Unison cd, cd player or music streamer?

Native_bon

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Hey guys am looking to get a new source for playing CDs. Most of cd players I listen to these days sound too cynical for my liking. I currently got Cambridge audio Azur 840C player.. Yea it's very good but can be cynical sounding at times. Am looking to get the Unison Research CD, cd player. I have been told its sublime 4 the money. Also thinking of music streamers.. But would music streamers better the sound of a dedicated cd player?.. My current system is Arcam AVR 600 and Sonus Faber Cremona speakers.

Any help or suggestions welcome.

Thanx
 

paradiziac

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Worth checking out the Unison -- the valve output stage should make for a less clinical sound.

Streamers have a slight advantage of not having a CD spinning inside the box since you can already start with a perfect rip of the music. But there isn't a big advantage--power supply and output stage from the DAC makes more of a difference. If you have lots of CDs and don't like the idea of messing with technology, a good CD player is still fine.

What kind of cables do you use between CD and amp? And speaker cable?
 

crusaderlord

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Trefor Patten said:
Yeah those cynical CD players, totally lacking in belief aren't they? I much prefer a compassionate streamer ;)
made me laugh anyway :grin:

I would imagine a Unison player may well be a good choice - given your amplifier i really like the Arcam CD37 myself and would be worth testing. I find it more musical and not quite so clinical as my streamer and M1 DAC - both are good but i prefer the CD player overall in presentation.

Personally i thought Cambridge Audio and Cyrus players were too bright for my taste - i prefered Arcam and Naim from my own demos.
 

Native_bon

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Cd to amp I use cord company chameleon sliver plus and speaker cable cord sliver screen. Got my system on quadraspire rack.

Just been information that that model unico cd cd player had a lot of problems. So I guess am back to square 1. Also thinking of either olive 4HD or audio analogue crescendo cd player. May be around 2 grand to spend.
 

gregvet

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Strongly suggest you try to demo the Linn Majik DS. Less than your budget (especially if you can pick up an ex demo one as they have just updated the casework, bargains about on the last of the old units at the moment). I have just got one and I am really impressed with the combination of detail and musicality. Definitely not clinical, and I would suggest more than an equal for any of the cd players I have heard for similar money.

Streaming is the future after all ;)
 

paradiziac

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Researching your kit:

- 840C: neutral sounding player, very good CD player for the price

- Arcam not normally bright, "Cno evil" I believe has this amp and would know better

- Sonus Faber: well known for being musical and not bright

No obvious mismatch/weakness here. Personally I would try to borrow some better cables (both interconnect and speaker cable) to try in your system first. As crazy at it may seem, I think you may be surprized.

Tellurium Q black is supposed to be outstanding value, though I've yet to try some myself. If they don't sound much better, at least you can eliminate that possibility.
 

Macspur

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Hi,

If you fancy a CDP with valves, I suggest you try Pathos Digit... Not heard it myself, but gets very good reviews and can be had for less than 2K.

Cheers

Mac
 

CnoEvil

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If going the CDP route, I would also suggest the Pathos....though given where things are heading, I would go the Streaming route; and just about every regular on here knows my standard recommendation (Linn DS).

I know it sounds good with an AVR600 and Kef Refs, so it should also sound very musical with the Cremonas.
 

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