Best Audiophile HDCD player under $750?

HELP!! ADVICE!! Best Audiophile HDCD player under $750?

Does anyone have any suggestion for the best sounding cd player under $750? My requirements are that it must be 24bit and play cdrs and HDCDs. I've ruled out the NAD c541i because I've heard that NAD products are no longer up to par in terms of audiophile standards. I've just about settled on the Music Hall CD 25, but have never heard it and only read reviews. What concerns me about the Music Hall player is that I have this feeling it is a bargain basement Chinese player marked up with a Music Hall tag and that its "smooth sound" is just wishful thinking because of it's gorgeous build quality. Has anyone heard the Music Hall CD 25, or better yet, compared it with the NAD c541i? Any other options??

 

I think the problems were with the NAD 540 and its contemporaries. From everything I've read, they fixed it with the 541. And the "i" improves it further. I own the 541i and I think it sounds great, particularly with HDCD discs. What Hi Fi named it one of their products of the year. I wouldn't dismiss it without an audition. I've heard good things about the Music Hall, but didn't realize it had HDCD. I know that Rotel's current players offer HDCD as well and they have been favorably reviewed too.

 

Yeah, I understand that NAD has fixed some of the issues, such as now using a Sony, rather than a Sanyo, transport. They've also added cdr playback, but every single NAD player I've ever owned has played cdrs with no problem. My problem with their current players is this: the owner of a large bay area audiophile shop told me that they decided not to carry NAD anymore because NAD has lost some of their best engineers over the last couple years and their products have been going down hill to the point of now being below par and no longer can be considered audiophile product. This came from a person I have dealt with before and who's opinion I respect.

On to Rotel....I've found every Rotel piece I've ever heard to be really bright, almost to the point of being harsh. I'm trying to get away from bright pieces in my system right now because I just can't take it anymore. I want some smooth, honey colored sounds here. Sometimes I even miss my garbage system that I had before I knew any better. I'm really trying to go for some components that bring some warmth into my listening room. I don't know what the problem is, but I think maybe my speakers have something to do with it. Maybe I should wrap them in duct tape.

 

THAT brings to mind some visuals! Don't know if it would match the decorating, though.

To be honest, my speakers are also slightly on the bright side, but I figure my hearing is going to start failing me in a few years anyway. It's never really bothered me, except that *some* CDs are a bit hard sounding to me. I'm working on a pair of Boston A150s right now that have a painful midrange, which I am going to tweak in the crossover once I get a new set of woofers for them.

The nicest CD player I ever owned, sound-wise, was the Nakamichi OMS7. It was probably the smoothest player I ever heard my CDs on. Thing is, quality was not good. It quit after a few months of use, and I had the laser replaced...which didn't help very much. Someone else told me it just needed a good tech to go through it and give it a good alignment. Never had that done, and now it's just been gathering dust in the basement for the past 15 years. Hate to get rid of it because it was so expensive (it listed for $1500 way back when I bought it). Would be curious to find out if it could play CD-Rs. None of my other players have choked on a CD-R yet, even older ones.

I'm still sitting on the fence until the dust around SACD/DVD-A dies down...I only want one player for all formats (including DVD-Video), and waiting for one that will do it *right*without costing a small fortune.

 

the harman-kardon FL8350 is an excellent sounding HDCD machine.

the problem i have with it is that most of the functions are on the remote, not on the player.

check: www.audioreview.com

 

rjp,
I also have the HK 8380 which I believe was an upgrade to the 8350. At the time I bought it (last July), it was the best sounding CD player I had owned. But I upgraded to the NAD 541i and the bottom end was much fuller on the NAD. The HK probably matched the NAD in the higher frequencies, though. I remember the first disc I popped in when I set up the NAD was "Brothers in Arms" from Dire Straits. I played "Money for Nothing" and as the guitar started I thought to myself: damn, this doesn't sound much different than the Harman Kardon. But then the flurry of drums hit and it was very obvious where the improvements were. I still own the Harman Kardon, though, and am going to use it in my office system, where the changer features will make more sense.

 

Music Hall CD 25

Has anyone actually heard the Music Hall?

 

I thought I was the only one who bought one of these, OMS-7.
Not only the sound-wise, but it was a good looking piece too.
Alas, mine had a problem, actually it was only a relay making noise, but the dealer didn't know. Neither did NAK USA for some reason and eventually replaced it with an OMS-7II, which did have problems.

I got so fed up with digital, bought some CAL Lab Lemons, that it pushed me back into analog (probably a good thing). Finally just used a Radio Shack Optimus CD-3400 for CD's.

Lately I have been using a Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 HDCD player.
I don't think it will be long that you might be able to buy one of these used for under a Grand. I might sell mine before the bottom falls out cause I think the SACD and DVD-A stuff is going to be cheap and is more reliable (I hope) and should cover all the bases.

 

prix, I haven't auditioned the Music Hall player. However, I agree that you should not dismiss the NAD C 541i out of hand. I know you respect your local salesman, but I frankly don't put much stock in anything negative that a salesman says about products he or she doesn't carry. Sorry, but I don't feel it is wise to dismiss products based on anyone's opinion -- even mine! Try to audition the C 541i if you can. It has gotten good reviews, and Ian is right in that reviews have stated that NAD has fixed problems that plagued some of its previous CD players (e.g., the C 520 and C 540). Still try to audition the Music Hall player too. Rotel players are certainly worth a listen too.