Best single box cd player - any recommendations

[rad]

I to have been following this thread & just want to throw my 2cents in.


I have owned a few Wadias' over the years & have had a problem with every one of them. Never again. I don't care who buys or bought the company. I know these are strong words but in my opinion the service & communication sucks.
BTW, I have a 781i that I have been trying to get repaired again since September with no results, calls unanswered, emails unanswered. People need to know what they are dealing with when they want to purchase a so called high end product.
There is much more I can babble about but I will leave well enough alone.
Move along nothing to see here!

I have moved on to the Playback Designs MPS-5 & could not be happier. Sonically much much better,,, service & upgrades are top rate. I recommend it highly. There were quite a few others I listed to & auditioned including the s7i, but the Playback came out on top in all areas that were important to me.
Good Luck.



Maybe if the Shareholders see a few of these threads they will decide to do something about their companies problems.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Good Luck

 

[LL21]

thanks for the warning. always good to know about other people's experiences.

 

[Emre Üçöz]

sorry could not post for a while in this post. I have narrowed down my search on 2 brands actually Esoteric and Soulution. And most probably I will go with not a single box solution and order an Esoteric P-02 and maybe a D-02. I have been using Esoteric P-03 for more than 4 years now and I am quite happy but there has been nice improvements on the transport side in Esoteric.
In the meantime I have cheked out MSB, Playback and Wadia, they didnot emotionaly moved me inside the music as Esoteric/Dcs combo.

 

[LL21]

sorry could not post for a while in this post. I have narrowed down my search on 2 brands actually Esoteric and Soulution. And most probably I will go with not a single box solution and order an Esoteric P-02 and maybe a D-02. I have been using Esoteric P-03 for more than 4 years now and I am quite happy but there has been nice improvements on the transport side in Esoteric.
In the meantime I have cheked out MSB, Playback and Wadia, they didnot emotionaly moved me inside the music as Esoteric/Dcs combo.

Hi Emre,

thanks for the feedback. If you get a little time and can describe MSB, Wadia in comparison to DCS a bit more that would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[MarinJim]

I bought a Wadia S7i for one reason only: to get a source modified by Steve at Great Northern Sound Company. It is by far the best CD sound I have ever heard, including $70K Burmester stack.

 

[Steve Williams]

What mods were done and does he only mod Wadia

 

[MarinJim]

What mods were done and does he only mod Wadia

Installed Black Gate caps and some other things that he could talk about better. His web site lists what he does besides Wadia and Audio Research. Great Northern Sound Company.

 

[Robert]

I bought a Wadia S7i for one reason only: to get a source modified by Steve at Great Northern Sound Company. It is by far the best CD sound I have ever heard, including $70K Burmester stack.

I would agree that servicing a unit directly through Wadia is a problem. I sent my 850 to them many years ago, and communication and efficiency were not optimal. They did fix it, but it took considerably longer than reasonable. Hopefully with the transfer, their service department will get a higher priority.

I consider having Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound service my Wadia to be an immense asset. He worked at Wadia, and understands these machines very well. Customer service from him is outstanding.

He will only service machines he sold. I believe he only sells modified machines. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again and feel he is a great resource in the business. He's been doing this a long time.

 

[egidius]

Steve Huntley

I would agree that servicing a unit directly through Wadia is a problem. I sent my 850 to them many years ago, and communication and efficiency were not optimal. They did fix it, but it took considerably longer than reasonable. Hopefully with the transfer, their service department will get a higher priority.

I consider having Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound service my Wadia to be an immense asset. He worked at Wadia, and understands these machines very well. Customer service from him is outstanding.

He will only service machines he sold. I believe he only sells modified machines. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again and feel he is a great resource in the business. He's been doing this a long time.

+1!! e

 

[MarinJim]

Unfortunately, Steve and The Great Northern Sound Company are no longer in business. However, I think Wadia respects Steve's mods and understands the situation.

 

[flez007]

At the sake of arriving late to this discussion (or even worst repeating or contradicting myself) -- I like Accuphase single box CDPlayers, they have a "house-sound", but it is a nice one.

 

[LL21]

At the sake of arriving late to this discussion (or even worst repeating or contradicting myself) -- I like Accuphase single box CDPlayers, they have a "house-sound", but it is a nice one.

Hey Flez. I have read good things about Accuphase, very good things. Definitely seems like a house sound a lot of people respect and like. Which ones have you heard? How does it compare to other digital?...more Audio Note, more Wadia?

 

[flez007]

Lloyd, I have owned and heard quite a few, the most recent one is the DSP700, I have had the DP60, DP55V and currently own a DP80/76 combo - also have had some Wadia (not Audio Note) which also have a signature of its own. I find the Accuphase digital sound very analog-ñike, non aggressive, dynamic and "goldfish" - keeping the right inertia and tonality while presenting a very "listenable" version of digital reproduction - friends that prefer an hyper-detailed, boxer-flapping and over-exposed colors on musical material will surely ban an Accuphase player.

 

[LL21]

Lloyd, I have owned and heard quite a few, the most recent one is the DSP700, I have had the DP60, DP55V and currently own a DP80/76 combo - also have had some Wadia (not Audio Note) which also have a signature of its own. I find the Accuphase digital sound very analog-ñike, non aggressive, dynamic and "goldfish" - keeping the right inertia and tonality while presenting a very "listenable" version of digital reproduction - friends that prefer an hyper-detailed, boxer-flapping and over-exposed colors on musical material will surely ban an Accuphase player.

Thanks...i was expecting such a description...that is why someday i would be interested to hear Accuphase. In the meantime, i will keep my Zanden as we've already discussed...

 

[mullard88]

I heard the new Spectral cd player last week and I won't hesitate to recommend it as one of the best single box cd player.

 

[ack]

I heard the new Spectral cd player last week and I won't hesitate to recommend it as one of the best single box cd player.

Ditto

 

[Steve Williams]

I would agree about the Spectral CD player as I too heard it. My only thought was one can buy a PD MPS-5 which not only samples up to 384K but also has a DSD DAC which also does 2X DSD and IMHO is a better unit overall. Just my opinion of course

 

[jtein]

How come nobody has yet to mention Meridian 808.3? It's apodising filter is supposed to be a technological breakthrough in that it removes (or at least ameliorates) not only post-ringing but pre-ringing already found in the music signal.

My current front-end is the Esoteric X-03 SE but I'm leaning towards the 808.3 because of my huge redbook CD collection. Anyone who's heard the 808.3 compared to dCS Puccini, EMM Labs XDS1 and Playback MPS-5?

 

[LL21]

How come nobody has yet to mention Meridian 808.3? It's apodising filter is supposed to be a technological breakthrough in that it removes (or at least ameliorates) not only post-ringing but pre-ringing already found in the music signal.

My current front-end is the Esoteric X-03 SE but I'm leaning towards the 808.3 because of my huge redbook CD collection. Anyone who's heard the 808.3 compared to dCS Puccini, EMM Labs XDS1 and Playback MPS-5?

Hi Jtein,

I have heard the 808.2 the immediate predecessor, the DCS Scarlatti, the Esoteric X-01 SE and the Emm CDSA. (For reference, i have a second-hand Zanden DAC though am still searching for the Zanden transport.) i have not heard the latest Meridian.

All are excellent without doubt. In order of [personal] preference: 1) DCS Scarlatti, 2) tied Esoteric X-01 SE...equal to...Meridian 808.2, 3) Emm CDSA. I also have heard the DCS Elgar full stack.
Due to price, it is not 'fair' to compare these...but these are the ones i have heard.

In general, i found the DCS Scarlatti (unlike the Elgar) had reached a level of definition, discernment, ease, incredibly low noise floor to fundamentally change the way i heard Redbook. I still preferred my Zanden for its purity of tonality, coherence of delivery between air, delivery of individual notes, ambience...sometimes i felt with DCS all i was hearing notes, no space. But the DCS Scarlatti is miles ahead in terms of 'polychromatic detail' and the ability to keep complex music going all at once without getting flustered. The only other digital i have heard which matched/exceeded is the STahl-Tek Vekian which i think (i could not compare side by side) might actually equal the DCS but have a slightly warmer tonality which i prefer.

The Esoteric was incredibly detailed, clean attack...more so than DCS Elgar...but felt a little too clean, too clipped. The Meridian is beautiful, mellifluous, detailed...for classical, jazz and depending on your system, possibly perfect. On Dr. Dre/rap/hip hop, it still sounds smooth somehow, like Easy Listening, or Smooth Jazz...and somehow i felt like i wanted more punch. i cannot say if the 808.3 has brought punch back. And the Emm CDSA was just behind the pack and i stopped scrutinizing and did not return to it.

Just one person's impressions...not exhaustive auditioning. good luck...all great pieces...pls post when you have heard them!

 

[microstrip]

Just listening to a Nagra CDP - wonderful player. Very precise and detailed, with a focused sound. Not as enveloping as my ARC CD8, but really good with voices and instrumental music.

BTW, I was yesterday at a long listening session using a Metronome Kalista Ultimate plus the the matching C2-A Signature tube DAC. I hate to recognize this setup was much better than anything else at decent prices. And here I give a (small ) point to some digital fans - IMHO RedBook played through this system was far better than any HiRez I have ever listened.

Next Tuesday I am promised an interesting face to face - the Continuum Criterion versus the Kalista + C2-A.