Best single box CD player for £4K
- Thread starter tiggers
- Start date
Rana
pfm Member
A long shot, but a used Audionet ART G3 if you can find one to demo. Also available in black. This one was in budget range.
For 4k I would be more inclined to go for the rega isis for service and support going into the future.
Naim have stopped making cd players so spares for a 555 may become an issue in time.
Expensive dac and cheap transport are a valid option (I have a chord qbdHD and Cyrus transport) into active 50's and the chord is a good match , for a single box player then a Chord Red player with the inclined CD loader may also be an option.
I would stress again that a separate Pre amp is a vital part of the sound chain into active ATC'S, Since Christmas the Cyrus /Chord combination has revealed many of my CD'S poor mastering!!!
Naim have stopped making cd players so spares for a 555 may become an issue in time.
Expensive dac and cheap transport are a valid option (I have a chord qbdHD and Cyrus transport) into active 50's and the chord is a good match , for a single box player then a Chord Red player with the inclined CD loader may also be an option.
I would stress again that a separate Pre amp is a vital part of the sound chain into active ATC'S, Since Christmas the Cyrus /Chord combination has revealed many of my CD'S poor mastering!!!
Yes, I know what you mean re lack of black but it actually looks better in the rack as I have silver uprights on the naim Fraim.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).
I am going to try an innuos zen in the near future, I suppose that is another option if you pair it with a good DAC.
boneman
pfm Member
darkstarcrashes
pfm Member
Considerably less than your £4k budget, but have you thought about the Roksan Caspian cdp? I've had mine for just over a year and absolutely love it.
My other half is annoyed with me having and wanting to display around 1k!
No worries as reducing down to around 12k now
Musicraft
Trade: Musicraft
joe9407
actress/activist
Hi Tiggers,
Yes, absolutely. I ordinarily wouldn't suggest throwing significant dough at a CD player -- but with 12,000 CDs, you're the exception to the rule! I say throw caution to the wind and go all in. One only lives once and that's what I'd do were I in your shoes. However, as @406v6 and others say, do check out a streamer if you can. Internet radio and Tidal are fabulous and life-enriching.
Good luck!
Joe
Killersteve
pfm Member
Yes, two spare mechs at Rega for each Isis and a lifetime guarantee for manufacturing issues. I have asked Paul about it.
k90tour
pfm Member
I have a weird compromise.
I bought a Meridian 808.3 CD player because I wanted to use CD rather than a network streamer (I'd rather not the faff). The CD drive broke down and it was away for a while. In the meantime, I bought a Marantz SACD player and an Innuos Server to connect to it via USB. It sounded very good.
Anyway the Meridian has been returned and I hooked it up to a Sooloos server. I found that the Sooloos sounded better than the CD. Oh dear.
But using the Innuos via the Network into the Meridian is way better than any digital source I've ever heard.
So I have a great CD player but find the same unit sounds better when used as a streamer.
I'm both happy and disappointed. I don't want to stream and I don't want to use Roon. But it all works well together.
I bought a Meridian 808.3 CD player because I wanted to use CD rather than a network streamer (I'd rather not the faff). The CD drive broke down and it was away for a while. In the meantime, I bought a Marantz SACD player and an Innuos Server to connect to it via USB. It sounded very good.
Anyway the Meridian has been returned and I hooked it up to a Sooloos server. I found that the Sooloos sounded better than the CD. Oh dear.
But using the Innuos via the Network into the Meridian is way better than any digital source I've ever heard.
So I have a great CD player but find the same unit sounds better when used as a streamer.
I'm both happy and disappointed. I don't want to stream and I don't want to use Roon. But it all works well together.
boneman
pfm Member
LOL!No worries as reducing down to around 12k now
Salamander
pfm Member
Don't know if this has been mentioned previously, but given very good reports on sound and build quality CDT2-MK3 | Jays Audio (jays-audio.com)
Gives you plenty of options for a separate dac.
I do like the suggestion of the Audionet though.
Gives you plenty of options for a separate dac.
I do like the suggestion of the Audionet though.
Thread resurrection time.
OK my choice (had to be single box/black/max £4k/future proof) came down to three players in the end and it took me ages to hear them all in my system. The three shortlisted were the Marantz SA-KI Ruby (had some great Marantz players in the past and the attention to detail on this one seemed impressive), the Hegel Mohican (love the design aesthetics and the ethos of the player's creation - spare mechanisms available for the foreseeable future) and the Rega Isis (yes I know I said I hated its aesthetics, but the more I heard about it the more I decided I needed to give it a listen - also matched spare mechanisms stored at the factory). The latter would need to be had secondhand, but I reasoned getting a good one would be relatively easy if I was patient.
The Hegel was easy to get for a home demo, the other two less so, but I acquired them both in the end. The Isis was a pre-owned unit for sale from the dealer and I figured if I liked it I could buy it. However it was my outside choice due to its looks so I was hoping it wouldn't make the grade. As it happened the dealer sold it to someone else while I had it so I was further put off by possibly needing to search for another should I like it that much that I had to have it.
I'm not much good at describing sound so I'll just give a very quick resume of the three players in my system/house and bear in mind that my standard player is a Naim CDS3/XPS (the new player will replace it as long as it is as good or betters it) so some comparisons were in order.
Marantz SA-KI Ruby - beautifully built, easy to use and very detailed. However, overall I felt it was a bit too clinical and characterless for my tastes (a Naim chap remember), but it was certainly right up there with some of the best players I have heard. Compared to the CDS3 and put simply I felt it extracted the same level of detail but didn't present it as nicely.
Hegel Mohican - loved this player, felt solid, was simple to use and I could live with the looks. A slightly more neutral presentation than the Naim, but in a good way. Vocals and mid/treble were fantastically well presented with some dodgy recordings made listenable. Seriously impressed and decided this was the one for me .... until....
Rega Isis - I really wasn't prepared for this player's sound having mentally written it off due to its looks, but from the first moment I put one of my reference discs on I was knocked sideways. The highs/mids are comparable or slightly better than the Naim, but the bass..... wow... controlled yet really deep and the resulting separation of instrumentation is just jaw dropping. Even on some less well recorded discs if you turn up the volume there is no listening fatigue. I must have played over 100 discs (some well recorded, some not so well) on it and loved everything I heard.
So despite its aesthetics the Isis ended up as my choice so now to find one... well @DARINO of this parish came to my rescue... a two year old player is now mine and sounding fantastic. The Naim CDS3/XPS will soon be for sale and I think (hope) that will be it... my last CD player. I know £3K plus on a player might seem mad to most in these days of streaming but with 12K discs I want to still be able to listen to them in years to come and I still like the physicality of vinyl/CDs.
OK my choice (had to be single box/black/max £4k/future proof) came down to three players in the end and it took me ages to hear them all in my system. The three shortlisted were the Marantz SA-KI Ruby (had some great Marantz players in the past and the attention to detail on this one seemed impressive), the Hegel Mohican (love the design aesthetics and the ethos of the player's creation - spare mechanisms available for the foreseeable future) and the Rega Isis (yes I know I said I hated its aesthetics, but the more I heard about it the more I decided I needed to give it a listen - also matched spare mechanisms stored at the factory). The latter would need to be had secondhand, but I reasoned getting a good one would be relatively easy if I was patient.
The Hegel was easy to get for a home demo, the other two less so, but I acquired them both in the end. The Isis was a pre-owned unit for sale from the dealer and I figured if I liked it I could buy it. However it was my outside choice due to its looks so I was hoping it wouldn't make the grade. As it happened the dealer sold it to someone else while I had it so I was further put off by possibly needing to search for another should I like it that much that I had to have it.
I'm not much good at describing sound so I'll just give a very quick resume of the three players in my system/house and bear in mind that my standard player is a Naim CDS3/XPS (the new player will replace it as long as it is as good or betters it) so some comparisons were in order.
Marantz SA-KI Ruby - beautifully built, easy to use and very detailed. However, overall I felt it was a bit too clinical and characterless for my tastes (a Naim chap remember), but it was certainly right up there with some of the best players I have heard. Compared to the CDS3 and put simply I felt it extracted the same level of detail but didn't present it as nicely.
Hegel Mohican - loved this player, felt solid, was simple to use and I could live with the looks. A slightly more neutral presentation than the Naim, but in a good way. Vocals and mid/treble were fantastically well presented with some dodgy recordings made listenable. Seriously impressed and decided this was the one for me .... until....
Rega Isis - I really wasn't prepared for this player's sound having mentally written it off due to its looks, but from the first moment I put one of my reference discs on I was knocked sideways. The highs/mids are comparable or slightly better than the Naim, but the bass..... wow... controlled yet really deep and the resulting separation of instrumentation is just jaw dropping. Even on some less well recorded discs if you turn up the volume there is no listening fatigue. I must have played over 100 discs (some well recorded, some not so well) on it and loved everything I heard.
So despite its aesthetics the Isis ended up as my choice so now to find one... well @DARINO of this parish came to my rescue... a two year old player is now mine and sounding fantastic. The Naim CDS3/XPS will soon be for sale and I think (hope) that will be it... my last CD player. I know £3K plus on a player might seem mad to most in these days of streaming but with 12K discs I want to still be able to listen to them in years to come and I still like the physicality of vinyl/CDs.
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
Congratulations Tiggers, I’d love to hear the top Rega some time and remain curious how this kind of player compares with FLAC files but in truth I don’t actually want something else to want, lots of laughs. In my case I accepted it takes years to rip and tag discs but it’s like the proverbial walk or ride up a mountain, every step takes you further along etc. Hence having backed up files and the convenience of choosing from the phone or iPad UI becomes second nature. Easy to connect a hard disk directly to some streamers too if the wireless network is down. Also ripping into a decent quality mp3 then takes seconds to add to the phone or an SD card for the car.
But I get it that doesn’t fit in with your listening habits. And as one who still gets off my a@# to spin vinyl or change the FM station I understand entirely!
But I get it that doesn’t fit in with your listening habits. And as one who still gets off my a@# to spin vinyl or change the FM station I understand entirely!
Thanks and yes you are right that there is a 'standard' version and a valve version. I wasn't able to hear the latter as they are seemingly quite rare and I didn't feel it was fair to ask for the loan of a demo one from a dealer when I would have to buy second hand anyway. I have heard and read good things about both versions with the valve version being described as warmer and more analogue than the standard, but I decided to listen to the standard version and compare that to my CDS3, the rest is as above... it does it for me. Maybe the valve version would be better again, but I am not going there... the one I have is like new and I'm very very happy with it. Currently running it through Teddy Pardo PR1/MB100s and Neat Motive SX2s or Naim Allaes (trying both), but it will eventually reside in my (to be purchased) main system (having sold my high end Naim olive gear last year) that will likely consist of a valve pre and some active speakers (most likely ATCs).