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CD player: Vintage vs. New, your thoughts please

Rosie said:
I say buy a streamer or start saving towards one. CD's have inherent flaws and the streamers are dropping in price.
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Have actually been considering something like the Onkyo C-N7050, which looks to have the similar mechanicals/electronics as the C-7030 but with the addition of handling iPod/IPad/iPhone input and network/internet streaming. Can't find much feedback from real-world users though (as far as this model goes), but am still interested in pursuing a product like that and killing two birds with one stone (or box).
 
You want the best at a "reasonable" price? Get the Oppo-95 or the Oppo-83SE, in that order. Do your homework and you will find these use the best processors, and even audiophyle upgrades (such as internal silver wire connectors) can be had. Expect to pay about $450 for a used 95.
 
Rather than a "streamer" I'm thinking a USB DAC and an old laptop is the way to go. I just need to convince myself that my DACs sound as good as some old school ladder DACs that I've been playing with recently (notably the ones in a Pioneer PD-M910)

And yes, I do have an Oppo 95 for the good system. That one's a keeper if nothing else just for the quality build and customer support. However I would vote for a 105 or 20x for the capability to kill two birds with one stone and use it as a USB DAC. Yes, I do know about the implementation of the DACs in the 95 being technically superior, and no, I've never played with a 105 (but do have a 103 as well)
 
gdmoore28 said:
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.
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GeeDeeEmm
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One should not ignore that the whole hifi-setup stands and falls with whatever information
the source is capable or not of retrieving.
Whatever information that is lost in the source cannot be gained later on in the chain.

There are many,many players that sound alike-even though the price-tags vary a lot.
But then again,there are some players that excel-that changes the whole listening experience.
It also depends on how transparent the rest of the system is.

Even some of the mid-priced cdp`s are in a whole other league than the rest of their class,
and the cheapos.
 
johnebravo said:
In an age where people routinely replace smart phones that they bought 18 months ago for $500+, equipment circa 1985-1990 is not often regarded as "new technology" -- unless, perhaps, you were brought up without indoor plumbing and electricity. ;)
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No but i walked to school in the snow. I kid you not!
 
I've found some great ones at thrifts.

Sony CDP-302 -- manufactured June 1985. Primitive DAC but serious build quality. Still sounds great. Listening to it as I type.
Denon DCD-1500II -- another golden oldie, turns 30 yrs old next month. My first CDP with a digital out.
Sony CDP-C79ES -- buttons on the front panel are finicky, but works fine with a remote. Nifty wood side panels!
Cambridge Audio D500 -- really lovely sound on this one. Just needed belts. Came with the box even!
Sony CDP-M555ES -- the ES version of the 400 CD mega-changer
Pioneer Elite DV47Ai -- bought this for the universal functionality, but it eventually got replaced by an Oppo 103 because I needed Bluray audio
Sony DVP-NS3100ES -- bought this for SACD playback and use it for that instead of the Oppo since it's DSD "native."

What I really want to find is my first CDP, the Panasonic SL-NP10 portable that I got for Christmas in 1988. But they are really tough to track down in working condition with a power supply.

There was a while early in the CD era when I didn't realize how much of a difference there was between the better CDPs and the cheap crap. I know now!
 
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My preference is vintage as I love the warmer sound that they seem to produce. I have an Adcom GCD 700 which sounds spectacular. The only thing wrong with it is that the internal receiver for the remote control stopped working. :)
 
Natasha Bell said:
My preference is vintage as I love the warmer sound that they seem to produce. I have an Adcom GCD 700 which sounds spectacular. The only thing wrong with it is that the internal receiver for the remote control stopped working. :)
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Check or replace any cap on the remote receive line coming from the receiver. If that doesn't fix it, replace the remote receiver with another from a junk receiver or CD player. Anything that physically fits will work.
 
I have an unusual fondness for vintage cd players. Not entirely sure why, but I do. My main unit is a philips cd-80(same thing as a marantz cd-80.) I picked it up in mint condition from a guy down the street. My second setup has a sony dvps7000, I always seem to have at least one. Got various other oldies kicking around too.

I also use a panasonic dmtb500 as a dac with a portable hard drive a lot. Works fine enough. I'm sure newer players can sound awesome but till the philips dies I'm in no hurry to upgrade.
 
I normally use just any old CD player.
I did however find a Nakamichi CDPlayer3 at GW last week.
It has a mechanical stiction problem on opening.
It needs a tug.
It is definitely a heavily built player. No BPC here.

It may be just me hearing what I want to here, but it sounds great to my ears.
 
rkgren1 said:
I normally use just any old CD player.
I did however find a Nakamichi CDPlayer3 at GW last week.
It has a mechanical stiction problem on opening.
It needs a tug.
It is definitely a heavily built player. No BPC here.

It may be just me hearing what I want to here, but it sounds great to my ears.
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We all need a little tug every now and then. :rolleyes:
 
This is about the the only thing audio that vintage doesn't even enter my thoughts. Never say never but the odds of me buying an old CD player are about nil. Since the amp I'm going to buy has a built in dac I'll be looking at a transport instead of a player.
 
dr*audio said:
Check or replace any cap on the remote receive line coming from the receiver. If that doesn't fix it, replace the remote receiver with another from a junk receiver or CD player. Anything that physically fits will work.
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My husband has a friend that dabbles in electronics. I will ask him as I would not know what I am looking at. o_O That is good advise however :biggrin:
 
I've said it many times in different threads, the Onkyo C-7030 is an excellent CD player. Especially for the money. I have two now and will be adding another when I put the system together around my currently unused Altec Lansing 315s for the downstairs. The 7030 smokes my dads vintage Onkyo and Denon players in my opinion.
 
I struggled with this issue... most of my audio gear is vintage but I wanted a good CD player after my workhorse crapped out. I did a lot of research and bought a Sony UHPH1 after looking at many players. Its a Blu-Ray player that plays a crazy amount of CD formats, including SACD. Got it at a year end clearance discount of $198 on Amazon and couldn't be happier; the video quality is excellent and it has the best audio quality of any CD player I've ever owned. HIGHLY recommended...
 
I would stay away from early players with a passion as some have timing and extreme phase errors. Signal to noise and intermodulation distortions are higher, too. I'm not saying you have to buy something currently on the market but I wouldn't go back more than ten years. A lot of the mechanisms are starting to wear out when much older and the lasers are starting to weaken, too. What ever you buy make sure you can play multiple formats. SACD disc can be fantastic and DVD-a if you can find them are spectacular. I have a dozen and there really was a difference. Some of the last generation Oppos are really good. I have had multiple Elite and Pioneer units a few Marantz and Sony players, and we sold Revox, Yamaha, Mcintosh, Denon, Marantz, B&O, Nakamichi, and NAD players. Even some I forget. Mcintosh has always been the principal player, with the other used as back-up or as combo recorder-players. Some Nakamichi players were very special.
 
benricci said:
If you don't need the multi-disc changer, I'd opt for the Onkyo C-7030 instead. You can get these for about $125-$145 brand new, and they are way better than the price tag suggests.
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I've always liked & had great luck with Onkyo units , single & 6 disc...just bought a Sony CA7ES Circa 1995 & it works & sounds great
 
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