Good CD player for 4412s?

[BMWCCA]

Their sound was voiced for Japanese preferences, i.e., harmony and tone rather than American high-end preferences, i.e., analytical detail often accompanied by tonal sterility. It's no accident that so much old McIntosh and Marantz tube gear has been exported to Japan.

Sounds like you could accomplish the same effect by putting a tissue over the 035Ti in your 4412s.

Forty-years ago we used to offer a back-handed compliment to McInstosh (especially their speaker systems) by saying they had a "living-room" sound. Sort of like today when we say a Lexus is like a living room on wheels. You either want the involvement that comes from hearing everything a recording has to offer (and sometimes that means taking the bad with the good), or you don't.

Some people like to drive and others would prefer to be driven. The first group might actually feel some bumps in the road.

[louped garouv]

.... Once upon a time we led the world in innovation ,quality and design ...

Rich

I do have to give you all some credit, folks on the other side of the pond...
I have a piece of Vintage MATAMP gear, and it is simply top flight...

I've never seen a DJ mixer, especially a vintage one, built to this level of quality...



It's a Stereo Supernova (even the model name is cool!)

[SEAWOLF97]

Sounds like you could accomplish the same effect by putting a tissue over the 035Ti in your 4412s.

Forty-years ago we used to offer a back-handed compliment to McInstosh (especially their speaker systems) by saying they had a "living-room" sound. Sort of like today when we say a Lexus is like a living room on wheels. You either want the involvement that comes from hearing everything a recording has to offer (and sometimes that means taking the bad with the good), or you don't.

Some people like to drive and others would prefer to be driven. The first group might actually feel some bumps in the road.

that post is so bogus that I can't even trust myself to make a non-snarky reply.

[Dave Dunbar]

I think I know what BMW is trying to say with the automotive analogy, but I also respectfully disagree (assuming I did, in fact, understand correctly). If I were a dispassionate listener, I certainly wouldn't be running the gear I'm running into speakers that are as forward and revealing as 4400 Series JBL monitors. Just because a speaker is letting "all a recording has to offer" come through - and we're talking about the highs here - doesn't mean it has to come through in a brittle or grating fashion. I've gone to great lengths to get clean and undistorted high end reproduction. If I had to assess myself here, I'd peg me on the more involved side. There are plenty of speakers which involve the listener far less than our beloved JBLs. I'm sure there are internet forums for folks who like a less-involving sound. Most of us JBL fans probably think they're missing a lot, or we wouldn't be here, right?

That said, there's a world of difference between MacIntosh electronics and MacIntosh speakers. I don't believe my C27 is a piece of gear I need to apologize for. Trust me; it's letting "all a recording has to offer" come through, and come through cleanly and accurately.

[BMWCCA]

You can chill. I'm not arguing with either of you about your equipment choices. I was commenting on the characterization of equipment preferred for Japanese homes and found the quoted reference a bit silly.

Seawolf, you've driven a Lexus LS, I assume. You may have heard a McIntosh speaker system, or two, as the result of one of your speaker safaris. You probably have your own description of how both differ from other cars we drive and speakers we love. Once you understand I'm not slamming your precious Sony ES disc players (I have several Sony players and would love an ES), maybe you'll be able to see the forest for the trees in my comment?

And tissue paper in the L-series with the 035ti is a cheap way around upgrading to the T3 networks . . . sort of. (I prefer the networks.)

[Mr. Widget]

(I have several Sony players and would love an ES)

Not all Sony ES products are quite as elevated as others. I don't post this to lessen the musical joy any have given anyone here, but simply to possibly save others from blindly purchasing a pretty ordinary product expecting something special.

I believe the original ES products were all a light bronze color... the earliest of these were indeed special. Over the years Sony has used the ES on their flagship products and many have been quite outstanding, but they have also stuck the ES label on other products that simply had an extended warranty and most recently the ES badge is used to differentiate product distributed through custom installers as opposed to big box stores to help these retailers compete in a very competitive market. (One where great deals for customers reduce the profit margin and therefore selection and service. Think of the airline industry here... cheap flights, but with the creature comforts of taking the bus.)


Widget

[SEAWOLF97]

Not all Sony ES products are quite as elevated as others. Widget

I'm sure glad that our beloved JBL never fell into that trap since most companies seems to have uneven results among different models, suggest some net homework and search on owners comments & recommendations.

Seawolf, you've driven a Lexus LS, I assume. You may have heard a McIntosh speaker system, or two, as the result of one of your speaker safaris.

no, lexus & McIntosh are not on my radar.

you understand I'm not slamming your precious Sony ES disc players (I have several Sony players and would love an ES

Precious CD ? naw ... my MD decks are tho, and funny thing is that some NON-ES Minidisk decks seem to be better than the actual ES ones. If the CD decks were precious, I might have edited that quote down a bit ...but I left it as-is and provided a link did read the latest Stereophile and it has a review of an Emotiva CD player ($449) ...if I were looking for a new one (and there are lots of advantages to buying NEW) would give it a demo too. BOTTOM LINE: the OP did extended listening tests correctly and had a preference ..and no amount of tweaking is going to improve clunky controls/interface on his current unit.

And tissue paper in the L-series with the 035ti is a cheap way around upgrading to the T3 networks . . . sort of. (I prefer the networks.)

whaaa ?

[Dave Dunbar]

For the record, I did test the latest Emotiva CD player with my 4412s. To my ears, and those of a listening panel I invited over for multiple opinions, it had a somewhat hot high end playing through the JBLs. The mids were highly detailed and very pleasing, and the bass was robust. If I had a modern system with a more benign tweeter, it probably would have sounded very smooth and balanced. I also tested the $850 Vincent player, which sounded very much like the Emotiva. Either might be a good choice with a modern, audiophile-oriented speaker system. Both had very nice user interfaces, which would have instantly made them more pleasant to use than the Cambridge. If its sonics are to your taste, the Emotiva is a screaming bargain. But...it has a motorized slot feed system which requires a leap of faith to believe that it won't harm CDs. It also has an aluminum remote which is cold to the touch and pretty heavy in your hand. The only downside of the Vincent was that the "play" button seemed to hit fast, once or twice chopping off the first micro-second of a song. The remote looked a bit cheap for an $850 unit. And it does have variable output, which is nice to have. Not a bargain, but a decent player. As for ES decks, I've only tested the X303ES, so I my experience is limited. I spent two hours in my listening room A-B-ing the ES and the Cambridge (again!) and again concluded that the ES is far more pleasant on a far wider range of material. If my friend would sell it, I'd buy it and put the Cambridge on e-Bay. He won't.

[SEAWOLF97]

A slight curve ,,,

If I were starting from scratch...and had settled on a brand and model line, wud check if they had models with SACD & DVD-A ....on the unfounded assumption that they may have even better DACs , since they are newer.

would have no problem owning either of these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-DVP-NS3...item2eb9cf971b

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-DVP-NS3...item43ac2adf6d

no affiliation and not even sure if these are top rated models , just that they have the feature set that I'd like (and not too much downside)