Best VFM CD player in today's hot market

Adam Zielinski posted:

If NAIM - I would go for CDX2.2

If other brands - Oppo 105 (it's a universal disc player with very good DACs). For the price you've menioned you can buy a new one.

Oppo are about to release their next generation 203 / 205 series

+1 for a Marantz CD6005.

How the cleaning discs Work?  is it that we should do every 5 year or Something?  I have a 8 year old cd2x works fine, is it worth to get a cleaning Disc? 

In regards to a Rega Apollo and Saturn.  Please avoid these units on the used market. They have a reputation for failing. I remember when the Apollo-R was just about coming out a friend was looking for a new CD player. We went to two dealers to listen to the Apollo and both units would come up 'no disc'. Further research revealed that it was a common problem. Also seems that the original Saturn had this problem. 

The -R versions are supposedly ok. 

Emre posted:

How the cleaning discs Work?  is it that we should do every 5 year or Something?  I have a 8 year old cd2x works fine, is it worth to get a cleaning Disc? 

Such a things should be a last resort only.  Please see the FAQ - How to Clean your CD Player Lens

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...-your-cd-player-lens

Brubacca posted:

The -R versions are supposedly ok. 

I have personal experience with these new R players, and instead of going into the specifics, I would Google Apollo-R problems.

By the way, a CD5Si is quite a nice NEW player, actually, it's an excellent CD player!

badlands posted:

Brubacca posted:

The -R versions are supposedly ok. 

I have personal experience with these new R players, and instead of going into the specifics, I would Google Apollo-R problems.

 

sorry to hear this. 

T38.45 posted:

personally, i wouldn't go for a CD player these days....if the lens/optic/mechanical part is defect you may run in supply problems.... just my 2cents....

 

Couldn't agree more.  Get a streamer and a NAS.  RIp your CDs with your computer (EAC or dbPowerAmp) and never look back.  Alternatively, an HDX may be within your budget.

I had a Rega Apollo-R for a year in my main system, with no problems of reliability or of sound. It worked perfectly and sounded way better than it should for the price. 

engjoo posted:

+1 for a Marantz CD6005.

Me too (although I have a CD6004). I have used Marantz CPDs since 2004, and they are outrageously good VFM for the sound they make - built like tanks too.

sktn77a posted:

T38.45 posted:

personally, i wouldn't go for a CD player these days....if the lens/optic/mechanical part is defect you may run in supply problems.... just my 2cents....

 

Couldn't agree more.  Get a streamer and a NAS.  RIp your CDs with your computer (EAC or dbPowerAmp) and never look back.  Alternatively, an HDX may be within your budget.

I can't image i'd ever use a computer and streamer as main source

I believe  many older persons aged 50+ have similar view

I've grown up with vinyl and cd, its just a part of it getting the physical medie from shelf to player

Also I never heard any streamer comes even close to vinyl/cd performance, that includes some pretty expensive Linn or Naim ones, they didn't impress sorry to say.

I would only podcast if no other possible solution to hear a certain piece of music 

Third source here is FM

3 sources seem enough for me

Salmon Dave posted:

I had a Rega Apollo-R for a year in my main system, with no problems of reliability or of sound. It worked perfectly and sounded way better than it should for the price. 

I've had both the old Apollo and the later Apollo/R

Both performed great soundwise but with software issues both had to go back for service at factory

Worth noticing Rega didn't charge for this service 

I genuinely don't understand how many people on here talk about the emotion and connection with the music that Naim gives them... And yet are willing to part with their cd collection for a way less "romantic" medium.

Dont get me wrong, I'm a big streaming fan, and have a nice melco hd with my 500+ cds ripped and I love using it for convenience...! BUT no way would I give up the cds on the shelves on the wall or the physicality of putting an album into a CD player. 

(And I'm young!  

if I'd grown up with vinyl (during my more formative years) I would have a massive vinyl collection and keep that too, as that's the most "romantic" of all! What better way to be connected to the music than to be surrounded by all of that art and beauty whilst listening to a wonderful album.

Streaming: absolutely...! But there will always be a CD player in my music room.

Just goes to show how different we all are. I don't see anything romantic in a crappy jewel case with a plastic disc in it. Vinyl isn't quite so bad, but it's still a lump of plastic in a bit of cardboard, and the only thing I'm interested in is the sound they produce.

Absolutely - I'm way over 50 and I grew up with vinyl  and utterly resented having to buy a CD player because music started being issued on CD only. I have always detested the poxy plastic cases, unreadable sleeve notes and outrageous rip off pricing - they were £15 quid each 30 years ago. Also both my CD5 and my CDS2 used to skip, refuse to play certain discs, or just say ERR way too often and had to be placated with fiddling with or replacing the wretched pucks. The only cd drive I have now is in my computer and used for ripping.

I still have my LP12/Ittock/Troika/Stageline but streaming is my main source now and I love it - both my own ripped music and Tidal. I've just been up in the loft to get the Christmas decorations down and saw the boxes of CDs up there festering away where they belong. 

Best VFM CD player in today's market ? 

Quite possibly the Creek EVO 50CD or the 100 CD. Both of these reconnected me with CD replay in a big way. As one reviewer I know well wrote :

'The best indicator of an audio component’s musical value is the force of attraction that it exerts on the listener. Creek Audio’s Evo 100CD player/converter had me pulling out disc after disc, not to jump giddily from one track to another, but to invite me into immersive and extended listening sessions. No matter the quality of the recording, this player, like its sibling the 50CD, delivers music with conviction, and soundtracks too when in home theatre mode. How does it do it? By an excellent spatialization, combined with a high level of definition, respect of instrumental timbre and, especially, its just rendering of note envelopes (attack, development and extinction). Its greatest strength is to focus attention on the way musicians express themselves, on how words are articulated and on the acoustic space so vital to recreating reality.

While many have predicted the death of the CD, the format, like vinyl, still finds its niche. Where other manufacturers have ceased production of CD players, Creek Audio is among those who have decided to do better. The Evo 100CD is a true digital platform that does not favour one source over another. If streaming, and the thought using a smart phone, tablet or computer just to play music leaves you cold, here is a device that eloquently demonstrates that silver discs still have depths to explore. Conversely, if you are simply looking for a high-end digital-to-analogue converter, the Evo 100CD is well worth auditioning. Who knows, you might rediscover your CD collection!'

(full review on Canuck Audio website)

If analogue and digital are happy to cohabit a given space, why do people have such a problem with CD and streaming? And why is it always the streamers who are on the defensive whenever a query arises about CD players?

And, er, isn't this NOT the 'Streaming Audio' forum? 

I would bet the best VFM is to get a used NAIM CD player... I always thought NAIM made great sounding players, even the lower end ones like the CD5 - look on audiogon or other sites.. However, I am in the camp that has gotten rid of 100% of my CD's and think the best approach would be a uniti core.  

Salmon Dave posted:

If analogue and digital are happy to cohabit a given space, why do people have such a problem with CD and streaming? And why is it always the streamers who are on the defensive whenever a query arises about CD players?

And, er, isn't this NOT the 'Streaming Audio' forum? 

I, for one, am not trying to defend anything. Just expressing my own view insofar as it contrasts with that of the OP in his last post, in which he raised the issue of streaming vs CD playback. 

When CD players attack...  streamers go defensive!    .

Actually it's just streaming evangelism, because we want everyone else to enjoy the musical freedom we've found! (whether they want to or not! ).

Now is the time to buy a used CD555. Watch what happens to the asking prices when the venerable silver disc spinner is no longer in production.

Fickle blighters; humans. Vinyl was supposed to be dead, over thirty years ago.

John.

Richard Dane posted

 

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...-your-cd-player-lens

Adam's first line (the bold font one)  made me laugh. It reminds me of the section in my car's user manual entitled "How to change a headlight bulb".

When you get to the page, it reads, " To change a headlight bulb, take your car to the nearest xxxx dealer."

Second hand CDS3 - no question best VFM of the Naim players.

Can those of you kind gentlemen suggesting a cds3 or 555, kindly read the brief, OR... I'm quite happy to accept donations