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Better sound from quality CD player?

js1138 said:
Here I'm going to differ again. Aside from portable CD players, the one bad player I've heard was a rather recent "upconverting" DVD player. This same player sounded fine from its toslink output.

I have no argument with the claim that DACs sound different.
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I've been to many homes and meets where DVD players were used as sources and they sounded fine. The OP asked for, and I highlighted "best sound for the buck", and a $10 used DVD player certainly is worth listening to and considering.

Ultimately, the choice is his, but that's certainly a worthy place to start...
 
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I'd recommend the Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray player as the best "bang for the buck" player out there. You can pick this player up for $100.00 brand-new. It plays CD, DVD, and SACD (and even output DSD thru its HDMI output).It has been raved about in the British Hi-Fi press (What Hi Fi and Hi-Fi World) for its sound quality.
 
Obviously, there's no 'consensus' on this topic - as forum-goers prove every few days.
When I read: "I want to upgrade my system and I plan to spend at least $xxxx " , I think: "I want a more reliable car and I plan to spend at least $200K"....
The cost really, really has little to do with the performance.

One caution about used high-end CDPs: People who buy 'better' CDPs also tend to use them more than the average, so the laser and mechanical components may have less than expected life remaining. We're all searching for the 'little old lady who only drove it a couple of times a year', I think.....
 
About using a DVD player for playing CDs...
I've used a couple of (not recent) DVD players for music (in workshop, etc) and both of them took quite a long time figuring out what type of disk was in the player.

Has this improved in recent players?

BTW, I have a Rotel 1072 CDP and though I'm not convinced it sounds any better than other older CDPs I own (using external DAC), the control button layout is excellent- both on the front of the player and on the remote. It's only a couple of years old, so I can't comment on the reliability issue.
 
To much info for my brain.....
Although I am not discounting any new technology (I own an ipod ect) I just want a nice player that is compatible with my old AU-D11 II. This old amp is my main amp in my man cave. And it has a DA input for a CD player. My other amps in the cave do not.
And since I can't listen in the family room where the newer Yamaha receiver lives I would like something that would fit in with the older equipment.
I am going to check out a few units tomorrow.
 
I used to own a Phillips, I believe the model was 930. With careful shopping, I picked it up in the $400-$500 range. Prior to it, I'd owned a couple of Sony ES CDPs and I liked the Phillips better. A real giant-killer in my mind. In fact, I liked it so much, I bought a second one to use as the source in a headphones-only system. I eventually replaced the Phillips with a $6500 McIntosh. Was the Mc 16 times better than the Phillips? Certainly not but the difference was/is substantial - like night and day. All the detail and utter lack of noise we expect from CDs remained but gone was any hint of the bright, sterile sound I felt I was experiencing from CDs after I had "rediscovered" my love for the analog warmth of LPs. My CDs now have this beautiful, rich, luxurious sound. My CD collection suddenly became relevant again after my listening habits had taken an extreme swing into LPs. I now love both formats and I'm a very happy camper. The bottom line is that a move way up the CDP food chain resulted in a huge improvement for me. As usual, YMMV.
 
OneMalt said:
I eventually replaced the Phillips with a $6500 McIntosh. Was the Mc 16 times better than the Phillips? Certainly not but the difference was/is substantial - like night and day. All the detail and utter lack of noise we expect from CDs remained but gone was any hint of the bright, sterile sound I felt I was experiencing from CDs after I had "rediscovered" my love for the analog warmth of LPs. My CDs now have this beautiful, rich, luxurious sound. My CD collection suddenly became relevant again after my listening habits had taken an extreme swing into LPs. I now love both formats and I'm a very happy camper. The bottom line is that a move way up the CDP food chain resulted in a huge improvement for me. As usual, YMMV.
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My own experience goes along the same lines, but I keep it as a work-in-progress as there is still some room for improvement. But now I enjoy my cds in a way that before wasn´t possible to me.
 
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