Help a new-to-the -game audiophile

Lark

Lark

Active Member
Hello everyone. I'm asking for some advice here, and I hope I'm in the right place. I'm getting back into vintage hi-fi, and a lot of my source music is on cd. My main question is: when looking for a good used player to play my cd's on, am I better off with a cd player, or are the newer dvd/blueray players the way to go? Also, if I'm not in the right place here, please forgive a newbie and steer me in the right direction.

Long story short - I was outta the music thing for a good 25 years because of kids, marriage, divorce, etc.. I am just getting my feet wet again. I like the vintage stuff, and have several different receivers, amps, speaker pairs, etc. I will be visiting here often in the future, learning and educating myself. My main rig right now is a Rotel RX-2001, a Realistic CD-1500, Teac V-35 cassette player, paired with Dynaco Model 25's and Grafyx Model 10's w/walnut cabinets. I have several other components that I'll be playing around with, figuring out what sounds best and just having some fun again.

I'm really anxious to play with the SX-939 Pioneer and STR-6800SD Sony. I also bought a mint Onkyo Model A-10, but I've never ran an amp that wasn't a receiver combo, so I gotta study up on that. I admitted I'm an amatuer, ok? I'm late in the game, but I'm still eager to play. I know Sansui speakers get a bad rap, but I have a sweet spot for them, for some reason. I actually think the SP-2000 and 3000 that I have, sound pretty good. I've paired them with the Dynacos' and also Paradigm 5se, and I think they sound fine.

Back to the original question - what's my best option for playing my cd's on the above mentioned gear? Bear in mind that I'm not picky or particular on how it looks - I'm wanting the best sound. I frequent the goodwills and thrift stores around my city, and see stuff all the time, but don't know which way I should go.

I just passed up on a Philips DVP-3960 and a Sony DVP-SR210P today at the local goodwill, and I'm wondering if I should go back and snag em. Not a big deal, stuff like that comes around all the time. I coulda got em both for under $20. Am I better off with the vintage players from the time period? I would think with technology the way it is, there would be an advantage to the newer stuff, but I just don't know enough about how they work yet, to understand what I'm looking for.

I've loved music all my life, just never had the time til now to figure out how all this stuff works together. I know this is a long post, but I know there are some guys out there, maybe some retired audiophiles, that like to get on here and read these kinda things, and help a brother out. That's the way I am, anyways.

I plan on paying the subscriber fee and becoming a full-fledged member here in the very near future. I appreciate all the help I've gotten so far, and have even put my two cents in a couple of times when researching other topics on components. I'm old school, and still figuring out how to navigate my way around on this site as well. I want to figure out how to get into bartertown, so I can get some of the gear I've been wanting all my life, without getting raked by astronomical prices. I've wanted an SX-1280 or 1980 for damn near 40 years now, and now that I can actually get one, the prices are astronomical. Sign of the times, I reckon. I am in Ohio, so if there are any fellow audiophiles in my neck of the woods that would like to talk stereo equipment sometime, I'm always game. I'm really wanting to have a great sounding system in my home, but I wanna do it right, without having to go through a whole lot of trial and error. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
 
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Welcome to AK.
Good luck with your pursuit back into music and reproduction.
I guess I'm old, but that huge block of text is extremely hard to read.
 
Welcome aboard. Try Audiogon, US Audiomart,Canuckmart, Hi Fi Shark and Ultimist for used equipment. Even your local Craigslist.
If your just going to play your collection of redbook cds I would go with a cd player but if your going to add Audiophile cd's then Blu Ray,SACD will come into play. Oppto cd players are very popular, cd,blu ray, 6.1. in one player and there are alot ot them on the used market.
Good luck on your journey...
 
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I say spend the money on a nice Blu-ray player the Blu-ray players I have don't skip at all with the loudest most heaviest of bass from music.
My old CD players you can thump with your finger and they will skip like an old record player, my Blu-ray players you can smack real hard with your hand within reason of course not to damage it but they won't skip

I have an older CD player that was high-end back in its day and if you turn the music up to a moderately loud volume it will skip like an old record player
 
goodolpg said:
Welcome to AK.
Good luck with your pursuit back into music and reproduction.
I guess I'm old, but that huge block of text is extremely hard to read.
Click to expand...
No. it's not that you're old. Old school knows how to compose a readable post. It's difficult to read for any age.

Really. OP. You might want to edit that post and break it up into readable paragraphs. I gave up after a minute.
 
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the skipper said:
No. it's not that you're old. It's difficult to read for any age.

Really. OP. You might want to edit that post and break it up into readable paragraphs. I gave up after a minute. Old school knows how to compose a readable post.
Click to expand...

With my blurry vision, I didn't even try. Too daunting.
 
I'd say go with a newer player, the DAC's are better now-a-days, though the build quality will be a little more solid with an older unit.Hey for the price get one of each and compare em.
 
Lark said:
Advice appreciated and taken. Edited a little, and broke it up. Thank you.
Click to expand...

And now I read it. Nicely done. You write much better than most who begin with a wall of text, which makes it apparent that you knew better in the first place. :)

Since you intend to subscribe soon, my advice is to wait until you can browse Barter Town, where you will periodically see some of the better used CD players appear for sale. Also, some of the best ones tend to weigh more than most, so if you find a heavier one in a thrift, you should research it online and post the model in this thread for comment to figure out whether to purchase. Or if it is heavy, inexpensive enough and working simply roll the die and give a try.
 
Cheapskate here. For CDs...it's a $3 garage sale "Oritron" DVD player. Actually sounds pretty good, and it had the remote!:)
 
I have a LOT of CDs still and play them almost every day. I tend to visit all the pawn shops, thrift stores and Goodwill's at least once a week. About 6 months ago I came across a minty Sony ES CD player that I am using as my daily player in the study. It is by far the best I have had since my Rega Jupiter was stolen.

I have 4 other systems in the house and 2 of them use Blu-Ray players as the main source for music. While I don't listen to much music on them (in the master bedroom and its porch) I don't notice any difference in sound quality when I do listen to a CD.

At my age it is more about aesthetics in some rooms and sound quality in others. After I got divorced, it was all about SQ. Today, WAF is more in play. LOL
 
Lark said:
Hello everyone. I'm asking for some advice here, and I hope I'm in the right place. I'm getting back into vintage hi-fi, and a lot of my source music is on cd. My main question is: when looking for a good used player to play my cd's on, am I better off with a cd player, or are the newer dvd/blueray players the way to go? Also, if I'm not in the right place here, please forgive a newbie and steer me in the right direction.

Long story short - I was outta the music thing for a good 25 years because of kids, marriage, divorce, etc.. I am just getting my feet wet again. I like the vintage stuff, and have several different receivers, amps, speaker pairs, etc. I will be visiting here often in the future, learning and educating myself. My main rig right now is a Rotel RX-2001, a Realistic CD-1500, Teac V-35 cassette player, paired with Dynaco Model 25's and Grafyx Model 10's w/walnut cabinets. I have several other components that I'll be playing around with, figuring out what sounds best and just having some fun again.

I'm really anxious to play with the SX-939 Pioneer and STR-6800SD Sony. I also bought a mint Onkyo Model A-10, but I've never ran an amp that wasn't a receiver combo, so I gotta study up on that. I admitted I'm an amatuer, ok? I'm late in the game, but I'm still eager to play. I know Sansui speakers get a bad rap, but I have a sweet spot for them, for some reason. I actually think the SP-2000 and 3000 that I have, sound pretty good. I've paired them with the Dynacos' and also Paradigm 5se, and I think they sound fine.

Back to the original question - what's my best option for playing my cd's on the above mentioned gear? Bear in mind that I'm not picky or particular on how it looks - I'm wanting the best sound. I frequent the goodwills and thrift stores around my city, and see stuff all the time, but don't know which way I should go.

I just passed up on a Philips DVP-3960 and a Sony DVP-SR210P today at the local goodwill, and I'm wondering if I should go back and snag em. Not a big deal, stuff like that comes around all the time. I coulda got em both for under $20. Am I better off with the vintage players from the time period? I would think with technology the way it is, there would be an advantage to the newer stuff, but I just don't know enough about how they work yet, to understand what I'm looking for.

I've loved music all my life, just never had the time til now to figure out how all this stuff works together. I know this is a long post, but I know there are some guys out there, maybe some retired audiophiles, that like to get on here and read these kinda things, and help a brother out. That's the way I am, anyways.

I plan on paying the subscriber fee and becoming a full-fledged member here in the very near future. I appreciate all the help I've gotten so far, and have even put my two cents in a couple of times when researching other topics on components. I'm old school, and still figuring out how to navigate my way around on this site as well. I want to figure out how to get into bartertown, so I can get some of the gear I've been wanting all my life, without getting raked by astronomical prices. I've wanted an SX-1280 or 1980 for damn near 40 years now, and now that I can actually get one, the prices are astronomical. Sign of the times, I reckon. I am in Ohio, so if there are any fellow audiophiles in my neck of the woods that would like to talk stereo equipment sometime, I'm always game. I'm really wanting to have a great sounding system in my home, but I wanna do it right, without having to go through a whole lot of trial and error. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
You've got some great equipment there. I own a SX-939, which is a beast - second best receiver Pioneer made at that time. I also own SP-2000s, A-25s, and Paradigm Model 3se's. Many people end their search with the Dynacos or Paradigms, because they sound so good. The 3se's are one of my favorite speakers I own (the 5se is just a little bigger). The A-25s are in my keeper stack, too. I like the SP-2000s as well, however I like a speaker with a more refined sound than those provide for my main systems (I still think they sound pretty good though).

As far as CD players, I like the old school build quality and look of older CD players. A nice CD player from yesteryear will still sound nice today. But newer DVD/CD players generally have improved DACs, and improved reliability. I found a $2k (in 2000) Toshiba DVD player that I use as my CD player for very cheap. I wouldn't buy a lightweight DVD player just to get something new - get something with some weight to it as it will likely last longer and has better build quality (the drives can get noisy in lesser units). Those two players you mentioned are in the lightweight category, and I'd pass. They probably sound fine, but I personally like a bit better build quality. And all that being said, I run most of my players through an external DAC these days, so I buy players with a good, smooth disc drive and good build quality that have a digital output, which includes vintage and new.
 
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Welcome to the AK Community!

Best to you on your CD player search. The 'hunt' is always the fun part and you'll find a lot of great info here. :)
 
I'd recommend a DVD/SACD/CD player. They are versatile and have good digital to analog converters. I use an Oppo BDP-93 for all three functions and it performs well.

Eventually you could rip all your CD's into lossless digital files and play them from a small computer into your vintage equipment.

Welcome to AK.
 
Consider looking for a bargain on a newer "smart" blu-ray player with wi-fi that includes streaming capabilities and allows you to play FLAC files from a USB thumb drive or from your PC. Lots of music to discover and handling a CD really is obsolete.

Good luck!
 
Having read about the Sony ES line of equipment, if one showed up near me I would snag it out of curiosity, for a reasonable price. I am using an Oppo cd/dvd model that is working well at the moment.
 
If I were starting from scratch these days I'd probably just go with a transport and an external DAC.
For a transport I'd use something like the Cambridge CXC transport.
For a DAC I'm a fan of vintage R2R DACs like the Parasound & Adcom units that use the PCM63 DAC.
But something like one of the Schiit MB units would be perfectly acceptable to me as well.

That said I did buy a new Yamaha CD-S300RK CDP for my rack enclosure system.
Mostly bought it "just in case" I ever needed something to play higher res. material.
But I dont actually own any high res. stuff so that's probably never gonna be used for that.

Me,,,I'm a redbook only kinda guy...

So largely the Yamaha CDP will mostly be used as transport into my Parasound D/AC-1000.
Hence why I'd just cut the chase from the get-go,BTDT and the lesson learned.

JM2¢ ~ YMMV

As for vintage CDP's,I tend to stick with the Philps/Magnavox/Marantz CDP's that use the TDA1541 DACs & CDM transports.
But I do also have a couple of other CDP's around here that use the PCM DAC's as well,but those use the less reliable Sony KSS transports.
Vintage CDP's are one of those deals where you'll get opinions that all over the map.
So doing one's homework there is well advised.

Probably the best source of info for vintage CDP's is the Dutch Audio Classics website here >>> http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/

HTH

Bret P.
 
musichal said:
And now I read it. Nicely done. You write much better than most who begin with a wall of text, which makes it apparent that you knew better in the first place. :)

Since you intend to subscribe soon, my advice is to wait until you can browse Barter Town, where you will periodically see some of the better used CD players appear for sale. Also, some of the best ones tend to weigh more than most, so if you find a heavier one in a thrift, you should research it online and post the model in this thread for comment to figure out whether to purchase. Or if it is heavy, inexpensive enough and working simply roll the die and give a try.
Click to expand...

Thanks again. I just didn't think about it when I posted it. After reading a couple of comments about it though, I re-read it and saw exactly what people were talking about. My concern, on the cd player, was how they work and what they do. I read a couple posts on other threads where guys had said something about a "compression factor", and how even a cheapo blue-ray player was much better than even the best older, vintage cd players.?
Again, I'm just getting back into this, and as time goes on and I continue to read up on things, I will learn how all of this stuff works. Not only as an individual component, but also together in different combinations.
When I added the Dynaco Model 25's to the main rig, and put on Steely Dans' "Aja" cd, I heard things in Deacon Blues that I'd never heard before. THAT was exceptionally cool. Just trying to get the most, and best, out of what I have. If a cheapo blue-ray player reveals even more, I'm all ears. Pun intended. Gave me the urge to go buy a good bottle of Scotch and take the '68 Impala SS out for a cruise. Lol
 
xero-D-hero said:
If I were starting from scratch these days I'd probably just go with a transport and an external DAC.
For a transport I'd use something like the Cambridge CXC transport.
For a DAC I'm a fan of vintage R2R DACs like the Parasound & Adcom units that use the PCM63 DAC.
But something like one of the Schiit MB units would be perfectly acceptable to me as well.

That said I did buy a new Yamaha CD-S300RK CDP for my rack enclosure system.
Mostly bought it "just in case" I ever needed something to play higher res. material.
But I dont actually own any high res. stuff so that's probably never gonna be used for that.

Me,,,I'm a redbook only kinda guy...

So largely the Yamaha CDP will mostly be used as transport into my Parasound D/AC-1000.
Hence why I'd just cut the chase from the get-go,BTDT and the lesson learned.

JM2¢ ~ YMMV

As for vintage CDP's,I tend to stick with the Philps/Magnavox/Marantz CDP's that use the TDA1541 DACs & CDM transports.
But I do also have a couple of other CDP's around here that use the PCM DAC's as well,but those use the less reliable Sony KSS transports.
Vintage CDP's are one of those deals where you'll get opinions that all over the map.
So doing one's homework there is well advised.

Probably the best source of info for vintage CDP's is the Dutch Audio Classics website here >>> http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/

HTH

Bret P.
Click to expand...
Ok, I've read several posts on threads that mention transports and DAC's. I have no idea what that is, so I'm gonna have to read up on that, too. Sounds expensive. I'm guessing DAC is short for "digital analog converter".? Also, what is a "redbook" cd? Appreciate the help as I continue my education on this journey.
 
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