Looking for BEST CD player under $500

drew spelts

I am now to a point where I am looking for the best choice CD player that will fit my rig. It has to be under $500 which means used is totally fine with me. I have thought about the ShengYa Players and they look prety cool. Also, it would be best if it was silver. Remember that this player is not to be overkill for my rig, that is I do not need any of the top 3 best CD players known to man. Instead, I need a player that will bering out the best in my components but not necessarily too much more.

Harman Kardon AVR635 (Plenty of power for my bedroom converted HT)
RTi10's Up Front
CSi5 Center
RTi6's Rear Surround
Sony HD 32"
Furman RA-1210 (Voltage Regulator...soon to arive at my door)
OPPO DVD Player (Very nice picture for a 32" screen but musicaly lacking I feel)
Pair of Alpine Type-R 12's in a home-made sub enclosure (keeps me very satisfied)
I really need the members help on this one because this will most likely be the last major addition to the system till something better comes out. The OPPO is a great DVD player but I feel that there has got to be something out there to bring a little more musical sustinance to the table. let me know if I am wrong. Thanks in advance, Drew

Dennis Gardner

Take no offense, but the HK AVR and RTi speakers would be upgrade choices for me before a dedicated CDP. Your choices have put you firm into great HT sound, but not very far into refined 2 channel usage.

If you are really insistent on the CDP upgrade I would look into Onix XCD-88, Music Hall CD-25 both under $300 on the used market. For $500 I would find Jolida CD100 tubed model or Marantz 8260 for around that amount. The Sheng Ya is cool too if that is your flavor.

drew spelts

you are probably right like usual Dennis. I really apriciate your comments and thoughts on my system. One thing is for sure, The RTi's are staying no matter what. I love them. They are just too sexy to ever get rid of. But I do see your point in getting something a little more powerful than the HK. I believe my next upgrade will be a great 3-channel amp and then possibly a dedicated CD player but I am not sure on the CD player after reding another polky's review on the OPPO. He said that He was really impressed with the 2 channel qualitys of the OPPO. Maby my system is lacking in raw power is my opinion. 250w/ch should do the trick, what do ya think?

pearsall001

I'm the other guy w/ the OPPO. I am extremely pleased w/ the players 2 channel playback. Maybe what Dennis said is true, you're set up beautifully for HT but the RTi's & the HK are holding you back on 2 channel music. I have read other Polkie's posts saying the same thing that the RTi's are dynamite for HT but are lacking in musicality. I personally can't voice my opinion because I have never heard the RTi series. I am only going by what others have posted. It's really up to what you think sounds good. My system is different than yours, maybe it's this synergy thing that I keep hearing about. I have a pair of AAD 2001 monitors, NAD T773 receiver, & a Van Alstine OmegaStar 440EX SS amp (220X2) powering my AAD's. To me the sound is absolutely incredible. I also have my room acoustically treated w/ bass traps, corner traps, & absorption panels. The room treatments made all the difference in the world. I highly recommend going this route before another equipment upgrade.

drew spelts

thanks for thepost.

steveinaz

If not a better used unit, then:

1. Cambridge 640C v.1 Azur (clearance Audio Advisor)
2. Rotel RCD-02
3. Music Hall CD 25.2

drew spelts

The Onix XCD-88 seems to suit my taste for a good/great player but I think I need to get a nice powerful 3 channel amp first before I get a CD Player.

drew spelts

I have read literaly every review available on the internet right now about this amplifyer and it seems that it is as good as I am going to be able to hear withought spending BOOKOO Bucks if you know what I mean. Plus I love the way it looks:rolleyes: . My thinking is that this will tremendosly free up the HK AVR635 from having to push the hardest speakers and just allow it to do the 5.1 Surround duties. I hope to obtain this unit off of ebay within the next 9 months or so for about $700 used or hopefully with shipping included.....:o . Then I will be able to find out with my own ears if a stand alone CD player is needed. The RTi10's are staying and thats final.

PRC

Drew,
I have really enjoyed my Music Hall "mmf cd - 25". New, I paid 600.00, so I would think used would be in your price range. The build quality is solid. I would say the sound is less edgy smooth. It does not have a lot of options, just the basics and it is a single disk only. I'ts also silver.

Good luck

drew spelts

Yeah but a lot of reviews say that the Onix is the exact same internally and if thats true then you can get it for $300 new.

Zoom E

I don't know why people criticize the RTis for stereo...my RTi8s sound great in 2 channel mode. Wonderful clarity. Maybe lacking a bit of "oomph", but I figure that's because I don't have a subwoofer. I have them connected to an old Sony STRAV920, but plan on upgrading to the HK AVR635 very soon.

drew spelts

OH man the Harman 635 is fantastic..... I actually love just turning it on. It is absolutely worlds above my first receiver which was a top of the line Sony before you get into the ES (Elevated Series) level. So glad I sold that to my Dad. He will have plenty fun with it for what he is doing but you can not build a killer HT around crap equipment. If you have any questions about the 635 ask away because I am fairly knowledgeable with it.

Zoom E

OK, here's a question. I was previously considering the Yamaha RXV657. One of the features I liked on that is the "Phantom mode", which can be used if you don't have a centre channel speaker. Does the HK 635 have any sort of similar function?

I was also told recently that the 635 tends to cut off the beginning of a CD (by a fraction of a second) if you are listening through a digital connection. Have you experienced such a problem yourself?

Thanks Drew.

halo

Drew - here's my $0.02 on the subject of CDPs under $500. I went from a Kenwood five disc changer to a Rotel RCD-1070 (nice) to a Onix XCD-99 (definately better than the Kenwood but not as nice as the Rotel) to a Denon DVD-1920 (universal player - lackluster & unimpressive for music) to my Sheng Ya CD-S10 & my Kavent CD-731 (American upgraded version of the Sheng Ya / Vincent). Both the Sheng Ya and Kavent were purchased used. IMHO the Chinese players are very hard to beat at their price point.

I did have the opportunity to try a Parasound Ultra DAC with the Kenwood and I'd say that put it in the same league with the Onix. A better transport would probably provide superior results.

I agree that you need some clean power to drive those RTi's. I used to have some R50's and the difference between a reciever and a dedicated amp / preamp driving them was like night and day.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the RTi's. If you are happy with them that is all that matters. Give them the power they need and you'll like them even more.

drew spelts

Zoom E wrote:

OK, here's a question. I was previously considering the Yamaha RXV657. One of the features I liked on that is the "Phantom mode", which can be used if you don't have a centre channel speaker. Does the HK 635 have any sort of similar function?

I was also told recently that the 635 tends to cut off the beginning of a CD (by a fraction of a second) if you are listening through a digital connection. Have you experienced such a problem yourself?

Thanks Drew.

So about this phantom mode..... is it that you just do not have the money for a center speaker or that you do not want to use te one you have or have no room for one. I could hardly imagine watching a movie withought the dialog coming from the center. The 635 does not have a pahntom mode however (dramatic pause) you could either run a movie in 2 channel like music or turn on the volume of your TV to act as a center channel. But no, it does not have a phantom mode and to be completely honest with you I think "phantom mode" sounds kinda like a gimick. But to each his own and if thats something you have to have then maby you should sit on it a bit and consider why. But I will asure you that the HK has a better sound than ANY Yamaha IMHO.
As to cutting off the begining of a cd I have had my 635 for about a year now and have never heared of such a thing or experienced it myself. What I think someone is saying is that the HK635 is almost to smart because this is what it does and took me nearly 2 weeks to figure this out. Say you only have a DVD player but you want to listen to music. Well, the DVD player begins playing the CD. The 635 figures out what type of information it is being sent such as a DVD or a CD or whatever and AUTOMATICALY RECONFIGURES TO YOUR VERY OWN PRESETS FOR THAT TYPE OF SOURCE! So I do not have to wory about switching the receiver from DVD to CD. It already knows whats going on. So if I listen to a DVD in surround sound, Then I want to listen to a CD from the same DVD player I just put in the CD and press play. The receiver then knows to reconfigure to the settings I like and turns it to 2 channel music and can ajust the base to a different setting for music and the balance between the spaekers and about anything you can think of. It's prety damn nice. Any more questions, I will be more than happy to answer. BTW do not pay more than $700.00 with tax for a HK635.

dagame27

for a cd player under $500, you could always consider a high line dvd player such as the sony 9000es or the denon 2900. There audio performance is great and it would be a home theatre upgrade as well. Don't look for the negatives in your gear, look at the positives. You have excellent home theatre speakers which can be used for music. Are they the best 2 channel music speakers around? No, but they aren't bad either.