CD Player recomendations

[Tapemystic]

It seems my AKAI CD player is about to give up its ghost...Serious mysterious not want to play CD/Skipping issues (no dust and it skips! *headache*) and even now distortion coming from it all of a sudden. I'm no Techie...I think I need to look for a Sony one? It seems made in Korea, but is more behaving like one made in China...*sigh*

Any good Sony CD Players and any other good brands one can recommend?

Thanks :)

[Rat44]

What kind of a budget are we talking about?
I use a Marantz myself.

[Tapemystic]

*sigh* Something simple, robust and basic/entry level CD player like the Sony CDP-295 (and similar) , don't need fancy bells & whistles, no multi disc player, be usable in OZ (No US ones)...These cant be too expensive...

A more portable one I'm looking for too...The 90's Sony Boombox CD Player just mysteriously died (Motor burn out?!? *headache*) on me last night, guarantee just expired...*sigh*

[braxus]

Well I do have a Sony SACD player for sale here, but it may not be cost effective to ship it to you in Australia. I would look for a Denon 1520 or Sony ES player if you want a good one.

[hawkster27]

It seems my AKAI CD player is about to give up its ghost...Serious mysterious not want to play CD/Skipping issues (no dust and it skips! *headache*) and even now distortion coming from it all of a sudden. I'm no Techie...I think I need to look for a Sony one? It seems made in Korea, but is more behaving like one made in China...*sigh*

Any good Sony CD Players and any other good brands one can recommend?

Thanks :)

About three months ago I bought a new Onkyo DX-7555 for $500 US. Very nice, but no comparison to my old Denon DCD-3000 that I foolishly sold 18 months ago.

[extraterrestrial]

I like Sony CD changers made after 2000. They are reliable and repair-worthy (Sony still supports them.) These days, you really need to consider after-sale support on the part of the manufacturer.

extraterrestrial

[Kent T]

I dislike CD changers (especially those which use cartridges). Mechanically complex, slow loading, and clunky. Better to have a good simpler single play machine like a Tascam, Marantz, Denon, or similar.

[gkwolfman]

Well I do have a Sony SACD player for sale here, but it may not be cost effective to ship it to you in Australia. I would look for a Denon 1520 or Sony ES player if you want a good one.

I have been researching cdp's lately and found there is alot more to them then just looks.
One thing is the DAC chip. The one that comes up is the TDA1541 from Philips.
The next thing is Transports. Not sure on my research which is best yet or in a good price range for good.
I think though, from my research, those two items are the first to consider, then the rest, looks, bells and whistles, and ease of operation.
Like the quote from BRAXUS, I have read that some of the Sony's ES models have the Philips TDA1541 in them and not sure how good the transports are as for ranking in performance.
Just my two cents worth in looking for a cd player.

[Socal Sam]

I have been researching cdp's lately and found there is alot more to them then just looks.
One thing is the DAC chip. The one that comes up is the TDA1541 from Philips.
The next thing is Transports. Not sure on my research which is best yet or in a good price range for good.
I think though, from my research, those two items are the first to consider, then the rest, looks, bells and whistles, and ease of operation.
Like the quote from BRAXUS, I have read that some of the Sony's ES models have the Philips TDA1541 in them and not sure how good the transports are as for ranking in performance.
Just my two cents worth in looking for a cd player.

You are on the right track. The things to look for are:

Multiple DAC chips: At least one per channel for best separation.
DAC chip choice: Some sound warmer than others.
Oversampling or not: OS interpolation adds what is lost in the DA conversion. Tends to be brighter than non-OS.
Dual Power supplies, one for the analog section, the other for digital.
Laser Block, the better ones have glass lens.
Transport, for vibration suppression. The better ones are fixed laser.
Variable and Optical Outputs. For going CD Direct and also if you want to output the digital stream to an external DAC.

It all depends on your budget.

[R.Daneel]

Hello!

I suggest you choose the cd player on the basis of your assessment on it's sound quality, not by specs (unless you want to modify it).

The DACs effect on the final sound quality of the player is minor compared to the analog stage of that cd player. Even the most basic transport design with a decend DAC can sound great if the analog section is done properly. This, along with the power supply is often the most expensive part (and the most difficult one to do right) so players that use better components in these sections cost a lot more.

We used several DACs when we designed the D-A converter (Wolfson WM8740, CS4398, Burr-Brown and even TDA1541-S1) but in the end went for the CS4398 but in NOS mode (pure 16/44.1k) and it sound great. Gemeraččy, I think the ESS sabre will beat that but it is way too expensive. Anyway, the DAC sounded much much better when the analog section was completely revised and the op-amps switched for a triode. The difference from that sma chip was quite unbelievable.

It was always cheaper to order million DAC chips than design a separate power supply for every individual chip on the board and put some fine caps in the analog.

[DaveInVA]

I used to use a modified Dynaco Pro CD with tube output stage and loved it. These are hard to come by though now and most for sale probably have high hours on them.
I do have a Denon DVD-2900 SACD/DVD-A player now but I don't use it for regular CD's.
What I ended up doing was building a dedicated PC music server. I've never looked back. It is so much more convenient than a CD player and you have control over what DAC to use. All your music is at your finger tips. I've never felt the need to own another CD player and a music PC can be built very reasonably priced.

Dave

[R.Daneel]

I used to use a modified Dynaco Pro CD with tube output stage and loved it. These are hard to come by though now and most for sale probably have high hours on them.
I do have a Denon DVD-2900 SACD/DVD-A player now but I don't use it for regular CD's.
What I ended up doing was building a dedicated PC music server. I've never looked back. It is so much more convenient than a CD player and you have control over what DAC to use. All your music is at your finger tips. I've never felt the need to own another CD player and a music PC can be built very reasonably priced.

Dave

Using a PC as a music server is another great idea imo and all the stuff about jitter, clocking errors and such are irrelevant. PC with a good external DAC and effective jitter elimination will give an expensive cd player a run for it's money.

[Socal Sam]

I used to use a modified Dynaco Pro CD with tube output stage and loved it. These are hard to come by though now and most for sale probably have high hours on them.
I do have a Denon DVD-2900 SACD/DVD-A player now but I don't use it for regular CD's.
What I ended up doing was building a dedicated PC music server. I've never looked back. It is so much more convenient than a CD player and you have control over what DAC to use. All your music is at your finger tips. I've never felt the need to own another CD player and a music PC can be built very reasonably priced.

Dave

That's the way to enjoy digital music! The external DAC is the key because they have proper output stages. iPods and PDA's do not have a proper output stage and clip into your amp, which is BAD news.

[Socal Sam]

Using a PC as a music server is another great idea imo and all the stuff about jitter, clocking errors and such are irrelevant. PC with a good external DAC and effective jitter elimination will give an expensive cd player a run for it's money.

*thumbsup**thumbsup**thumbsup*

[DaveInVA]

That's the way to enjoy digital music! The external DAC is the key because they have proper output stages. iPods and PDA's do not have a proper output stage and clip into your amp, which is BAD news.

Yep. I am using a usb EMU 0404 but now I am going to a 32 bit Buffalo DAC. I am building a voltage input balanced tube stage right off the DAC using 3A5 tubes and should have that ready in a couple of weeks

Dave

[R.Daneel]

Yep. I am using a usb EMU 0404 but now I am going to a 32 bit Buffalo DAC. I am building a current input balanced tube stage right off the DAC using 3A5 tubes and should have that ready in a couple of weeks.

Dave

Hello Dave!

And may I be the first to say WOW!!! on this one. My DAc is a CS4398 based one (ina non-upsampling mode however to utilizte the anode connected tube output directly to the D-A chip's pins) but ESS Sabre in the Buffalo is the best DAC available on the market today. I considered it but 500$ for the chip only was a bit too much for me.

I am very interested into this DAc you yours! Have you designed it yourself or did you use an existing schematic diagram? I would definitely try something like that later on.

[DaveInVA]

Hello Dave!

And may I be the first to say WOW!!! on this one. My DAc is a CS4398 based one (ina non-upsampling mode however to utilizte the anode connected tube output directly to the D-A chip's pins) but ESS Sabre in the Buffalo is the best DAC available on the market today. I considered it but 500$ for the chip only was a bit too much for me.

I am very interested into this DAc you yours! Have you designed it yourself or did you use an existing schematic diagram? I would definitely try something like that later on.

I got mine from here for a lot cheaper. They are doing another batch soon:
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/buffalo.aspx

I am using a variation of the "Ultra Analog" DAC design but his site seems down now. I will see if I can dig up the schematic. Its very simple with transformer output. The limited bandwidth of teh transformer serves to remove the sampling frequency. Keeps things very simple.

Dave

[R.Daneel]

I got mine from here for a lot cheaper. They are doing another batch soon:
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/buffalo.aspx

I am using a variation of the "Ultra Analog" DAC design but his site seems down now. I will see if I can dig up the schematic. Its very simple with transformer output. The limited bandwidth of teh transformer serves to remove the sampling frequency. Keeps things very simple.

Dave

Oh wow! Thank you Dave! Yes the output transformer keeps things very simple indeed. I am tempted... If you do find the schematic, just send me a PM please. Maybe we should do a thread on DIY DAC designs or something? I think there are many people that would find it useful and it might help someone get more music for less money. - instead of just getting an expensive cd player.

[DaveInVA]

Oh wow! Thank you Dave! Yes the output transformer keeps things very simple indeed. I am tempted... If you do find the schematic, just send me a PM please. Maybe we should do a thread on DIY DAC designs or something? I think there are many people that would find it useful and it might help someone get more music for less money. - instead of just getting an expensive cd player.

That same place also sells the USB Receiver kit:
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/usb.aspx

Yes, a DIY DAC thread would be a good idea...

Dave

[R.Daneel]

That same place also sells the USB Receiver kit:
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/usb.aspx

Yes, a DIY DAC thread would be a good idea...

Dave

Okay great, I will open it tomorrow and post some pics. Hopefully, some other people will join in:)

[Emo-Fan]

Have any of you considered universal players? Oppo seems to be a good buy, but I have a few concerns:
For SACD, the Oppo converts the DSD into PCM, making it little more than glorified CD. Also, unless I'm mistaken, it outputs SACD only through the HDMI cables and not through analogue outputs. To me, that's a big disadvantage, because I can take the multi-track surround SACDs and mix the individual tracks down to stereo myself. You need analogue outputs in order to do that.

And I'm wondering how much higher the rez is for BluRay than for SACD (I'm referring only to the audio domain and not the video). Is BluRay higher rez than SACD at all or even LOWER rez?

Anyone care to opine?

As for me, if I were going to buy a new CD player, I'd look at the universal players. If CD ever goes the way of the Model T, at least you'll have a machine that playes all the other formats.

(Then I open up the can of worms where some audiophiles claim the all-in-one machines don't play any of the formats correctly. Hmmm. Perhaps that's another thread that no one responds to...)

[DaveInVA]

Have any of you considered universal players? Oppo seems to be a good buy, but I have a few concerns:
For SACD, the Oppo converts the DSD into PCM, making it little more than glorified CD. Also, unless I'm mistaken, it outputs SACD only through the HDMI cables and not through analogue outputs. To me, that's a big disadvantage, because I can take the multi-track surround SACDs and mix the individual tracks down to stereo myself. You need analogue outputs in order to do that.

And I'm wondering how much higher the rez is for BluRay than for SACD (I'm referring only to the audio domain and not the video). Is BluRay higher rez than SACD at all or even LOWER rez?

Anyone care to opine?

As for me, if I were going to buy a new CD player, I'd look at the universal players. If CD ever goes the way of the Model T, at least you'll have a machine that playes all the other formats.

(Then I open up the can of worms where some audiophiles claim the all-in-one machines don't play any of the formats correctly. Hmmm. Perhaps that's another thread that no one responds to...)

I have a Denon 2900 that I use to play both DVD-A and SACD and it can play CD but I still use the music server for CD. It's easy to get spoiled having over 1000 CD's at your command.

Dave

[Warped Bezel]

I was told by the Pioneer operator that DVD/CD combo players have separate diodes for reading each. My Pioneer DV-525 seems quite adequite, whether playing Ten Years After or Yazoo's Upstairs At Eric's (one of my favorite albums ever). As for SACD I have yet to ever spy one in the wild, much less a player. I wonder if it suffered from quadraphobia?

(I did see a couple of Dolby Surround audio CDs at Wally World years ago)

Have any of you considered universal players? Oppo seems to be a good buy, but I have a few concerns:
For SACD, the Oppo converts the DSD into PCM, making it little more than glorified CD. Also, unless I'm mistaken, it outputs SACD only through the HDMI cables and not through analogue outputs. To me, that's a big disadvantage, because I can take the multi-track surround SACDs and mix the individual tracks down to stereo myself. You need analogue outputs in order to do that.

And I'm wondering how much higher the rez is for BluRay than for SACD (I'm referring only to the audio domain and not the video). Is BluRay higher rez than SACD at all or even LOWER rez?

Anyone care to opine?

As for me, if I were going to buy a new CD player, I'd look at the universal players. If CD ever goes the way of the Model T, at least you'll have a machine that playes all the other formats.

(Then I open up the can of worms where some audiophiles claim the all-in-one machines don't play any of the formats correctly. Hmmm. Perhaps that's another thread that no one responds to...)

[Warped Bezel]

I have been researching cdp's lately and found there is alot more to them then just looks.
One thing is the DAC chip. The one that comes up is the TDA1541 from Philips.
The next thing is Transports. Not sure on my research which is best yet or in a good price range for good.
I think though, from my research, those two items are the first to consider, then the rest, looks, bells and whistles, and ease of operation.
Like the quote from BRAXUS, I have read that some of the Sony's ES models have the Philips TDA1541 in them and not sure how good the transports are as for ranking in performance.
Just my two cents worth in looking for a cd player.

The only ES model I've ever owned skips about like three girls playing hopscotch (CDP-207ES).

[hawkster27]

I have the Oppo 983H Universal DVD (not blu-ray) player. It's great as a DVD player, but I don't rely on it for audio. I only have a handful of high-rez audio discs, and that's a mixed report. The 983H plays my two DVD-A discs (from the Rhino Doors box set) perfectly. My two SACD discs are The Stones two-disc album More Hot Rocks. One of the discs plays in SACD, the other doesn't; it only plays as a normal CD. Oppo tech support was not able to resolve the issue, and the experience has severely dampened my interest in pursuing SACD with this player. (I'm using HDMI for output, but the manual states that full-resolution SACD output is supported for analog output, but not optical or coax due to DRM constraints.) I use my Onkyo DX-7555 for CDs and it sounds better than the 983H, my LG390 blu-ray player, and my Pioneer PDF-27 CD jukebox. As you can see, I like to match the player to the task.

[Dimitar Georgiev]

My current choice is Denon DVD-2900 ($100 from Ebay) and I am quite happy with it. I used to own Sony DVP-S9000ES which had issues which I could not fix so sold it as broken item. Denon DVD-2900 is very nice to all of my CDs, SACD, and DVD-As and in my opinion is excellent multiformat player. I am not going to spend more money for disk player.

D.

[DaveInVA]

My current choice is Denon DVD-2900 ($100 from Ebay) and I am quite happy with it. I used to own Sony DVP-S9000ES which had issues which I could not fix so sold it as broken item. Denon DVD-2900 is very nice to all of my CDs, SACD, and DVD-As and in my opinion is excellent multiformat player. I am not going to spend more money for disk player.

D.

I'm using a Denon 2900 also but just for SACD/DVD-A. It's built like a tank and sounds great. Paid all of $71.00 plus shipping for it on ebay and no complaints with it.

Dave

[Emo-Fan]

I have the Oppo 983H Universal DVD (not blu-ray) player. It's great as a DVD player, but I don't rely on it for audio. I only have a handful of high-rez audio discs, and that's a mixed report. The 983H plays my two DVD-A discs (from the Rhino Doors box set) perfectly. My two SACD discs are The Stones two-disc album More Hot Rocks. One of the discs plays in SACD, the other doesn't; it only plays as a normal CD. Oppo tech support was not able to resolve the issue, and the experience has severely dampened my interest in pursuing SACD with this player. (I'm using HDMI for output, but the manual states that full-resolution SACD output is supported for analog output, but not optical or coax due to DRM constraints.) I use my Onkyo DX-7555 for CDs and it sounds better than the 983H, my LG390 blu-ray player, and my Pioneer PDF-27 CD jukebox. As you can see, I like to match the player to the task.


Thanks for the reply!

Most people don't realize that if you use the digital outs (given that you can, due to DRM nonsense) or if you use the stereo set-up, you don't get high rez from SACD: Everything is either down-mixed or down-sampled. That's why I use the multi-channel set-up, go through the analogue outputs and mix everything myself into stereo. Then I get the hig rez and the luxury of moving, say, Jascha Heifetz, a little to the left or right of center at will. The mixer has a 2-band EQ also, so I can brighten things up a bit if I want.

Some discs are simply CD transfers onto the SACD layer of the hybrid discs (Ripoff!!); people wonder what all the fuss is about SACD. They're listening to a CD in the SACD format!

Waht I really want to know is if BluRay audio is higher rez than SACD! I gotta figure that anything that high rez would do a wonderful job playing a CD without outboard DAC and a whole host of other (expensive) gizmos.

BTW:
There are a lot of RCA Victor Living Stereo transfers on 2- and 3-channel CD/SACD hybrids. They're available everywhere. I have an old Magnavox CD player from 1987 that plays these discs (except one) perfectly (only CD, or course). I use my Pioneer universal player for the SACDs.

[Emo-Fan]

The above BluRay discussion in The Lounge cleared it up for me!