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CD player: Better to buy new lower-end, or older higher-end?

K

K-wey

New Member
I'm getting back into the lower reaches of hi-fi after several decades away. Help me spend my money wisely.

New CD player is needed. Budget $350-400 or so. Am I better off with:

- New CD player with more modern DAC chip, such as NAD or Cambridge Audio?

- Or older higher-end player like Rega that now sells used for much less? Better transport, but maybe older & less advanced DAC chip?

Am I viewing this sensibly? I'm still learning this stuff.

Help and advice welcome. Current rig is CD player straight into 400wpc QSC RMX 1450 then to Magnepan 3.6Rs. No pre-amp.

=K
 
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Personally I would only buy a CD player new. Transport mechanisms wear with use and parts availability can be a serious issue with an older unit should issues develop. Laser pickups can also fail. On all but the very finest hi-fi systems you're very unlikely to detect any significant difference in sound quality between most any good quality CD player IMHO.
 
Its a very sensible question. I bought an older Denon DVD-9000 for less than I paid for a demo Cambridge Audio 640pV2...and I like the Denon much better from a sound quality standpoint. The problem is, the transport is kind of wonky. It usually works but sometimes it protests or skips. I use it with the Cambridge as a transport now, as it has an input into its DAC.

I don't know that it can be answered beyond a case by case basis. There's good older players out there. I don't think that DACs have come as far as some say they have in the past ten years. My 10 year old Sony recorder also sounds better to me than the Cambridge unit.
 
prisoners said:
Good answer. The new cd players from Cambridge Audio are very impressive sounding.
Click to expand...

034pi.jpg


http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=374

Worth every penny, IMHO. I decided to upgrade my CDP before all the closeout models on Amazon dried up. Happy Birthday, Valentines Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Fathers Day to me. :smoke:

The Azur 650C is a little more than your budget for a new CDP, but it's a well regarded piece. Something also to consider is checking out Bartertown as a subscriber for $25. Someone may have a gently used high end CDP available if you ask in a thread.
 
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I recently purchased the Onkyo C-S5VL CD player from Amazon. It has the Wolfson WM8742 DAC which provides anti-jitter capabilities, and 5 digital filter modes which, by altering the bitstream into the DAC, provides subtle, but noticeable tweaks to the quality of the sound. It doesn't have an all metal transport, however barring any accidents or infant mortality issues, it should outlast me, anyway. It also provides optical and co-axial digital outputs, along with the normal analog outs, and it plays SACD, Redbook CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD, and WMA CD.

FYI only. Good luck in the hunt!

:D
 
I can vouch for the fact that you never know when a laser pickup head will go out - regardless of quality. If I'm spending $350-$400, I'd look new.

$35 at Goodwill is another story...
 
I think you could go either way if you do your homework.

When i bought my current Rotel RCD 991 from my local shop for $350, they said they'd choose it over anything they had new in stock up to $500 and the 991 was $1,500 back in the late 90's

Point being, if there's any truth in what they say (and they are trusted old-timers in the field). You can now get for $500 what would have cost 3 times that 15 years ago.

Just my $0.02.

let us know what you decide.
 
Buy a good, solid transport (new or used) with digital output and add a high-quality DAC for the most cost effective high-quality (Redbook) CD reproduction.
 
mhardy6647 said:
Buy a good, solid transport (new or used) with digital output and add a high-quality DAC for the most cost effective high-quality (Redbook) CD reproduction.
Click to expand...

When I looked at stand-alone transports, they cost as much as most integrated players, FWIW. This is a great solution- and the most future proof- but many transports are $$. I know where you can get one for $2000 that will blow your back out!.....It's HUGE.
 
I don't think there's a good general answer to the question. Many of the lower cost units have the latest chip-sets which, depending on the rest of the circuitry, may or may not be worthwhile.

I recently acquired a Pioneer DV-563A player which handles nearly every format, sounds pretty good and has real potential for modifying/upgrading. I'm convinced that it's worth every penny I paid for it ($30). After this point, I will in all probability, be moving into some form of computer-based music server.

As I believe that Computer-Based Music Servers are the future, I've become convinced that expensive players are no longer a wise investment.
I'm sure some very nice High End decks will be appearing on the used market, so that remains an option.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
It's also not simply the DAC that contributes to the sound. What you get with many of the older TOTL players is a stout and capable analog output section/power supply/etc- which also contribute to the sound.
 
I have a Music Hall 25.2 bought new, 50% off, at $350. I also have a Sony CDP-620ES from 1986 bought for $135 last year. I have yet to tell the sonic difference between the two despite the 30-some years age difference between them. The Sony has a small squeak in the tray slide, but it's programmable. The Music Hall has a remote and digital out. So my experience is... well... I don't know.
 
Get a good DAC and a squeezebox. Convert your CD's to .flac files.

Now you have great bang for the buck. :yes:
 
As mentioned, better going new, as transport rubber isolation parts tend to harden over time, making the laser assembly very susceptible to vibration/skipping. Had this happen more than once, even on pricey units. If you ever were to buy an older unit, best auditioning it person, giving the case top and sides good knuckle wraps to see.
 
NAD C-515BEE ($300)

I was simply amazed at the CD sound quality when I first got it, and I'm a vintage analog (LP guy). And I still am amazed every time I turn it on...and it's been 2 years now.

Read the research. It's all true. It's really a very nice sounding unit, and nice looking unit too.

Mine has run flawlessly...so far. I was worried about that at first, but not any more. I don't even think about it anymore. It's nice!

For me: I prefered a NEW CD player over an old or vintage one for obvious reasons. And...seems to me CD players have come such a long way in sound quality from even 5 years ago.

The 515 really sounds great. No probs so far. I'd buy another one!

Good Luck.
 
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K-Wey, I posed the same question about 3 months ago on the board, went 16 pages. Let me tell you what I have learned since. I wanted one to go with my two old pioneer receivers, an sx-1050, and a sx-1080. I found a Kyocera da-710 from a member here and its beautiful and matches my amp perfect, it has the wood sides just like the old receivers, it costs 800. new, i got it for 150 with remote and oem box and manuel. Then i went out and bought a onkyo C-S5VL new for 350 to go with the other amp. I CANNOT tell the difference in sound and the Kyo looks way cooler with my gear. If i had newer stuff, like all black, the onkyo would look better. There is a Kyo 610 on the bay right now for 90. buy it now. I guess it depends on what your hooking it up to....Roost
 
K-wey said:
I'm getting back into the lower reaches of hi-fi after several decades away. Help me spend my money wisely.

New CD player is needed. Budget $350-400 or so. Am I better off with:

- New CD player with more modern DAC chip, such as NAD or Cambridge Audio?

- Or older higher-end player like Rega that now sells used for much less? Better transport, but maybe older & less advanced DAC chip?

Am I viewing this sensibly? I'm still learning this stuff.

Help and advice welcome. Current rig is CD player straight into 400wpc QSC RMX 1450 then to Magnepan 3.6Rs. No pre-amp.

=K
Click to expand...

With this budget a new NAD is a no brainer. :thmbsp:
 
I just got my Yamaha CDX-1110u with manual, box and remote for $75. I got a great deal, but I would have easily spent more considering the build quality. The seller said he bought it new in 1992 for over a grand! It sounds great, and even had the optional optical output.
 
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