Topic: Best CD player under P 30k

[luis]

Best cdp under P 15k has been answered in another thread.

I just wanted to know what is the best cdp under P 30k. Relatively, are they better sounding than a P 15k cdp? This will guide us on the upgrade path.  TIA! 

[synchro_01]

Based on first hand experience and not hearing it from somebody else's gear, its the Rotel RCD 1072. The 30K level was exactly my working budget before when I was on the lookout for a CDP and I tried out a lot of other brands for audition but for me this was value for money. I think one can still get a brand new unit these days though it has been replaced by a succeeding model. The CD Drive mechanism of that unit is ultra smooth....one rarely hears the stopper as the platter extends or retracts to its position plus if the platter is extended to load CD's even if you try to move the platter up and down or side to side it will barely budge. the control buttons that they used...well lets just say "halos walang kalog" or space to move side to side when touched. The RCA's are firmly mounted plus the thickness of the case is above average than your normal CDP's though not as quite as thick as the 100K and up players. it has a big toroidal transformer as well which is almost as big as some 50 watt x2 amps. In short its solidly built and most importantly sounds very smooth. It's not overly clinical as a lot of other Japanese CD players.

Up the ante to 50K and up and enter the hybrids with tubes. 100K and up...yun pwede mo nang upuan yung CD player...it's that solidly built but for me if I were to live with one CDP within the 30K budget or it will serve as the main digital source for a system thats in the 100 - 150K range (full set) its the RCD1072


Here is an Internet sourced shot of its innards...


Now to answer your question if its a better sounding option than a 15K CDP...I'd say yes but not double its performance though. As all things in audio the small incremental jumps in performance usually cost money. If one is perfectly fine in a 15K player then there is no need to move up anymore but if one wants the king of the hill then JR of LIS will gladly offer you something for that itch.

[richardcruz]

Add a little bit more and you can have the Rega Apollo.

[Hammerheart]

In what way does a rega apollo better the rotel 1072 sir?

[Figster]

+1 for the Rega Apollo R

[richardcruz]

Rega is in a whole different class altogether - not just the DAC (Rega's Wolfson vs. Rotel's Burr-Brown) but in the way Rega put it together. You get entry into Rega's house sound: more silent (referring to the cleaner sound), better definition, precise soundstage. Read the reviews and compare.

[Hammerheart]

Would the apollo sound good on fast pace music? The rotel 1072 does.
I have read and heard about apollo's loading/reading discs problems. That should be an issue to be considered before getting one.

[richardcruz]

The Rega Apollo with its fast and precise timing should be suited for all types of music. Best to audition. Its top loading design plus its disc analyzing (you just have to bear with a 2-3 second delay while it's "Initialising" your disc) to find the best algorithm for bit correction should in fact minimize loading/disc reading problems. I find it less picky than my previous Arcam CD player (i.e., discs that my Arcam rejected, the Rega could read). But if I were you, I would wait for the Audiolab cdp or DAC (makes better sense given the shift to music in media storage), it has garnered even better reviews. of course, at the top end (but still accessible - since there are even more outrageously priced cdp's and DAC's like the Moon and Wadia), my wish list is still any Bryston cdp.