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Best budget CD player

As I mentioned before the 5501 PS1 seems to read cdr's much better than
the 1001. Not sure why that is? It also seems to have a smoother tone
while still having detail.
If your looking for a cd player to find the last minute detail then the PS1 is
not for you. What is does have is low listener fatigue. When powered by a
cheap solid state receiver it's almost like listening to a tube system on
vinyl. For 5-20 bucks at a thrift or a yard sale it's fun to listen to.
If someone had a bright system with a reflective room it might be a welcome
relief. As far as the controller goes purchase a wirless remote for the PS2 it
works great.
 
I just got back with mine. I quickly hooked it up to a Marantz 2230. Sounds quite nice. Then into DIY Magnavox tube amp with Dynaco PAS 2. I've never used a CDP with that system so I have nothing to compare it to bit it sounds quite nice. A smooth compliment to the tubes.

It played the three burned CD-Rs that I tried.

The controller doesn't work very well so I may try to find a PS2 controller.

At any rate, it's better than most of the thrift store units that I've had and not bad for twenty bucks. I'll do some comparisons later.
 
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Playstation 1

Hooked mine up today. Initial impression: very nice warmth; detail on CDs that I had not heard on my low end Sony and Onkyo CDPs (e.g. wood winds previously very recessed have become much more prominent); firm, tight bass.
I will see how it is over time. Have ordered wireless control.
 
bluesky said:
NAD C-515BEE ($300).
It sounds 'really' nice!
I absolutely love mine and it didn't break-the-bank.
Click to expand...

New ones are now out of stock, probably because they came out with the 516 BEE, at the same price. Maybe left overs stock may appear cheap soon.
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/nad-announces-c-516bee-cd-player/
http://www.ecoustics.com/products/nad-c-516bee-cd-player/

I assume it will take the place of cheapest cdp in Stereophile, What HiFi etc.

The 515 can be found used near $200. Not just ebay, but US Audio Mart, Asylum Trader…I found mine on Agon. Really, I could have just paid a little more and got new with warranty.
 
Okay, I picked up an A/V cable for my PS1 1001 and am comparing the RCA jack output vs the A/V jack output. I do get the impression that the A/V output has a bit better detail and resolution, but I don't know how much of that to credit to listening bias. On some Otis Spahn blues piano, the piano notes seem to have a little more edge via the A/V outputs. But maybe the output voltages are not exactly the same. Usually if the volume is a bit louder on one, this is exactly what jumps out.

But my impression after switching my way through 4 songs, is that I like the A/V output a little bit better.

As to my not owning any CD-Rs, yes that is true. Every single CD I own, all 800'ish of them, are pre-recorded CDs.

I purchased my Marantz CD-63SE new and have always liked it It's in my bedroom system now. Not as open and transparent as the best CD players or DACs, but not grating or harsh in anyway.

As to the Sony CDP-101, well, can't say I'm a fan. I think it was quite an achievement in its day, but to my ears it has a compressed soundstage and some tinniness to the highs. But just like speakers, each person decides what sounds good to them.
 
JohnMac said:
I just got back with mine. I quickly hooked it up to a Marantz 2230. Sounds quite nice. Then into DIY Magnavox tube amp with Dynaco PAS 2. I've never used a CDP with that system so I have nothing to compare it to bit it sounds quite nice. A smooth compliment to the tubes.

It played the three burned CD-Rs that I tried.

The controller doesn't work very well so I may try to find a PS2 controller.

At any rate, it's better than most of the thrift store units that I've had and not bad for twenty bucks. I'll do some comparisons later.
Click to expand...

The CDP could probably drive the Maggie directly without a pre if it has variable level output or an input pot on the Maggie, you owe it to yourself to try it like that,
 
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Brindabella said:
I have wrongly hated the sound of cd players and digital music in general. However, acknowledge there convenience. My prejudice of digital resulted in me not buying a cd player until 1999 and then it was those Sony carousel 400 cd stacker's. Every other cd player I have bought since is one of those 5 cd draw styles.

My contempt of digital music and bottom end purchasing resulted in me getting exactly what I deserved cheap, harsh, brittle, fatiguing sound. Fourteen years later and now with a large collection of cds which are my main listening source (again just from a convenience perspective). A few years ago I thought I could up grade the sound of my existing cd players by investing in a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic. I was again underwhelmed.

After joining AK I began to understand that digital music from an audio listening experience has been largely disappointing, including the advent of the 'loudness wars'. More over, given all the models of cd players that have been released since 1982 it seems less then 20 or so models have genuinely stood out eg. Marantz 84. Then there is the debate of the original cd players from Sony, Marantz and Phillips which have a strong following.

For my own edification a couple of months ago I bought a Sony CDP-101 first gen cd player as an alternative to going hi-end. First, I was amazed at the weight of the unit but more importantly I amazed at the musicality of the sound. Yes, it is true I can hear the roll-off of the treble, slight muddiness of an extended base and processing speed in some music. However, these were small trade-offs for the sheer magic my ears were experiencing. The difference to me was day and night.

I will never buy another secondhand cd player unless it is a regarded and acknowledged classic.

My other options are to now investigate the variety of new tube cd players coming out of China or alternatively a DAC to improve my current/existing cd transports. It would be nice if my Sony 400 stacker's could match the sound of the CDP-101 or better it.

I read that the op went for a playstation, but I thought I would include my 2 cents knowing I still have a lot more to learn.
Click to expand...

Cool post.
 
eddantes said:
I would like to offer up the Oppo DV-981HD.
It can be had for around $50 and it also offers CD, HDCD, DVD-A and SACD capability.

dv981hd_home.gif
Click to expand...

-----:thmbsp: :music:
 
I have an OPPO 980H in my HT. It does play cd's well. I have to admit I use a 2 channel cd player for 2 channel though. Still, for that price, a steal.
 
My brother, bless his soul, donated a new playstation to our cottage system... it's the most annoyingly difficult to operate POS I think I've ever encountered! It's way too much trouble to use it to play movies, let alone fiddle around with it for CDs. Out of courtesy to him, and so that he can pull e-flix movies, I've left it in place, but I still have an old Rega Planet there for playing CDs.

In response to the OP, I think a Rega Planet is a VERY good CDP, even compared to many current offerings. It's a very smooth sounding player, but still has excellent dynamics, and detail. They are durable, and I like the unique & simple top loading mechanism... and they don't cost an arm & a leg either.
 
There are few DVD players with good CD sound that can be had for cheap these days, with people with better systems swapping them for BD players and stream players. PHILIPS Cineos DVP 9000 sounds great, even has DSD processing for audio CDs. If you're lucky, it will read SACDs (if you're not, the first thing that goes is the SACD layer selection, but the laser will still work well with CD and DVD discs for months or even years)
Panasonic DVD-S75 is another really good one with CD playback, and this one is really cheap. I bought mine for 20 dollars. Plays DVDA, but not SACD
Cambridge Audio DVD 89 also sounds very good with CDs, plays SACD and DVDA, has HDCD decoder. Very similar to Oppo.

Other multiformat players I tried (Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony) sound OK with CDs, but that's about it, they wouldn't beat a dedicated CDP in the same price range. The three above would. And I mean the original retail prices, not the 20-100 dollars they go for second hand.

A very good recent CDP is Onkyo C-S5VL. Retails for about 400 dollars and beats everything in its price range. I bought it used for 120 dollars, best money I've ever spent on a CDP. Even has a good headphone amp.
 
I mostly listen to files, but I find cheap Sonys at the thrifts and flea markets that will last me forever (I have 2 or 3 that I paid less than $10 each for).

2 cents' worth.
 
+1 on cheap old Sonys. Very hard to kill. I sometimes buy them for replacement laser heads and mechanisms. And higher non-ES models (CDP-7xx, CDP-9xx) actually sound OK in budget systems.
 
I think Kodak was the original inventor back in 1973ish and then archived the technology determining it had no commercial value. Phillips/Marantz bought the rights to the technology and in partnership with Sony invested to re-apply what Kodak had achieved to date.

Ah, poor Kodak, an amazingly wonderful company, so incredibly inventive. But Kodak had an Achilles heel, they only promoted from within the organisation, mostly scientists. Problem with that for Kodak was the failure and skill base to combine and apply pure R&D with a commercial disposition to many of its scientific breakthroughs.

Kodak has gone down as one of the smartest R&D companies of all time, shame they were so inwardly thinking.

Before you all shoot me, I am pretty sure I read that somewhere on the net, and of course we all know what is written on the net is the whole truth and nothing but the truth :D
 
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iramegdal said:
Hooked mine up today. Initial impression: very nice warmth; detail on CDs that I had not heard on my low end Sony and Onkyo CDPs (e.g. wood winds previously very recessed have become much more prominent); firm, tight bass.
I will see how it is over time. Have ordered wireless control.
Click to expand...

Seriously, leave it on all the time.

JohnMac said:
I just got back with mine. I quickly hooked it up to a Marantz 2230. Sounds quite nice. Then into DIY Magnavox tube amp with Dynaco PAS 2. I've never used a CDP with that system so I have nothing to compare it to bit it sounds quite nice. A smooth compliment to the tubes.

It played the three burned CD-Rs that I tried.

The controller doesn't work very well so I may try to find a PS2 controller.

At any rate, it's better than most of the thrift store units that I've had and not bad for twenty bucks. I'll do some comparisons later.
Click to expand...

Cool, I love mine. Again, leave it on.

HatchetJack said:
As I mentioned before the 5501 PS1 seems to read cdr's much better than
the 1001. Not sure why that is? It also seems to have a smoother tone
while still having detail.
If your looking for a cd player to find the last minute detail then the PS1 is
not for you. What is does have is low listener fatigue. When powered by a
cheap solid state receiver it's almost like listening to a tube system on
vinyl. For 5-20 bucks at a thrift or a yard sale it's fun to listen to.
If someone had a bright system with a reflective room it might be a welcome
relief. As far as the controller goes purchase a wirless remote for the PS2 it
works great.
Click to expand...

Very well written post. Exactly. However, i have both models, and without getting inside the 5501 to hardwire some rca's, that a/v output didn't do it for me. I A/B'd them both till I was blue in the face.

The 1001 was better on everything.

Your results may vary, but both sound better than they have a right to.
 
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