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Comparing CD players

I am interested in advice on what to listen for and what kind of music to play when comparing CD players.

I currently use a Denon DCD 3300. This dates back to 1987 but is well built and was relatively expensive when new ($1700).

I like the sound but wonder what I am missing compared to newer players.

In listening to players that are at least 10 years newer and listed in the $1500 - $3500 range I expected to hear a very noticeable improvement but the differences I am hearing seem relatively minor.

It could be my hearing but I certainly hear big differences if I change speakers or amps.

Among other possibilities I wonder if there are differences that would be important to me in the long term which I might notice more quickly if I knew what to listen for.

Mostly I listen to classical (primarily piano), jazz & female vocal; usually at a quiet to moderate level.

I generally use a Plinius 9200 integrated and Snell EII speakers but I have a number of other options I could try.

When comparing, I generally leave both CD players on and connected to the amp with identical (Linn) interconnects. I sometimes put the same CD on both players and switch between them and sometimes listen to each for longer periods.

I suspect that lots of you know more about this than I do but a quick search of past posts found too many hits that weren't quite what I needed.

David





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Topic - Comparing CD players - energyandair 18:41:07 12/10/06 (9)


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