Shanling Audio PCD-3000a CD player with headphone amp

The Shanling PCD-3000A is a very nice little small-form-factor compact CD player built around a Philips CD711 servo system transport and a Burr-Brown PCM1738 DAC chip. It includes a headphone amplifier whose volume is controlled by an ALPS Type 27 potentiometer, accurate to within 0.5dB. The player can be controlled by the multiple control lever on the right side of the unit, and it also comes with a nice metal remote control which can be used to adjust the headphone amp volume as well as control other operations. 

This unit is a single-owner piece that was hardly used enough to even break it in. It was purchased with the thought of setting up a small high-end system for my young son, but that system was never assembled. Thus this piece had been resting in its box for years, and I finally realized it makes sense for someone else to enjoy it. 

Full disclosure: I just shipped this player to a buyer who returned it due to a reported issue opening the drawer. Upon return, I checked it out and did find the drawer failed to smoothly open fully the first time, possibly due to a shock during shipping. I simply pulled it open, after which I listened to a few tracks of a CD via headphones to test various functions. I then tested the drawer repeatedly, and it successfully opened and closed 60 times in a row, so I boxed it back up for sale. Still, I have lowered the condition rating from 9/10 down to 6/10, and lowered the price from $250 down to $199, to help reflect this potential issue.

"Constructed of nicely finished black aluminum, the PCD3000A measures a nicely compact 322mm (L) x 210mm (W) x 70mm (H) and weighs in at 3.4kg. The rear panel sports gold-plated RCA connectors for analog and digital outputs. Also provided is an IEC power inlet. The front panel features a pleasant blue LED display that is defeatable via the included remote, power on/off toggle, headphone output and a rather ingenious multi-function metal toggle. To open or close the tray, push the toggle. Flip it up to play, flip it down to stop, flip it right or left to advance track forward or back. I loved this toggle!

Under the hood sit the ubiquitous Philips CDM 12.10 transport and CD7 II servo system. The DAC is Burr-Brown's PCM1738 while the I/V and analog output stages use Burr-Brown OPA 604 and 2604 opamps. I'd have preferred discrete circuits in these crucial areas but I am not complaining at this price. The headphone circuit features a TPA6120 headphone driver while an ALPS Type 27 potentiometer with 0.5dB accuracy handles volume control. That's right; the PCD3000A has a volume control thus allowing the user to drive their amp(s) direct sans preamp. Thankfully, this feature is implemented in the analog rather than digital domain and controlled via remote. The display will indicate volume levels... 

Frankly, the PCD3000A sounds as good as just about any player I've heard in the $1000 range. In fact, overall performance easily surpassed what I recall from previous generations of Redbook players that sold for around the same price or higher." 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/shanling6/shanling.html