CD player: Vintage vs. New, your thoughts please

[Bodyblue]

Bob, I love the looks of that Technics receiver. Most of them don't look that nice to my eyes. What model is that?

Regarding CD players, I've had excellent luck with buying used ones at the Goodwill, etc.. I've picked up (usually for less than $20) Pioneers, Sonys, Technics, Kenwoods and even "no-name" players in single, stacked, and carousel versions, and every one of them has - and still does - function perfectly. So, I've been very lucky in that arena. The only new CD player I've purchased is a Sony SR510H, and I can't tell that it sounds any better than the twenty-year-old models I have. I've never owned a top end CD player, but everything I've read indicates that an expensive one sounds no better than a cheapo. Apparently, the extra money goes for heavy-duty transports and many, many features not found on budget models.

My only complaint is that, so far, I haven't run across a single CD player that is aluminum colored instead of boring black.



GeeDeeEmm

BINGO! Last weekend in our usual monthly thrift crawl I found, SIX, count em, SIX SACD changers, all under $20 from various brands. I already have a Marantz DVD/SACD player and two SACD changers or I would have picked one of them up.....I really wanted one but I restrained myself.

OP, buy 5 working older players for $100, put them in a closet then spend the rest of your life using them......as they die (if they do) pull another one out of the closet.

 

[danrclem]

Has anybody here used an Onkyo DV-SP800 for a dedicated CD player? If you have how would you compare it to good CD players?

 

[needforspeed]

1 click gratification "ripping" all your CDs and throwing them away is eh so like millennial and lazy. that disease will pass.

Yes, I guess we're old school, Actually insert the disc into the drawer. Yes, I understand the whole ripping concept.

 

[needforspeed]

I do know that some of their AVRs of a few years back had chronic issues with HDMI boards.

Yes, Overheating. I only mentioned because the repair shop I use has their gear all over the place. Have never owned any Onkyo gear, So take with a grain of salt.

 

[DaveVoorhis]

Yes, I guess we're old school, Actually insert the disc into the drawer.

Ugh. Too much effort. All that faffing about with discs and drawers and... discs and drawers.

Overwhelming.

 

[needforspeed]

Ugh. Too much effort. All that faffing about with discs and drawers and... discs and drawers.

Overwhelming.

Right, The hassle of it. My son, "Why are you still doing it that way".

 

[E-Stat]

Yes, I guess we're old school, Actually insert the disc into the drawer.

I'm a 60 year old who prefers spending more time listening to music as opposed to cleaning and shuffling discs to and from players and shelf. It also got old burning duplicate CDRs for secondary systems so that I wasn't constantly ferrying them about. Now that collection is simply used for my '01 S2000.

Six systems accessing a common digital library. Instantly. In any order. Not limited to 16/44 content.

If you're like me and have a sizable collection, I suspect that many CDs end up rarely getting played. You just forget about them. I enjoy selecting "random" and often rediscover old friends.

 

[zebra03]

This^^^ If you do a search, you will find at least one, multiple page post answering this same question, and many recommendations for the C-7030.
I just bought one from Amazon for $145. Very simple and sounds great through my old amp. Just wish it wasn't black.

 

[luddite]

I'm actually looking seriously at this. Naw.. not gonna do it. But, on the other hand...

 

[Archguy]

What happens to the lettering? To the OP, two words: Moving Parts

 

[MannyE]

New is good, but I got a Sony DVP-S7000 for 9 that's NINE dollars at the local RED WHITE and BLUE and Iove it. Then there is the more hit-and miss Sony PS1 which has a great sound as well and added bonus plays video games. Those go for about $20 in working condition.

But if what you want to do is just listen to music, go new.

 

[Nautiker]

I've a collection of Pioneer multidisc players that I like; DM802 (12 disc) & TM1/3 (18 disc) units - I like to put a bunch of CDs in them, and just hit 'shuffle'... ;-)

 

[johnebravo]

OP, buy 5 working older players for $100, put them in a closet then spend the rest of your life using them......as they die (if they do) pull another one out of the closet.

There's much to be said in favor of this approach.

 

[stevo137]

New less expensive CD players can sound better than old expensive CD players.

 

[darkblue94]

New less expensive CD players can sound better than old expensive CD players.

Or not.

 

[Schurkey]

I buy every Adcom GCD-600 I can get for $50 or less. Got half-a-dozen now. Also have extra (generic Chinese) lasers stockpiled. The cheap lasers have been good for about three years, usable for 5+ but after a few years they skip if the player is on a wood-joist floor and someone walks while the music is playing.

 

[Aj1735]

I know around me you can find all kinds of cd players on Craigslist or letgo and it's rare to have to spend over 20 bucks or so. I splurged and bought a Yamaha cdx-1030 cd player. I think that it sounds great and is built like a tank. I think that it weighs around 20lbs. I picked up a pioneer elite pd-f07 101 disc changer that I don't want anymore and I can't get 50 for it. Just wondering how low I will have to go to get it sold. Lol I like the simplicity of just having a single disc. Just makes me flashback to the 90's. You can search for some highly reviewed dvd players with great audio play back. I have a nice Cambridge audio azure 540d dvd player 25 bucks at a thrift store and a pioneer elite dv-45a dvd player that I have had for years. I use them for a couple of my other systems I have around the house.

 

[onwardjames]

My luck with Goodwill and eBay CD players has been pretty poor. Last week at GW, I picked up a nice Kenwood cassette player and the matching CD player (DP-1510). The cassette player worked without any work, I didn't even have to change the belt (I bought one anyway), but the CD player, like most CD players I've purchased used, just wouldn't track, it wouldn't even play a single track. I purchased a working Technics SL-P500, a very early CD player, off eBay, and that one works some of the time but struggles with many disks. I've used optical cleaners, and I clean and Deox it, but my main problem with used CD players is I just don't know how to fix them. It's always a mystery as to why one doesn't play or skips or gets stuck. So this might be one of the few times I go high-end new.

Please PLEASE find Dr*Audio's thread about fixing cd players.

I've rescued at LEAST 10 this way. Only found a single one that had a bad laser, and even now, I'm not sure.

Usually the culprit is a bad belt, or hardened grease, or a dirty laser, or all 3. Recent score was a Denon DCD-1500 II that needed new belt, cleaning/lube, and re-applied felt to the clamp. Tracks like a bastard, and sounds better to my ears than my all digital laptop going thru my Meridian Director DAC. Cost? 10 bucks on that Denon. Weighs like 30 pounds!

 

[E-Stat]

I've rescued at LEAST 10 this way.

That must have been quite a failure rate! I've used three in the main system and sold each while they were still working:

1987-Magnavox something or other
1994-Pioneer PD-54
2001-GamuT CD-1 (retired 2011)

I've also used an old DVD player and purchased a used changer as transports for the garage system, but gave away the former and resold the latter.

 

[onwardjames]

That must have been quite a failure rate! .

What I meant to say was that I received them broken, and now they work. Almost always one of the 3 things I mentioned.