What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

[Coopmv]

My old NAD 302 amplifier (my first amplifier bought back in 1993) is "designed and engineered" in England and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in Taiwan. My AV-amplifier (NAD T762) is "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in the people's republic of China. The new CD player is "designed and engineered" in Canada and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in China.

I wish I was so rich I could just donate a NAD CD player to my sister... 

Why don't you ask if the China-made player is still working?

I usually have 6 or 7 CD players at my house.  I do have an NAD S500i SilverLine CDP, made in Denmark.  SilverLine was the NAD premier line back in mid 2000's.

[Coopmv]

I agree. If you do believe that SS amp souds the same except for power you are making a big mistake that could be easily rectified by listening to two different amps with similar power output in your rig. I'm not a HiFi nut and couldn't care less about cables and oher assorted esoterica, but I have had my share of kit over the years (currently having 3 amplifiers in daily use, a Rotel integrated and SS power amps from Conrad-Johnson and Nakamichi) and believe me, the differences are plainly obvious.

Very expensive audio cables are just snake oil IMO ...

[Coopmv]

My NAD 302 and NAD T762 do not sound the same. T762 has significantly more control at lower frequencies and the differencies do not end there.

One source of differencies between amplifiers is the output impedance that determines damping factor together with the load (speakers + wires). An amplifer that has more control at bass frequencies may simply have lower output impedance at bass frequencies meaning higher damping factor and better control. Since NAD T762 is 3-4 times more powerful amplifier (in stereo mode) than NAD 302, it has probably been engineered to have lower output impedance at lower frequencies.

Whatever the reasons are, amplifiers don't seem to sound exactly the same.

Agree.  My Tandberg 3003 and the two Conrad Johnson amps have a touch of tube sound to them compared with other amps and I have owned many amps over the years but am seriously considering either a SS class-A amp or a tube amp for my study ...

[71 dB]

I usually have 6 or 7 CD players at my house.

Oh dear... ...I take it you have a large house? One CD player for each room?

The NAD C 565BEE is my third CD player. The first one was a crappy JVC (bought 1990). The second was Denon DCD-735 (bought 1998).

I do have an NAD S500i SilverLine CDP, made in Denmark.  SilverLine was the NAD premier line back in mid 2000's.

I remember those. Dreamed about owning that stuff...  Well, I suppose C 565BEE doesn't sound much worse that S500i, even if it is manufactured in Taiwan instead of Denmark.

[Coopmv]

Oh dear... ...I take it you have a large house? One CD player for each room?

The NAD C 565BEE is my third CD player. The first one was a crappy JVC (bought 1990). The second was Denon DCD-735 (bought 1998).

I remember those. Dreamed about owning that stuff...  Well, I suppose C 565BEE doesn't sound much worse that S500i, even if it is manufactured in Taiwan instead of Denmark.

Here are my current CDP's

Rega Planet 2000
Anthem CD1 (tube-based)
NAD S500i
Sony C75ES circa 1992
Philips 820 CD recorder/player
Yamaha DVD S1800 universal player

I do not have an Esoteric CDP, as I feel I do not get $6000 worth of listening enjoyment ...

[petrarch]

I do not have an Esoteric CDP, as I feel I do not get $6000 worth of listening enjoyment ...

It depends on the rest of the system and your room...

[The new erato]

Mine:

A Pioneer PD-S05 CD (relegated to my cabin outside town)
Wadia 302 CD for my music room
Sony XA5400ES CD/SACD for my music room
Sony NS 9000 ES CD/DVD/SACD for the living room

[Coopmv]

I would buy an SACD or universal player from Rega in a heart beat.  Unfortunately, the Rega management somehow does not believe in that format in much the same way it stuck with its primary business of turntables and did not produce their first CDP until the mid 90's.  Rega still builds all its equipments in its UK plants and I like that ...

[71 dB]

Here are my current CDP's

Rega Planet 2000
Anthem CD1 (tube-based)
NAD S500i
Sony C75ES circa 1992
Philips 820 CD recorder/player
Yamaha DVD S1800 universal player

I do not have an Esoteric CDP, as I feel I do not get $6000 worth of listening enjoyment ...

Since you list a DVD player, I can mention I have:

Denon DVD-1000 DVD-player (my first DVD player bought 2001)
Pioneer DV-575A DVD-player (region free, SACD support)
Cambridge Audio azur 650BD Blu-ray player (region free, SACD support/ HDCD decoding)

[Coopmv]

Since you list a DVD player, I can mention I have:

Denon DVD-1000 DVD-player (my first DVD player bought 2001)
Pioneer DV-575A DVD-player (region free, SACD support)
Cambridge Audio azur 650BD Blu-ray player (region free, SACD support/ HDCD decoding)

It is actually a universal player even though its model number is prefixed by DVD.  I have been playing my DVD's on my computer since the last full-sized DVD/VHS combo player broke a few years ago.  My universal player is only attached to my preamp and is not attached to a TV monitor via its HDMI connection.  I only use it to listen to my SACD collection ...

[DavidW]

I did pull the trigger on the Polk Audio Lsi7's last week.  They are much better than my glaringly bright monitor towers from the same brand.  My new bookshelves fill the space in my room better (impressive soundstage) and they sound as detailed as my headphones.  Actually they sound better than any of my headphones.  I'm very pleased.

[Karl Henning]

Hoy, a Davey sighting! : )

[mahler10th]

I was reading Harrys post on how he is slimming down his gargantuan CD collection and moving into 'Streaming' over time.  I was inspired to post this, my setup for digital files.  Normal CD's are played through the cd unit, but almost everything other than my fine and always growing CD collection is still digitized, on a hard drive as illustrated.



These pictures are accurate of my setup, but of course not to scale.

[DavidW]

I've tried streaming on the Apple TV. But for some reason the music sounds really bright compared to playing the cd. I also don't like the idea of streaming. I would rather have something that doesn't require a network, something that you could just plug an external hd into.

[Coopmv]

My old NAD 302 amplifier (my first amplifier bought back in 1993) is "designed and engineered" in England and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in Taiwan. My AV-amplifier (NAD T762) is "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in the people's republic of China. The new CD player is "designed and engineered" in Canada and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in China.

I wish I was so rich I could just donate a NAD CD player to my sister... 

Why don't you ask if the China-made player is still working?

I have not asked her, but that was at least a half dozen years ago.  It was not about being rich, it was more like I had to make room for a new CDP since I have always had multiple CDP's at the same time ...

[Daverz]

I thought my beloved AT33PTG cartridge was starting to wear out, so I spent the day rooting around in my closet and wrestling with cartridge setup.   I've had the Dynavector above for years, but have only put a dozen or so hours on it.  I'm really impressed with how quiet the Dynavector is in the groove, but it doesn't sound as open as the AT33 did.  I probably have to futz some more with the setup.

[The new erato]

I thought my beloved AT33PTG cartridge was starting to wear out, so I spent the day rooting around in my closet and wrestling with cartridge setup.   I've had the Dynavector above for years, but have only put a dozen or so hours on it.  I'm really impressed with how quiet the Dynavector is in the groove, but it doesn't sound as open as the AT33 did.  I probably have to futz some more with the setup.

It also probably need more than a dozen hours of playing to open up.

[Daverz]

It also probably need more than a dozen hours of playing to open up.

I hope so.  I have it loaded at 50 Ohms right now, which may be a bit too low (though Dynavector specifies 30 Ohms and up).

...finally gave up on the Dynavector.  It might be that I had a bum one to begin with, or maybe sitting in the closet for several years was not good for it, but I couldn't get the bass dialed in right.  It always sounded slow, loagy, and dull.  And I may have just needed to redo the setup of the AT33, because now it sounds better than ever.

[Mirror Image]

I've been eyeballing this gorgeous CD player:



All you need to know about it is here: http://www.brennan.co.uk

[Fëanor]

If you're looking for an inexpensive DAC for your computer system, I can recommend the Schiit Audio MODI, US$99; (yeah, cute name; no affiliation). See HERE.




It has remarkably good sound for that buck: very "musical" as some audiophiles express it.  That is, a smooth yet still detailed and spacious sound. The obvious major limitation is USB input only.

I have owned a number of cheap DACs, most from eBay sources. A notable one was the SMSL SD-1955, (e.g. HERE); a crisp, detailed sound but high frequencies are a bit too aggressive.

...

But, N.B., I was so impressed by the Schiit sound  that I decided to step up the their Bifrost model, US$349 -- it hasn't arrived yet, but update when I've listened for a while. This model has S/PDIF inputs with optional USB, (which I ordered).