Which CD player?

[jhkuo]

Hi
I am looking to add a dedicated CD player to my setup which consists of Denon 2106, two MA RS5, R180 and two R90.

What sort of CD players should I be getting so I can get the most benefit out of my existing system?

I would like to get an idea of what I should be looking for before booking a demo in my local audio shop.

Thanks

[Atomic245]

It depends what price range but I have always been satisfied with Kenwood top end Players.

[jhkuo]

Sorry for being vague before,

I am looking for advise on the right price range of players that I should look into so it will utilise my system to the maximum and there will be little "waste" on either the CD player or the amp/speaker setup.

[cribeiro]

I'd say up to 400-500 euro should be ok... If your amp is denon, why not look for a Denon? Marantz, Cambridge Audio are also names that come to my mind... The CA Azur 340 is very good, and very cheap...

More suggestions, anyone?

[Knyght_byte]

hey there,

cant remember, what DVD player did you get? if it has a reasonably good transport, then it might be worth just getting a DAC, a few threads on this forum suggesting that, and i might even do it myself......the benefit is more money gets spent on the sound rather than extra mechanical items such as the transport....lol

altho the 2106 is a little limiting being a AV amp, but Denons pure direct modes are not all bad.....my 3803's is pretty sweet.....

i'd be inclined to suggest if you definitely want the whole CD player, something along the lines of the Arcam CD73....reason being its a fantastic CD player, not massively expensive yet happily competes against CD players almost twice its price sometimes......then one day get a stereo amp such as Arcam's A80 and run the RS5's off that with the A80 being fed by the 2106 pre-outs for movies.....

heh

i do get carried away here..lol

anyhow, the RS speakers appreciate lots of detail as they have fast tight drivers, but they like a to the warm side of neutral feed so they dont come across too bright.......hence my recommending the Arcam......if £400 is a bit steep tho, i'm not sure what to recommend, havnt listened to much below that for a while, i seem to remember Marantz being worthwhile around the £250-300 point....also the Cambridge Audios apparently arent bad....

i'd look around £400-500 if you can go that far.......as i say you can upgrade the amp one day in the future, the RS5's will take and do good stuff with equipment up to around £800 a piece.....so altho the CD player might be overwhelming for the Denon, it gives you better upgrade path to a stereo amp later instead of buying a cheaper CD player now....heh

. o 0 (or just keep that lot for movies, go buy a pair of GS20's, Musical Fidelity A3.5 CD and amp for music....bwahahahah.....sorry....hehe)

[cribeiro]

Arcam, of course!! Sorry I forgot about that one... But then again, you are going beyond beyond OP's ideas... As you already insinuate, the Arcam Cd will cry for a stereo amp "on par" with it...

OK, let's reformulate it... Options are:
1. Follow Knyght_byte's suggestions and keep going "uphill"
2. Content yourself with something below 500 euro, and leave the forum Otherwise, you will regret you did not follow option 1 from the start

OTOH... I like the DAC idea!!

[jhkuo]

I got a crappy £60 DVD player (Toshiba SD360E) that couldn't even play CD tracks properly (skips and pauses during play), that's why I am looking to get a proper player since I do listen to music a lot now

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, they give me a good idea on what I should look for. The Arcam CD73T is prehaps a little "too good" for my system, perhaps CA 640c is more like something of my level?

Do CD73 make a big difference to cheaper players? Can someone try to describe what the difference could be so I can try to look (hear) for those features in the demo?

Thanks KB for the GS20 suggestion, my flat is too small to handle that kind of equipment, perhaps when I buy a proper house one day? :-)

[Knyght_byte]

CD73 is a fantastic player and holds its own against players costing £600+! yet it only costs £400.....

it will reveal more detail than you realise is available in the music, thats a key thing to look, hearing sounds you didnt realise existed...heh

but as i say, you would do well with something like the CA CD player, it gets good feedback from folks so it sounds like it is worth the cash......but for £150 more, the Arcam does then give you the option to one day upgrade your system again by buying a stereo amp for the RS5's.....the CA amp wont benefit from much more than a CA amp of a similar price, and they wont wring out the best in the RS5's...they'll do better than a DVD/AV amp combo will obviously....but not as well as you could get....heh

given the problem you mention with the DVD player not liking CD's, i'd leave the DAC idea alone....lol

i'd say see if you can get a demo of a CD 73 on your setup as it is, plus a demo of the CD73 with something like an Arcam A80 or Roksan Kandy on the RS5's too for future reference.......see how it makes you feel........the problem with the CA stuff is you cant demo it as its in Richer Sounds......only exchange it for something else if not happy within 14 days or whatever the policy is......however if you get them to play you a CD player of similar price to the CA 640 while demoing the CD73, it'll give you an idea of the kind of differences to expect.......

[jhkuo]

How does Denon DCD1500AE compare to Arcam CD73 in terms of sound properties and audio features? Are there big difference in the music produced from the same CD between the two?

[Knyght_byte]

havnt heard the Denon, sowwy :-(

tbh the Arcam is pretty much the main player around its price range......one of few that both magazines and buyers recommend..lol

hell, even a guy in the shop recommended its better value than the Arcam 192 player!..lol

but like i say i cant say how teh Denon matches up....they are not overly known for their CD players tho really, it will be good, solid and reliable most likely, wouldnt like to say if it will be outstanding as the Arcam is.......

usual last words.....demo demo demo!...heh