My system at present ticks all my boxes but my CD player has some problems with the transport at times, this question has been asked many times before, but I wonder if anyone could comment on my options for replacing the CD37 which I really like.
Arcam CD37 - Rega Elicit - PMC Twenty 23 [ Turntable also in system].
Would I be better off keeping and getting the CD37 repaired if possible or are streamers the way to go, is there an audio improvement to be had or the same performance for less money even.
Donāt want to move away too far from the sound we have at the moment.
Hi and welcome. If you have a go at the search function youāll see this has been debated - lots!
How many CDs do you have? Is your Arcam repairable? Cost? If you switched to streaming what would be your budget. Many on here with very good reason believe the flexibility of streaming wins over CD. Others like me wonāt give up on the silver disc!
I think that much will depend upon how many CDs you own. If you have loads of them, it would be a shame, surely, not to have the means to play them easily.
Thanks for your reply, the CD draw doesnāt move in or out at times. I thought it was a belt or transport fault, but Iām worried its electronic problem. Contacted Arcam about the problem, but all they could offer was a replacement transport for Ā£300 + fitting I expect. Itās been a great player music wise but has always seemed slower its operation than an FMJ CD23 I owned years ago. Donāt want to go buying a transport and still have the problem.
Not bothered about the SACD but really want something of the same sound quality.
If I have to rip my collection [about 400] no problem.
Before this system I had Linn Ikemi - 202/200 - Ruark setup and it was wow but to be fair be current setup is easy to get on with.
Tim, I confess thatI have no idea how a streamer works. I assume from what you say that you convert the output of the CD to āstreamā it through the streamer
With a streamer you have something that you load the cds onto (network attached storage (āNASā) at the simplest level, using a computer to load the cds into the NAS - or Naim offer the core which is much more expensive but is a device that reads the cds and stores them) and then the streamer extracts the music to play onto your system. Or you can use the streamer to stream music from qobuz or another supplier (eg, Spotify or tidal)
Once ripped onto a nas or similar, you have your entire collection available without having to find the cd. Thatās why I say it is at least as easy to use as a cd player, but there is work to be done to get to a place where all Your cds are available for streaming
If it were me, Iād take this as the opportunity to get into streaming. FWIW, some years ago I had a CD5XS and Naim nDAC. For my ears, the SQ from ripping a CD to a Mac Mini and playing back through the nDAC (a simple form of streaming) was, by a small margin, superior to playing the CD on the CD5XS whether used as transport into the DAC or direct to the amp. Streaming from my 272 improved on that.
But there is something of a learning curve to get into streaming, at least thatās what I found. So, if you do decide to stick with CD, would a Rega player such as the latest version of the Saturn fit the bill? Iāve not heard it, but it ought to be a good match for your elicit.
I see they do a Arcam ST60 network music player for about Ā£1200 but donāt know if this is an improvement or a lesser machine than the CD37. Will it sound similar, is the DAC the same. Itās difficult comparing as they are different things, do you need to spend the same on a network player as a CD player, or have improvements meant the same performance can be had for less.
Streaming is a better platform for music enjoyment and SQ for me. Going back to a single disc player would be depressing. Rip your CDs onto a server and move on.
Interesting, possibly on only way to find out is a home dem. As for the Saturn, thought the Arcam was better when I listened to one years ago. I think if Iām going down the replacement road, Iāll move to steaming. Just wondered if anyone has owned a CD37 and have moved to streaming and could recommend a couple of players as a starting point.
