vman
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CD Player / DAC Advice
dcstep
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Well, you didn't say, do you plan to buy CDs/DVD-As and SACDs? If so, then buy a player, if not buy as good a DAC as you can afford.

If you want a CD or universal player you need to give us a budget in order to get some meaningful suggestions.

Dave

vman
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If the CD quality is the same as the Airport Express with a good DAC, then I prob will not play CD's directly. If it's better, then sure.

Also, if SACD / DVD Audio is better on a 2 speaker system, then yes I'd play discs directly.

I have (about) a $2,000 limit on this component (depending on capabilities) - would prefer sub $1,500, but would consider up to $2,000.

I would need optical-in for the Airport Express.

dcstep
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Well then, you can get your feet wet with an Oppo 981 or 970 universal set up for two-channel play (you have to hook it up to the TV to do this, but once that's done it can be purely two-channel). The Oppo's 200-bucks and Pioneer makes a great universal (the DV-58AV) for around $400-street.

IMHO, SACDs and DVD-As are the best widely available digital sources, rivaling the best vinyl. Many CDs are also very good, but some of the older CDs are pretty bad. Even some of my "audiophile" CDs from the late 1980s sound like crap. The good news is that much of the new stuff, particularly in jazz, is very good. However, much pop and rock stuff suffers from the same overcompression of the mp3s and "lossless" versions.

It has a good DAC, but I haven't tried inputing another digital source through it.

Dave

linden518
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I have Cambridge Audio 840C, which I run my Squeezebox through. It has twin Analog Devices DACs running per channel, 4 total. I think Esoteric & Benchmark use AD DACs, too. This is all technical jargon... what I can tell you is the sound is pretty bloody good. I heard to maximize the DACs, you should really run through balanced, but it's good enough for me, running unbalanced.

You can pick one up a new one for around $1200, I think. Probably one of the best bargains out there for what it delivers. If you can stretch yr budget, there's a Shigaraki transport/DAC on Audiogon right now for $1900, which seems like a good discount. If you don't want upsampling, you should look into the Shigaraki system.

vman
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I took home the Cambridge 840C to audition. The soundstage was good, detail was good, but overall too bright for my system and room setup.

I am going to try the Quad 99 CDP-2 next. I would try the Cayin (matches my amp) but there are no optical inputs.

Any thoughts on this? I'll let you know how it goes.

Elk
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Cambridge tends toward a lean sound. Perhaps audition a Creek CDP as these tend toward a more ripe sound.

bifcake
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Look into Cary 306/200. It's a warm sounding CD player with digital inputs so you can hook up your external digital sources and use the CD player as your DAC.

Elk
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Excellent suggestion; the Cary is delicious.

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