Which CD Player for Nait 5SI

Very much an album player, I think one beauty of streaming is that you have the easy option to play whole albums, or readily adjust the queue, or create playlists, indeed different things for different individuals, or even for self according to mood. Add to that there's the greater long-term player reliability due to removal of the CD mechanism, the potential for better sound quality as error correction is obviated due to the absence of the live disk read, and the ready availability of additional digital formats. For me, replacing a dying CD player with a streamer was a no-brainer.

However, I recognise that some people are persuaded more by the physical medium - even more so with vinyl, their album artwork being so much more than CDs ever managed: it took me a long time to decide to abandon my LPs and rip them, creating CDs instead, but after that it was less of a hurdle to rip the collection of original CDs.

At the end of the day each to their own (and both are possible, but at double the cost) - the OP simply has to decide what makes most sense in his context, and from his last couple of posts maybe has already decided on replacement CD (?), perhaps because he does have streaming capability already, albeit possibly not in the same sound quality league as some of the streaming and CD player options discussed here. Maybe an option would be to upgrade the streamer, and fill in with a lesser CD player just to be able to play disks until all are ripped? 

joerand posted:

..........   Good to know there are plenty of streamers here that still hold to the entire album tradition.

100%,  the whole album or nothing for me.    I had serious difficulty listening to the Beatles "Love" album for a while,  wrong track orders vs the original albums were disorientating,  I've sorted the medication & I'm alright now.     I have play list's of favourite artists & tracks.   OK for parties etc,  but never play them outside that.      

Hungryhalibut posted:

I always play whole albums. If I want to flick between artists and songs, there's the radio. 

For those into playlists the radio is not a substitute, being effectively random play from very much wider range of music than the listener has heard before - and, significantly, you might not like all that is played...  

I nearly always play whole albums, but there are very rare occasions where I particularly dislike a track, so it can easily be deleted from a play queue. It's also useful for classical albums where several pieces are on the same disc. For example, I have an album with 4 Mozart piano concertos, and I wouldn't want to listen to all of them in one sitting without a break: with a server/streamer, it's much easier to choose the one I want, then just sit back and listen.

I do find playlists and play queues very good for social occasions, where several people might add tracks to a queue. 

nsajuve posted:

Brubacca posted:

Looks like a Rega Apollo-R for me. 

I would choose the Saturn-r instead...

Hi nsajuve,
if you live in Italy you should have no difficulty in testing the Lector, a valid alternative to the good Rega,
The lector is a popular Italian tube cd player, very warm and refined sound. If you're Italian, you should know it.

P.S. I have not understood if you're Italian or an Englishman who moved to Italy

some information maybe can help you

Lector CDP 603 - Real tubes output top loading cd player - Pure class A real tubes output without any solid state device on signal path - handcrafed in Italy since 1982. street price 1500 euro.  At this price hard to get better, believe me.

Anto68 posted:

some information maybe can help you

Lector CDP 603 - Real tubes output top loading cd player - Pure class A real tubes output without any solid state device on signal path - handcrafed in Italy since 1982. street price 1500 euro.  At this price hard to get better, believe me.

 

Interesting, building a DAC using thermionic valves!

I think it's just the output stage (post DAC) Huge.

Unless of course the thing's fully discrete and the size of a house 

james n posted:

I think it's just the output stage (post DAC) Huge.

Unless of course the thing's fully discrete and the size of a house 

That's my understanding, too. There are a few around, stand-alone DACs as well as CD players, and have been for quite a while, satisfying a desire from tube buffs - but I've no idea  how theynsound compared to more familiar all solid-state devices frequently discussed on these forums.

I was being facetious.   Claiming no solid state devices on the signal path when there's a DAC in there really got my goat.

As you say James it would have to be huge, massively power hungry and it would need regular debugging in the same way as early (thermionic valve) computers did!  But at least you wouldn't need any heating in the winter.

Huge posted:

 

As you say James it would have to be huge, massively power hungry and it would need regular debugging in the same way as early (thermionic valve) computers did!  But at least you wouldn't need any heating in the winter.

What's not to like 

Anto68 posted:

some information maybe can help you

Lector CDP 603 - Real tubes output top loading cd player - Pure class A real tubes output without any solid state device on signal path - handcrafed in Italy since 1982. street price 1500 euro.  At this price hard to get better, believe me.

 

Ok l. I'll check it out. Actually i'm a bit of a strange combination. I'm of armenian descent.. born in Iran... moved to Italy when i was 19... and now i'm 31. So you can call me irano-armeno-italiano... like a 3way speaker hahahah. 

Anyways... i was considering the 5xs... but it costs too much and i don't know if it's worth it. For example the rega saturn costs 1000 euros less... and i can write a list of other players which have a cost that starts somewhere around 1500 euros and gets as high as 2000 euros...