DVD instead of CD player?

Hasdrubal

New Member
Hello -

I've heard that one can use a DVD player as a CD player. Given
that (say) a basic Eltax DVD player is at half the price
of a basic Eltax CD player, what is the catch? Would the CD
player produce better sound or have a longer lifetime?
 
Most new DVD players will play CD's perfectly well. As an example, the Toshiba 3900 series DVD players have been getting rave reviews as CD players for the last year or two.

If the DVD version of one company's CD player uses the same DAC chip, then they should sound essentially identical to each other.

As far as why the CD player would be more expensive than the matching DVD player, well, I'm guessing it's because audiophiles buy the CD player!
 
The buttons on the font of CD player are going to probably be better adapted to accessing the audio CD than on the DVD player (ie pause and fast forward/reverse buttons, for example are absent on the front of many DVD players).
 
I chose to use a DVD player as my CD player. I chose a model from Philips as I've never had a problem with any of their products, it sounds great, and it matches my Pioneer gear ( :) ).

True, it does not have many function button but it has a remote that allows full control.

Personally, I cannot tell the difference between a dedicated CD player and a DVD player from the same manufacturer and line.

I decided on the DVD player because it plays CDs great and it can back up my existing DVD players if one were crap out or I may add a TV to the room in the future. Either way, if your spending nearly the same amount of money, why not get something that pull double duty?
 
Well, I tried quite a few of them and I think there is usually a pretty decent difference. However, it certainly depends on the price-level you are considering.

Personally, I'm running dedicated CD player for music and DVD player for movies only. Here is why:

1. The CD-player-only loads the disc much faster than DVD player does. It doesn't have to search whole disc for data, pictures, mp3, video, whatever... It just loads the the number of tracks and starts playing the first track in less than a second.

2. Dedicated player sounds much better. IMHO, if you buy a DVD player for less than 300$ and you compare the sound with much cheaper (even vintage) CD player, the DVD player may sound even like an MP3 to you!!

3. The DVD player's laser might wear too quicky while it's unnecessarily used for playing CDs.

I'm Marantz-fanatic, so I have Marantz CD player and DVD player as well and the dedicated CD player sound much much better. If there is ANY chance you would listen to music on your hifi, you should get dedicated units. :yes:

I have seen only one case where the primary DVD-purpose didn't make the music sound "flat" and it was, yeah, DENON. I don't remember how much was it, but I do know it cost like a pretty good used car.

If you listen to CDs and you're in music, get a CD player. It is a GOOD IDEA. :)
 
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some DVD players can't read CD-RW's....my old Sony from 2001 has this issue. Not a design defect, just a laser that isn't optimized for reading CD-RW's. OTOH, most older CD players can't read CD-RW's either.
 
My Panasonic F87 has a cd mode button which let's it load much faster when playing redbook. Also is a HDCD player. IMHO it bests both the PSX and the Toshiba 3900 series. As for the dedicated cd player I can't really comment. I know it bests my stock Maggie swing arm and Sony 1 bit I've compared it to. Wish I had a Marantz or similiar quality player for comparison but I don't.
 
I only use my dvd player to play sacd's, its a pioneer dv563a which was well-regarded at its sub$200 price but reg cds don't sound right on it to me at all. I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum in the digital forum, hint hint.
 
marty-alex said:
Well, I tried quite a few of them and I think there is usually a pretty decent difference. However, it certainly depends on the price-level you are considering.

Personally, I'm running dedicated CD player for music and DVD player for movies only. Here is why:

1. The CD-player-only loads the disc much faster than DVD player does. It doesn't have to search whole disc for data, pictures, mp3, video, whatever... It just loads the the number of tracks and starts playing the first track in less than a second.

2. Dedicated player sounds much better. IMHO, if you buy a DVD player for less than 300$ and you compare the sound with much cheaper (even vintage) CD player, the DVD player may sound even like an MP3 to you!!

3. The DVD player's laser might wear to quicky while it's unnecessarily used for playing CDs.

I'm Marantz-fanatic, so I have Marantz CD player and DVD player as well and the dedicated CD player sound much much better. If there is ANY chance you would listen to music on your hifi, you should get dedicated units. :yes:

I have seen only one case where the primary DVD-purpose didn't make the music sound "flat" and it was, yeah, DENON. I don't remember how much was it, but I do know it cost like a pretty good used car.

If you listen to CDs and you're in music, get a CD player. It is a GOOD IDEA. :)

Marty,

You think an awful lot there for someone under 20 years old. You sure you're only a teenager? :D

Hope your search for your Marantz 1060 is going well.

And thanks for your post- I enjoy your posts when you make them.

Back on topic,

I'd argue the reason lots of CD players nowadays are more than DVD players is CD players sell in low numbers, while DVD players sell in high volumes.

I've got a Teac cd player, and a pair of Optimus CD players, one from the excellent AK member Mhardy, as a gift. He's an ace fella for sure.

I like the CD players that are dedicated because they do indeed, on average, seem to pick up and read the CD faster.

But my next purchase will most likely be a 3900 DVD player, in order to add a second tv to my setup.

I won't mourn the inefficiency too much for the added benefit of being able to watch music DVDs from Netflix in excellent stereo reproduction.
 
donoghue said:
I only use my dvd player to play sacd's, its a pioneer dv563a which was well-regarded at its sub$200 price but reg cds don't sound right on it to me at all.
This is it... I had the same feeling.

thedelihaus said:
Marty,

You think an awful lot there for someone under 20 years old. You sure you're only a teenager?

Hope your search for your Marantz 1060 is going well.

And thanks for your post- I enjoy your posts when you make them.

Back on topic,

I'd argue the reason lots of CD players nowadays are more than DVD players is CD players sell in low numbers, while DVD players sell in high volumes.

I've got a Teac cd player, and a pair of Optimus CD players, one from the excellent AK member Mhardy, as a gift. He's an ace fella for sure.

I like the CD players that are dedicated because they do indeed, on average, seem to pick up and read the CD faster.

But my next purchase will most likely be a 3900 DVD player, in order to add a second tv to my setup.

I won't mourn the inefficiency too much for the added benefit of being able to watch music DVDs from Netflix in excellent stereo reproduction.
:D Well, I finally decided to bring a 1060 unit from the USA - I saw three of them going on German Ebay last month and they were all high above 200 Euros :no: . If I bring a mint-condition amp from overseas, it will be cheaper even including the shipping costs. :scratch2:

So, Hasdrubal, I think that if you are not going to buy some cheap crap DVD player and you're planning to spend some serious money on this thing, you can go for a DVD player only (and buy a really good one able to play CDs well).

It's not my oppinion, but it seems to be a good advice considering the experience of the other AK-members here in this thread. If you are going to buy some low-budget DVD-player, don't expect the music to be any good. Additionally - nowadays, when the Blue Ray technology and HD-DVD comes, I'm not sure if I would spend hundreds $$ on something unable to play discs that are about to be released right next year.

This is what I say:
I would buy a dedicated CD-player, which will play pretty good for sure even if it's not too expensive. And it never gets old - I do believe CD format is here to stay.

And, I'd buy some cheap (or, at least, not expensive) DVD player and wait for BRD and HD-DVD formats which are about to come soon. I might be a little pedantic, I know. It's all about personal feeling.

Hey, before buying anything, you should visit a friend or an audio-shop and try the particular units yourself. Then, when you KNOW and you don't mind (or can't hear) the difference, you are the one who pays.

It's just too specific and personal I guess...
 
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Given that my budget constrains me to buying a cheap crap something, I suppose I should go for a CD player after all, no? Or what would be the sensible choice among the next two ones. say?

Eltax CDP70 (cd player) 70 pounds

Eltax DVD 150 30 pounds
Toshiba SD150 30 pounds
(dvd players)
 
Well, I can't tell... I've never heard any of the mentioned units - in fact, I've never seen Eltax before. I would be kidding if I tried to recommend something. I'm more like Marantz-Pioneer-Denon guy... Sorry.
 
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