CD Player Choices? Rotel? Cambridge Audio? Denon?

JcM

I know I haven't posted in a long time in these forums, but I always found the advice useful, so here goes....

Here is what my system consists of:

Lsi 15s
Lsi 9s
Lsi C
Monster MPA 5150 250wpc @4ohms
H/K AVR 635
Monster HTP5100 SS
Monster Cable throughout
Pioneer A588
SVS PC-Ultra (in the mail-thanks eric at SVS)

I know many aren't a fan of monster, and justifiably so, as their product is overpriced, but i got everything at 40% of retail. I work at a big box store in Canada and it was cheaper than going the adcom, outlaw, or anything else route.

I need a better source.

I've tried the rotel 1072, and it is fantastic, but I am worried if I am getting the best bang for the buck. I paid 1000CAD at a local hifi store, but should i consider the Cambridge Audio 640C or the Denon 3910? I am thinking of upgrading my DVD player anyway and the Denon also uses a Burr Brown DAC.

The Denon can be had for 900USD on Ebay as B stock, or about 1800CAD at my local dealer.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Julian

VR3

Go ahead and mark Denon off your list.

Rotel, Cambridge, Onix, AMC, Jolidia, NAD

JcM

Thanks for the quick reply sid.

Is the audio quality of the 3910 really that bad? It uses a Burr Brown like the Rotel I'm trying out right now, but its not the same version, I think its the 1732 in the rotel and 1796 in the Denon.

It would be nice to have one unit that would do both, I also hear the video quality is amazing on the 3910.

If you needed to choose between the Cambridge audio 640C and the Rotel 1072, what would you choose?

Thanks

aaharvel

I have heard from those on Club Polk that the Cambridge CD players are second to none for the money. Just keep asking around~

VR3

To me... a DVD Player is just that... a DVD Player...

I think they make stand alone CDPs for a VERY good reason... its because music is supposed to be reproduced as accurately as possible... and to look at this in a pure sense... you dont want those extra devices needed to read a DVD or the extra hooks ups etc interfering with the music.

Would the Denon work? Yes..

Would it be better than a stand alone player? Most definitely not...

I only have experience with the Onix... and I enjoyed it very very much.

cfrizz

Hi JcM. Welcome to CP!

You have one of the finest CDP around in the Rotel! You should keep it, It will probably last you your lifetime & sound terrific the entire time.

I should know, I replaced my 15 yr old RCD-855 with the RCD-1072. My brother will be getting the perfectly working 855. And the impovement was marginal despite the 15 yr difference!

Check out this thread over at the Rotel Club, this should give you the answers you are looking for.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=16364

Oh yeah, TERRIFIC SYSTEM you have.

JcM

Thank you for the responses, does anyone have any thoughts on the Cambridge Audio 640C?

cfrizz

By all means also upgrade your DVD player, for that I would get a Denon. But stick with a separate cd player for cd's.

W WALDECKER

i just bought a demo Cambridge Audio 500 SE 24 bit cd player as a player to tide me over while my Symphonic Line vibrato cd player is being upgraded to the MK II 24 bit version. in fact i just had it delivered to my house yesterday and i was very suprised at the high level of build quality. overall the sound is very good.Spearit sound is selling them online for $299.00 and i think you would be hard pressed to find a better CDP for the money.i am very picky and this player has exceeded all of my expectations as far as what i thought a modest priced player could offer. thanks....WCW III

Mike Reeter

I have a Denon DVD 2900,which I thought did a great job on CD playback,until I picked up a Rotel RCD 1072...

The Denon is a very good multi task player,but the Rotel will kick its a$$ ALL DAY LONG when it comes to spinin CDs.

F1nut

Since the source is the most important part of the chain, shoot higher than you are right now.

halo

I've been debating a new CDP purchase for a while now.

I had a Rotel 1070 and it was nice but I'm not a big fan of Rotel at this point in time.

Onix xcd-88 is $299, the xcd-99 is $499, & the CD-2 is $999 @ av123.com
Music Hall 25.2 for $599

Both the Onix & MH use a Philips transport. Onix have a 3 year warranty.

(Don't yell at me Jesse)

halo

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

I only have experience with the Onix... and I enjoyed it very very much.

Thanks for answering my question Sid.

dorokusai

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

To me... a DVD Player is just that... a DVD Player...

I think they make stand alone CDPs for a VERY good reason... its because music is supposed to be reproduced as accurately as possible... and to look at this in a pure sense... you dont want those extra devices needed to read a DVD or the extra hooks ups etc interfering with the music.

Would the Denon work? Yes..

Would it be better than a stand alone player? Most definitely not...

I only have experience with the Onix... and I enjoyed it very very much.

Just out of curiosity, have you owned any of the current series of CDP/DVDP that he mentioned or any previous series?

Emlyn

JcM wrote:

Is the audio quality of the 3910 really that bad? It uses a Burr Brown like the Rotel I'm trying out right now, but its not the same version, I think its the 1732 in the rotel and 1796 in the Denon.

It would be nice to have one unit that would do both, I also hear the video quality is amazing on the 3910.

The audio quality for CD playback on the 3910 is very good indeed, much better than the earlier 2900 model and the equal of any $600 or lower CD player. The difference in standard audio DACs used these days isn't all that relevant because the conversion is close to theoretically perfect for 16 bit audio in any competent design. It's the design effort and cost implementation (transport, power supplies, shielding, parts selection) that differentiates CD playback quality.

SACD playback quality and DVD-A is also very good. The 3910 has the capability to turn off all video circuitry as well as the front panel display to improve audio quality. The 2900 and 3910 can be modified extensively to compete with any audio playback device available (but the cost is high). As originally designed they don't compete all that well with standalone external DACs, high-end upsampling CD players, or some tubed CD players. They do make excellent transports for use with external DAC's though, and the all in one design is very appealing to a lot of folks.

Roy Munson

I like the Rotel 1072 and the NAD C542. The NAD is a little less than the Rotel at $499.00, I own a C542 and a 19 year old Denon 1500II both sound pretty good but I think I might try a Jolida because almost every cdp I listen to sounds a little dry and I'd like to see if a tube cdp would sound a little better.

JcM

Thanks for everyone's input so far. I'm begining to doubt the value of this rotel I bought. I've been doing A/B comparisons using the Digital Audio output and the internal DAC by Burr Brown. I'm using my H/K's built in DAC for the digital output. I am having trouble telling the difference. Is there a weak link in my system somewhere that might cause this. I am using monster M-series interconects.

Should I be blown away by the rotel?

Maybe my ears just aren't that good.

shack

The Rotel is a very nice CDP. It is NOT the weak link. The monster gear is not in the same league as Rotel nor is the HK...IMO.

halo

Roy Munson wrote:

I think I might try a Jolida because almost every cdp I listen to sounds a little dry and I'd like to see if a tube cdp would sound a little better.

You also might want to check out the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 @ upscale audio

reeltrouble1

Monster M-series has several different levels, dont know what your using. I doubt they are the problem (ps, monster politics are terrible, they are mean to kids and overpriced, but hey I bought them once too), as mentioned your H&K is holding you back. A Rotel cdp is decent. Since the source is most important (well sort of). That Rotel is not your weak link. If you really want some great music you need to think about seperates, preferably with a tube pre and possibly a tube amp although I use ss amps for now which have their own benefits. You can get a decent ss pre but its going to cost $$, and for my money not equal the tube sound. What tube pre,? why to start a Dodd Audio ELP by gosh, much less than a 3910 player and at 389-450 less than or equal to a mid-line CDP and its a bargain made here in the USA.

You can buy all the CDP you want but until you change out your pre none of the good ones are going to reach their full potential.

Who said that?
I did
I am
RT1

Thats my line now bite my hook.

polksda

Just my 2 cents into the fray.

I dropped about $1,200 on an Ah! Njoe SuperTjoeb 4000 with 192kHz upsampler board from Upscale Audio (www.upscaleaudio.com) almost a year ago, and I can say without reservation that this is one of the few upgrades I've ever done that have given me a "Wow!" experience. I first played the unit stock for a few weeks, and it was good, very good. The upsampler put it over the top. A whole new level of detail to the music.

ward91

i thought that you could only get cambridge audio in the uk as their soal supplyers are richersounds and audio partnership are their sister company or something.



http://www.audiopartnership.com/brands.html

look all of them are sold at richersounds



http://www30.shopgenie.co.uk/search/quicksearch.html?motcle=cambridge+audio&kpartnerid=8907313

reeltrouble1

I fully support players that upsample, what did you have it hooked to SDA. Certainly on my 'consider" list.

Somebody is pulling your chain there Brit.

2+2

[QUOTE=JcM I'm begining to doubt the value of this rotel I bought. I've been doing A/B comparisons using the Digital Audio output and the internal DAC by Burr Brown. I'm using my H/K's built in DAC for the digital output. I am having trouble telling the difference. [/QUOTE]

Never heard the Rotel CD player and I know people here will disagree with me BUT, I think the DACs of the HK sound wonderful. Nice amount of detail and air....and that was on the lowly AVR 230....however, the 1/4 second signal drop at the beginning of songs was driving me crazy!

polksda

reeltrouble1 wrote:

I fully support players that upsample, what did you have it hooked to SDA. Certainly on my 'consider" list.

Denon AVR-3803 Receiver with an outboard Carver M1.0t amplifier driving the fronts. Speakers are SDA SRS 1.2 (not TL).

Roy Munson

peersool wrote:

You also might want to check out the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 @ upscale audio

I have heard this is a great player, I've never listened to one so I will have to check it out.

JcM

ward91 wrote:

i thought that you could only get cambridge audio in the uk as their soal supplyers are richersounds and audio partnership are their sister company or something.



http://www.audiopartnership.com/brands.html

look all of them are sold at richersounds



http://www30.shopgenie.co.uk/search/quicksearch.html?motcle=cambridge+audio&kpartnerid=8907313

My local dealer her in London, Ontario Canada carries the Cambridge Audio line.

Also, any thoughts on me going directly to the amp from the CDP? I would prefer no to do this because it would be a pain unpluging cables all the time. If I use the 6ch direct on the H/K wouldn't that be almost the same anyway except for a slight bit of added impedance?

SCompRacer

polksda wrote:

Just my 2 cents into the fray.

I dropped about $1,200 on an Ah! Njoe SuperTjoeb 4000 with 192kHz upsampler board from Upscale Audio (www.upscaleaudio.com) almost a year ago, and I can say without reservation that this is one of the few upgrades I've ever done that have given me a "Wow!" experience. I first played the unit stock for a few weeks, and it was good, very good. The upsampler put it over the top. A whole new level of detail to the music.

I agree, got my Super with upsampler and extra tubes through Audiogon. Lots of bang for the buck. Sounds great with Amperex 7308's in it.

jfb4548

JcM wrote:

My local dealer her in London, Ontario Canada carries the Cambridge Audio line.

Also, any thoughts on me going directly to the amp from the CDP? I would prefer no to do this because it would be a pain unpluging cables all the time. If I use the 6ch direct on the H/K wouldn't that be almost the same anyway except for a slight bit of added impedance?

Just got a Jolida CD with some mods., and it is very, very nice. Add in the PS Punch power cord and it is damn good.

keith allen

I went through the same thing one year ago took about six weeks before I pulled the trigger,I checked out all the above,and then some...well didnt listen to a jolida,but I ended up with a music hall mmf25,bought it used and did the opamp upgrade,it has turned out to be my best upgrade componant yet!

W WALDECKER

W WALDECKER wrote:

i just bought a demo Cambridge Audio 500 SE 24 bit cd player as a player to tide me over while my Symphonic Line vibrato cd player is being upgraded to the MK II 24 bit version. in fact i just had it delivered to my house yesterday and i was very suprised at the high level of build quality. overall the sound is very good.Spearit sound is selling them online for $299.00 and i think you would be hard pressed to find a better CDP for the money.i am very picky and this player has exceeded all of my expectations as far as what i thought a modest priced player could offer. thanks....WCW III

i sent the Cambridge Audio D500 SE Demo unit back to Audio Advisor after having issues with it not Reading All of my store bought CDs including a brand new just opened CD. the thing sounded really good for the money but it ended up just being a disapointment.Now i am going to try the Cambridge Audio 640 C.i guess i must be a glutton for punishment.thanks....WCW III