I'm still looking for a "budget" range CD player for my setup. I have a
Rotel RA-01 and Monitor Audio Bronze B2 wired by QED Silver Anniversary
and QED Quinex 2. I was thinking about NAD 521BEE, and Cambridge Audio
Azur 640. I would seriously consider Arcam CD73 if it is worth the
extra. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Adrian

You can't go wrong with the NAD or the Cambridge Audio - all depends what
you want to pay and whether you care about how it looks etc. (sorry if i'm
stating the obvious)

If you are considering a stretch to the Arcam (around £400?) then why not
also consider the Rotel RCD-02?


"Adrian Kwa" wrote in message
news:7Ys_b.823$ta.397@newsfe1-win...
I'm still looking for a "budget" range CD player for my setup. I have a
Rotel RA-01 and Monitor Audio Bronze B2 wired by QED Silver Anniversary
and QED Quinex 2. I was thinking about NAD 521BEE, and Cambridge Audio
Azur 640. I would seriously consider Arcam CD73 if it is worth the
extra. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Adrian

"Westy" wrote in message
...
You can't go wrong with the NAD or the Cambridge Audio - all depends what
you want to pay and whether you care about how it looks etc. (sorry if i'm
stating the obvious)

If you are considering a stretch to the Arcam (around £400?) then why not
also consider the Rotel RCD-02?



Woah! Dinga linga ling! Uno momento, mon ami!

£400 for a CDP (*anybody's* CDP) in this day and age???

Disregarding the fact that the technology has reached a point where you've
got to spend a LOT of money to split CDPs these days, I would just like to
point out that for that sort of money you could easily join the smart new
'happening' DVDP/DAC set (if you can put up with the initial 'READING DISC'
faffology when you change disks) - or, better yet, you could even tap into
the *ultra-smart*, avante-garde DVDRecorder/DAC set (or no DAC - I use a
Pana E50 on its own and it sounds plenty good enough to me*) and get some
*serious* functionality.......

But be quick - DACs are making nearly £100 on eeBy atm - words getting out!
(2 years ago any audio shop would throw DACs at your head to get rid of
you!)


*Like I would *know* when it comes to 'digital'......

With respect, the kit you are talking about is not going to hold a candle,
even to a budget dedicated modern CD player such as the NAD 521BEE in terms
of out and out sound quality.

I can see what you're saying about the functionality and versitility of
DVDP/DAC etc. but I think that Adrian is wanting to acheve the very best
sound quality he can for the money he has to spend (looking at the rest of
his system) and the way to achieve that is undoubtedly to buy the best
seperate CD player he can afford.


"Keith G" wrote in message
...

"Westy" wrote in message
...
You can't go wrong with the NAD or the Cambridge Audio - all depends
what
you want to pay and whether you care about how it looks etc. (sorry if
i'm
stating the obvious)

If you are considering a stretch to the Arcam (around £400?) then why
not
also consider the Rotel RCD-02?



Woah! Dinga linga ling! Uno momento, mon ami!

£400 for a CDP (*anybody's* CDP) in this day and age???

Disregarding the fact that the technology has reached a point where you've
got to spend a LOT of money to split CDPs these days, I would just like to
point out that for that sort of money you could easily join the smart new
'happening' DVDP/DAC set (if you can put up with the initial 'READING
DISC'
faffology when you change disks) - or, better yet, you could even tap into
the *ultra-smart*, avante-garde DVDRecorder/DAC set (or no DAC - I use a
Pana E50 on its own and it sounds plenty good enough to me*) and get some
*serious* functionality.......

But be quick - DACs are making nearly £100 on eeBy atm - words getting
out!
(2 years ago any audio shop would throw DACs at your head to get rid of
you!)


*Like I would *know* when it comes to 'digital'......

"Westy" wrote in message
...
With respect, the kit you are talking about is not going to hold a candle,
even to a budget dedicated modern CD player such as the NAD 521BEE in
terms
of out and out sound quality.

I can see what you're saying about the functionality and versitility of
DVDP/DAC etc. but I think that Adrian is wanting to acheve the very best
sound quality he can for the money he has to spend (looking at the rest of
his system) and the way to achieve that is undoubtedly to buy the best
seperate CD player he can afford.



Hmmm, I'm not so sure, Westy.

The DACs I referred to (in the bit I've had to chop off....) were Arcam
Black Box 50s - I'd be willing to bet that they would be at least be as good
as the NAD, or even possibly a bit better, when coupled to a cheap and
cheerful £40 DVDP (or even an old CDP with digital out).

It's only my guess as I haven't had the chance to compare them, but a quick
shufti on

http://www.retrohifi.co.uk/black_box.html **

makes me think they are probably a lot better than a poke in the eye with a
burnt stick!

FWIW, 2 people give them 5 out of 5 on

http://www.audioreview.com/DACs/Arca...5_2738crx.aspx

and they certainly seem to have got a bit of upgrade potential to anyone who
has got more brains than beans:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread/t-7118.html


Earlier model DACs can be found for as little as £20 in 'junkpile trade-in'
sections of some hifi shops, but whether or not they are as good as the
modern budget CDPs would be a matter of a little effort to compare them and
find out.

I just think punching the whole bundle (as much as £400 as someone
suggested) into a single format (CD/CDR?) is poor VFM when you could have
the extra functionality of the DVDP (CD/CDR/RW, MP3s, DVD-Video, VCD, SVCD,
JPEGs or whatever) for a lot less money! (Not to mention that you can
usually push more than one source through a switchable DAC as well!)

Just my £0.02......


**Notice that whenever you see any mention of a tidy-looking DAC it's bloody
sold! (Worrying trend - these things are supposed to be largely
'unwanted'....!!!)

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 18:55:58 -0000, "Westy"
wrote:

With respect, the kit you are talking about is not going to hold a candle,
even to a budget dedicated modern CD player such as the NAD 521BEE in terms
of out and out sound quality.

I can see what you're saying about the functionality and versitility of
DVDP/DAC etc. but I think that Adrian is wanting to acheve the very best
sound quality he can for the money he has to spend (looking at the rest of
his system) and the way to achieve that is undoubtedly to buy the best
seperate CD player he can afford.

Not true. I've been auditioning 'universal' players, and the Denon
2900 and Pioneer 868 are sonically indistinguishable from a
top-quality 'dedicated' CD player (Meridian 588 in this case).
Personally, I favour the Pioneer for its HDMI interface, but the audio
performance is truly top-class by any standard, unless you are seduced
by the marketing bull**** of 'purity' in a CD-only player. A separate
DAC is of course *not* the answer if you want a low-jitter solution.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Adrian Kwa wrote in message news:7Ys_b.823$ta.397@newsfe1-win...
I'm still looking for a "budget" range CD player for my setup. I have a
Rotel RA-01 and Monitor Audio Bronze B2 wired by QED Silver Anniversary
and QED Quinex 2. I was thinking about NAD 521BEE, and Cambridge Audio
Azur 640. I would seriously consider Arcam CD73 if it is worth the
extra. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Adrian


If you have the RA-01, then you can't go wrong with the ROTEL RCD02 CD
PLAYER. I saw a demo at Sveneoaks using the RA-02, RCD02 and MA B2s
(when I bought my B2s). It was a blast.

Both the NAD CD players on this link are pretty good too.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...107/StartRow/1

Hmmmm - i'd be interested to hear such a set up - unfortunately I don't know
where I could without actually buying one!

Certainly if they can be picked up for as little as £20 then i'm not arguing
they would be a great upgrade.

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

"Westy" wrote in message
...
With respect, the kit you are talking about is not going to hold a
candle,
even to a budget dedicated modern CD player such as the NAD 521BEE in
terms
of out and out sound quality.

I can see what you're saying about the functionality and versitility of
DVDP/DAC etc. but I think that Adrian is wanting to acheve the very best
sound quality he can for the money he has to spend (looking at the rest
of
his system) and the way to achieve that is undoubtedly to buy the best
seperate CD player he can afford.



Hmmm, I'm not so sure, Westy.

The DACs I referred to (in the bit I've had to chop off....) were Arcam
Black Box 50s - I'd be willing to bet that they would be at least be as
good
as the NAD, or even possibly a bit better, when coupled to a cheap and
cheerful £40 DVDP (or even an old CDP with digital out).

It's only my guess as I haven't had the chance to compare them, but a
quick
shufti on

http://www.retrohifi.co.uk/black_box.html **

makes me think they are probably a lot better than a poke in the eye with
a
burnt stick!

FWIW, 2 people give them 5 out of 5 on


http://www.audioreview.com/DACs/Arca...785_2738crx.as
px

and they certainly seem to have got a bit of upgrade potential to anyone
who
has got more brains than beans:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread/t-7118.html


Earlier model DACs can be found for as little as £20 in 'junkpile
trade-in'
sections of some hifi shops, but whether or not they are as good as the
modern budget CDPs would be a matter of a little effort to compare them
and
find out.

I just think punching the whole bundle (as much as £400 as someone
suggested) into a single format (CD/CDR?) is poor VFM when you could have
the extra functionality of the DVDP (CD/CDR/RW, MP3s, DVD-Video, VCD,
SVCD,
JPEGs or whatever) for a lot less money! (Not to mention that you can
usually push more than one source through a switchable DAC as well!)

Just my £0.02......


**Notice that whenever you see any mention of a tidy-looking DAC it's
bloody
sold! (Worrying trend - these things are supposed to be largely
'unwanted'....!!!)

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 18:55:58 -0000, "Westy"
wrote:

With respect, the kit you are talking about is not going to hold a
candle,
even to a budget dedicated modern CD player such as the NAD 521BEE in
terms
of out and out sound quality.

I can see what you're saying about the functionality and versitility of
DVDP/DAC etc. but I think that Adrian is wanting to acheve the very best
sound quality he can for the money he has to spend (looking at the rest
of
his system) and the way to achieve that is undoubtedly to buy the best
seperate CD player he can afford.

Not true. I've been auditioning 'universal' players, and the Denon
2900 and Pioneer 868 are sonically indistinguishable from a
top-quality 'dedicated' CD player (Meridian 588 in this case).
Personally, I favour the Pioneer for its HDMI interface, but the audio
performance is truly top-class by any standard, unless you are seduced
by the marketing bull**** of 'purity' in a CD-only player. A separate
DAC is of course *not* the answer if you want a low-jitter solution.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Maybe they are but aren't the Denon and Pioneer players you speak of around
£1200 & £750 respectively? They are in a different price range completely
to what we are talking about here.

"Westy" wrote in message
...
Hmmmm - i'd be interested to hear such a set up - unfortunately I don't
know
where I could without actually buying one!

Yup, that's the bugger of it - 'hifi shops' ain't what they were. You've got
to buy the stuff most of the time to try it. I've done a ton of this myself
over the last couple of years - much of it very publically in this group!
(The time has come to stop for me now and get on with the music.)**

It's bad enough for ordinary kit - a bloody *nightmare* for valves and vinyl
gear (unless you are very well-wedged), which is why I'm always offering
help/demos in these areas....



Certainly if they can be picked up for as little as £20 then i'm not
arguing
they would be a great upgrade.


The 'other' shop here (St Neots) has had an original Arcam Black Box in its
junkroom for at least 3 years to my knowledge - I'm sure they would take a
tenner (fiver?) on it, but it's a wee bit doggy and got an odd hole in the
back at about 1/2 inch Ø....

(Don't suppose anybody would know what that might be?)



**Yeah, right....... :-)