Best 5 disc CD player???? (1 Viewer)

Good Morning all.
As I drink my morning cup of joe. I am wondering/thinkng I need a new CD player. I currently have a Yamaha cdc775. I am looking to upgrade. But still want a 5 dIsc player.
Any thoughts?
jIM t

What is the rest of your electronics?

I have a Denon 4802
Boston Acoustics Vrm 60's
Boston Vrmc
Boston Vrmex
Boston Pv 800 sub
Denon dvd 3300
cables- Audio quest Granit for my fronts.
Monster power.

Jim, get a Sony SCD-C222ES SACD/CD changer. It retails for $500, but you should be able to get one for $350 by mail through Oade Bros. (1-229-228-0093 or 1-229-228-4480), J&R Music World (1-800-221-8180), or OneCall (1-800-340-4770). All three are authorized dealers. The 'C222ES is an excellent CD player for the money, plus you get SACD to complement DVD-Audio with the Denon '3300.

Thanks Keith. Checking into that in a few.
What about Denon or Yamaha?
Thoughts, ideas,

The Denon 4802 has pretty good dacs, I don't think any changer would give you an improvement for CDs over the Yamaha 775 digital out to the 4802. The 775 is a very solid changer. IMO, you should consider upgrading your dvd player if you want to get sacd or dvd-a.

Adcom GCD-700 is a great player and can be found for around $300......

Jim, no problem. Denon makes a solid changer for the money, but I feel the 'C222ES is the better CD player and a better value since it offers SACD playback. Denon currently offers the DCM-280 for $200 and the '380 for $300. See www.crutchfield.com for details. The '380 performs HDCD decoding, which some feel is a benefit. I don't feel that HDCD is something you should go out of your way to get. The '380 does HDCD, while the 'C222ES does SACD. SACD is a whole new format that surpasses the sound quality of the CD. HDCD is simply extra processing that some believe squeezes a bit better sound quality out of the CD. I have found HDCD-encoded CDs to sound great on quality CD players that do not perform HDCD decoding. SACD, on the other hand, is the real deal, and you have to have an SACD player to realize the sound quality that the format offers.

I have the Denon '370, which preceded the '380. The two players look to be very similar on paper. The '370 is good for the $250 I spent, but again, I think you can do better with the 'C222ES. Just my $0.02.

My experience with Yamaha changers is very limited, so I can't really comment one way or the other.

Jim, Ricky's comment about the quality of the DACs in your receiver is a good one. Unless the Yamaha changer is a poor transport, you may not notice a difference between changers in your system when using a digital connection. With SACD, you have to use analog outputs, so if you were to get the Sony 'C222ES, it would easy to try the analog outputs for CDs too.

You might also consider a DVD player that does both DVD-Audio and SACD. Most of the current models that handle both hi-rez formats are priced in the $1000-and-up range, but the Pioneer Elite DV-45A is $500.

For regular CDs, I'd recommend the Rotel RCC-1055. It does HDCD, operates very quietly, and switches discs pretty fast. Whether SACD is worth it to you depends on whether you want to go out and repurchase (in the years to come) all the redbook CDs you own now.
In my experience, SACD and DVD-A are great for surround, but don't really have an advantage over redbook CDs in a high-end system. Watch out for Sony quality. Even their supposed high-grade ES line draws loud complaints.

Hey Thanks a Million guys.
I now have a Homework assignment.
Some points were brought up I never thought of.
I am going to attempt to dump my Denon dvd 3300 to upgrade to the Denon 2900 or the Yamaha s2300 dvd player.
The oldest componet in my system is the Cd player.

Mark said:

Watch out for Sony quality. Even their supposed high-grade ES line draws loud complaints.

Again, experiences vary. Look at any component that is sold in great numbers, and you will find dissatisfied owners. Also remember that bad news travels faster than good. That said, I have four Sony ES SACD players, the first of which I bought in October 2000, and all have served me very well. They are built very well and are excellent values.

As for the Rotel changer, it is a good component. However, at its price point, I think one could do better with a single-disc player. Just my $0.02 based on my experience.

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Keith, I have Dvd-Audio now. I like the format. However I hate having to rebuy Music. I already do that now when I find one of my Cd's under my car seat all scratched up.

A mighty fine point was brought up. I have my Cd player connected to the 4802 with MIT interconnects. I never thought of using the Digital out?!?!?!?
Now how much a diffence will going to the digial out make?

Jim, try the digital connection. I would expect the '4802 to have better DACs than your Yamaha changer. The difference could be significant. Also, when using the analog outputs on the player, I assume you have analog bypass mode on the '4802 engaged.

If you like DVD-Audio, you should try SACD. As I said, the Sony 'C222ES is a very good CD player for $350. SACD is a bonus, and one nice bonus to have.

Keith, I just hooked up the digital out. Sounds cleaner.The Bass/Soundstage are nice.
NOw, I went to the 4802 menu and assigned the digital out.
Is there anything else I need to do?

Now, I bought a Monster interlink 200????
Good bad etc?????
any opinions in this area

Jim, you have the receiver set up correctly. Glad to hear that you are happy with the results. As for the digital cable, I'm sure the Monster cable is just fine. I have limited experience comparing digital cables, but some will tell you that there are differences in performance there. My experience lies primarily with analog cables.