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A high quality CD Player

Purite Audio said:
When and if the transport mechanism becomes unavailable you will still be able to use the unit as a DAC, if it has a 'digital' in otherwise it is useless.
Keith.
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This why it is wise to procure a spare transport mechanism at the same time as the CDP - or at least while separate mechanisms are still available.

I still have a spare CDM-9PRO mech for my Theta Data Basic II (and they're like hens' teeth these days). The same lesson was applied when recently buying a Bryston BCD-1 - when I also sourced (from Bryston) a spare L1210.

The CDM-9PRO is still there as the original mech in the Data Basic II is still working well (touch wood).
 
radamel said:
Never heard these Chevron upgrades and I know the quality of the implementation is key to SQ... but I really can't see why someone like the OP who has a budget up to 5k GBP would go for a 9023 Sabre based DAC (which is entry level).
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Spending 5k does not guarantee good sound 2k of that will go to the dealer probably.
As for the dac chips it's all about implementation.;)
Trying to offer an alternative to the mainstream usual overpriced suspects and save the OP some money but it's his choice.
 
muzzer said:
Spending 5k does not guarantee good sound 2k of that will go to the dealer probably.
As for the dac chips it's all about implementation.;)
Trying to offer an alternative to the mainstream usual overpriced suspects and save the OP some money but it's his choice.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. But there are great buys at 5k as there are great buys at 2k... If you choose well you'll not be wasting money. About money going to the dealer I guess folks at Chevron aren't working pro bono.

As I said before implementation is very important indeed but to start with entry level DAC chips may not be the best way to get to a very good SQ.

Why are saying the "mainstream overpriced usual suspects"? I thought Esoteric were not exactly mainstream. As for being overpriced well... Price is what you pay value is what you get. :)
 
I have a PS Audio DAC and Aries that I use most of the time. I wanted a CD and DVD/BluRay player for occasional use, mainly as I have a lot of foreign CDs and the ripping systems cannot pick up the metadata.

I just bought a Denon DN-500BD and am delighted with it. The rack handles are included as screw-on extras rather than welded on, so will not look out of place in a consumer set-up.
Cost £299.
 
HarryB said:
Bear in mind these guys knew exactly what components had gone into it and how much development work. The HIGHEST figure they guessed was £2k retail.

Now, remind me what it went on sale for?
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I don't think this calculation is unusual when we face dealers margin more than 50%
Just look at a Naim Flatcap, it might have components value less than 10% of retail
Many loudspeaker Co. have large development expenses but ultra small manufacture cost (China) vs retail
 
Listen to a good hi end CD player and then compare it to a cheaper transport with a hi-end dac.

Totally understand if you want something that spins cd's (I do!) but transport+hi end dac gives you that but also a whole world of other opportunities.
 
sls4321 said:
I have a PS Audio DAC and Aries that I use most of the time. I wanted a CD and DVD/BluRay player for occasional use, mainly as I have a lot of foreign CDs and the ripping systems cannot pick up the metadata.

I just bought a Denon DN-500BD and am delighted with it. The rack handles are included as screw-on extras rather than welded on, so will not look out of place in a consumer set-up.
Cost £299.
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So long as it doesn't try to upscale cd's which a lot of Bluray players do.
 
naimplayer said:
Thank you all for your contributions so far, I have enjoyed reading all of them. I am grateful for the assistance and advice from all quarters, it is useful and thought provoking.
I am looking for a CD player and will be going down to Ealing this morning to check out the esoteric range and maybe bringing boxes home.
If I do decide on anything I will let you know how things proceed.
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I'll be very interested in feedback. I have an itch that I need to scratch when it comes to Esoteric CD players.
 
DevillEars makes some very good points, notably the wisdom of a two box arrangement if you get the right DAC, with the flexibility it can offer.

I've had an Esoteric (Teac) D/70 and P/70 combo for nearly twelve years now without any problems. The VRDS CD reader is highly thought of. It may well be that the DAC is now behind the times - I don't know.

I also have a computer set up using Windows 8 in a PC box, DAC, headphone amp with headphones. The sound is annoyingly a touch more detailed then my Teac speaker set up. However it is a computer and occasionally it misbehaves. I do not have the full confidence in its stability as I do with the CD playing system.
 
I'm still on the fence between a new/used quality CD player and DAC as my current CD player produces a sound that is much more lively and dynamic than the DAC. The sound from the DAC is flat, lifeless and aneamic. With the DAC, the dynamics and crescendos in the music are missing, somehow music just sounded flat. Whenever I switch from the CD player to the DAC, I have to lower my expectations so that I can continue to listen to the music, although music from the DAC isn't as enjoyable as the CD player.

Having said that, I will likely try a better DAC in my next purchase, hoping that it will at least match the performance of the CD player if not surpass it.

My CDP is the Krell KPS-30i. The DAC is a Musical Fidelity M1 DAC asynchronous.
 
bhazen said:
Is a Naim CD5 still considered decent quality?
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Yes.

Two questions to those who alert against lasers obsolescence and unavailability:
how many of you (if already in this world, and into HiFi) thought, 30 years ago (1986), that MM and MC cartridges, turntables, arms, phono stages, LP pressing facilities and plants and LP records would still (or again) be manufactured and sold 30 years later?

Have you seen the speed with which some 30-years old CD players from Marantz and Philips still read the TOC and the CD?

I think that the CD will survive most of us.
 
sls4321 said:
If you want the latest TEAC transport, I can recommend the TASCAM CD-200. I have one of these and used the digital output into my DAC. My son now uses it as I have the Denon.

Costs £194
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Hi, Just to clarify... Esoteric is just that - an esoteric division/company that is part of the Teac group that focuses on what are almost "cost-no-object" high-end audio component design and manufacture, while the rest of Teac focuses lower down the totem pole.

Esoteric's VRDS Neo range of transport mechanisms are not cheap and the £194 mentioned above would not even come close to covering the cost of one of these:

11.jpg


Teac's other divisions don't target the same market and can't afford to use these VRDS mechanisms and remain competitive. These VRDS mechanisms DO turn up in some non-Esoteric players - dCS use them in some of their high-end players/transports, so do Emm Labs and a small handful of other seriously high-end products.

The "not-quite-so-high-end" players that come in at more "affordable" prices such as the Bryston BCD-1 will use lower spec-ed mechanisms.

Bryston BCD-1 with top panel removed:

bryston_bcd1_inside_600w.jpg


Philips L1210 Red Book CD-only transport mechanism (as used in BCD-1):

$_1.JPG


Now, compare that L1210 to this Esoteric flagship transport mechanism:

ux1_vrds_en.jpg


Chalk and cheese? :)
 
Purite Audio said:
Does the transport,make any difference to sound quality?
Keith.
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Hi Keith,

I wouldn't go there if I were you... :)

Have you ever compared a decent Rega turntable to a TW Acustic Raven AC (the vinyl equivalent of comparing a BCD-1 to an Esoteric CDP) - one is "manufactured" while the other is "engineered".

The target market for these ultra high-end components comprises people for whom price is not really a consideration and sound quality is not the sole determinant in the purchase decision. These guys would choose a Rolls Royce over a BMW every time...

Dave
 
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