As I await the arrival of my Cherry/Chestnut M60s I am spending most of my free time slogging through reviews and tech specs of different home audio gear, from speakers to receivers to DACs and beyond.

One thing that keeps popping up in my research is the quality of the source. As of right now I have an Onkyo TX-NR818 that I stole from Newegg and a pair of Axiom M60v3s that should be here in a few weeks. Aside from the cable box (Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8240 HDC, supplied by Time Warner Cable) my only source for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray is a Sony BDP-N460. This player is no longer made.

I bought this player nearly three years ago when I purchased my Samsung 46" LCD. At the time I didn't know any better and just wanted something that supported what I thought was the future (Blu-Ray) as well as older formats (CD, DVD). At the time, I bought it for about US$250.

Through my research, I see that many audiophiles opt for what I consider to be obscenely expensive CD players from brands like OPPO that cost over a thousand dollars US. What I would like to know is if I'm actually missing out on anything sonically with my discontinued Sony BDP-N460, or if I can rest assured that I have a decent audio source that will allow me to slide by the pricy "audiophile" CD players/sources.

I have an OCD thing about having matching electronics. Since I have an Onkyo receiver, it makes sense to me (not at all rationally) to have other Onkyo gear. I see that Onkyo currently offers a Blu-Ray player "BD-SP809" for $499US MSRP. They also offer a CD player "C-S5VL" for $599US.

I have perused other sites and see that manufacturers offer standalone CD players for upwards of a grand.

I would like to know how my discontinued Sony player stacks up against this very expensive competition. I am able to lay down some cash on serious speakers, but I am hesitant to fork over similar dollars for a damn CD/DVD player. What is it about these high-end sources that I lack with my current source?

Last edited by Artisan; 01/10/13 01:29 AM.