Your Preferred CD Player

[jazzbo]

Yes it incorporates an imo very good ADC. I now use the balanced XLR output of the phono preamp, but I used to use it with my DAC as at the time that had the best cabling. . . . The sound when routed to and from the DAC is very very close to the analog output I now use. Anyway it is this device, no longer made by PS Audio:

https://www.stereotimes.com/post/ps-audio-nuwavephono-converter/

https://www.aspera-audio.com/pdf/manuals/NuWave-Phono-Converter-Owners-Manual.pdf

Edited Thursday at 10:53 PM by jazzbo

[jazzbo]

On 4/16/2026 at 5:13 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Lon - what do you mean by "I used to use it with my phono preamp which outputs DSD via HDMI into the DAC"? When you say phono preamp, are you talking about your turntable preamp? That would be an A>D to a D>A conversion.

I could see a phono preamp having a DSD output so that you can needle-drop LPs to a DSD file. I use a standalone CD recorder for my needle drops. I would probably use the DSD format if I had this available to me.

Just to be clear: It's not an A>D to a D>A conversion within the phono preamp, it's an A>D conversion for either PCM or DSD (your choice) within the phono preamp, and then output digitally to the DAC and converted to an analog signal there.

Edited Friday at 09:57 PM by jazzbo

[Kevin Bresnahan]

13 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Just to be clear: It's not an A>D to a D>A conversion within the phono preamp, it's an A>D conversion for either PCM or DSD (your choice) within the phono preamp, and then output digitally to the DAC and converted to an analog signal there.

But a turntable is already analog. I wouldn't think there would be any benefit to converting it to digital for playback purposes. I could see using that digital output from my turntable to make a digital file for future playback but not when straight-up playing LPs.

[jazzbo]

Okay, you've no direct experience. In actual practice, there was a reason and a benefit, and I could not detect a real sonic deficit. There was better cabling available to use, and I could then use an EQ component after the DAC for both analog and digital components. I found however that using the balanced output of the phono preamp yielded slightly better sound than either the analog output with single-ended or the identical sounding HDMI I2S digital output and I got a Goldpoint 2 XLR into 1 XLR switcher to switch  betwen phono preamp and DAC into that EQ component and discontinued the digital output.

Edited Saturday at 12:48 PM by jazzbo

[howard.zinman]

Is it possiblet to get great sound from a CD player without an external DAC? Is a CD player with a built in DAC at 2 grand a waste of cash?

[Stompin at the Savoy]

39 minutes ago, howard.zinman said:

Is it possiblet to get great sound from a CD player without an external DAC? Is a CD player with a built in DAC at 2 grand a waste of cash?

The answers to that really depend on your budget and just how finicky you are about high end audio equipment and 'audiophile' issues of the diminishing returns variety.  For me the answers to both of your questions are yes.  

[Dub Modal]

15 hours ago, howard.zinman said:

Is it possiblet to get great sound from a CD player without an external DAC? Is a CD player with a built in DAC at 2 grand a waste of cash?

I'd be willing to bet that the Marantz and NAD models linked up thread work well and produce great sound. Both are under $1000. 

[howard.zinman]

Is it worth spending 2000 to get SACD playback? Does SACD have any fans here?

[Dub Modal]

1 hour ago, howard.zinman said:

Is it worth spending 2000 to get SACD playback? Does SACD have any fans here?

I play mine on a Sony UBP model and that works for my budget. Those are less than $1k as well. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

3 hours ago, howard.zinman said:

Is it worth spending 2000 to get SACD playback? Does SACD have any fans here?

I get what you're saying here... there are not a lot of SACD players these days for under $2K. Denon makes a couple of players at that price point, but the options for SACD playback are very limited.

As I said earlier, the worst thing that happened was Oppo Digital exiting this business.

[Eric]

I bought a used Marantz SACD player last year.  IMHO, SACDs generally sound great to me.  But so do regular CDs, vinyl, etc.  I don't do side by side comparisons - it is a hassle and there are too many variables to control.  And in the end, I really do not need to know.  The downside is the SACDs are expensive.  I previously had an older Yamaha SACD player that crapped out - and bought the Marantz to play the SACDs I had accumulated over the years.  I am 64 and all the above sounds massively better than equipment from 40-50 years ago, so perhaps a low bar.  

Agree with the Oppo sentiment.  You can find them used, but without a company behind them, I would personally not go that route.

Edited 4 hours ago by Eric

[howard.zinman]

If Oppo was still in business making these players, I'd jump on. I don't want to get one only for it to die in a year.

I'm leaning towards the Denon CD/SACD player. It looks like a solid unit and I am curious to discover the world of SACD. 

The Sony player mentioned up-thread looks interesting! It doesn't have a standard audio out, though.

[GA Russell]

On 4/13/2026 at 10:15 AM, jazzbo said:

Yes, I am using a PS Audio transport and a PS Audio DAC and they have purchased the right to pass the transport spun raw DSD files from SACD via HDMI to the DAC. Can also play files from a stick (I don't do that). 

Speaking of PS Audio, they are now offering three systems for $5,000; $10,000; and $15,000.  Apparently these are half-off MSRP.

https://www.psaudio.com/pages/systems