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Best single box CD player for £4K

Cds3 and nac52 is a great pairing. Four boxes and all together heavy though. Finding something that clearly betters these two for sane money may be difficult . I'm sure some will disagree. That's fine.
I've thought about replacing my four boxes manys a time. Reduce the box count and get an improved sound ? Well , maybe not.
For two box set ups . Moon , Hegel ,and Leema spring to mind. And also the two top Rega units.
 
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Big Tabs said:
tiggers.

What did you go for in the end?

I want a cd player, but have heard very few. Probably up to 1.5 k (any more and wife eyebrows will be in orbit..)

Currently using arcam alpha 9, which needs a service I think as it fails to read some cd's or cd-r's. (no idea where to get this done locally nr. Nottingham)

I (like you) have no interest in streaming, if I can't touch it, it ain't real.
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I had an Alpha 9 for years and find my Exposure 3010s2 to be quite a big improvement: in that price range new, but discontinued I think. Before the Exposure I did also find the Rega DAC to be quite a step up, so I'd expect the Saturn R and even the Apollo R to do well against the old Arcam. I hardly listened to CDs when I had it: everything sounded just a little flat.
 
Paul Mc said:
Try to listen to an Accuphase.
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Just want to point out that if you buy a secondhand Accuphase CD player, you will need to check that it was originally sold in the UK. Get a photo of the serial number and either contact the UK distributor Audioworks or Accuphase direct.

If you buy one of the models that people bought on eBay from Germany etc., you won't be able to get it serviced in the UK. Or at least, the UK distributor is not able to service it for you and Accuphase will not provide parts.

Sorry for raising this subject again but given the huge disparity between Accuphase prices here and in Japan, it's not surprising that people look for bargains 'on the Bay'. I notice that many of the players selling on eBay are often more than 15 years old. You can check the age in the company's Product Museum section on their website.
 
Thread revival time. I have narrowed down my choice to:

Hegel Mohican
Rega Isis
Naim CDS3/555

OK firstly I know the Naim isn't single box, but it's the player I currently own and any replacement would need to better it.

I said before I couldn't live with the Rega aesthetically, but I've decided I can if it's that good.

So.... I would like opinions on the above three even though i know ultimately I need a home demo, but a bit of discussion is fun. Never heard the Isis properly (i.e. actually sat and really listened to it), but there are enough positive reviews to give me confidence and I do like Rega's sound generally. Heard the Mohican on a demo and really liked it. It just seemed to let the music through with masses of detail. The CDS3 in comparison sounds more full on, but is definitely stamping its signature on the music. I love what it does though, but wonder if without Naim amps/speakers it might not me as cohesive with the rest of the system.
 
tiggers said:
Thread revival time. I have narrowed down my choice to:

Hegel Mohican
Rega Isis
Naim CDS3/555

OK firstly I know the Naim isn't single box, but it's the player I currently own and any replacement would need to better it.

I said before I couldn't live with the Rega aesthetically, but I've decided I can if it's that good.

So.... I would like opinions on the above three even though i know ultimately I need a home demo, but a bit of discussion is fun. Never heard the Isis properly (i.e. actually sat and really listened to it), but there are enough positive reviews to give me confidence and I do like Rega's sound generally. Heard the Mohican on a demo and really liked it. It just seemed to let the music through with masses of detail. The CDS3 in comparison sounds more full on, but is definitely stamping its signature on the music. I love what it does though, but wonder if without Naim amps/speakers it might not me as cohesive with the rest of the system.
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Quite a few of the HiFi+ journos back in the mid noughties had the CDS3 as their CDP in otherwise non Naim systems. I think of all the Naim products you might expect to work outside of a Naim system, the CDS3 is it. I remember it as being quite wonderful but it is now getting on for 20 years old so I don’t know how well it has aged. I have heard that the 555PS is a huge jump though and of course it does also allow for a cheeky future CD555 jump if you’re feeling flush c
 
tiggers said:
T

I said before I couldn't live with the Rega aesthetically, but I've decided I can if it's that good.

.
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Glad to have someone else mention this. All the rega electronics are foul looking ugly things. I know it should be all about the sound but could you be proud of owning such a thing?
 
Darren said:
Glad to have someone else mention this. All the rega electronics are foul looking ugly things. I know it should be all about the sound but could you be proud of owning such a thing?
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I loved the looks of my Isis. The build quality is superb too as well as the sound. Don't forget that Rega keep a spare mech for each player too should you be unlucky. Mine never put a foot wrong and got more use than the P9.

Deserves a better IC than the supplied leads though.
 
The best is OPPO UDP-205. Sadly out of production. However, the company continued to support it, with firmware and DAC code updates - recent ones implemented MQA.
 
Killersteve said:
One add. vote for the Rega Isis.
Came from Naim CDS3 with TXPS.
Built like a tank and the 2 add. spare mechs
combined with a lifetime warranty in the UK
are really good arguments.
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Didn’t know it was actually 2 spare mechs and a lifetime warranty? That’s great though, Rega are brilliant when it comes to customer support if you have any problems.
 
Accuphaseman said:
Philips CD960. Still one of the best after 34 years.

Not easy to find though.
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With a £4K budget you could get a Philips LHH1000 transport and DAC and still have a lot of change left over. ;)

I totally agree. The late 80's and early 90's were the golden age of redbook disc spinners IMHO. The Philips CD960 is one of those golden era players but there are many more that are as good or better. Some highlights from the one-box players that I've owned or worked on include:

Sony CDP-555esd
Sony CDP-557esd
Sony CDP-337esd
Philips CD960
Marantz CD94
Denon DCD3300
 
Is the rest of the system now sorted?

I went down the radical route of ditching all my naim (similar pre-amp & CD player to yours) & went with a ATC CDA2 into active ATCs. Initially I had thought about going to ATC50s but could really stretch to them in one go as I wanted to live with the naim gear & ATC40s for a while.

I think I will end further up the speaker ladder for no other reason that it’s an itch to scratch; the 40s are brilliant but I believe you already know this.
 
Woodface said:
Is the rest of the system now sorted?

I went down the radical route of ditching all my naim (similar pre-amp & CD player to yours) & went with a ATC CDA2 into active ATCs. Initially I had thought about going to ATC50s but could really stretch to them in one go as I wanted to live with the naim gear & ATC40s for a while.

I think I will end further up the speaker ladder for no other reason that it’s an itch to scratch; the 40s are brilliant but I believe you already know this.
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Hi Woodface,

The speakers are more than likely going to be the ATC SCM40As like yours. I want to listen to the Dutch & Dutch but my partner loves the looks of the ATCs and the D&Ds less so and as she has to look at them as much as I do that is a factor. The pre-amp end I am still undecided but I have lots of time as house restoration under way and will be for a year or two.

I looked at the ATC CDA2, but alas it's not available in black and that is a requirement (I know, I know it shouldn't be about that). :D
 
Rack Kit said:
Didn’t know it was actually 2 spare mechs and a lifetime warranty? That’s great though, Rega are brilliant when it comes to customer support if you have any problems.
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This is why the Rega and the Hegel have ended up on the shortlist. Both keep two spare mechs for future issues with the players. I know most can't understand why I still use CD over streaming etc. but I just prefer it. I also have > 12K of them so ripping them is not an option. I massively prefer the looks of the Hegel over the Rega, but if the Rega is that good I may just go for it.
 
joe9407 said:
If you have the power supply, why not go for a CD555?
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Yep, have thought about it, but..... what started all this was a desire to get down to a very small amount of boxes. While I can countenance keeping the CDS3 as I already have it, replacing it for a like for like number of boxes seems counter-intuitive. It's psychological I guess. I also wonder if a digital output will serve me better in the mid to long term future. M-Scaler/room correction etc.
 
Answering the original question I think it makes a lot more sense these days to buy a separate CD transport and DAC. The DAC can be shared with streaming services and Internet radio stations so the investment in the DAC is shared. If you want to go down the streaming route you have to have a DAC anyway unless you buy a 1-box streamer and then end up with 2 DACs if you also have a CD player. When you have a separate CD transport, if the mechanism fails you just buy another if it can’t be fixed and you haven’t lost too much money.

I realise that there will be members here who turn their back on streaming services but, having used Tidal for over a year now, those people are missing out on a massive amount of music that can be sampled for £20/month (or whatever). When considering the cost of CDs streaming is fantastic value. I’ve discovered more brilliant new music in this year than in the previous decade. Also tried many albums I'd never have bought on CD and made my mind up whether or not to listen again.

For £4k I’d say stretch the budget a little and buy a £4k Chord Hugo TT2 DAC and a budget CD transport.
 
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