this thread i have learned of so many cdp brands which were absolutely unknown to me before
On an average i learn about a new manufacturer daily thanks to hifi and its members

 

[tharun]

Tharun and others, sorry for being offtopic
From this thread i have learned of so many cdp brands which were absolutely unknown to me before
On an average i learn about a new manufacturer daily thanks to hifi and its members

Rikhav , I am sitting in front of the Computer for the past 1 week and searching for different CDP , You have lot of good models all over the world at very attractive prices, But We get just handful of those models in India. Now I wish i should not have visited my friends friend place , where I listened to a top class system and went mad. This hobby is so addictive that my bank balance has never crossed a lac.

 

[rikhav]

Hi Tharun
Yes, we have very limited choices in buying new and as well used. US and Europe you get used hifi components in every budget at a good price and in good shape as well

Again i dont want to confuse you more. But did you ever study the option of using your Marantz as a transport and buying a good DAC?

 

[sidvee]

What will the Price of the CEC TL51 , and where is it available in India? Also how good is the Musical Fidelity A5 CDplayer, In their website it says that its the best player MF has ever produced and only 1500 of them are available world wide.

CEC Tl51 retails for $2k in US. Not sure who sells in India though.
Cheers
Sid

 

[tharun]

Hi Tharun
Yes, we have very limited choices in buying new and as well used. US and Europe you get used hifi components in every budget at a good price and in good shape as well

Again i dont want to confuse you more. But did you ever study the option of using your Marantz as a transport and buying a good DAC?

Using marantz or Nad as a transport and going for a good DAC was also in my mind , but reviews says that a Dedicated CDP will sound far better then the Two box system at that particular price point. If i have a huge budget then i can go for something like the Esoteric , DCS , TCS , ABC , BBC , CNN. etc.

 

[rikhav]

Hmm BBC CNN

Then I would also suggest to bear with the DVD player for a while, save some extra cash and get a CDP which you will relish for atleast next 5 years to come

 

[mitul mehta]

Try Cambridge 840C

 

[mitul mehta]

Try Cambridge 840C

If people wants to enjoy pure DAC then pls go for cambridge 840c cd players.

Its available in india.

 

[tharun]

Yes Mitul , From next week I am starting my audition of CD Players , I will be in Cochin next week , I would make my self free and will audition Musical Fidelity and Cyrus in my friends place , will also try to audition the Primare and CA. Read many reviews about the CA 840 , the reviews looks impressive , but based on the reviews I have bought a CA 640C before and the sound was not to my liking. I am wondering if the 840 will have the same sound signature of 640.

 

[rikhav]

Yes Mitul , From next week I am starting my audition of CD Players , I will be in Cochin next week , I would make my self free and will audition Musical Fidelity and Cyrus in my friends place , will also try to audition the Primare and CA. Read many reviews about the CA 840 , the reviews looks impressive , but based on the reviews I have bought a CA 640C before and the sound was not to my liking. I am wondering if the 840 will have the same sound signature of 640.

I remember AmitNoida and Asit posting on some thread about the CA CDP's and said the 640 and 740 or the 740 and 840 sounded different
I tried hard but cant remember the title of the thread. If i get it i will post it over here

 

[dinyaar]

Hi
Avoid MF cdps even though u have an MF amp. Cyrus is an option if u like that kind of squeaky clean sound, Primare is better IMO but i'll repeat the Arcam is the best in this range for a 1 Box.
I like a bit more of body than what the cyrus, primare offer. Another option with different sonics than the arcam is a marantz 11 S2. Grey price should be marginally over your 1 L budget. A superbly built unit.
Never heard the CA 840 so no comment. From what I have heard from others its a competent CDP and in a different league from the 540,640s.
Rgds

 

[arj]

What will the Price of the CEC TL51 , and where is it available in India? Also how good is the Musical Fidelity A5 CDplayer, In their website it says that its the best player MF has ever produced and only 1500 of them are available world wide.

Dont think anyone sells CEC in india. i had got in touch with CEC some time back and they confirmed it to me.Eddie The hong kong dealer (Up Grand Audio ) is recommended and ships abroad as well (he can discount the rate to reduce the price for declaration).

The rate for 51XR in hongkong is only 8000HKD as a promotion these days ie slightly more that 1K USD which is ar0und half of the cost in the US ! so it will be still cheaper after shipping (Around 150 USD by UPS) and customs. please do not bargain with him on the price as apparently he will just stop responding then !

BTW the TL53Z is around 1600USD and is far better that the 51XR with a much better transport and power supply (is a top loader)

About MF...every product of theirs is "Limited edition" which they stop and start a new model ... will give it a miss.Regarding CA, the 840 is supposedly supposed to sound very different from the restvery highly rated

But finally, i just heard an Ayon CD1S at ARN today morning and must say it is a really good product.and may last many an upgrade. the digital in Helps Immensely

 

[unleash_me]

I 2nd Dinyaar's suggestion of Yamaha CDS2000 as well as Prem's Sony ES series. Also, check out the Reference range from Marantz. I replaced my Primare setup with 15S1 combo for more warmth and fluidity it offered compared to the rather clinical sounding of Primare - its a matter of personal choice. Going by audio_engg's suggestion, you can not only use them as stand alone cdps but adding an external dac like BDA-1DAC will take them to a whole new level. Just recently I listened to the Bryston dac with an old marantz player (cant remember the model, it was an old OSE or KI version) This is an amazing dac for sure.

As a follow up to this, I just came across a similar post about CDP Vs. Transport/DAC. Hope this helps you with the ever growing confusion.

 

[reignofchaos]

Its funny how good the CD1s sounds considering that it uses Burr Brown OPA2134 opamp chips for I/V and buffering. Goes to show how a well designed circuit can get the best out of even not so expensive parts.

 

[mitul mehta]

Hi tarun

CDP 840C up sampling is the best with your current audio setup and you can avail at about 75K in India. I had just checked a month back. It was ready available at one of dealers.