Why CDs Still Sound Incredible: 2025’s Best CD Players & Transports

Описание: CDs never left… but in 2025 we’re seeing serious manufacturers treat them like they deserve: better transports, lower noise floors, and truly musical DAC stages. In this video, Scotty G and Nathan break down why CD playback still competes with streaming, and which new CD players are turning heads in real listening rooms.

We talk about the “CD comeback” (and why SACD never went away), plus the real-world reactions we see when someone hears a great CD player for the first time: “Wait… that’s a CD?”

Read more about our Gear of the Year in our 2026 Hi-Fi Gift Guide: https://listenup.com/pages/holiday-gi...
Shop ListenUp's Gear of the Year 2025: https://listenup.com/collections/2025...

Featured gear & highlights
• Rotel Michi Q5 — top-loading, reference-level disc playback and “pull out a CD and watch jaws drop” demo potential
• Luxman D-03R — classic Luxman “smooth, warm, meaty” presentation without digital glare or brittleness
• Arcam CD5 (Radia Series) — a killer CD player under $1,000 and a strong on-ramp back into physical digital media
• Shanling EC Zero T Portable Tube & R2R CD Player — tubes + portability + headphone out + line out… because why shouldn’t a “Walkman era” idea return with real audiophile execution?

If you’re deciding between streaming vs CD, or you’re rebuilding a physical media setup with a modern CD transport / CD player, check out our favorites from 2025.

Chapters
00:00 Intro: 2025 gear picks + why talk CDs
00:00:18 CDs are sustaining (and coming back)
00:00:41 Why modern CD players are better built
00:01:02 SACD never went away + “CD sounds REALLY good” moment
00:01:29 Rotel Michi Q5 (top-loading)
00:02:06 In-store reaction: “That’s a CD player?!”
00:02:41 Luxman D-03R impressions (smooth, warm, detailed)
00:04:34 Arcam Radia series + Arcam CD5 under $1,000
00:05:41 Shanling portable tube CD player (features + use cases)
00:07:51 Headphone power note + when to add a headphone amp

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