Any suggested good CDP of £1000 range ?

[Inter_Voice]

Presently I am using OPPO 83SE NuForce Edition for BD, SACD and CD playbacks. I love the SQ this universal player produces and has no complaint at all especially its 2 channels output.

Just a matter of interest according to a lot of reviews the new OPPO 95 EU is better than its 83 series for CD playbacks. In case in future I decide to have a new CD player I don't want to have another universal player in my cabinet. Any suggestions for a decent CDP of £1000 range that can play HDCD, SACD etc better than my OPPO 83 ?

 

[Inter_Voice]

It seems no one has any ideas :?

 

[Macspur]

Hi,
Not absolutely sure whether this would meet your requirements, but the Rega Saturn is an outstanding player and at under £1,000 is a bargain!

 

[Inter_Voice]

Thanks Macspur for the input. I know Rega Saturn is a good quality CDP but unfortunately it cannot handle SACDs

 

[plastic penguin]

Have you thought about Arcam's CD37? Arcam gel very well with Leema and it'll handle SACD. Alternatively the Audiolab 8200 is a bit of a cracker.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I have heard the oppo recently and was quite impressed. The only weaknesses I thought was it was slightly lean sounding. The marantz KI pearl has sacd I think, it would give a slightly fuller, beefier sound and probably more organic/fluid sounding too.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[Inter_Voice]

I have also Marantz KI Pearl (not the Lite version) in my mind but the unit is quite expensive. As I mostly listen to jazz, vocals and classicals and seldom listen to rock Marantz would be one of my favouite choices. But I will stock up the other options before making a final decision for an audition.

I have also had a chance having audition OPPO 95EU and the SQ is quite smooth to my ears and have "tube" feeling. The only problem is I have already had an universal player OPPO 83NU and there is no point of keeping two similar products on the shelf. As a matter of fact the SQ of OPPO 95EU can be further enhanced by carrying out mod such as changing the jitter clock and some important components but it will end up to about £2000 which IMO is too much

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I was talking about the Lite version. Have a look there are a few good reviews on line. I think from what I read too it good for jazz, human voice etc. It may not be as suited for hard rock,metal etc but what I found with the marantz it has that nice relaxing enjoyable sound thats very smooth. With the oppo I found it smooth but I think you find the marantz would have more drive and punch with more body to the instruments. I have listened to cambridge - great detail but I found it a little more cooler and brighter which may not suit some systems. I think it depends on your system. The best is try before you buy.

I havent heard the audiolab 8200 but lot of people rave about it. I have heard the older 8000 series impressive detail but a little bright for my tastes, I have been told the 8200 is a lot better though - some saying its the best 1000pound cd player, I didnt know it played sacd.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[jerry klinger]

Well the OP was asking for a CD player that does HDCD as well as SACD and DVDA. As far as I know, there aren't any - there's a tiny handful of CD players now with HDCD, and various Japanese SACD players. For a universal player you have to get a DVD/Bluray such as the Denons, Cambridge or the Oppo - which is what he's already got.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Well the OP was asking for a CD player that does HDCD as well as SACD and DVDA. As far as I know, there aren't any - there's a tiny handful of CD players now with HDCD, and various Japanese SACD players. For a universal player you have to get a DVD/Bluray such as the Denons, Cambridge or the Oppo - which is what he's already got.

You are correct. I have in my stock quite a number of SACDs, HDCDs and a few DVD-As. That is why I am looking for a decent player that can accommodate all these formats. As you said j_k there arn't too many choices in the market. I will only go for something which is better than my OPPO 83NU.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

The other option is to get a dac that would probably improve the oppo.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Hi,

The other option is to get a dac that would probably improve the oppo.

Cheers

Steve.

Brilliant !! I have not thought of it before!! :doh: Any good suggestions that can provide VERY GOOD performance out of my OPPO? I am not sure how good is the output digital signal from OPPO. BTW shall I use coaxial or optical output to get the best from the DAC ?

 

[Chewy]

. . . I didnt know it played sacd.

Cheers

Steve.

I am considering either the 8200CD or the Marantz SA-K1 Pearl Lite (or any other suggestions atthe same price point) too. I was just going to plump for the 8200CD, but I can't find any mention anywhere that it can play SACD's either? Can anyone confirm this?

Has anyone any experience of either of these two players?

 

[Inter_Voice]

. . . I didnt know it played sacd.

Cheers

Steve.

I am considering either the 8200CD or the Marantz SA-K1 Pearl Lite (or any other suggestions atthe same price point) too. I was just going to plump for the 8200CD, but I can't find any mention anywhere that it can play SACD's either? Can anyone confirm this?

Has anyone any experience of either of these two players?

I know 8200CD is a good CDP but unfortunately it cannot play SACD. Sad

. I have to remove it from my favourite list.

As to Marantz SA-K1 it is a good CD/SACD player at this price range but I prefer its bigger brother Marantz 15S2 which costs twice as much.

 

[Chewy]

I know, I have been enjoying my new SACD's so it is a shame that the 8200CD can't play them. How does the Pearl Lite compare to the 8200CD on straight CD playback though - for me personally I guess I have to decide if a 'potential' step down in CD playback quality is worth it for the extra SACD playback, or just stick with my Oppo for SACD and get the 8200CD for CD's?! :?

 

[Inter_Voice]

I know, I have been enjoying my new SACD's so it is a shame that the 8200CD can't play them. How does the Pearl Lite compare to the 8200CD on straight CD playback though - for me personally I guess I have to decide if a 'potential' step down in CD playback quality is worth it for the extra SACD playback, or just stick with my Oppo for SACD and get the 8200CD for CD's?! :?

I believe, like me, you are using your OPPO for CD/SACD playback.

I am now seriously considering a DAC and may be the one from REGA (costing £500) will be one of my choices. The only problem is that I don't know if its performance will be better than my OPPO 83NU or not :?

Hope somebody can provide their experience and comment.

 

[the record spot]

There aren't any universal players at the £1k price I think, so you might try and seek out a used Denon DCD3930, which was around £900 about five years ago, the aforementioned Arcam, or you could get a Cambridge 751BD which is the current all formats player at £800. The Denon you should get for about £300 or so, try Ebay and Gumtree and the occasional dealer who can offer an ex-dem one lying round in a store room somewhere. I think Jimmy Hughes (another hifi reviewer) used one of these for his own system at one time. Performance was, from memory, excellent by all accounts. I'd hit the patient button and wait for one of those to come round. Equally, if you love the Oppo, stick with it.

 

[Inter_Voice]

There aren't any universal players at the £1k price I think, so you might try and seek out a used Denon DCD3930, which was around £900 about five years ago, the aforementioned Arcam, or you could get a Cambridge 751BD which is the current all formats player at £800. The Denon you should get for about £300 or so, try Ebay and Gumtree and the occasional dealer who can offer an ex-dem one lying round in a store room somewhere. I think Jimmy Hughes (another hifi reviewer) used one of these for his own system at one time. Performance was, from memory, excellent by all accounts. I'd hit the patient button and wait for one of those to come round. Equally, if you love the Oppo, stick with it.

The DCD3930 are outdated product and I don't think its performance is better than my existing OPPO 83NU edition. The DAC chipset Denon used are not as new. Cambridge 751BD is very similar to OPPO 95EU and I also think its performance is very closed to my 83NU or may be just a little bid better in some areas (with question mark). The major draw back of using an universal player for CD playback is due to its relatively higher jitter noise. Actually I can consider making modifications to OPPO's mater clock but it will cost around £300. May be using a DAC can overcome this shortcomings and a more direct approach. The only problem is how to identify a decent DAC which is better than my OPPO?

 

[CnoEvil]

Have you considered keeping what you have and spending the money on a decent streamer (giving access hi-res audio)?

 

[Chewy]

The only problem is how to identify a decent DAC which is better than my OPPO?

And that is the crux of the issue. I have just re-read your first post, I hadn't realised that it was the NuForce edition of the 83 SE that you had. I doubt very much that you will see an improvement by buying a £500 DAC, spend a couple of grand and you 'might' start to hear an improvement. I also doubt the newer 95 would be any better than the NuForce edition of the 83, indeed any player in the £1000 price bracket - any improvement in SQ would be very small at best, if any existed at all. I'm excluding here the possible benefits of a dedicated CD player.

What partnering equipment (processor, amps) do you have with the Oppo? You might find greater gains with your upgrade budget spent there rather than swapping out the Oppo for like-for-like machine.

 

[Inter_Voice]

The only problem is how to identify a decent DAC which is better than my OPPO?

What partnering equipment (processor, amps) do you have with the Oppo? You might find greater gains with your upgrade budget spent there rather than swapping out the Oppo for like-for-like machine.

I got Leema Tucana II and Spendor SA-1 with MJ Acoustic Pro MK II. I think the amp and speakers are okay. My room is well acoustically treated (see the small pic on the left and you will understand what I mean).

Actually I have no special issues with my system now and I have the feeling that the only weak link with my present setup is the source, i.e. my OPPO. I just wanted to explore how my source can be made better.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Have you considered keeping what you have and spending the money on a decent streamer (giving access hi-res audio)?

Never try or have any knowledge how a streamer works. Will find out more when I have the time

If streamer can produce music better than SACDs I will certainly go for it :cheer:

 

[CnoEvil]

Have you considered keeping what you have and spending the money on a decent streamer (giving access hi-res audio)?

Never try or have any knowledge how a streamer works. Will find out more when I have the time

If streamer can produce music better than SACDs I will certainly go for it :cheer:

They can't do surround, but for 2 channel they are every bit as good, if not better.

I'm a complete technophobe, so the Linn dealer installed the whole thing at no extra cost. Operating it couldn't be easier. IMO A Sneaky sounds like a £2k+ CDP (even more so on 24 bit).

My advice, is that before spending big money on a dying format, get a listen to a Linn, Naim or Cyrus.....you should be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Chewy]

The only problem is how to identify a decent DAC which is better than my OPPO?

What partnering equipment (processor, amps) do you have with the Oppo? You might find greater gains with your upgrade budget spent there rather than swapping out the Oppo for like-for-like machine.

I got Leema Tucana II and Spendor SA-1 with MJ Acoustic Pro MK II. I think the amp and speakers are okay. My room is well acoustically treated (see the small pic on the left and you will understand what I mean).

Actually I have no special issues with my system now and I have the feeling that the only weak link with my present setup is the source, i.e. my OPPO. I just wanted to explore how my source can be made better.

I see, yes, nice system, no need to upgrade those then.

What is your proportion of listening between SACD and CD?

 

[Chewy]

Have you considered keeping what you have and spending the money on a decent streamer (giving access hi-res audio)?

Never try or have any knowledge how a streamer works. Will find out more when I have the time

If streamer can produce music better than SACDs I will certainly go for it :cheer:

They can't do surround, but for 2 channel they are every bit as good, if not better. I'm a complete technophobe, so the Linn dealer installed the whole thing at no extra cost. Operating it couldn't be easier. IMO A Sneaky sounds like a £2k+ CDP (even more so on 24 bit). My advice, is that before spending big money on a dying format, get a listen to a Linn, Naim or Cyrus.....you should be pleasantly surprised.

Its hardly a dying format! I'm sure we'll all have upgraded our players several time before they burn the last SACD.

That said, the future is almost certainly streaming, so that is a good suggestion, but the learning curve is quite steep.

P.S. You can stream multi-channel hi-res audio with the right kit.