i currently have a pair of Focal 1007Be powered by a YA201 amplifier from YBA. Sadly the CD player has died (the Holfi Xara i had for many years) am now looking for a suitable cdp. I just dug up a cambridge d500se from the loft - because the 1007be are very revealing, its a poor match - i especially noticed the harsh treble at high volume lvls. My budget must be under £1500, if anyones got any ideas just throw 'em at me :)

Okay - don´t be fooled by the price tag:

http://www.nysound.com/exec/servlet/CategoryServlet?action=shopping&category=2130



cheers

Original Sony PS1; spend the balance of the £1,500 on CDs!

I'd second the computer option .....or sb3 and dac

if your looking for a good cdp below a thousand thats got loads of facilities have a listen to the quad 99cdp2.

Cyrus CD8x is being sold off, by dealers down from 1000 pounds to 600 pounds. If you then send it to Cyrus and have it upgraded to the CD8SE it will cost 300 ponds plus carriage. Say 900 ish all in for the latest spec player and a saving of 200 pounds on a CD8SE from the dealer.
The sound quality is top drawer (no pun intended)

you could almost get a keel for that!

just about, almost in budget

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Resolution-Audio-Opus-21-cd-player_W0QQitemZ130245199670QQcmdZViewItem?hash=it em130245199670&_trkparms=72%3A12|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

you may find another one for £1500

There's a couple of CDXs going here; one of those plus a Hi-Line would be a nice player.

I would have a look at one of the AVI Lab Series cd players that are around right now - I just bought one and I'm very impressed. Lousy remote though. I owned an Opus 21 before and I'd place the AVI a little ahead of the Opus overall, and the fact that you can get a more or less new example from around the £700+ mark makes it a no-brainer for me.

With the remainder of your budget you could then add an SB3 and a heap of cds if you so choose...

Hi,

Densen Beat 410 or 420 £1000 and £1500 both excellent players.


Pete

Im with Bottleneck. 2nd hand RA Opus 21. Very few will come close to this performance, unless you're prepared to pay silly money. Mind you, some would say this is silly money.
You should go for the later type with latest transport, software and numeric key pad. ( £1500- £1700)
It is a fabulous machine.

Cheers,

Mark

2nd hand RA Opus 21. Very few will come close to this performance
Up until recently I'd have agreed with you (as I owned one and was very happy with it) but more recently I reckon it's been surpassed. It's a great player, and holds its own with most any cd player but I reckon you can do better for that money (as I mentioned above) - plus, the Opus cd player was very unreliable (in my experience) and a bit temperamental - mine had to have two transport changes in the time I had it, and the fellow who bought it after me had to get it changed again as it started rejecting some discs (maybe due to a bump in transit?). So, be VERY careful with that player...

Yes, I also was aware earlier ones were a bit troublesome with regards transport issues.
The later ones are better. More reliable ,and sound a bit better apparently.
This AVI must be some machine then. I was going try and check out the pre + power they had on the go a year or so back. Never did get round to it.

Cheers,

Mark.

S/H Linn ikemi. Fascinating machine.

Hi Mark - I have to admit my memory of the Opus is fading a little (it's been over a year since I sold it) but I recall the SB+ sounding perhaps a tiny bit better than the Opus did, and I can't really hear much of a difference between the SB+ and the AVI, so I can only conclude that it's at least in the same ballpark as the Opus if not a wee bit better. But, please, ask me the same question in a month or two once the 'honeymoon' period has ended ;)

I'm not getting a second hand cdp as i've had too many bad experience with dodgy lens and other mechanical faults in the past buying from auctions / second hand dealers - all the costs plus too much hassle to ship it back for repairs. Realistically i'm either going for a brand new one or settle for an ex-dem one.

IPOD and a wadia itransport, then your choice of DAC.

Better than CD quality. My heavily modded Cambridge Audio 840 is now only used as a DAC.

At the end i spend money on a new VDH Super MC20 cartridge, a pair of 2nd hand Harmonix Strings HS101 speaker cables, and a trichord Dino Power+, left myself just enough money to consider the following:

Rega Apollo

Sim audio moon CD-1

Stepping up the analogue system unfortunately means stepping down for the digital system...

I consistently find the Ikemi to be brilliant. I notice no-one's mentioned an ex-dem Linn Majik CD as an option, yet some have claimed it sounds better than the Ikemi.....

Original Sony PS1; spend the balance of the £1,500 on CDs!


You can't be serious.

Naim CD5x just a little over budget but worth it

bro. Any old Marantz, I am talking about pre 1990 will do just fine. : )

Kevin11 - you can't be serious. Old Marantz affairs aren't going to give anything like the performance of something like a Naim CD5X. Only a muddled amp or tripe speakers would allow both CD players to sound the same.

i currently have a pair of Focal 1007Be powered by a YA201 amplifier from YBA. Sadly the CD player has died (the Holfi Xara i had for many years) am now looking for a suitable cdp. I just dug up a cambridge d500se from the loft - because the 1007be are very revealing, its a poor match - i especially noticed the harsh treble at high volume lvls. My budget must be under £1500, if anyones got any ideas just throw 'em at me :)

Hi Flamer,

you really should consider a second hand CDM4 player with TDA1541 DAC. With your budget you can upgrade the clock, opamp and regulator which then not many modem machine can beat...

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=51285

Matt is very happy with his :)

I've got a Marantz CD10 which has been faithfully serving me for 13 years.
It's a CDM4 machine with twin DAC7s (TDA1547) - which is another Marantz's top replacement chip to the acclaimed 1541.

Some quarters reported the DAC7 as being a wee bit clinical compared to the 1541, but nonetheless sounds good enuff to my ears. IMO CD10 is a much better player compared to lesser 6x series Marantz, Arcam Alphas, Micromega Stage etc from the same era.

You might wish to look for one quite cheap 2nd hand on eBay, pretty sure you won't be dissapointed. Or you could also check out the Karik III...sweet!