What kit is best

[sjh06]

I own a Marantz PM7200 amp, Acoustic Energy Evo 3 floorstanders, Synergy CDJ1200 cd player, Cambridge Audio Atlantic interconnect, QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire speaker cable.

I think that my cd player and interconnect are letting my overall system down and i was wondering what cd player, interconnect would suit my system, any ideas? my budget is about £500

 

[Andy Clough]

Yes, the CD player does appear to be the weak link, but the good news is that there's a great choice of players around the £500 mark. Arcam's DiVA CD73T (£450) is still one of our favourites, and we've recently enjoyed Pioneer's new PD-D6-J (£350). If your budget can stretch a bit further, the Cyrus CD6s (£650) was our CD Product of the Year in 2006, although buy that and you might need to upgrade your speakers too!

As for interconnects, the £39 Supra Dual is a great buy.

 

[sjh06]

Many thanks for your advice, I have done some research into the CD Players you mentioned, the Cyrus CD6s sounds like a good machine, though having reviewed your What-HiFi Ultimate Guide, I noticed that the CD6s was in comparison with the Roksan Kandy MkIII and the Arcam CD192, also the Cyrus CD8x after. I tend to listen to a variety of music genres, mainly dance/trance and dj sets, bit of rock/bands (Arctic Monkeys, Killers etc) so i need to get a player that will suit these types of music, time really well and get the most from the music, I really liked what you had to say about the Arcam CD192 and have heard that its one of the best around, what do you think? The Cyrus CD8x review also impressed me, is it worth spending the extra money for these compared to the CD6s, I know that they are probably a few classes above the rest of my kit but i want to get a top notch cd player with the intent of upgrading the rest of my set up to suit in the near future, if I was to go with a Cryus CD8x, what amp and speakers would you recommend to go with it? Alternativley, If it was the Arcam CD192 what would partner well? (with the types of music i listen to), I have a soft spot for B&W speakers and would love to get some, what ones do think would go well with the above set ups?

Kind regards

 

[Thaiman]

Add to the list, just to confuse you even more, is Rega Apollo. Punchy and well communicated without being over analysed which is rare at this price point. Oh and exposure 2010i if you like brit pop you really need to hear it, superb timing, hard and fast....bargain.