CD Players

Revox CD player £2000 approx. and Rotel RCD-991- £750. Rotel RCD-951 £300-£350.

Rega Planet 2000 £500

There is a huge variety of CD players to choose from. Remote control is a nice feature-some don't have a IR capable receiver.

A small number CD players only work with the same-make amplifier (they have no buttons on the front)

The DAC chip (Digital-Analogue Converter) is one of the most important items in the CD player, a cheap DAC will result in poor quality sound, as will a expensive DAC will sound better. The Transport (Laser, tray mechanism) also is important, as a reliable laser is important for long-life. Some cheap lasers only last about a year before burning out (I have found Aiwa & Kenwood lasers extremely unreliable) Some CD players have HDCD decoding (I think it interpolates to a 20 bit signal) HDCD software is more or less non-existentant. It does sound slightly better though. Standards outputs are Phonos. Some have XLR (Balanced) These sound better-higher Signal to Noise Ratio-, but you need a amplifier with these inputs. Naim use DIN connections. Also most CD players now have Coaxial and/or Optical digital out. This can be used to send PCM Digital audio to a DAC, PC with digital in, Digital pre-amp/processor, Minidisc or other Digital recording devices. You could buy a DVD player instead of a CD player, as you'll have both, but DVD players do not sound brilliant for CD replay. If you have anything better than a Midi system, get separate CD/DVD players. I would say get £200-£300 DVD player, primarily use for DVD so look for the best picture quality. Then get a separate CD player for all your CD albums. CD Player usually have these connectors.

Stereo Phono outs. Using the internal DAC's, to send analogue audio to a integrated amp

Coaxial and/or Optical. For sending pure digital audio to a digital recorder, DAC, Processor. Bypasses the internal DAC's. Useful for budget CD players, with a high-quality DAC to upgrade to sound, and owners with Minidisc/CD-Recorder.

If your CD player sounds harsh, try adding a DAC to upgrade the cheaper-sounding bits inside, normally 1-bit DAC's are the cheapest & worst sounding.