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CD players that aren't 20 years old

G

guitarjunkie

Active Member
My area has a good supply of used CD players, all in the 20-year old range.
Currently playing a Luxman (which seems to sound worse lately and a JVC, both consumer units) If I were to seek out a player that would be a sonic upgrade from these, what units would I be looking for?
Mike
 
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Try finding a Cambridge Audio early model, for example, the CD 4 SE (the SE is much better than the standard CD 4 model), from the early 90´s. That model was listed in Stereophile recommended components list, and can be found today quite cheaply (I´ve got one for 50 $ a couple of years ago).
 
Look for the Toshiba SD-3950 DVD player. I've got one and it's pretty amazing.

You can also tweak it if you want. Look it up online and you'll find out a lot of info about it.

I got mine for $20. They can go for more if the person realizes that audiophiles are looking for it.

Good luck! :thmbsp:
 
guitarjunkie said:
My area has a good supply of used CD players, all in the 20-year old range.
Currently playing a Luxman (which seems to sound worse lately and a JVC, both consumer units) If I were to seek out a player that would be a sonic upgrade from these, what units would I be looking for?
Mike
Click to expand...

A standalone/external DAC.
 
tiga said:
Really? Any model in particular? I have a Sony upconverting dvd player but I haven't tried is a CDP yet.
Click to expand...

They have at least two at Best Buy under $50 that I would have to believe would be better than my 8 year old Sony DVD player.

It sounds great as a CD player.
Though I do like the three JVC CD players I have.

It was my first thought when I read the thread, so I posted it.

Rob
 
The flagship Denon universal players are pretty good as a CDP, expecially if you like a warm, laid back sound. Since blu ray came out the prices on them have tumbled.

Mark
 
I've had luck with any number of Sonys in the 20+ year old range. That's when they built their stuff like a tank. I just bought a CDP-291 for $5 at a Montesori School Thrift. It sounds excellent after I cleaned it up a bit. The CDP-470 I have also was a thrift find. It plays great, but has an issue with the carriage. Late 90's Sony ES stuff is pretty affordable now. I've had the XA3ES single player since new in 1996. It's a solid performer and still works like the day I bought it. I paid close to $800 for it then. You could probably get one for $100 or so now. Old Sony CD players are long lifers for sure.
 
I agree a stand-alone DAC makes a lot of sense when upgrading (provided you have a good transport)

But for dedicated players, I would steer clear of DVD players altogether and go for something like a Cambridge or NAD, or if you like something a bit more forward and detailed, a Rotel RCD 1070 or RCD 1072

They offer a lot of performance for the money when purchased used. I think they are around $350 now, or half of the original selling price.

From this review of the 1070:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/rotel-rcd1070_e.html
"The 1070's midrange and bass are excellent, with pinpoint definition from drums to vocal harmonies. I'm able to pick out individual instrument sounds, for example the sound of fingers deadening the sound of a triangle in the middle of a symphony, picks on strings, the live sounds of a stick on a high-hat, that I don't recall really hearing with previous Rotels in their prime or with any DVD player that I've used. Hey baby, it's a groove thing that the 1070 has down! This is a level of sonic sophistication that was quite simply impossible in a one box CD player made even 5, let alone 10, years ago at any price. "

and this review of the 1072:
http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/rotel_rcd1072_2009.htm

"How did the Rotel RCD-1072 sound? In a word, vibrant. In another, enthusiastic. Or, in two more, incredibly detailed. This player was no aural wallflower -- its sound sparkled and glimmered. With the right speakers and associated equipment, that can be a very good thing; but with the high-energy midrange of my NEAR speakers, it was sometimes too much of a good thing."
 
I would steer clear of cheap DVD players as well. The last three DVD players I've had, Denon, Samsung (both decent on DVD) and a $50 Panasonic (terrible on all formats but it's all region and I could watch the movies I picked up in London and my girlfriend's Bollywood crap) were not very good on CD. They were easily bested by my 10 year old Sony CD player/recorder and Cambridge 640c v2.

A DAC makes a lot of sense. I've started looking at them myself to replace the Cambridge Audio unit.
 
guitarjunkie said:
d-90
Click to expand...

Cool. They had one at my local thrift last week for a good price. I did not grab it since it is very similar to the D-103, which I already own. They are both Toshiba-based, they contain many Toshiba IC's and the laser unit is Toshiba. Both are well-built and heavier than the average CDP.

I don't know about the D-90, but my D-103 is pretty awesome and sounds good. If your D-90 seems to be a bit out of shape, perhaps a re-cap could be in order. If it's still playing CD's fine and the laser unit seems healthy enough, it's worth getting it back up on it's feet!

az
 
My advice is to buy the best redbook CDP you can afford, used or new. My personal experiences with DVD players have always yielded inferior sound and as for the external DACs, my personal impression is that the sound frequently becomes too much dependent on the gear you use, although well defined, with good dynamic range, etc. Besides this, people mention clocking issues. Naim, a high end CDP brand didn't provide any digital output until very recently and exposed similar reasons for doing that.
 
i have a Sony Blu-Ray player that can play CDs just as good as my 80s Hitachi CD player in terms of sound quality, and has digital audio outputs.
i like it, but for some reason i just like to have a dedicated analog cd player, even though they sound the same
 
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