Sound Advice: 3 CD options between $45 and $3,000

Q: After your recent column about CDs, I’m wondering if you can recommend CD players for home stereo systems.

A: I received quite a few emails about the column concerning physical media. Everyone who wrote agreed with me, some of them very passionately and emphatically. Many of the emails were about CDs in particular, so I’m going to highlight three home CD players ranging from $45 to $3,000.

I think the best value in CD players today, receiving top marks for performance and value, is the $349 TEAC PD-301-X. As a CD player alone it excels. But if offers more than that.

It comes from TEAC, a brand with a singular focus on making top-quality audio components. This compact, half-sized component is beautifully and solidly made, and the sound quality is top shelf. A friend picked one up on my recommendation and was surprised that it sounded better than the high-end digital circuitry in his integrated amplifier.

That kind of performance for $349 is enough reason to sing its praises, but the PD-301-X is much more than a CD player. It also has an FM tuner and can play music from USB drives. Given there are few stereo receivers currently on the market and most people are buying integrated amplifiers, adding a PD-301-X brings both CDs and FM radio to your system.

I loved the PD-301-X when it was $549.99, and seeing it at $349 makes me happy because I know many more people will be buying and enjoying one given that it is more affordable than ever. (teacusa.com)

At the low end of the price scale is the Panasonic DVD-S700. All DVD players can play CDs (it is part of the DVD format specification), so if your DVD player has the right connections for your home stereo, it can be employed for CD player duty. I recommend the Panasonic because not only does it have the audio outputs to connect to a receiver or amplifier, it actually is a pretty good CD player, too.

At the extreme high end, we have the mighty Magnetar UDP900 at $2,999.99. You could say the Magnetar is the current equivalent of the lost and very lamented Oppo universal disc players. The last generation of Oppo players (discontinued in April 2018) could play CDs, Super Audio CDs, DVD-Audio Discs, DVDs, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and USB media. Outside of Magnetar players, this multi-format capability is practically nonexistent today.

Weighing in at over 30 pounds, the hefty unit performs at the cutting edge of audio and video reproduction. If you do not have Super Audio CDs or DVD-Audio discs, the $999.99 Panasonic DP-UB9000 would make more sense for a home theater, but if you want a Rolls-Royce of a disc player that can do it all in any system, the Magnetar is it. Not to mention, if you you missed out on an Oppo back in the day or are sad they no longer are available, buying a Magnetar will make that itch go away. (magnetar-audio.com)