CD Player Reviews

dCS Puccini CD/DAC & Paganini Clock/USB Interface – Quick Impression premium
I only just recently heard the dCS Puccini CD/SACD Player and DAC and Paganini Master Clock/USB Interface in the context of my own system. Since many people are shopping in the second-hand market, I thought it would be worth sharing my Quick Impressions of these products.
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30 October 2022
Aqua La Diva M2 – Part 3 premium
Of late, ongoing changes on the streaming front have led to my reassessing the CD medium. But more pertinently, I have made a very interesting discovery that led to a newfound admiration for the Aqua M2 drive.
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Jay’s Audio CDT3-Mk3 and DAC2-Mk3 premium
The DAC2-Mk3 can be seen as the successor of the DAC2 Signature that I reviewed in December 2019 and the CDT3-Mk3 is Jay's Audio's new Flagship CD transport. Read on to find out how they perform individually and as a pair.
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4 February 2022
Aqua La Diva M2 – Part 2 premium
After my review of the La Diva M2, Marco of Hexagon Audio was so kind to leave both La Diva models with me for some time. This has allowed me to carry out some more comparisons.
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1 December 2021
Aqua La Diva M2 premium
Ever since I was aware that a new model was coming, I had been awaiting its arrival with immense anticipation. Fortunately, the M2 delivers on its promise. It is not only a successor with a different CD mechanism but indeed a wholly different player.
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Ayon CD-10 II CD Player premium
The CD-10 II impressed me enormously. Regular readers will know that I am used to listening to very esoteric gear but somehow Ayon always manages to stir my music-loving soul, and, as it turns out, even with their entry-level products.
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Lector CDP-707 + PSU-707 and Digicode S-192 + PSU-DC 192 premium
The CDP-707 is an integrated Tube CD player, powered for this review by the company's best PSU-707 unit. The Digicode S-192 is a Tube DAC, powered by the company's best PSU-DC 192 unit.
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Jay’s Audio CDT-2Mk2 and DAC-2 Signature premium
Chinese-made products have not always enjoyed the same reputation as well-known western brands but, based on recent experiences in general and based on how these Jay's Audio products perform in particular, I am confident in stating that it is about time to change our collective minds about this.
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Ayon Stealth DAC and CD-T II Signature CD Transport premium
There is no way around it. The Ayon Stealth DAC/Preamp and CD-T II transport play with a level of musical involvement not matched by any solid state combination that I tried so far.
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16 January 2018
Bryston BCD-3 CD Player premium
Never less than fully engaging and always ready to boogie, the Bryston BCD-3 CD player is a sure bet!
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16 April 2017
Ayon CD-T CD transport – Mini Review premium
Truly excellent CD transport with S/P DIF and i2S connections
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18 October 2015
Wadia 861 CD player premium
A true reference player, but one that divides opinion. There are people who say it's the most real sounding player and there are those who find it square and "digital" sounding.
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5 January 2015
dCS P8 SACD Player premium
P8 - dCS' first all in one SACD player.
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9 August 2014
Wadia 781i SACD Player premium
Beefed-up 581, but more than the sum of parts!
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21 July 2014
Wadia 581 SACD Player premium
Successor to the famous 861, the 581 uses a more basic transport, but is the first Wadia to offer SACD playback.
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2 June 2014
Accuphase DP410 CD Player premium
Successor to the popular DP400, the DP410 promises improved sound and adds USB input.
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10 February 2014
Esoteric X03 SE SACD Player premium
CD/SACD player with VRDS-NEO drive and tank-like build.
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15 November 2013
Linn Sondek CD12 CD Player – Mini Review premium
Much like the Sonic Frontiers Transport 3, the CD12 is a real eyecatcher.
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16 July 2013
Sonic Frontiers Transport 3 – Quick Impression premium
The T3 looks amazing with its unique lense-like CD loader on top, but the mechanism isn't exactly quiet...
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21 October 2012
Yamaha CDX-930 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
A beauty to look at, with pretty good sound to match.
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9 September 2012
Emotiva ERC2 CD Player premium
Highly affordable player that performs admirably well.
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Meridian 808.3 Signature Reference CD player premium
Sooloos products had me hooked right from the start
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Naim NDX, CDX2, DAC and XPS2 premium
After being so enthusiastic about the UnitiQute and Uniti, I was curious to find out how much more there would be in the Naims higher up on the scale.
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1 April 2012
Wadia S7i CD Player premium
Wadia S7i is compared to the Wadia 861, PS Audio PWD MKII and Linn Klimax DS/0.
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2 August 2011
Ayre CX7 CD Player premium
The CX7 was meant as a temporary replacement for my defective Levinson 390s. Soundwise the two players couldn't be more different.
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21 May 2011
Accuphase DP400 CD Player premium
No doubt the DP400 is a fine looking unit. But how does it compare to the Mark Levinson no.390s?
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10 October 2010
Mark Levinson No.390s CD Player – Mini Review premium
This is the first 'S' category Levinson that I've had in the system and I have to say that it seems to really make a difference.
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10 December 2009
Linn Unidisk 1.1 Multi Disc Player – Quick Impression premium
This player reminded me strongly of the Weiss DAC2/Minerva da converter for its clean, tight, fast, open, business-like and dry sound.
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21 October 2009
van Medevoort CD350 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Although this player was just visiting and was only listened to briefly, it was immediately evident that it has a very different character than the resident Mark Levinson no390s.
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11 October 2009
Meridian 508.24 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
A very different animal from the 506-24!
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11 October 2009
Meridian 507 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Very natural and neutral player with plenty detail and pace.
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11 October 2009
Meridian 506.20 and 506.24 CD Players – Quick Impression premium
Very relaxed, fluid and creamy sounding players.
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6 October 2009
Denon DVD-2910 DVD/SACD player – Quick Impression premium
Average as a CD player but not bad with SACD's...
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2 October 2009
Audiomeca Mephisto II CD Transport – Quick Impression premium
A very special CD transport, developed by Pierre Lurne in cooperation with Rene Boonen...
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2 August 2009
Audio Aero Prestige Signature SACD Player premium
How does this beautifully crafted player stack up against the Audiomeca Enkianthus and the Mark Levinson 390S?
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Legacy High-End CD Player Comparison – part 2 premium
Mark Levinson no.390s, CEC TL1x and Audiomeca Enkianthus
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Legacy High-End CD Player Comparison – part 1 premium
Wadia 861, Meridian 508.24, Krell KPS20i, CEC TL1x and Audiomeca Enkianthus X.
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17 October 2008
Vincent S3 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
A very affordable player that turns out to be much better than you would give it credit for.
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18 August 2008
Marantz CD94 mkII (used as transport) and CEC TL-1x premium
CD Player Transport Comparison.
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15 June 2008
Proceed PDT-3 CD Transport – Quick Impression premium
Odd but interesting CD transport.
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14 June 2008
Meridian 602 CD Transport – Quick Impression premium
A Beautiful Classic Even though this was a reference combo-player, I was disappointed by its sound. The transport uses a Philips swing arm mechanism which is usually a guarantee for musicality but in this case, I found the transport-dac combo decidedly gray and lacking vitality. Sure, there was no grain, hardness or other nastiness to […]
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Classic Philips and Marantz CD Player Comparison – part 4 premium
Fast forward 3 years – Later addition to the original review – July 2011 Three years after the review above was written, after moving house and having quite a different system, I have bought a Marantz CD80. A little later I also came across a Marantz CD74 and CD85. Because I also still have the […]
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Classic Philips and Marantz CD Player Comparison – part 3 premium
THE ORIGINAL 2008 REVIEW A more detailed comparison of the CD11LE, CD12LE, CD74, CD85, CD80 Marantz players that are added later can be found at the bottom of this review. For now, let’s move on to the original review. POWER All players showed sensitivity to the position in the (serial wired-) extension block. The first […]
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Classic Philips and Marantz CD Player Comparison – part 2 premium
The Marantz players: Marantz CD16 Exclusive 1993. CDM-4 transport, TDA1547 Bitstream DAC. This player doesn’t really belong in this review because I didn’t review it at the same time. Nevertheless, I have a very good memory of how it sounded compared to the Audiomeca and Wadia players I had at the time. In retrospect, it […]
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Classic Philips and Marantz CD Player Comparison – part 1 premium
These oldies perform way beyond expectation and even have some special qualities that are rare in digital!
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Nakamichi Dragon CD Player – Mini Review premium
This three-piece collection together formed a Nakamichi reference CD player, so expensive that few people purchased it.
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25 November 2006
Rega Jupiter CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Technically better than the Planet but still somewhat masked compared to the Sony XA50ES.
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2 November 2006
Consonance Reference 2.2 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Incredibly lucid and airy sounding player that has a tube output.
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15 October 2006
Rega Planet CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Natural, lively and entertaining player.
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30 August 2006
Panasonic DVD RV32 DVD Player – Quick Impression premium
Pretty standard DVD player that is still musical and enjoyable playing CD's.
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30 August 2006
Musical Fidelity X-Ray CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Very clean, dynamic and lively player.
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30 August 2006
Marantz CD 14 cd player with Feickert modification – Quick Impression premium
Difficult to say if it's the Feickert I'm hearing or the intrinsic sound of the CD14...
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30 August 2006
Marantz CD4000 CD Player – Quick Impression premium
ot highend by any stretch of imagination but neutral, rhythmic, lively and fast.
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27 October 2005
Naim CDX CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Very fluid, creamy-warm and relaxed player.
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17 October 2005
Sony CDP-X707ES CD Player with Swoboda modification – Quick Impression premium
Even more accurate and dynamically expressive than even the XA50ES with LC Clock...
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30 August 2005
Sony CDP-XA50ES CD Player – Quick Impression premium
For the secondhand money this is simply a brilliant player.
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15 January 2005
Sony CDP-XA5ES CD Player – Quick Impression premium
It has the same transport as the XA50ES but its dac is less open sounding.
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15 October 2003
Sony CDP-XA7ES CD Player – Quick Impression premium
Sounds a lot like the XA50ES but more natural and fuller, perhaps thanks to its discrete output stage?
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