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A good cd-player for my system?

R

Robzt

New Member
Hi everyone!

As newbie i need some help finding a good cd-player for my system. I'm new in this business, but currently my system looks like this:

Integrated Amp: Cambridge Audio Azur 540A
Speakers: A pair of DALI IKON On-Wall MK2
Subwoofer: DALI Trio Sub

DALI = Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries

I have played the music from my computer on a decent soundcard since i got my system but have tried my moms cd-player for a while which is a SONY CDP-761. I like the sound. It's very smooth and the bass is nice and deep. But since my mom wants her cd-player back, I am looking for a new one! Do you have any sugestions for a cd-player which doesn't cost more than about 200$ or I perhaps can find used on the net? Although my budget is tight feel free to suggest cd-players which cost above my budget. One day I might find it used.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
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Teac still makes a new single disc machine. IIRC its about 160usd. Also a number of other brands still make them but they are pricey.

If you are looking for a used player then the options are endless.
 
Think I'd lean more towards the above mentioned new Teac, although never actually heard it. Problem with used players, is the laser assembly and rubber isolation parts tend to go over the years, sometimes making them very susceptible to external vibration causing them to skip. My systems large/powerful with lots of hard hitting deep bass, so know a few things about this. Since you're asking for advice, mines getting a new one, no matter the brand.
 
Under that price upper bound you may look for a Cambridge Audio CD 4 SE (the SE is important!), a Denon DCD-XXXX (4 digits, the larger the better, e.g., 1500 or larger) or Philips/Magnavox of the late 80's (like Philips CD-350).
 
guiller said:
Under that price upper bound you may look for a Cambridge Audio CD 4 SE (the SE is important!), a Denon DCD-XXXX (4 digits, the larger the better, e.g., 1500 or larger) or Philips/Magnavox of the late 80's (like Philips CD-350).
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Have to agree with Guiller on the Denon DCD models. I own a 1520 and it will die w/me. Just be aware of the little problems if you choose one. Short of a laser going bad you have to keep the sled clean and lubed. With mine it is a two time a year process. Which takes all of 30 minutes to clean/lube/re-assembly process. But the tunes it can give are more than worth the effort given.

There are a plethora of newer players out there that will surpass the Denon, but they will dig deeper, much deeper, into your wallet.
 
Thanks for all your expertise!

Now I have another question before i decide which one to buy. Do you have any experience with the brand Technics? I have found a couple of cd-players by them around my neighbourhood for sale. So I am wondering if they a worth looking at? e.g. the SL-PS670A and SL-PG390.
 
Robzt said:
Thanks for all your expertise!

Now I have another question before i decide which one to buy. Do you have any experience with the brand Technics? I have found a couple of cd-players by them around my neighbourhood for sale. So I am wondering if they a worth looking at? e.g. the SL-PS670A and SL-PG390.
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Everything audio is worth looking @ and listening to, it's the price that is the deciding factor.
 
Just adding a bit to the above responses. I was using a Denon 1520 then a Phillips 950 in my large system, and both became skip city from the bass after a few years. Using a Panasonic DVD/Audio player now, and easily creams them all. My advice again, buy a brand new factory fresh player.
 
The old Technics players are very good. I have one that sounded as good as my Rega Apollo ($1000 USD) when I A/B'd the two but with a little more thump in the bass if I'm not mistaken and that's a 1 bit DAC while the Apollo has a 24 bit DAC. I thought the bigger DAC would make all the difference in sound quality but apparently not always. Before the early-mid 90's, they used really good DAC's in CD players that will rival very expensive high end players of today. But I also have a Pioneer Changer made in 1992 that has a 1 bit DAC and there's a very noticeable difference in sound quality between that and these other two machines - that is, with the other two, the sound is less recessed and comes through with more punch, volume, clarity, whatever you want to call it. Cambridge makes excellent CD players for around $3-400 IIRC
 
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ZebraBlvd said:
Have to agree with Guiller on the Denon DCD models. I own a 1520 and it will die w/me. Just be aware of the little problems if you choose one. Short of a laser going bad you have to keep the sled clean and lubed. With mine it is a two time a year process. Which takes all of 30 minutes to clean/lube/re-assembly process. But the tunes it can give are more than worth the effort given.

There are a plethora of newer players out there that will surpass the Denon, but they will dig deeper, much deeper, into your wallet.
Click to expand...

Along those same lines, the old Denon DVD-5000 that I use in one of my systems is an excellent CD player. A former top line DVD/cd player that you can pick up cheaply because it's pretty useless as a DVD player now. But it has an excellent output stage and very nice DAC that can, as an added benefit, be used by itself with coax or optical inputs, and will deal with 24/96 digital files. I've used it like thatand it's great.
 
JohnVF said:
Along those same lines, the old Denon DVD-5000 that I use in one of my systems is an excellent CD player. A former top line DVD/cd player that you can pick up cheaply because it's pretty useless as a DVD player now. But it has an excellent output stage and very nice DAC that can, as an added benefit, be used by itself with coax or optical inputs, and will deal with 24/96 digital files. I've used it like thatand it's great.
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Your comment surprised me: are you saying that a Denon DVD-5000 can be had for less than 200 $ (the OP requested budget)?
 
guiller said:
Your comment surprised me: are you saying that a Denon DVD-5000 can be had for less than 200 $ (the OP requested budget)?
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I've seen them sell for about that, yes, though mine was a bit more (not a whole lot more, but I don't remember the exact price). Most people around here seem to avoid them because they're not strictly a CD player, and the DVD part is avoided because it's not progressive scan. This machine was once $2500, and has a really beefy power supply (even has heat sinks on the back). There is also the notion that a cheaper modern player sounds as good as a 15 year old high end player. My ears disagree. The DAC in this thing is very nice.

It does not sound as good as my modern high-end CD/SACD players, but it is quite capable and better, to my ears, than my Cambridge 640vII.

If somebody does find one, check the transport. Mine works but is really finicky about disc damage (but I use it most often with a separate transport that is more forgiving, and a computer through a Musical Fidelity V-link usb-coax interface playing AIFF and higher resolution FLAC).
 
JohnVF said:
I've seen them sell for about that, yes, though mine was a bit more (not a whole lot more, but I don't remember the exact price). Most people around here seem to avoid them because they're not strictly a CD player, and the DVD part is avoided because it's not progressive scan. This machine was once $2500, and has a really beefy power supply (even has heat sinks on the back). There is also the notion that a cheaper modern player sounds as good as a 15 year old high end player. My ears disagree. The DAC in this thing is very nice.

It does not sound as good as my modern high-end CD/SACD players, but it is quite capable and better, to my ears, than my Cambridge 640vII.

If somebody does find one, check the transport. Mine works but is really finicky about disc damage (but I use it most often with a separate transport that is more forgiving, and a computer through a Musical Fidelity V-link usb-coax interface playing AIFF and higher resolution FLAC).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed data and comments! :thmbsp:

PS: in Germany they seem to go for higher prices, at least on eBay : http://cgi.ebay.de/Denon-DVD-5000-D...88?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item4cf96b3d8c
 
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Listen what I have done. Since the blue ray showed up, there has been many top quality DVD players for sale at very low price. Any of them sound better than any entry level cd player. I mean top quality DVD such as Arcam, Pioneer Elite, etc. I have sold my cd players and have an Arcam DVD player that I got for 150 in Ebay and a Pioneer Elite that got for only $9 in the GoodWill. Both sound better that all the Cd players I have owned. Of course, both units were more than $1000 new.
 
NAD C515BEE (cd 'only' player)

It's a really fine sounding machine. $300.

I was really suprised on how great it really does sound. It's nice!
 
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