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What was/is your favourite CD player

snaphappybob

snaphappybob

pfm Member
I have been listening to streamed music from tidal via Audiovarna using a mac mini and the ifi zen DAC. Bang for buck I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it. For the sake of nostalgia I decided to get myself another CD player which was repaired and upgraded by Mike P: An Arcam CD5 plus.
I'm enjoying listening to the old silver discs but can't honestly say it approaches the quality of the streamed audio but it got me thinking of all the players I've owned in the past.

Here's the list:
Marantz CD273
Mission DAD5
Rotel RXB965
Audiolab CD8000
Naim CD3
Linn Mimik
Arcam Alpha 7SE
Marantz SA7003
Sony SCD XA300
Gap when streaming only
Then the modded Alpha 5 plus.

I had the 7se longest and loved the sound. It replaced the Audiolab which went faulty within the first month of ownership but when it worked was probably the best CD player I have owned for sound and build quality. I loved the drawer mech on the Mission but it got stolen, along with my Nait 1 before I had time to fall in love with it. The Rotel was always a great performer until it gave up the ghost after many years of ownership by both myself and my brother. I remember being underwhelmed by the Naim which I bought 2nd hand, I thought this odd given that the rest of the system was Naim then, and I have now returned to Naim (82, Napsc, Hicap, Nap250 & SBLs) The Mimik, well as my mum used to say : if you've nothing nice to say, say nothing. The SA7003 (now with my brother) sounds great with SACDs and pretty good with CDs but the Sony that replaced it was better all round. Kinda regret selling it on.
Clearly non of these are stupid money players but I'm interested in experiences of the good folks of PFM's down to earth CD player histories?
 
I’ve got a Cyrus CD8 SE at the moment with its own power supply but I was keen on my Marantz KI signature before that. Never really heard many others
 
Sony DVD DVP NS930V. Bought, I think, in 2004. Still use it without any issues.

Prior to that naim CD 3.5, prior to that Marantz 63 SE, Phillips CD 916(?). Last 2 failed within 3 years of purchase.
 
Rega Saturn-R and Rega DAC. Not the last word in anything but sounds analogue, gets the music out of any CD and always gets you into the music instead of thinking about the Hi-Fi.
 
Tried quite a few, wasn't impressed with quad cd players, I thought the mass market marantz 63 kis trounced the quads, linn genki was one of my faves
 
we have/have had

Pioneer 801(i think it was this model - very early one, had a "turntable" so you loaded the CD "upside down"!)
Arcam Alpha 8 - our "workhorse" for many years...
Linn Karik+Numerik - very nice, took over from the Arcam.......
Meridian 200+203 or 263 - slightly "polite". preferred the 263 DAC over the 203
Naim CD3.5+Flatcap - Oh yes........
Naim CDX+XPS - oh my!
 
My favourite CD player is a Sony XA777ES, which I bought secondhand.
It was over £2000 new and I paid £600.

It wasn't impressive on first listen, like some cheaper players.
It 'grew on me' and I've never looked back.
I have a spare, genuine, Sony transport so the machine will probably see me out...
 
Maybe I'm unlucky but most of my CD players developed faults meaning none reached the ten year mark.

- Yamaha CDX 4 (typically for the period: shrill)
- Micromega Optic (quirky, plasticky but better sound)
- Linn Karik (great but no spares)
- Arcam FMJ 36 marvelous for the price until it broke down
- CEC 51 with Chord DAC64mkII (lovely sound but that puck is so heavy that it creates havoc if you drop it) and simultaneously, late Naim CD3 (should have passed on this one at that time - I found it aggressive and flat)
- slummed it with various DVD players as CDTs (they tend to take ages to decide what type of disc you have fed them) - I still have the best, a Cambridge 540, in the cellar (it could play anything even seriously scratched discs with gouges in the absolute worst direction)
- Luxury and great sound - Moon 260DT into the Chord DAC then a dCS Bartok

Now I only have a (pre 4K) Cambridge CXU BLURAY player since I practically always rip new CDs first and play them with Roon. Its main raison d'être is the possibility it apparently provides of ripping my SACDs.
 
I gave up silver discs over a year ago in favour of Roon but I always liked a good CD player. Here’s mine in order of ownership:

Cyrus CD6 (which I had factory upgraded to the CD8x)
Cyrus CD8x
Sony SCD-XA9000ES
Nagra CDC
dCS P8i
dCS Puccini
Pioneer PD-50S

Wish I’d have stayed with the Nagra for longer but I was so into SACD at the time that I gave in to a persistent acquaintance who wanted to buy it from me. It sounded lovely and was a joy in operation.

The dCS players were also good, but seemed a bit clunky. The Sony ES player was another very nice machine.
 
Only had three and one on loan. The loan one was an AVI of a friends which was very good actually. Draw was unreliable even then. Then a Sony Cd 715E which I still have in the loft which I need to have another listen to. Then a Naim CD3.5 which was better with a power supply and good for a small range of my CDs. Then a CDX which was OK but got replaced with Teddydac and SBT. Must get that Sony out again.
 
Sony 337 ESD and the Avondale Audio Arcam Alpha 5 are my favourites. I thought Les did a better job with the Arcam than he did with the CD3, which was a mighty fine disc spinner.
 
Love CD and CD players. Have a large hankering for the first 'audiophile' models: the Meridian mcd, the CAL Tempest, Cambridge Audio CD1, Meridian MCDPro etc.
The best single box player I've had is the Wadia 830.... Still got it somewhere.... Crap pioneer transport, ace sounding electronics. Still have a Sony 555x es... Gold, with a lovely transport and gorgeous little puck - not played it for years. . Have a knackered MCD in the loft (must ask Mike P to look at it)
Now spinning CD's into my Soncoz dac. CD in my system sounds different to rips, not better or worse but recognisably different..... It's odd.... Other people can hear it too.
 
The Arcam CD23T was definitely the one for me - stunning performance from this player especially for what I paid for it used.

One of my 2 favorite digital components the other being the Metrum Octave.

Bold presentation man did that player bring the music alive in the room. Major wrong move selling this player and buying the Audiolab that you guys were on about it didn't even come close...
 
Not in the league as my Sony, but my Tascam CD-RW 700 is remarkably good.
I bought it to copy LPs to CD, which it did brilliantly.
Tascam kit is prof. spec. and very reliable.
 
I've had a few players in my time (still have a broken CDP-101 in the loft), but it wasn't until I heard a Karik/Numerik that I heard proper music from one, in my opinion anyway. I couldn't afford that combo at the time so eventually listened to Naim's offerings and bought a CD2 a few years after that.... this was my favourite player until a year or so ago when a CDS3/XPS DR replaced it.... not much gets close to a CDS3 in my opinion, but recently listened to a Hegel Mohican and loved it. I want to get it alongside the CDS3 and do a comparison, but for now the CDS3 is my player of choice.
 
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