It's no secret that stand-alone CD players have lost ground with consumers looking for “universal” solutions to home theater and audio needs. Although the digital domain still reigns, portable media players along with DVD and Blu-ray players have taken a lot of wind out of the CD player's sails. Still, a dedicated CD player offers the best potential for high-fidelity performance. If you've invested into compact discs and want to keep enjoying your collection, then a dedicated disc spinner is still the way to go. If you want to take your disc collection to a new level, Cary Audio's CD 500 CD Player may be the last player you'll ever need. Design & FeaturesThe CD 500 retails for $2,995, and for that price you get a machine that's built rock-solid and complemented with top-grade components. The CD 500's digital-to-analog converter ...

For audiophiles and history buffs, Denon is releasing its 100th anniversary DP-A100 turntable in conjunction with the company's other 100th year products.  It is available in a high gloss black wood veneer with three large adjustable damped aluminum cone feet and specialized 100th anniversary logo badging.With standard speed capabilities of 33-1/3 and 45rpm, the DP-A100 from Denon features a high torque direct drive motor (which is decoupled from the base) with quartz lock servo for high-precision rotation.  This translates into a 0.002% or less speed deviation and a 0.1% or less wow and flutter.  Rotation stability time is rated to 0.3 seconds or less to reach normal speed.  Combine these characteristics with the unit's hefty 33.7 pound weight and your vinyl collection will sound cleaner and more accurate than ever before.The DP-A100 turntable also features a static balance type, light ...

Aimed at Audiophiles who like their CD players simple, well made, single tray, and optionally rack mountable, Marantz has announced the CD5004 CD Player.  The CD5004 plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs and will play CD-DA (PCM) alongside MP3 and WMA formatted files at 42, 44.1, and 48kHz sampling frequencies.  Though this is not a networkable machine, the CD5004 does have the ability to read metadata on MP3s and WMA files as well as text-data encoded CDs.Marantz's CD5004 has a very impressive 0.002% THD (total harmonic distortion) rating thanks to its "SACD-quality" digital to analog converter, though sadly the machine does not support that format.  This means you won't find distortion due to resistor matching errors, performance drift over time and temperature, or excessive clock jitter (aka time-domain irregularities).The CD5004 also features HDAM-SA2, the company's proprietary Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Modules which ...

Audiophiles, gather round and take out your wallets.  The premium sound gurus from McIntosh have announced the MCD1100 SACD Disc Player, which is engineered to deliver extended functionality and maximum musical fidelity from CD, CD-R, CD-RW, SCACD, Hybrid SACD, MP3, and WMA stereo music discs.  And, it doesn't require a separate preamplifier to deliver warm, rich and emotionally engaging sound from today's many digital music sources.  The MCD1100 can be added to any existing system or used as a standalone component with a set of high quality headphonesThis is what McIntosh President Charlie Randall had to say about the MCD1100: "In creating McIntosh source components, our designers and engineers have always strived to deliver all the emotional content in recorded music. For the first time, we now offer superlative McIntosh performance for not only a compact disc library, but any ...

Last month I stopped into a large retailer with the initials “BB.” I wasn't shopping, per se, but verifying reports that among the rows of compact discs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs were dozens of new LPs. In 2010, who would have guessed that the venerable 33 rpm would enjoy a renaissance that not only includes big-box retail sales but those same establishments offering turntables among the scores of personal media players, flat panel TVs and other home theater accessories. Consumers shocked to see record players back on the shelves would do well to look beyond such stock and discover the numerous options for spinning vinyl that exist outside the strip malls. My discovery came several years ago, when I picked up a couple audio publications. One was a buyer's guide that included recommended components across several price and performance points. ...