i have a studer d730

i have heard the 727. ok, it's a just bit less. less range, speed. but very neutral. perhaps better in the mids...

 for 2-300 euro. to me, it's the best bang cdp there is.

what's yours?

dbx DX5 mine from 1990 while it was still original dbx company before BSR bought them out and turned it into commercial products.    Picked mine up perfect working condition near mint cosmetically from orig. owner for $75 including shipping from eBay year ago.  Usually sell for $125 to $200 USD.

Awesome sounding with ultra unique compression/expansion circuits adjustable with meters.  Clean, clear and uncolored reproduction.  Being older not to forgiving if Cd surface has damages etc.  Good condition CD's this is my machine of choice of many players have had and have.

Features 3 unique dbx signal-processing circuits built in :

DAIR, Digital Audio Impact Recovery, a 2 band design for adding impact to musical transients.

COMPRESSION control, also a 2 band design, for background listening, making car cassettes and easier taping of CD's.  Also slightly reduce the loud portions of VERY dynamic recordings when listening at louder volume in my smaller audio room.

AMBIENCE control, for adding and subtracting difference information in the midrange and treble, increasing/decreasing the spaciousness of sound.

THE Ambience is the most wonderful feature it adds a analog vinyl record smoothness to sometimes harsher

digital sound depending on recording on CD's.

It is a great second generation player that was manufactured for dbx in Japan from 87-92. It is running 2 old school 16-bit PCM56P DAC’s. 

FROM THE STEREO TIMES a audiophile magazine Aug. 2002 Review DX5

The second jewel momentarily obscured by the sales hustle was a dbx DX-5 CD player, a mighty sound reproduction engine in a modest box sporting four somewhat understated, wholly innocent knobs on the face panel. 

Little did I realize at the time that I was face to face with one of David Blackmer's benign, yet truly evil little creations. The DX-5 blew away higher-priced Nakamichi and other one-box units . . . and gave the willing audio enthusiast a handsome set of controls to tailor sound: a remarkably effective "ambiance" control; a variable attenuation "soft" compression control; and a "digital impact audio recovery" [DAIR] control, a two band signal processor that added sonic wallop to musical transients. The fourth knob sets the volume for its headphone jack (a very useful feature, indeed).

Other useful functions made the DX-5 a marvelous one-box companion: time display; a sub-index repeat control so that any place on and any portion of a disc can be auditioned repeatedly; and more . . . but the finest aspect of Blackmer's devilish little gizmo was its extraordinary musicality. The unit just flat out made great sound, music that did not fatigue the ears or destroy attention.

I'll put that virtue in the present tense, as well, since I still use the DX-5 as an armchair auditioning tool for any number of audio-related tasks. David Blackmer's splendid musical craftsmanship has stood up for more than fifteen years of weekly use. The unit still gives me pleasure with a nearly unrivaled ease of use and breadth of functional flexibility.   Stereo Times

KYOCERA a Japanese company famous for HIGH END audiophile equipment I believe was involved in some of design and production of the DX5.  

 Wikipedia

In the 1980s, Kyocera marketed audio components, such as CD players, receivers, turntables, and cassette decks. These featured unique elements, including Kyocera ceramic-based platforms, and are sought by collectors to the present day.

dbx DX5

that's cheap

never heard dbx cdp's

can you compare it with philiips cdps?

or cdp's with philips swing arms and the famous philips dacs?

perhaps record something on youtube, so we can get the feel of the sound of a dbx cdp.. interesting stuff..

i must admit, i don't like features on a cdp or amp. they are too colored. i like neutral.. =studio sound.. but that's personal..

Philips was very popular in stereo electronics in EU but small presence here in USA so I have never listed to a Philips CDP.   Am unable to compare it to machines having Philips Dacs or swing arms.  As for recording My equipment is all from 80's all analog and do NOT have a good microphone to record and make digital to put on youtube.  Microphone on cel phone to do a video is not quality so cant do what you ask.   

  I agree with you about features and most of time especially critically listening on my Infinity RSIIIb speakers powered by Hafler 500 ( 255 watts/ch) when the 3 processing buttons are off you can see the specifications taken from svc manual show excellent readings.  Your right the processing circuits when ON do reduce the quality of sound in the specifications some but hardly a lot to human ear.  I like to use the compression making work out tapes at gym so vol. stays generally at one louder level to cover background noise in gym. The other two mostly only use the ambiance a little to add some warmth to digital sound ( prefer my moving coil Dynavector Ruby cartridge on turntable to CD).     For the money and its time period believe its a fantastic value especially what I paid for it.

Technics SL-P 1300

the technics 1300 is a rare find. love the looks of those

nice reading john. i'm not a technician. specs don't say much to me

tja, the haflers should be perhaps the best bang amp. never heard those, read alot of positive posts about them.