@burhou How did you get on with the Primare CD35 after a year? I’ve just bought a pair of Neat Petite Classics & I’m not sure my ancient (but lovely) original CD3 is doing them justice. Ideally would like to bring out a bit more in the mids on the Neats as can’t help feeling that the excellent bass & very good treble are somewhat overshadowing the mids or perhaps that’s just me trying to adapt my ears from my old Spendor S3/5R2’s which, of course, really shone in the midrange but can’t match the Neat’s lows & highs.
Anyone else with experience of the Primare or perhaps with recommendations of other CDP’s regarding that all important midrange (£1000 to £2000 range, especially used)? Perhaps I’m being too unreasonable as to how a source can alter a speakers characteristics or is that a can of worms?!
Thanks for the reply Fatcat. I hadn’t considered a Denon cdp before but you’ve got me intrigued & I’ll certainly check them out. Any particular reason the Primare is no longer top of the list?
I’d heard the Primare a few times at shows, with other Primare components and really liked it. I took one on demo and it sounded great, although the one I was using had the built in Prisma streamer. I still thought the CDP was great, but would have bought one without Prisma which I found a nightmare.
However, then the Marantz SA-12 se suddenly became available at half price so I jumped on that instead, bringing sacd into the deal.
If I just wanted a brand new cdp I’d defo. consider the CD35, but also the Gold Note CD 5 (now in mk ii version) which sounds glorious. Both are really good music makers imo.
However, I do now also run a 30 year old Pioneer pd-s703 (with its stable platter mech) as a transport only into the DAC in my Michi. This sounds fab, so not sure I’d bother with a standalone non-sacd, brand new player now…
As Jamie pointed out, the Primare doesn’t play SACD.
Plus, I have the Denon DP3000NE turntable and really like the Denon house sound. Very natural and balanced, nothing pops out as sounding spectacular, so I’m listening to the music, not the sound.
Denon are also using FPGA processing before the DAC. They seem to be trying to keep it a secret, , whereas Chord make a big thing about the fact that their dacs are using FPGA processing.
If streaming is something you might consider in the future, there are CD players that have digital inputs, so the DAC can be used to stream. I think marantz do a CD player where that option is available at a price within your budget.
I’ve looked a bit more closely at the Denon cdp’s, particularly the 1700NE which is well within my budget & does seem to be something of a relative bargain considering what it offers.
The 3000NE is out of my price range but I would be really interested to hear what you finally decide on & what your impressions are.
@devondick - fwiw, about 6 months ago I went to a well known hifi store here in Melb Australia to purchase the 3000NE. The guy there (who I have bought a lot of gear form over the past decade) suggested listeing to the 3000 + 1700 back to back before making any decision. And I am glad I did. My take was that there was no noticeably sound difference between the two. If there was, I didn’t hear it. Both sounded lovely by the way. May be a different result in your system.
*I ended up buying a CD transport (Audiolab cdt9000 ), but the Denon’s were both really good.
There’s a review of the 3000 were the reviewer advises that people who listen to standard CD should listen to 1700, as there is very little difference. However, with Sacd there is an obvious improvement with the 3000.
I suppose that would also apply when playing DSD files.
I’d say people who listen to classical music might be wise considering the 3000, as there appears to be a lot of classical Sacd at reasonable prices available.
This is like something out of a particularly unsettling psychological thriller….how on earth are we supposed to know when we’ve got “enough” & not bury ourselves deeper & deeper into the never ending rabbit hole?!
For some not a rabbit hole, its a hobby , a passion. I never regret spending on audio. The feeling of experimenting with new gears, and hearing new/better sound is exhilirating. And those make up for the spending.
You’re absolutely right @okotoks, it’s a great hobby but for me the passion is the music & the hardware is only a means to the music. When the law of diminishing returns kicks in (I’ve just bought a used pair of speakers that are worth 3 times the value of my old speakers but probably give less than a 20% improvement) I question whether these means (the hardware) are actually worth the result (the music). I can understand that if the act of buying new gear is, in itself, a passion then that is well worth the outlay. Keep enjoying.
, whereas Chord make a big thing about the fact that their dacs are using FPGA processing.