What is your “nothing left to be desired” CD set up?

Mine is great. Got wonderful discs. Bit of a minor snag: no player.

 

I have a Marantz Ruby and love the sacd playback-sometimes the redbook cd’s sound a little flat-I wonder what would sound better?

 

At this stage of my audio journey, where CD is an integral component, but % wise these takes a back seat (even in the trunk) to vinyl, but I still want quality when I play CD -- I run a 15 year old Denon DCD-S10 3/L with four Burr Brown 1704's, and that's all I require until it bites the dust... (which may be a long time).

In my shop I have a so-so transport feeding a Schiit Modius - but I think I'll turn that into a DCD-S10 also at some point (there are five different S-10 revisions - successful platform) - or go for one of the turn of the century DCD-1650xx models.

I love the sound of the early century DCD S10's and 1650's.... thick and meaty in the mids / lows, what's missing from many. It's all I need right now, and you could do a whole lot worse.

Oh, and since I only play CD and not SACD, I look for dedicated CD players. Many mid priced SACD players I feel can sacrifice on CD quality... for the one or two SACDs I own, I can always play them on the Oppo 105.

I'd love to own an Accuphase CD player, or an Esoteric - but the $$ can't be justified (yet). I bet an Accuphase CD player feeding my Accuphase signal chain would sound stunning!

 

An outstanding sounding player. Iffy reliability but great sound.

 

I’m happy with my Audiolab 6000CDT and Border Patrol DAC SE-i. If I win the lotto I will audition a Jay’s transport. Other than that I am happy right where I am.

 

No problems with either CDP 7 TL or 0.6T for me!

 

Yeah, I didn’t think you would be high on them if you had trouble with them. However, I have seen a higher than higher than average service issues with them (for high end players). That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to have one. The sound really is great.

 

I recently rediscovered CDs after nearly 12 years using computer based audio. I’m all in on CDs/ SACDs!

Decware modified a stock Tascam by inserting a tube stage. They still sell the same tube stage as a separate component, the ZBox. I have one, wonderful product. Changing the lone 12 AU7 tube has noticeable effect on the sound.

I bought an Ah! Tjeob CD 4000 in the year 2000. It uses the lauded Philips TDA 1541 chip (very similar to the chip used in the Border Patrol Dac). Still have it 21 years late, works great. Had to get a replacement transport several years ago from Upscale. It does require warming up for 45 minutes to work. I think the heat from the tubes clears the lens. The Marantz manual mentions this as being an issue.

Also have the Marantz SACD 30n which is also wonderful. I use it for high res stuff, and the Ah! Tjeob for mostly live music CDs. Both sound great.

 

My “nothing left to be desired” CD setup is my very capable Yamaha CD-S300 - mostly because the last time I actually used it was maybe 2 years ago. Hi-res streaming has obsoleted it for me. It now collects dust. Perfect.

 

My current system. I was commenting to the better half this week... "I honestly believe my equipment searching/upgrading is finished. I don't believe that I would be able to find anything else that could improve the sound of the system. I'm done."

 

So, I take that in the cartoon analogy universe, you are Lucy holding the football, and she is Charlie Brown.

 

Oops! Forgot the

 

I hope to get there when my Jay’s Audio CD2T mk3 arrives. It will compliment my Denafrips Venus II and I plan to connect using I2S.

I have started to buy more and more cds in anticipation!!!

 

Sometimes with a really good SACD payer like you have it makes CD's sound a little flat compared to the SACD's. Also check your filter settings and see if you can improve the sound by switching filters.

 

Well, the other day I auditioned the new Audio Note CD 5.1x one-box CD player that was rather astonishing - I liked the 4.1x but this seemed on another level. I suppose at $254,000 HKD ($32,500USD) it should be on another level. I also had the opportunity to listen to Audio Note's top-of-the-line Cartridge the IO Limited with an external power supply on my table and I believe that the cartridge with a power supply alone runs over $30,000 as well. Running through their new Meishu Tonmeister and AN E speakers with external crossovers. The cartridge is insane. https://www.audionote.co.uk/io-ltd

The CD players with the Philips Pro2 LF mechanism are usually my favourites - the Opera Consonance Droplet (the models with this mechanism) were my favourite of the affordable (well in comparison to Audio Note) I also loved.







need to set up a go fund me or something

 

Can relate. Just told my better half "I'm close, only need another $15K and I'm done!" Her response "Ha! Yeah, right...."

 

It's great to start off the week with a big laugh. Thanks for that Richard!

Jeff

 

No, she has no interest in my audio hobby. She's never even played a CD on it... yet.

 

Been living with a PS Audio PWT/PWDII combo using the I2S link for over 10 years. I know they offer a better pair now but the price is too steep for me. I upgraded the original DAC to Mk2 with their self-install kit, and it also went back to PS Audio a couple of years ago for some repair which they actually did very under warranty even though it was surely years out of date. Great people to deal with. When the DAC was out for repair I bought a used Tascam here which I still have in a second system. It's newer tech but does not sound close to the PST/PWDII combo. I also tried the PWT as a transport for other DACs and found, against my expectations, that transports do indeed make a difference. I'd love to try the latest PS Audio models at some point, but am not seeing that as likely given their costs, so maybe I am at the 'as good as it gets' stage of life.

 

Mine is an Esoteric DV-50 multiple format digital disc player. I'm the original owner. I've never felt the need to have it modified, which was popular back when it was new.

 

I hope you know that PS Audio would give you a generous trade-in on those models you have.

 

I certainly don't have an 'End Game' CD player, the best of former players was a Jolida JD100A. Tube buffered and had a wonderful Analog tone to it, with the right tube set.

I currently have an Audiolab 6000CDT for Redbook plugged into a Lampi Amber 3 DAC, which sounds very good. But (for me) the 'nothing left to desired' Digital playback is via an Innuos MK3 into the Lampi. I haven't taken the 6000CDT out of 'stand by' mode since acquiring the MK3.

 

My CD setup is modest - a Rega Elex R and a Yamaha CD S1000. Sounds pretty good, actually. I do have both SACD and CD, though mostly Redbook.

I actually hadn't though about getting a better player just for Redbook. Hm. Mind you, that's scratching an itch I don't really have. I'm not dissatisfied with what I've got.

The Yamaha player is a monster, heavy at 33lbs, with a beautiful simple face. No fuss, just works. The DACs in the Yamaha are a pair of Burr-Brown PCM 1796's (one for each channel). Old, but sounds good to me.

This is an interesting question, because probably like most everyone I often think of what I can do to improve things digitally. Better amp, better transport, add a DAC. I suppose considering a DAC would be easiest. The trouble is, I'd want one that makes a noticeable difference, and the admittedly cheap Audio Lab M Lab Mini I tried was completely horrible - beyond words bad. I have a feeling I'd have to be spending quite a bit to get a DAC that would make a big difference.

I'd upgrade the speakers, but the pair I have in mind are 4K, and it's not the time to be buying them.

I have looked at the Marantz SACD players, and they looked tempting. I haven't tried Marantz recently, I have a CD6004 and a PM 6004, but honestly I can't listen to them now. Compared to the Rega and Yahama, they sound pretty poor. Mind you, they're lower end components, so perhaps the SACD players are better.

 

Be careful when exploring DACs. It depends on the sound you're after. I've been very far up the audiophile DAC tree, all the way to the DirectStream, and found it ultimately too revealing in a way that rendered most of my non audiophile, yet loved, recordings unlistenable.

For instance, in the Denafrips line the Aries II is good, but too entry level. The Pontus sounds great. Move up into the Venus and Terminator, and to me, they get too audiophile and revealing. Therefore to my tastes, the Pontus is the goldilocks winner.