It's 2011, and while nothing really happened on the lossless audio front, I should still make an effort to keep the blog alive. You knows, maybe this year we will be able to buy lossless music on the iTunes store!
In the meantime, here's two great CD players with a nice twist: a digital input. You can use their high-end DAC chip to listen to your lossless music stored on your computer, while still being able to enjoy a CD once in a while with the same device.
NAD C565BEE
As I've always own british music gear (Part of my current setup are a Creek amplifier and a Rega turntable), the NAD C565BEE is certainly on the radar for 2011. It features a Wolfson WM8741 DAC chip compatible with sample rates up to 192khz (/24bit). It has 2 inputs: a optical SPDIF and a USB connector for USB memory sticks. The optical input is more practical in my opinion as you can directly connect a computer (every Macs have an optical output) or an Apple Airport Express wireless router (with Airplay).
The retail price of this CD player is 799$. Spearit sound also sells refurbished units for 599$. The canadian retail price is 1000$.
Marantz SA8004
The SA8004 CD player has just been released and has about the same specifications of the previous SA8003 model. The DAC chip is a Cirrus Logic CS4398, a chip on the same level of performance as the NAD's WM8741. The chip might be about the same, but the Marantz features more input options: an optical SDPIF, a coaxial and 2 USB connectors. The USB connector on the front is used for memory sticks but what's nice is the USB on the back is used to connect the player to a computer.
The retail price is 999$ (Amazon). 1199$ in Canada.
A friend of mine own this CD player and he is very satisfied with the performance of the unit.
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