If I could have any CD player (cost no object) it would be...

Mr. Lin

Lunatic Member
I lust after many things in the world of audio hi-fi equipment, I think most of us do. Lately it's been CD players, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford (well, used at least :D ) some of the models I'd previously lusted after, most notably the Naim CD5i-2, which I'm listening to this very moment. That one was a mini-dream come true. :banana:

Just for fun I thought I'd ask which single CD player you all would want, if cost were no object, etc. I'll tell you mine, it comes to mind without hesitation:

The Meridian 808.2 Signature Reference CD player, which is relatively new. What makes it so special? Apparently (because I'm basing this off of a TAS review written by Robert Harley for their August 2009 issue) Meridian has found the solution to an aspect of CD playback that (again, apparently) is responsible more than anything for the dreaded "CD sound," which can be edgy, bright, flat, brittle, and lifeless in the worst cases, among other things. The culprit is said to be pre-ringing, which is introduced by the brickwall anti-aliasing filter in the CD players A/D converter. Harley explains that this issue, unique to digital audio, is the result of the digital impulse being spread over a horizontal time axis (if it were illustrated, which it is in the article), thereby causing part of the signal to occur microseconds before the actual event. In other words, part of the music is happening almost instantaneously just before it's actually supposed to. Because nothing like this occurs in nature, Harley says, it is quite audible, and our brains interpret it as sound that's clearly a reproduction, often in the worst way.

With this model Meridian introduces what it calls an "apodizing" filter, which they claim eliminates pre-ringing that was previously thought to be a permanent part of the already-mastered CD, and therefore an unfortunate fact of life. This is such a big deal that Harley declares it "the most significant product in the history of the compact disc."

Well I've never heard this CD player, and it's unlikely I ever will, unfortunately, since the cost of entry is about $17,000 (AHHH!!!), but man do I wish I could afford it. Compared to other extremely upper-level CD players, Harley noted some things that the others do differently, perhaps even a little better, but it hardly seems like I would be missing anything if I had one. It's like one's entire CD collection has been remastered, Harley says, with "newfound spatiality, bloom, air, dimensionality, and ease." While not working wonders with poorly recorded discs, he claims it at least removes many of the most egregious problems.

So there it is, my true "dream" CD player.

I want to hear about yours, but note two things: One, just because I've named an incredibly expensive model as my choice, don't hesitate to tell us that yours is a 1985 Pioneer model. This isn't about money, just pretend that's not even an issue. Second, I've gone somewhat in depth describing what gets me so excited about the Meridian CDP, but if you only feel like stating the model, that's fine, though I would like to know why.

EDIT: Picture of the 808.2 added.
 

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The one I have now - my McIntosh MCD500.

I lusted for this one for a long time. When the stars aligned and the right combination my having the funding and a deal I couldn't pass up came along, I jumped. And you know what - this was one of those rare occasions where the reality completely lived up to my expectations. I couldn't be happier! :thmbsp:

mcd500-front-l.jpg
 
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I love my Marantz SA8003 SACD

Practical, inexpensive and first rate quality in design and sonics. For now this is my dream come true. :yes:

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A TOTL Naim or Mc would be my millionaire's choice.
 
I'd go for the Accuphase DP-800/DC-801. Not sure it is the best sounding, but it looks alone are to die for. So is the price....



dp-800.jpg
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I'm a lot more low-end. But the machine I'd love to have is the Oppo BDP-83SE.
Blu-ray-BDP-83SE_home.gif


While it's true that it's a blu-ray player, it's also true that it handles CD, SACD, and DVD-A beautifully. The SE version of this machine also has beefed up onboard DACs.

I've yet to read a single negative word about it. This machine's regular brother (the BDP-83) goes for $500. Lexicon buys 'em up from Oppo, puts 'em in their boxes, and sells 'em for $3500. And people are buying them!!!

This model, though, goes for about $900.
 
Still haven't heard any player that sounds better to me than my Onkyo Integra DX-5700.
 
For overall ability to play any media with outstanding quality, I'd pick the Oppo BDP-83 as well. For pure Redbook play, Wadia makes an OUTSTANDING CDP. One of the great things about it is the disc lies upside-down on a heavy platter to keep it much more stable than the chintzy little transports most use.

That said, I heard a great little CDP with tube buffer by Eastern Electric; SHWEET~
 
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One of the great things about it is the disc lies upside-down on a heavy platter to keep it much more stable than the chintzy little transports most use.

That's called Stable Platter mechanism, and is developed by Pioneer. My Audio Alchemy transport utilizes this transport as well. Good, but comes with other problems.
 
With this model Meridian introduces what it calls an "apodizing" filter, which they claim eliminates pre-ringing that was previously thought to be a permanent part of the already-mastered CD, and therefore an unfortunate fact of life. This is such a big deal that Harley declares it "the most significant product in the history of the compact disc."

Thanks for sharing the contents of this article. However, if I understood correctly, Meridian's big innovation is just a very sophisticated filter, something that can be done with electronics and therefore it could be conceivable that other companies would follow that path, designing their own circuits with this class of filters and perhaps we could expect the next generation of normally priced CDPs to share some of these new sound improvements!!
 
Can anyone tell me what "pre - ringing" is and give me an example of what it sounds like? This sounds like Audio mumbo jumbo to me. :scratch2:
 
Actually I have no interest in upgrading from my current DAC. I have owned an Audio Magic Kukama for the last four years, and have never felt the need to move it on. This machine does it all......resolution, dynamics, soundstage, and excellent tonal balance.

What I would like to do is upgrade the transport. Currently use an EAD T-1000 which is based on the Pioneer Stable Platter transport. The machine sounds good, but I wonder if it can be improved upon. I bought it cheap off the used market, so I would like to know if my digital performance can be improved by a better transport.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Can anyone tell me what "pre - ringing" is and give me an example of what it sounds like? This sounds like Audio mumbo jumbo to me. :scratch2:

Warren,
I do not know the exact definition of the term but would like to take a guess at it. We know what ringing is on a digital waveform. Its the variation in amplitude of the digital signal when it reaches a "one" state. Its caused by the inductance of the circuit and is actually the resonant frequency of the components.
I am willing to guess that Pre-Ringing is that very same characteristic only something that is measured during attack or when the signal begins and the audio is first heard. It might be a distortion effect that happens at the onset of any digitally reproduced sound.
:scratch2:
 
Mr. Lin, would you like me to move the "pre-ringing" discussion posts over to a new thread in the digital forum? This thread would stay here.

Everyone, let's not stray too far OT please? The OP asked for your choice of CDP, not a tech discussion.
 
I've tried out an Ayre, Meridian, and a Simaudio and of course a Cambridge , nothing clicked with me.
Then I heard the Classe cdp 202 (?) at 7k and that had the chunky imaging in a huge soundfield I was looking for. oh well....
 
Probably my Marantz SA-7S1 as modded ("re-engineered" is probably a better word) by Jena Labs of Portland, OR. Jennifer, the owner of JL, has a prototype up and running and said it absolutely "eviscerated" (her word) the famed two-box Meitner setup. She's also put it up against the flasgship Esoteric stack and said it beat that handily, too. Absolutely can't wait till that baby is in my greedy little hands.
 
I was very impressed by the PS Audio Perfect Wave Memory Player and Perfect Wave DAC. I like the Memory Player because it not only plays CDs, but also the new hi-rez discs as well. The DAC is interesting for the wide selection of filters and upscalers.
 
I would go for the Playback Designs MPS-5. The best I have heard to date and a friend has one so I am convinced. Another very good player is the Ayre C5XE-MP which I have had and it is exceptional as well.
 
Mr. Lin, would you like me to move the "pre-ringing" discussion posts over to a new thread in the digital forum? This thread would stay here.

Everyone, let's not stray too far OT please? The OP asked for your choice of CDP, not a tech discussion.

Let me see if what I'm about to add below helps clear up the pre-ringing thing. If not, maybe I'll start a thread in digital. Thank you for being accommodating though.

Can anyone tell me what "pre - ringing" is and give me an example of what it sounds like? This sounds like Audio mumbo jumbo to me. :scratch2:

My original post was a little long, so here's the part where I describe Robert Harley's explanation from the article. The only way it could be clearer IMO is with the simple chart that illustrates a digital pulse, with pre and post-ringing shown. The part in bold is right to the point:

The culprit is said to be pre-ringing, which is introduced by the brickwall anti-aliasing filter in the CD players A/D converter. Harley explains that this issue, unique to digital audio, is the result of the digital impulse being spread over a horizontal time axis (if it were illustrated, which it is in the article), thereby causing part of the signal to occur microseconds before the actual event. In other words, part of the music is happening almost instantaneously just before it's actually supposed to. Because nothing like this occurs in nature, Harley says, it is quite audible, and our brains interpret it as sound that's clearly a reproduction, often in the worst way.

Although not part of this quote, if you go back and read just above it I give some examples of what pre-ringing supposedly does to the sound. Mind you this is not something we hear like distortion in tweeters necessarily, because it happens extremely fast. But our brains basically interpret it as unnatural sound: flat, one dimensional, harsh, lifeless. There's a lot of terrible things that can happen with a poorly recorded CD (or even a good one) on a bad player, and a lot in between too (otherwise there wouldn't be CD players at all different price points featuring different technology). Meridian is claiming that pre-ringing is responsible for a large part of this unpleasantness, and I don't think that's a particularly controversial theory, but until recently the pre-ringing that was part of an already-mastered CD was thought to be something that couldn't be fixed. That was a logical conclusion, I think, but it turns out the new filter they've created does what was previously thought impossible.
 
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