top loading CD players

marqueemoon

marqueemoon

Gimme indie rock!
I just realized that most of my CD player-related headaches are tray related. I have some "spare" players around and will probably wait a bit to upgrade (I'd like to step up my game in the power amp department first), but I'm kind of tired of dealing with the mechanical issues of a tray. My rack would allow plenty of access for a top loader to work.

Right now the only options I can think of that I can realistically afford are a Playstation (which I'm using currently), or a Rega of some flavor.

I guess there are some tradeoffs with top loaders. I'm a little worried about my son poking around in there when he gets old enough to do so. Then there's getting the disc on the spindle (pressing it on, pucks, etc...).

Any users of this style of player care to comment? I'd love to get a list of makes/models going.
 
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My buddy has an original Rega Planet that he really likes. Pressing the disc in is not much different from putting a DVD into its plastic storage box. I think like most other things, once you get used to the process of putting a disc into a top-loader, you won't think much about it.
 
There's always the Bel Canto CD2... :)

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It's never a bad thing IMO. I own an original Rega Planet and I enjoyed the top-loading concept, although the magnetic puck in that model is a little bit of a hassle.

IMO, and I'm heavily biased :D, the approach Naim takes is probably just about as good. Take a look at the picture in my signature. You manually pull out the "tray," which swings to the right. Then you affix the CD player with a magnetic puck (that works flawlessly), close the drawer, and you're done. Why do I like this? Mainly because there are less moving parts and things to go bad since the whole transport is inside the drawer, and also because said drawer looks and feels to be of extremely high quality. Naim says it's some kind of glass-impregnated material, it feels very solid, like it has a lot of mass.

I appreciate that Naim put so much thought into the transport, an aspect of CD players that I think too many companies overlook.
 
I've had the tray fail on 3 previous CD players. I now have a Shanling CD-T100 top loader. Love it.:D
 

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Wow that is a tight CD player Sir.Byrd! And for only $30? How does it sound compared to other CDPs you've heard?
 
Mr. Lin said:
Wow that is a tight CD player Sir.Byrd! And for only $30? How does it sound compared to other CDPs you've heard?
Click to expand...

Hard to know, since those pictures are from MY bench after I bought and fixed it. :D

And it sounds very good. :thmbsp:

I also have a philips CD-100, which the B&O is based on, and an original Rega Planet. All good players.

For Tray loaders.... REVOX and STUDER.
Marc
 
Sir.Byrd,

Nice Beogram CDX you own. I have a Magnavox top loader CD player with the same mechanism, the Magnavox FD 1010-SL. It is known as the CD-101 in Europe and built in Holland. Your player has a Philips CDM-1 mechanism for a transport, the best ever built. In the USA, Compact Discs were launched officially at Miller's Department Store in Knoxville, TN in June, 1983. The headquarters of North American Philips was in Knoxville. I attended the launch day event and also took the first CD player repair course offered by NAP. The CD-100 or Magnavox FD 1000 was the official first CD player sold in the USA.
 
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