CD Players $1000 - $2500

[twich54]

The only issue one needs to be aware of is break-in time. My dealer, Ron Hendrick / Marigo Audio, recommends 500 hours, which to the extent possible, I was able to confirm.GG

Gordon, I'm not trying to pick on you, but every time I see one of these "Upteem Hour " break-in periods I just want to fall off my stool either crying or laughing !!! first off what is the avg life for a laser in todays CD players ??? 2, 3,or 4000 hrs ?? So who in their right mind would build a unit that would waste 15-25% of a laser usefull life ???

Besides I would like an engineering / scientific explanation, not audiophile "popey ****" that tends to circulate around ridiculous "break-in" time BS.

 

[ralflar]

Dave, you won't find a rational explanation anywhere. I do not believe this kind of break-in exists, but cannot prove it. Others believe in break-in, and cannot prove that either. Debate is futile. I simply dismiss such claims as something from someone else's reality which is not applicable in my own. Falling off chairs hurt too much.

 

[Bimotarich]

Suprised

I am suprised no one has mentioned Esoteric Players. Their sound is beautiful, build quality top notch, and they have a nice simple look. Of course to get one in your price range you may need to find a used model or a demo. A good second choice are the TEAC models that are basically dumbed down ESOTERICS or is it that the Esoterics are hotted up TEACs...the latter I presume. Anyway... happy listening... The new Denons are excellent as well.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Beats me!

Gordon, I'm not trying to pick on you, but every time I see one of these "Upteem Hour " break-in periods I just want to fall off my stool either crying or laughing !!! first off what is the avg life for a laser in todays CD players ??? 2, 3,or 4000 hrs ?? So who in their right mind would build a unit that would waste 15-25% of a laser usefull life ???

Besides I would like an engineering / scientific explanation, not audiophile "popey ****" that tends to circulate around ridiculous "break-in" time BS.

Dave,

I will be sensitive to your reaction in the future and certainly understand your feelings regarding this phenomena. As Raflar said, it is somewhat useless to debate given ones beliefs on either side of the "break in versus non break in" issue and if it is audible or not since neither is objectively / measurably quantifiable.

Regarding the Cary CD player, that info comes from Ron and, with all due respect, I did notice smoother mids and a better defined mid bass / low bass after the unit had 500 hours on it. For the record, Ron had played it for around 430 hours prior to shipping the unit so I was able to "monitor" the change over 3 days. Not too long a time, I believe, for auditory memory to still have validity.

If I ever come across a technical reason for this, I will certainly post it.

As for picking on me, no problem. This wonderful forum is all about honest exchanges of opinions based on ones listening experiences and if anyone disagrees with something I or anyone else has posted and states it in a respectful manner, that's OK with me.

Best regards,

Gordon

 

[twich54]

Gordon, Good evening, don't worry about being sensitive !! I too believe in 'break-in'....to a point, certianly NOT 500 hrs. For that amount of time I would need real world proof of WHAT is breaking in !! ??? I would love to hear your Dealer, Ron, explain what is actually happening during that period ??

FWIW, I too own a Cary CD player (303/300), I spoke with Gerald (tech / engineer) @ Cary, his comment to me... beyond 100 hrs....call it psycho-acoustics !!

Regardless, lets enjoy the music !!

 

[C.A.P]

Beyond 24 hrs of straight playing on repeat its over . I do agree in a break in but after that its not that noticeable.

If I have to get a unit that needs 500 hrs or 1/3 of its life to sound right Ill search for a better sounding unit for todays fun and let tomorrows dream wait !

 

[Gordon Gray]

Beyond 24 hrs of straight playing on repeat its over . I do agree in a break in but after that its not that noticeable.

If I have to get a unit that needs 500 hrs or 1/3 of its life to sound right Ill search for a better sounding unit for todays fun and let tomorrows dream wait !

Dear CAP,

I have no personal knowledge of how you came up with your "24 hour burn in period" to justify position for CD players and how they sound with additional play time. IMHO, that may be something that you feel is some sort of benchmark for CD players and I would love to see the defensible criteria that supports your position. I also have no personal knowledge regarding your apparent position that a laser mechanism has an operative life of 1,500 hours.

As far as a better sounding CD player, I had the "Miles" for eight (8) years and I really enjoyed the player. However, I believe digital technology has a somewhat limited technological life span as witnessed by computer chip advances. It is, as we all know, about zeros and ones, and how the particular manufacturer addresses the digital output and how it ultimately affects the "sound" of their product.

I really appreciate the feedback and, perhaps, this topic (break in) may be a very interesting / new thread.

GG

 

[rhom]

I'd like to thank everyone that participated in both this thread and the <1,000 CDP thread. Your comments were terrific and I have been out listening to some of your recommendations. Among these were both the Rega Apollo and Saturn, several Naim CDPs, Krell's SACD Standard, and a Cary CDP-1.

All sounded good, but I think that I'm going to have to hear these CDPs in my system in order to make a good decision. I'm gonna start this weekend, I arranged to babysit a friend's Ayre CX-7. So, wish me luck! I'll let you know what I eventually end up with.

 

[C.A.P]

Dear CAP,

I have no personal knowledge of how you came up with your "24 hour burn in period" to justify position for CD players and how they sound with additional play time. IMHO, that may be something that you feel is some sort of benchmark for CD players and I would love to see the defensible criteria that supports your position. I also have no personal knowledge regarding your apparent position that a laser mechanism has an operative life of 1,500 hours.

As far as a better sounding CD player, I had the "Miles" for eight (8) years and I really enjoyed the player. However, I believe digital technology has a somewhat limited technological life span as witnessed by computer chip advances. It is, as we all know, about zeros and ones, and how the particular manufacturer addresses the digital output and how it ultimately affects the "sound" of their product.

I really appreciate the feedback and, perhaps, this topic (break in) may be a very interesting / new thread.

GG

Gordon , thanks for the reply. I have found that by playing them for 24 hrs on repeat gives a decent representation of the future sound of a player. That being said , I would have to agree with you on a tube CD player as they do require a bit longer break in time as with all tube products. Warm up time also has a lot of play in the sound. You cant just turn it on and expect magic. If there is a standby mode I use it.

As for advances in players chips and such, I to agree on chips being better and like all products they are cheaper . Look at the average Sony or Denon players that are modded to sound fantastic. Its not that they didn't want that sound from the start they just couldn't mass produce it at a good margin .


Did you run the Balanced Miles ? Did you run it direct or use a pre amp? I do think its a still a great player for the $.The balanced version only, There is a big difference in sound . The balanced had 2 dacs & 2 of everything. I have not really thought of it but Great Northern Sounds can Modify it . I figured if I was gonna spend another 1k on it Id look into another unit.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Theta Miles

Hi CAP,

I totally understand and respect your observations. Regarding my Miles, it was single ended hooked up through my CJ. I did run it directly into my amp inputs and it certainly sounded better. However, I found the attenuator steps to be too broad (3 DB per click) to get the ideal volume level for my tastes.

GG

 

[C.A.P]

That is my biggest pet peeve but I will deal with for now! I wish they didn't put the attenuator steps so far apart. Going from -5 to -4 is a big difference in volume !

The Balanced version really makes a difference ! Its so much deeper and warmer sounding with thicker bass. I have heard a few better but not for the $$$

 

[raygunn]

I think I may know...

"When did we meet?" I used to work for and am still friends with Don Caruso.

Did you work for Sound Advice in Coral Gables?

Are the mods performed by Andy B.?
I lost touch with him after he left Florida.....

 

[SundayNiagara]

"Did you work for Sound Advice in Coral Gables? Yes!

Are the mods performed by Andy B.?" No!

The mods are done in Kendall.

 

[edwinr]

... The Ayre was a little bright for my tastes...
Jim

I thought that too when I first set up this CD player at home. But a couple of weeks later the player settled down and now I have to say that it sounds VERY similar to SACD's. Another player to consider is the CEC TL51XR:

"The TL 51XR is a high end belt drive CD player which incoporates the worlds highest level 24 bit full balance modular DAC. The output stages are single ended class A amplifier due to CECs LEF design without feedback loop and are full balanced. Music at its best. The TL51XR can read all CD standards, CD-R/RW as well.

Digital output CEC super link,AES/EBU,COAX,TOSLINK
Analog output 1 x balanced XLR, 1 x unbalanced RCA
Dimensions 435(W) x 296(D) x 98(H) mm
Weight 10 kg
Finishes available Silver

The history of CEC is almost synonymous with the history of analog and digital transports.
CEC was founded 1954 in Tokyo. In the same year they introduced a high precision phono motor which was followed by many models of analog turntables and record players which have given CEC a solid reputation in the audio field.

CEC"