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Onkyo C-30 or C-7030

D

Dima R.

Member
I am thinking of upgrading from Onkyo DX-C210 - an old player. that works, but has a broken mechanism for tray opening, so its all manual.
Also, I have recently obtained a Denon AVR-S650H with the nice DAC in it, so the lack of digital out is now more visible.

So, I hear very good things about Onkyo C-30 and about C-7030. 7030 have a very attractive price point. But my question is, is there anything in the new C-30 that would justify an extra $150-$160 ? Denon 600NE is a bit pricy for me.

I am listening through the receiver I mentioned with old Bowers and Wilkins DM-220 from early 90ies I think.
And My music styles range from Classical operas to heavy metal, to art/progressive rock to blues and jazz/jazz fusion. Not sure if these mentions matter.

I understand that C-30 may be relatively new and might not have enough milage to generate opinions, but maybe anyone had experience buying new models and can comparing them to older ones ... ?
 
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The new C-30 is not too expensive ($349 to $399) to give the new technology it sports a try out., so why not give it a go (buy it from Crutchfield so you can send it back if you don't like it).
 
I'm curious about this player because I tried a C-7030 a few years ago and returned it promptly because the sound was awful--thin and papery. But at that time the 7030 was selling for under $200 its higher price point and perhaps the C-30 is a more credible performer. Has anyone tried it?
 
rf225 said:
I'm curious about this player because I tried a C-7030 a few years ago and returned it promptly because the sound was awful--thin and papery. But at that time the 7030 was selling for under $200 its higher price point and perhaps the C-30 is a more credible performer. Has anyone tried it?
Click to expand...
After reading Onkyo's literature on the C-30 it appears to be the same type of filter that Schiit has been using in their inexpensive DACs for a few years. From their website:

"... the Onkyo C-30 features Onkyo’s exclusive VLSC (Vector Linear Shaping Circuit)—a proprietary technology that removes pulse noise from the signal path using advanced algorithms. The result is a clean, distortion-free analog output revealing every nuance of your music with breathtaking clarity."

"A high-precision ±10PPM clock ensures remarkable timing accuracy and a focused, stable stereo image, elevating your listening experience to true high-fidelity standards."

onkyo.com

C-30 CD Player | Onkyo

Developed to play well with the Icon series, Onkyo C-30 CD Player has a solid foundation for low resonance audio with nuance and clarity, just as CDs were…
onkyo.com onkyo.com
 
A review of the Onkyo C-30 by "Cheap Audio man"... basically he says it sounds nearly as good as the $4K Teac player he tested for 1/10th the price:

 
Typical of YT reviews, this and another I watched are lacking in detail and expertise but do suggest I should hear it for myself. Not to sound like a snob but I'd have to hear it play several well-recorded classical CDs to give it a thumbs up or down. And I'm really not that picky. Of the numerous players I've owned over the last 35 years the only one that was clearly inferior to the others was the 7030. And the emergency player that's standing in for my on-the-fritz Yamaha is a JVC DVD player purchased from GW for $5. Audio quality is as good as any player I've owned.
 
Most places say the C-30 is in the Icon series, notwithstanding the low retail price compared to other Icon components, so it's likely improved somewhat over the C-7030. I'm considering one myself, as much for the aesthetics as anything else, it would look at home on my rack. And if the sound of the DAC isn't up to snuff, though I doubt that would be an issue, I could still use it as a quality transport.
 
I've had the 7030 for a few years. I bought it as a factory refurb, direct from Onkyo for about $185 delivered. It sounds fine to me.

I find the C-30 interesting in that it looks identical to the 7030 other than the "ONKYO" logo and the color of the LED display. CAM (cheap audio man) describes it (the C30) as being new. It doesn't look to new to me. Maybe some innards are new, but I doubt it.
 
My main CD player is a Yamaha CD-2 that I have managed to keep running with a couple donor units. Some newer CDs do not play on it, so I have had a second unit over the years for those discs.

My current backup unit is the Onkyo 7030. I use the digital out into a Grant Fidelity DAC and am very happy with it.
 
jdmccall said:
I've had the 7030 for a few years. I bought it as a factory refurb, direct from Onkyo for about $185 delivered. It sounds fine to me.

I find the C-30 interesting in that it looks identical to the 7030 other than the "ONKYO" logo and the color of the LED display. CAM (cheap audio man) describes it (the C30) as being new. It doesn't look to new to me. Maybe some innards are new, but I doubt it.
Click to expand...
No need to doubt. The C-30 has a 32bit/768khz AKM DAC. Could be the only difference since I've never researched, in depth, the 7030.
 
The 7030 is doing the job for me, finally - had a terrible experience with skipping, even with brand new CDs ..

FWIW - considered replacing CD transport, but just this morning stuffed a t shirt under the feet - no skipping ..
 
Picked up the C-30 and have been breaking it in for several days now. It's decent but there a few things that I don't like. First off, the remote control does not work with rechargeable batteries. I have new Eneloop batteries and charged to 1.48V and they do not work. Every other remote I own works fine with them. The supplied batteries measure at 1.6v. Can't for the life of me understand why the rechargeable ones don't work.

The cd drawer is awfully flimsy. The display is an amber color and hard to see from around 11 ft.

I have been using an old Sony DVD player as a second source for CDs. Right now the best sounding player is my OPPO. The C-30 is housed in the same rack as the DVD player and their analog output is sent to a JVC a/v/ switcher. I have a couple of CDs that have 2 copies, so it's easy to compare the 2 players once the discs are sync'd up. After 50+ hours of break in for the C-30 and in direct A/B comparison, there is basically no difference. When the OPPO is connected to the A/V switcher, I can hear a difference when compared to the Sony.

The C-30 is constructed well. Box and internal packing is decent. Bare bones basic player. You have to download the user manual because one isn't included.

Bottom line, it's going back.
 
Duane said:
Picked up the C-30 and have been breaking it in for several days now. It's decent but there a few things that I don't like. First off, the remote control does not work with rechargeable batteries. I have new Eneloop batteries and charged to 1.48V and they do not work. Every other remote I own works fine with them. The supplied batteries measure at 1.6v. Can't for the life of me understand why the rechargeable ones don't work.

The cd drawer is awfully flimsy. The display is an amber color and hard to see from around 11 ft.

I have been using an old Sony DVD player as a second source for CDs. Right now the best sounding player is my OPPO. The C-30 is housed in the same rack as the DVD player and their analog output is sent to a JVC a/v/ switcher. I have a couple of CDs that have 2 copies, so it's easy to compare the 2 players once the discs are sync'd up. After 50+ hours of break in for the C-30 and in direct A/B comparison, there is basically no difference. When the OPPO is connected to the A/V switcher, I can hear a difference when compared to the Sony.

The C-30 is constructed well. Box and internal packing is decent. Bare bones basic player. You have to download the user manual because one isn't included.

Bottom line, it's going back.
Click to expand...
Not sure about your battery issues, but the display has a brightness and dimmer function on the remote. Though the amber isn't visually pleasing, I haven't had any issues with seeing what's displayed. I will admit the AKM DAC adds zero coloration to the CD music played, which is preferred by some CD digital folks. I'm on the fence about that, since the CD mastering plays a bigger role in the output.
 
The brightness is at it's highest level. I assume you have this player. Have you tried using rechargeable batteries? It would be interesting to know if this is a common fault.
 
Duane said:
The brightness is at it's highest level. I assume you have this player. Have you tried using rechargeable batteries? It would be interesting to know if this is a common fault.
Click to expand...
Still using the stock batteries, sorry. Also my player is in my downstairs basement room, so maybe the display looks fine due to lower lighting conditions.
 
dpdatl said:
I think the c 30 is a rebadged 7030.
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Way better DAC for sure. I'm using my C-30 tonight for an easier listening night and one thing keeps popping up in my mind. This DAC is no nonsense, zero coloration, if the CD was mastered like crap the output sounds like crap. Well mastered CD's sound like perfection and very detailed. Hard to find gapless playback at this price point, not like the old days, is a plus. OP mentioned the hard to read display also so I payed attention tonight. I posted in the "what you listening to tonight" thread and my display is bright and clean. Maybe the OP got a bad one. Display below:
 

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Shortly I’ll be ordering a C-30 based on what I’ve read about it. I’m pretty positive I’ll be happy with it, but we’ll see.
 
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