CD player recommendation

[poppachubby]

Well my budget is low as I am looking for a job wanted to know what brands and models to look at to find deals....and maybe even think DAC...Its great having a high end system but it stinks when you have no money to buy a crucial part of it too.

Sebof thanks for that post about those models...

Again I love NAD....i would just stay away from the CDP's as I have hear a lot of stories.

While I appreciate that you want to do some general research, you really should pin down a number to work with. When you say low I assume you are in the sub 500 range.

Best bang for your buck will be used Rega or Marantz. The SA 8001 is the type of player you may never need to replace. Well built and sounds fantastic. As for Rega, the whole line sounds fantastic. The Planet would be in your reach but you should have a listen to the higher models. Their new Isis is the bomb.

 

[Old_Tech]

Got a NAD C-515BEE 'CD only' player about 5 months ago for $300 new. It's been an outstanding CD player and sounds 'unreal good'. I really love it...so far.

Sound quality is outstanding. I was very suprised with it's sound quality. It just sounds excellent in every way. Maybe I just got lucky...for once!!

I have read that this is a great sounding player I think you may be lucky having it! The next step up in the line is supposed to be nice too.

 

[Old_Tech]

What about getting a SACD player....seems like a lot of those are built pretty well even if you dont have SACD's?

The Marantz SA8003 SACD it a beautiful player you may like. The SACD is becoming very popular again with the new players that have been introduced.
I have this machine and love listening to it the sound is very musical and warm. I have been very interested in buying a DAC for the CD side of the player but have had almost no help with suggestions so I am still researching.

Finding good CD's is a bigger problem than a good CD player these days! :yes:

 

[Dr Tinear]

Avoid NAD....I speak from bitter experience. ...

My experience matches yours. At one time I had two NAD 502s -- one to use while the other one was on my bench for repair -- and I still had trouble keeping a working player in my extension system for any length of time. I eventually gave up on them and scrapped them both in disgust.

I replaced a dying Magnavox CDB-650 in January of this year. I did a lot of research and was dismayed to find that most of the CD and DVD players below $1000 were made in China. I ended up buying one of them, a Yamaha DVD-S1800, when Amazon was pushing them out the door for $80. It sounds great on two-channel CDs. It also plays SACDs and DVD-Audio discs; I can't offer an opinion on how it sounds on these media, since I don't own any discs of either type, but I will note that it uses the same DAC chips for multi-channel as it does for stereo. It also converts SACD directly from DSD to analog, so I would expect it to sound very good on hi-rez digital. Amazon's current price on this model is $249, and I believe that it's well worth considering at that price.

 

[MeatInStereo]

While I appreciate that you want to do some general research, you really should pin down a number to work with. When you say low I assume you are in the sub 500 range.

Best bang for your buck will be used Rega or Marantz. The SA 8001 is the type of player you may never need to replace. Well built and sounds fantastic. As for Rega, the whole line sounds fantastic. The Planet would be in your reach but you should have a listen to the higher models. Their new Isis is the bomb.

great opinion and post...thanks...I will start looking at thoe two now. I really want my friends marantz. Rega seems like a great player too.

 

[MeatInStereo]

It does seem like SACD is coming back. i just think those players are built to a higher standard and therefore should yield some nice sound.

 

[Old_Tech]

It does seem like SACD is coming back. i just think those players are built to a higher standard and therefore should yield some nice sound.

The SACD players do have more sophisticated design this is true. I am not sure they can be purchased used within your budget though.

 

[prisoners]

It does seem like SACD is coming back. i just think those players are built to a higher standard and therefore should yield some nice sound.

The newest Sony Blu-Ray players also do SACD (and cd of course). The 370 is perfect for a music only player-you don't need a wireless connection or 3-d capability for that, and it's under $200. I believe it will process SACD through the stereo RCA( I know it does through the HDMI) but check the website.

 

[fmueller]

A CD simply being digital bits of information on a cheap plastic disc, IMO the best CD player is one that removes the mechanical elements completely, which takes the disc out of the equation. The audio information is not altered or harmed in any way by transferring it to a centralized database on the computer. After which you can focus on giving your computer the best DAC possible, of which there is quite a selection available. That would be the ultimate CD player, IMO, and the best part being that your CD's can spend their entire life scratch-free on the shelf after you copy them to the computer one time.

This post is rated 'CS' for common sense.

Some material may not be suitable for audiophile audienes.​

 

[stabby]

A CD simply being digital bits of information on a cheap plastic disc, IMO the best CD player is one that removes the mechanical elements completely, which takes the disc out of the equation. The audio information is not altered or harmed in any way by transferring it to a centralized database on the computer. After which you can focus on giving your computer the best DAC possible, of which there is quite a selection available. That would be the ultimate CD player, IMO, and the best part being that your CD's can spend their entire life scratch-free on the shelf after you copy them to the computer one time.

I manage datacenters filled with tens of thousands of disk drives.

Every single one of them has a motor and spinning platters and buffers.

You have a point in some ways, and I'm sure this a bigger discussion that should probably have it's own thread if it doesn't already.

 

[MeatInStereo]

I manage datacenters filled with tens of thousands of disk drives.

Every single one of them has a motor and spinning platters and buffers.

You have a point in some ways, and I'm sure this a bigger discussion that should probably have it's own thread if it doesn't already.

My laptop has a 128GB solid state hard drive...it may be the best candidate for a DAC.

 

[stabby]

SSD! Now that's TOTL! And nearly bleeding edge! The IT guy in me is just a little green!

You and Chris are both on to something, I'm not saying a PC is not a valid audio source. No offense intended! It's a personal choice, of course.

I prefer analogue because it was designed to reproduce sound, and digital was designed to reproduce 0's and 1's. You need to be aware of viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., and keep a good two or three backups offsite to maintain your collection.

So clearly, I see digital as a chore, and I'm not the person you should listen to if you enjoy digital!

Also, it's a complicated subject beyond just sound, and I'm off duty.

 

[MeatInStereo]

Yeah my laptop is loaded... also 8GB of RAM, 2 quad intel centrino2 3.5 GHz proc's...its 64 bit hence the 8 GB of RAm and not the 4 GB max. I'm a technology manager for a medical company so I stay on the edge of technology all the time becasue...well...I have to.

It also has a digital out so all I would need is a DAC.

I need to post the book that comes with Beveridge speakers as it describes why and how the Beveridge produces sound. Its a preety cool little book that explains a lot about sound.

I do need to get a working turntable on this system though to hear what it sounds liek. i have a Dual 1215s that needs the re-greased and a Technics that needs a tonearms as the weight in the back broke off.

 

[MeatInStereo]

Any opinins on the luxman d-102 cd player? One is pretty cheap on CL and i really can't find too much on the player.

 

[MeatInStereo]

What do you look for in a great DAC?

 

[Spellbinder]

As far as a single-drawer CD player, I've had several over the years. Recently got a Yamaha CDX-393 MkII. Best one I've owned. Absolutely love the sound. Plays anything I've thrown at it flawlessly, (including CD-R and CD-RW). Great CD player, IMHO.

 

[MeatInStereo]

Thanks Spellbinder for the post. I really like Yamaha products. I think I want to go SACD route if I go to a player and it would make a great transport if I would use a DAC. I have been listening to my new system for the last 3 hours and I am in love with it.

 

[richamor]

The Denon 3910 would fit your bill. And it can be had for cheap. I paid in the neighborhood of $1500.00 for mine when it came out. Can be had now for around 2 bills if you shop around.

 

[Anubis]

With these speakers MP3's sound like crap enless they are sampled high...so hard disk is kind of out anyway. I noticed even burned discs aren't the best either.

Hmm, MP3s can sound like crap most of the time in general regardless of the gear. As for burned discs, it depends.
I'll say this knowing most folks don't want to spend the time doing this and I understand, it's perfectly ok. What I do is take MP3s and convert them to Wav, then if needed (and about 70% of the time it is) I will use something like Soundforge or other decent audio program to sort of remaster the songs simply is all you really need. I have found they do sound better after doing this. Do I re-compress them back to MP3? No, I just leave them as is and burn to disc. (You can also play dirrect from the PC if you wish).
Does this take time? Whew, you bet it does, but I feel it's worth doing at least sometimes especially with anything you got off the internet. (Please don't steal from the artists folks, thank you).
However, that's just me and what I do. Maybe I"m a gluten for punishment, I don't know. It doesn't mean anyone else has to follow.

 

[aabottom]

My experience matches yours. At one time I had two NAD 502s -- one to use while the other one was on my bench for repair -- and I still had trouble keeping a working player in my extension system for any length of time. I eventually gave up on them and scrapped them both in disgust.

I replaced a dying Magnavox CDB-650 in January of this year. I did a lot of research and was dismayed to find that most of the CD and DVD players below $1000 were made in China. I ended up buying one of them, a Yamaha DVD-S1800, when Amazon was pushing them out the door for $80. It sounds great on two-channel CDs. It also plays SACDs and DVD-Audio discs; I can't offer an opinion on how it sounds on these media, since I don't own any discs of either type, but I will note that it uses the same DAC chips for multi-channel as it does for stereo. It also converts SACD directly from DSD to analog, so I would expect it to sound very good on hi-rez digital. Amazon's current price on this model is $249, and I believe that it's well worth considering at that price.

I bought the Yamaha DVD-S2700 in March. It's similar to the DVD-S1800 with some upgrades in the power supply and other features. It sounds amazing, especially with SACD and DVD-A. It's a solid unit. It's a good value at $499 at Audioholics, but it may be out of the OPs price range. I highly recommend it.