dmanwithnoname
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newbie needs advice
bifcake
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Hi,

Getting a better CD player would definitely help, but your system is only as good as its weakest link. So, if you throw a $1,000 player at a $100 receiver, you won't get the full benefit out of your player. In fact, it's possible that you won't hear any difference at all. In order to get the most out of every component, you have to make sure that all of your components are capable of delivering the most. That means that if you get a $1000 CD player, you probably need a $2000 pre-amp and a $3000 amp to make the system shine. I don't mean to suggest that you can't find components for a lot less to make your CD player shine, but I just want to give you a general feel.

Having said that, here are my recommendations of what I consider very good CD players for under a grand on the used market:

Rega Planet 2000
Rega Apollo
Musical Fidelity A3.2 and A3.5
Rotel RCD 971
Cary 308
Gamut CD-1
Naim CD-5i

Many people also like Meridian players, but I find them to be too dry and lifeless.

Edit: Another thing I forgot to mention is that if you get a new CD player, don't connect it to your receiver via digital connections. That would cause the CD player to act purely as a transport and your receiver would act as your DA converter. That would negate the whole point of upgrading your CD player. So, if you decide to get a new player, connect it via analog inputs.

dmanwithnoname
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Ok Alex that makes sence. So basically i should start from scatch, is that what you are saying? I am looking for better perfmance, i'm assuming you don't think my reciever is up to the task. Is that a fair statement? It's been along time since i have upgraded.

bifcake
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Yeah. I think you should start from scratch. I don't think your receiver can deliver what $1000 CD players can offer ESPECIALLY if you're shopping on the used market because what you're really buying is a $2-$3k player.

dmanwithnoname
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Thanks Alex. I was wondering if someone was going to say that, and was hoping that maybe someone wouldn't. I realize that this forum might not be a place to talk about outdated budget equipment, but its nice to get straight up answers.

bifcake
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You can actually do quite well on a relatively modest budget if you're willing to buy used equipment. There are people here who have compiled surprisingly satisfying systems for about $1000 and if you can stretch your budget to $5k, you can do REALLY well. For $10k on a used market, you can compile what would have been a near reference system just a few years ago.

dmanwithnoname
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5K doensn't sound that unreasonable.

dmanwithnoname
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I was just hoping to grab more life out of this system.

bifcake
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Here is a system that I would seriously consider for 5k:

Rega Planet 2000 CD player -$500 used
Cary SLP-98L - $1500 used
Classe - C101 amp - $750 used
Gallo Ref 3.0 or 3.1 - $2000 used

Some other considerations could be:

Creek 5350SE integrated - about 1k
Paradigm Studio speakers 100 v2 or 3 - about 2k
Musical Fidelity A3.2 CD player about $650
NHT 2.9 or 3.3 speakers 1k-2k respectively

You can put together a really nice system with a combination of the above mentioned components. Different combinations will sound different i.e warmer, cooler, brighter, euphonic, analytical, etc., but they will be very satisfying in their own ways.

Windzilla
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actually, perhaps speakers would be the better way to go here. It may be cheaper and benifit music as well as movies.

what do you currently use, especially for your two front speakers?

Windzilla
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oh, just realized, did you say your budget is 1k or 5k and is it that you would spend 5k on a system and 1k on the cdp or, im a bit confused.

dmanwithnoname
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I currently use axiom m-60's, vp-150, and qs-4's. My subwoofer is a 20-39 svs PC.

dmanwithnoname
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I thought that if i spent 1K on a cd player i may get more out of my system now, and upgrade with used components as funds permit.

dmanwithnoname
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i can push the budget beyond 5k

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