CD player for under $200

roggae

Active Member
i am currently in the market for a CD player. Since i am unemployed (read stay at home dad) and my wife is buying the unit, i'd like to keep it under $200 if possible. i am currently using a jolida 302 amp and AR 2axs. my current CD player is some magnavox unit we picked up at a sprawl mart a few years ago. i'm all over the idea of a vintage CD player, but really i've been on the vinyl trip for so long i've pretty much lost touch with what constitues a good CDP. Sorry for the somewhat of a crosspost, but i just saw this subforum...
 
i am currently in the market for a CD player. Since i am unemployed (read stay at home dad) and my wife is buying the unit, i'd like to keep it under $200 if possible. i am currently using a jolida 302 amp and AR 2axs. my current CD player is some magnavox unit we picked up at a sprawl mart a few years ago. i'm all over the idea of a vintage CD player, but really i've been on the vinyl trip for so long i've pretty much lost touch with what constitues a good CDP. Sorry for the somewhat of a crosspost, but i just saw this subforum...

Just keep in mind that older vintage CD players might not have much life left in them. In your position I'd check Audiogon for a used CD player by Cambridge Audio, NAD, or Rotel. Ideally one that's not more than a decade old, or so.
 
Lots of closeouts and returns from major DVD-player manufacturers are available at fire-sale prices and work great as two-channel CD players. Some even have Burr-Brown DACs. I bought a "refurbished" unit directly from Harman over a year ago for about $36 that works great. I've never even tried it with a DVD.:thmbsp:
 
There are some that say an old PlayStation One makes a good player. They can be had online at auction sites for about a tenth of what you say you want to spend. There are threads here on AK about them.
 
I'd look for a Belgium made Philips or Magnavox from the second half of the 80 ´s, a Denon DCD-XXXX, with XXXX larger than 1000, or a Cambridge Audio CD 4 SE. Those are in my experience some of the best CDPs you can get under 150 $. Also some early Sony ES models.
 
Just keep in mind that older vintage CD players might not have much life left in them. In your position I'd check Audiogon for a used CD player by Cambridge Audio, NAD, or Rotel. Ideally one that's not more than a decade old, or so.

Good thought. Thanks. This becoming very hard as my really doesn't care about anything other it be inexpensive.
 
I know nothing about the reputation of this vendor, but the Denon Dvd-1940Ci can't beat at this price (or maybe even twice this price). It features dual Burr Brown DAC's. BTW, a similar price is available at Dakmart (another vendor whose name I know, but whose reputation is unknown to me). Note: These are refurbs.
 
I know nothing about the reputation of this vendor, but the Denon Dvd-1940Ci can't beat at this price (or maybe even twice this price). It features dual Burr Brown DAC's. BTW, a similar price is available at Dakmart (another vendor whose name I know, but whose reputation is unknown to me). Note: These are refurbs.


that's a great price but i've not heard of them. could you explain a little more to me the benefit of the dual burr DACs?

nm. is this about right:

"just as all engines have a fuel system... all digital devices have a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC)... but in both cases, some do a better job than others. DACs change digital (numeric 0s and 1s) signals to analog (sound wave) signals. Burr-Brown was a company that held a long and much respected reputation in the integrated circuit industy... they were some of the first to develop DACs and the first to put it all on a single chip. Back in the day they employed some of the top up and coming engineers and amassed a bunch of patents. Texas Instruments bought them in 2000... and still use BB patented technology today. the BB DACs used in receivers such as the Onkyo 805 test very well on the bench and introduce little or nothing to the audio signal during conversion...for that, they are regarded highly among audiophiles."
 
Personally, I'd steer clear of DVD players and anything with features called "internal bass management".

I'd spend those precious dollars on the simplest, well-built used redbook CD player I could find. Like Mr. Lin has already suggested.

e.g. A Rotel, NAD, or Cambridge Audio (not to be confused with Cambridge Soundworks)

I'd go for a Rotel as I like their open, clear sound--although some hear it as too forward and revealing.
 
I would get the $120 Panasonic Blu Ray player. Superb sound and video quality. I am not sure of the model number but Costco has them. It also has an ethernet port and a Pandora player app. Sound to my ears is better than most vintage CD units.
 
Personally, I'd steer clear of DVD players and anything with features called "internal bass management".

I'd spend those precious dollars on the simplest, well-built used redbook CD player I could find. Like Mr. Lin has already suggested.

e.g. A Rotel, NAD, or Cambridge Audio (not to be confused with Cambridge Soundworks)

I'd go for a Rotel as I like their open, clear sound--although some hear it as too forward and revealing.

would this be a good choice

http://cgi.ebay.com/ROTEL-RCD-885-C...ultDomain_0&hash=item3360e6ec92#ht_500wt_1112
 
I would get the $120 Panasonic Blu Ray player. Superb sound and video quality. I am not sure of the model number but Costco has them. It also has an ethernet port and a Pandora player app. Sound to my ears is better than most vintage CD units.

If you don't have a BluRay player this is a very good choice. If you already have a BR player, then keep looking for a good dedicated CD Player.
 
I'd spend those precious dollars on the simplest, well-built used redbook CD player I could find.

I second this advice, based on my experiences. These threads contain similar discussions and recommendations:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=322304
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=317815

Regarding the suggestions of using DVD or Bluray players as CDPs, my experience is that all players of that type that I tried were not as good as good quality stand alone CDPs. Some other people have different experiences on this, so this subject has been discussed many times, e.g.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=270985
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=317594

I guess the kind of music one listens to can be a part of the explanation beyond these dissagreements. I listen mainly to classical music, where all instruments are acoustical and there is no amplification involved in the performances. For me a good sounding CDP is that reproduces the sound of a musical instrument (e.g, a violin, a piano, an oboe or a solo voice) the closest to the actual sound as my memory has it stored.

I would suggest the OP to try used redbook CDPs of higher quality than average (Arcam, Cambridge Audio,etc). There are good opportunities in the used market.
 
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If you don't have a BluRay player this is a very good choice. If you already have a BR player, then keep looking for a good dedicated CD Player.

the problem is that my stereo is in a different part of the house than my TV (for a reason). so i'm pretty much looking for a CD player, but mostly all i'm finding are dvd players.
 
the problem is that my stereo is in a different part of the house than my TV (for a reason). so i'm pretty much looking for a CD player, but mostly all i'm finding are dvd players.

Are you confined to local, pickup only items ot would you consider Audiogon or eBay purchasing as well?
 
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