Which new cd player?

nak

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I'm contemplating a change in cd player. My Rega Apollo sounds great but it's getting old and I'd like to take things up a notch of possible.
Realistically I have a budget of around £1200 but.... I'm wondering if I should just blow the budget and go for something like a Luxman or CEC cd5.

What should I be looking at?
 
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lazycat

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When I demo'd my amp, admittedly 5 yrs ago, the guy used a Denon DCD 1600 - to match the amp.

It was a pretty fine sound but how it compares with others I don't know.

Then there's the option of sending it to Russ Andrews and spending £1.5k to improve it. :ROFLMAO:
 
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Rockchild

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If your spending big bucks, these are the questions…

Does it sound good?
Is it reliable ?
Is it supported and for how long?

The best route normally now would be a separate transport and a DAC but the CD player I have just purchased is supported and upgradable indefinitely.
 

Sotosound

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I'm contemplating a change in cd player. My Rega Apollo sounds great but it's getting old and I'd like to take things up a notch of possible.
Realistically I have a budget of around £1200 but.... I'm wondering if I should just blow the budget and go for something like a Luxman or CEC cd5.

What should I be looking at?
I bought an original Apollo back in early 2007. It was a great-sounding player but right out of the box it had a bad transformer hum. While it was in for repair I was lent a Saturn by my dealer... and that was that. I said "Keep the Apollo." to the dealer and bought the Saturn instead. The Saturn simply gave me more of everything without sounding off-puttingly different to the Apollo.

15 years on, I still have the Saturn. It was re-lasered around four years ago, it's still in great condition, and it still sounds as good as new. Well, actually, it now sounds better than new because rest of my kit has all been upgraded and is better able to show off what the Saturn can do. I can safely say that my Saturn isn't going anywhere.

If I wanted to improve my CD sound today - which I don't :) - then I'd look at plugging the Saturn into an offboard DAC instead of replacing it.

(I have an Audio Note DAC 0.1x offboard DAC connected to my Bluesound Vault 2 and it slightly edges the Saturn in sound quality, but only when I perform comparisons. In everyday use the Saturn remains superb.)

So, for you, and subject to an audition if possible, I'd suggest a good used Saturn R as a valuable and straightforward CDP upgrade that comes with additional benefits. The bonus is that the Saturn R's DAC can also be used separately, thus setting you up for a wider range of sources of digital music.
 
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bigrod

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If your spending big bucks, these are the questions…

Does it sound good?
Is it reliable ?
Is it supported and for how long?

The best route normally now would be a separate transport and a DAC but the CD player I have just purchased is supported and upgradable indefinitely.
Indefinitely could mean until next week
Nothing is forever!!
 

Nopiano

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There’s a vast choice on eBay, and I often look myself out of curiosity, notwithstanding that I already own a pretty decent Marantz and an Oppo.

There are a couple of Rega Saturns at around £1300 which might be worth considering. CEC fascinate me because I don’t really understand how belts work on a CD. LUxman and Accuphase look lush but I’m unsure if they really sound better or just look tasty!

NB. These aren’t my links. It seems to be a new forum feature.
 
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Iceman 16

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If spending that amount on a cdp make sure it‘s still serviceable and have replacement parts esp. the cd drive mechanism. Good luck with your search mate👍
 
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nak

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I bought an original Apollo back in early 2007. It was a great-sounding player but right out of the box it had a bad transformer hum. While it was in for repair I was lent a Saturn by my dealer... and that was that. I said "Keep the Apollo." to the dealer and bought the Saturn instead. The Saturn simply gave me more of everything without sounding off-puttingly different to the Apollo.

15 years on, I still have the Saturn. It was re-lasered around four years ago, it's still in great condition, and it still sounds as good as new. Well, actually, it now sounds better than new because rest of my kit has all been upgraded and is better able to show off what the Saturn can do. I can safely say that my Saturn isn't going anywhere.

If I wanted to improve my CD sound today - which I don't :) - then I'd look at plugging the Saturn into an offboard DAC instead of replacing it.

(I have an Audio Note DAC 0.1x offboard DAC connected to my Bluesound Vault 2 and it slightly edges the Saturn in sound quality, but only when I perform comparisons. In everyday use the Saturn remains superb.)

So, for you, and subject to an audition if possible, I'd suggest a good used Saturn R as a valuable and straightforward CDP upgrade that comes with additional benefits. The bonus is that the Saturn R's DAC can also be used separately, thus setting you up for a wider range of sources of digital music.
I've got a demo of a Saturn R tomorrow so will see how that goes 👍🏻

Audionote are an option.

May demo a CEC too.

Marantz is a brand I've never really looked into but I will now.
 

Lurch

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Lector CDP7TL, these are ridiculously good. Stunning range ch yet detailed sound which can be tweaked via valve rolling the 2 ECC81s in the output stage.
 
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