Integra CDC 3.1 CD Carousel (1 Viewer)

[Daryl Furkalo]

Does anyone have any experience with this cd carousel, or Integra CD players in general? The time has come to remove my Toshiba SD-2200 DVD player from cd duties. The price on the CDC 3.1 is $480CDN, or $300US roughly. Is there any other models I should consider in that price range? I have been using my Pioneer Elite VSX-36TX DAC's with the Toshiba, so in the change to a CD player, I want to use the analog outputs, since I have run out of digital inputs actually. I have no interest in SACD or DVD-A as of now.

 

[KeithH]

Daryl, I have not used the Integra changer, but for $250-400 USD, consider the Sony CDP-CA70ES, Denon DCM-370, NAD 523, and Marantz CC400OSE. I have the Denon player, and the sound is quite good for the price. It has an HDCD decoder, if that matters to you. The carousel mechanism isn't the greatest, but for the money (I paid $250 USD), the Denon is a good changer.

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

I have two HDCD's, and my Toshiba DVD player has the HDCD chip in it, but for two discs, it isn't a priority. Are you using the digital out or analog out on the Denon. The listed price for it was $329CDN, so it is quite a bit lower. Thanks for the reply Keith!

 

[JerryW]

I second Keith's comment on the Sony CA70ES, it's a great changer for the price. I have the CA80ES and it's the best CD changer I've listened to for under $500US.

I also own the Marantz CC-4000OSE and it's a very good changer too. Overall it's not as good as the Sony, IMO, but it's well made and has a nice "warm" DAC stage that some find to be very pleasant. I like using this player for blues, jazz, and some classical.

I'm really not fond of the Denon DCM-370 and can't recommend it. I wasn't impressed with it's transport capabilities, and to me, it's DACs sounded mediocre. Combine that with what I considered to be poor build quality (noisey tray on both units I tried) puts this player near the bottom of the heap compared to other changers in this price range.

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

Unfortunately for me, both of those Sony ES models are not available in Canada. The only ES models available are the megachangers and the SACD players! :frowning:

 

[KeithH]

Jerry,
Having owned the 'CA80ES, as you well know (), I agree that it was a noticeably better player than the Denon changer. As I said, the Denon is surprisingly warm to my ears for the money, especially in the vocals, but the Sony unit provided more punch and detail.
Daryl,
Sounds like you can get a good deal on the Denon changer. Brick-and-mortar dealers in the US typically sell it for $250-300 USD. I use the analog outputs on the Denon to a stereo integrated amp that has no DSP. However, HDCD is not a big deal to me either. Frankly, I rarely use the Denon, as I have three better players in the same system. I mainly use the Denon for recording CDs to minidiscs. Seeing as my minidisc player has been in for repair for the past two months, I haven't used the Denon in awhile.
By the way, the Sony 'CA80ES was discontinued some months ago. I thought you might be able to get the 'CA70ES in Canada though.