CD Players

Not dead yet, even though music streaming via the network is becoming the defacto source. Some people still think Vinyl is the way to go but lets not start that debate lest I explode into a miasma of putrid decay.

There is just no better source than a bloody good CD/SACD Player, Unfortunately, they don't come cheap and we start at $349 for a half decent Cambridge Audio unit all the way up to $2900 for the amazing Yamaha CD-S2000. Vincent also offer some interesting challengers at the mid-price level using hybrid technology (a combination of valves and transistors).

As the source is critical, there's no shortcut to a good player and a rule of thumb is that the CD Player should cost around one third of the total price of any stereo system.

This is less important when using a high quality A/V Receiver however as one can use a decent Blu-Ray Player connected using an HDMI cable, the DAC's in the A/V Receiver then do the conversion and bypass the players DAC's. That only works in high end A/V Receivers however.