Have you ever heard a CD player or DAC that just blew away all others?

Yep
Jeff Rowland Aeris......
SENSATIONAL

 

I think the Cal Audio Labs Sigma/Delta and Ikon players really opened my eyes to amazing CD playback. Too bad they weren't able to hang around as a company.

 

My current set up of Moon 260 D (transport) through McIntosh D100 sounds pretty damn fine to me.

Previous Linn Majik CD player sounded superb as well but kept failing.

 

The Line Magnetic LM-515CD/DAC player impressed me so much that I replaced my still working California Audio Labs Icon MkII.
Priced around $2300....sounds great, fantastic imaging!

 

A couple of years back at RMAF I heard the Lampizator Golden Gate for the first time (with Abyss headphones in JPS Labs room) and it was a revelation, sounding much better than other DACs at the show.

Today I think it is very tough to beat the PS Audio DirectStream with RedCloud.

 

I will listen to PS Audio during the High End in Munich. It makes only sense, when I can switch directly between the components. You know the memory.....

 

I'm going to do my best to get to Munich this year. We should meet up!

 

Or go with well regarded relatively affordable Moon 260D transport and put the money into DAC, DAC, DACs.

 

I have the Moon 260D transport/DAC which sounds pretty darn good to me too.

 

Music Direct has two (presumably used?) D-08* players for about half price.

*not the more recent D-08u

 

The original Linn CD12 gets my vote!

 

I think the Rega Saturn did it for me, as far as CD players go. I eventually moved to stand-alone DACs, and even though I am happier with streaming overall, and tubes in my digital chain specifically, the Saturn definitely had its own strengths. There is some music, like pretty much all 80s-90s jazz CDs that sounded totally addicting through that Saturn. I am getting more midrange magic now, but I do think I lost a little rhythmic propulsion when I stopped using the Saturn full time. Another CD I can remember specifically sounding like magic on that CD player was the Mofi release of Curtis Mayfield's Curtis album. I just haven't been able to achieve that sound with that CD without that player.

 

CD Player: Naim CDI and the CDS.

Dac: The Chord Mojo, Hugo and currently the Hugo 2.

 

I must admit that, even as a Hugo owner and user, I do not understand all the hype that it attracted: I use it every day and do not find that it is any better than the DAC section of my Luxman; presentation is a bit different, but it is no better. Yes, I did do quite a few direct comparisons after I, errr, acquired the Hugo. And I think both are great, hence their continuing presence over there ----->, and would recommend either to anyone looking for a SACD/CD player or DAC at their price points.

For price comparisons, the Luxman should be around £4k, the Hugo was £1.4k, so not too far adrift from the Luxman.

 

Had Audiolab8200 never satisfied, CEC CD5 made fits into my preference, no hitch to upgrade..

 

In my mind "accurate" means I would not be able to tell the difference between a person playing a violin, a tenor sax, a Yamaha piano or a Martin D-28 guitar in my living room compared to a recording of the exact same performance then played through my stereo. A real acoustic instrument or instruments and/or a human voice is the reference. NOT comparing one recording to another, or how a system can play one recording better than another system. So, I am agreeing with you. ALL recordings sound electronic to me because all recordings are electronic. I hear the electronic sheen even in the very best recordings. It NEVER sounds like a human voice or an acoustic instrument in my living room.

 

Apart from some classical,most live performances are electronically amplified.Especially the human voice.

 

It's been years since I've played with DACs, but there was a spell where I tried out several different models and even some DIY solutions.

My favorite bit of kit was from K&K audio, which specializes in Lundahl tranformers. I bought a RAKK DAC kit from them - after the TI PCM1794 chip there were no op-amps, no-solid-state, no tubes, just a Lundahl line transformer. It was the best digital I've ever heard. But that was 9 years ago! Going to K&K's site, I see it is no longer being offered as a kit or a stand-alone unit,

6th Street Bridge: A visit with the RAKK DAC