cd player upgrade.. need advice

[zigzag]

i mostly shop thrift stores, yard sales ect. so my budget is extremely limited and on top of that, one of my favorite aspects of the hobby is the fun of hunting down a good deal..

i badly need to upgrade my cd player.. its a junk panasonic and gives me nothing but trouble mechanically. the carousel locks up and wont close and i need to constantly fiddle with it.

just wondering what i should be on the look out for.. i come across a bunch of junk units and i pass on them

i'm not really after the cream of the crop right now.. just something that's decent quality

i've noticed a lot of guys use single disc players. is there a reason for this? what about cartridge or carousels?

i could maybe swing $100 at the moment.. so if i were to shop around on an auction site what should i be looking for?

thanks in advance guys

 

[bluehills5]

There is a database of all the digital-analogue converters in almost every cd player ever made at http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
When I see a player I refer to this list to find the good models. Anything with a Philips TDA1541 is a gem but there are other good DAC's as well, like those from Burr-Brown. I also stick away from multi players as they tend to be from the era when quality was substituted for features.
But this list is a good reference so keep a copy on your phone or print it out. I recently went to a thrift store and there were motley assortment of old players and the owner said they were all $20 but amongst them was an innocuous looking Magnavox cd650 with the sought after 1541 DAC. I grabbed it and tried to contain my enthusiasm lest he catch on that there was a diamond in the rough.
These are great times for vintage CD players as they are overlooked in the rush back to vinyl and there are a ton of great players sitting in thrift stores and garage sales for chump change.

 

[SteveBB]

Will it be used for anything other than music? If you had the option would you ever use it for something other than just cd playback?

For the $100.00 you have to spend check all of your local resale/pawnshops and look for what would have been a the top of line non-BluRay DVD player from five or six years ago.

Last time I went to Goodwill in Houston they had a full wall of nothing but AVR's and disk players covering the spectrum from the cheapest junk out there to some decent gear. You can buy what was a top of the line DVD player for nothing because of no BluRay or 3d and have great play back for music cd's.

Some even cover SACD. I gave $50. for a Sony ES player looking brand new with remote and have no regrets.

 

[zigzag]

i will definitely check out the database, thank you. those are the kind of resources i need for hunting out gems!

right now i'm just looking for use with CDs.. my system is separate from my tv so dvd playback isn't a priority. however if a quality component turns up i have no problems integrating it.

there is a store here that also has a wall of used equipment.. i need to get over there and check it out again.. i haven't been paying too much attention to cd players lately but i'm fed up with mine at this point

thanks guys

 

[Yamaki]

My recommendation would be any of the Denon DVD29xx series units. Excellent features, great DAC, pricing is in your ballpark.

 

[Aspen]

i will definitely check out the database, thank you. those are the kind of resources i need for hunting out gems!

right now i'm just looking for use with CDs.. my system is separate from my tv so dvd playback isn't a priority. however if a quality component turns up i have no problems integrating it.

there is a store here that also has a wall of used equipment.. i need to get over there and check it out again.. i haven't been paying too much attention to cd players lately but i'm fed up with mine at this point

thanks guys

You can get an excellent cd player that happens to also play DVDs, look for a denon, Yamaha, Sony es etc. Complicated changers are just one more failure point on old gear.

 

[BMWCCA]

One of my favorite CD players is a Harman/Kardon single-play DVD with Burr-Brown DACs I bought on close-out from Harman for around thirty bucks.

I'm currently using a single-play TEAC because it, too, has a Burr-Brown DAC as well as front-panel USB input compatible with my iPod and iPhone. Brand new for $129, and I don't think you can beat it.

http://www.teac.com/product/cd-p650/specifications/

 

[zigzag]

thanks for the suggestions guys. got to thinking about dvd players and i remembered i recently bought a tv from craigslist and it came with a dvd player.. a SONY DVP-SR200P. i looked it up and apparently its a pretty good little unit.. kinda surprised me but i hooked it up and i must say it sounds very nice and crystal clear.. the display is lacking and i have no remote but itll do for now till i find something fun

 

[mstrane21]

The Sony DVP-S7000 ALWAYS comes up in these discussions. Coincidentally, I have one, and it really is a great player. Folks on AK have said in the past that it's an ES level player. They are plentiful on Ebay, and usually go for $50 or less.

 

[Panotaker]

I second the DVP-S7000. It was the reference standard when it was released and it is still a great sounding player. I paid an arm and a leg for mine when it was new, but now you can get one pretty cheap.