Vintage CD players

[guiller]

No good quality NEW CD Players are being produced.

I guess you don't really mean that? Do you mean "mass produced" CDPs? There are great new CDPs being produced, probably the best ever. Brands like Naim or Astin Trew produce great CDPs, as well as Arcam, Cambridge Audio and higher end ones like McIntosh, Bryston, Accuphase, etc. Some TOTL models by Sony and Marantz are also great.

 

[Tullman]

I guess you don't really mean that? Do you mean "mass produced" CDPs? There are great new CDPs being produced, probably the best ever. Brands like Naim or Astin Trew produce great CDPs, as well as Arcam, Cambridge Audio and higher end ones like McIntosh, Bryston, Accuphase, etc. Some TOTL models by Sony and Marantz are also great.

Yes, the older cd players from the 80's and early 90's were built with better quality. The laser drive in particular was much more durable than today's cd players.

However, in my experience, the new cd players sound better. Used cd players are a crap shoot. The laser drives could go at anytime. I should know. I threw out 2 Denon expensive 80's units this year.

 

[gearhound]

Many people seem to believe that NAD and Cambridge Audio make decent, affordable CD players?

Steve

 

[Ed in Tx]

I have and can recommend the following players:

Denon DCD-1500 (with remote and owners manual)
...

I have a DCD-1500, bought it new in '86 or thereabouts for around $500 as I recall. Great player for 25 years. I use the remote volume control all the time. That's the only remotely controllable function on my system. How many other CD players have remote variable audio outs?

Only issue I have with the Denon, there are a few newer commercial CDs I have, some but not all these with song title display data I see when played on my Tascam CD recorder-copier. The Denon will not read the TOC when the CD is put in so it won't play those discs. Plays everything else fine including CD-R and CD-RW discs. I suspect it's something in the data included on some new CDs that the player doesn't like.

 

[Dr Tinear]

Many people seem to believe that NAD and Cambridge Audio make decent, affordable CD players?

Steve

The older NAD players, including the two 502s that I scrapped because it was taking too much of my time to keep them running, had some reliability problems. The newer ones are reportedly better. I have no direct experience with them because the 502s cured me of any desire to own another NAD CD player.

 

[bobrown14]

I like my HHB CDR800 and my HHB CDR830 "Burnit" both sound great with lotsa connect options. I think the thing with better sound with CDPs is the chip that is used. Google is your friend and there are chips in players that are up an above others no matter the manufacturer. Vinyl will sound better on some and CDs will sound better on others comparing both mediums with same music.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[astagumby]

Some time ago I acquired an Akai CD-A70, including the remote, for free. The owner wasn't using it anymore because "the display is broken". I didn't realize just how old it was after I brought it home with me and did some googlin. Turns out that this player was introduced in the Netherlands (where I live) as early as 1984. As for the display, it was easily fixed by just replacing the burnt out lightbulb behind it with a led. I'm using it every day now (connected to an Akai AM-2250 amp and Mission 700 loudspeakers), I love this thing: the design (even the remote looks great!), the sound, and what I find most amazing of all: it plays every cdr I put into it without any problem! Not bad for an antique 1984 cd player, eh ?!

 

[lorne]

Some time ago I acquired an Akai CD-A70, including the remote, for free. ... I love this thing

If I were looking for another vintage Red-Book player, I'd aim for the high end models of Akai, Yamaha CDX series, Sony ES series or the Sansui Alpha series. These were seriously considered machines, and some of their build trickled down to lower end models with cast metal carriers, specially selected cap series for the power supplies — shielding and many features designed to reduce jitter. Chip technology has come a long way in making decent sounding players that sell for peanuts, but you gotta admire these often big machines that have played for decades. What I really like about them is their function as decks — to spin the bits out to a D/A converter with modern chip sets. Best of both worlds in IMHO — like putting a modern wheel-set on a vintage racing bicycle.

 

[JimmyNeutron]

My Technics SL-P1300
Pretty minty and sounds very good. I love the style, and the weight? Holy cow, it's heavy.

Jimmy

 

[zebra03]

Some time ago I acquired an Akai CD-A70, including the remote, for free. The owner wasn't using it anymore because "the display is broken". I didn't realize just how old it was after I brought it home with me and did some googlin. Turns out that this player was introduced in the Netherlands (where I live) as early as 1984. As for the display, it was easily fixed by just replacing the burnt out lightbulb behind it with a led. I'm using it every day now (connected to an Akai AM-2250 amp and Mission 700 loudspeakers), I love this thing: the design (even the remote looks great!), the sound, and what I find most amazing of all: it plays every cdr I put into it without any problem! Not bad for an antique 1984 cd player, eh ?!

That is the biggest problem I have found is the CD-R issue . Nice going .

 

[hogdaddy]

I recently acquired a Pioneer PDR-19RW to match my other Elite Urushi gear. (Is this considered vintage?)
These retailed for $1200 new in 1999 I believe.
It has optical and coaxial digital, and RCA analog inputs.

It is a single disc recorder that plays CDR,CDRW.
So far I have been impressed with its playback capabilities.

Here is a pic of one.

 

[rjag46]

cd player

Marantz DR-700 bought new, and after all these years still works beautifuly ! Was a spendy machine back then, paid over 8 hundred.:thmbsp:

 

[lorne]

Zebra03

That is the biggest problem I have found is the CD-R issue .

It's a real shame when that happens.:tears: I've let go some very nice machines because of that issue. Sometimes its the laser unit that goes feeble, and some of those are either expensive or very rare parts.

 

[lorne]

JimmyNeutron

My Technics SL-P1300

That is one lovely machine! Design-wise it makes perfect sense — for a top shelf unit. It skips the issue of designing a jitter free sled. And all the sonic circuits are housed off from the power supply — or so it seems to me. Some tasty parts in their too. :thmbsp:

 

[tubeboob]

First, I have to say this is a great thread!!!

I love vintage CD players, and I have a few that I have found on the cheap, as people just don't appreciate them as they should.

Here's a list:

Sony X339ES
Sony X707ES
Sony 707ESD
Magnavox CDB610
Magnavox CDB650
Magnavox FD3030
Sharp DX-3
Sherwood 980T
Nakamichi CDP-2A
Marantz Legacy (gold tone)
Onkyo DX-1400

While the heady Sony X707ES and 707ESD sound phenom, my favorites to look at are the Sharp DX-3 and Magnavox FD3030, they're just so different.

I need to get the Sharp repaired, as the door refuses to open, and I am not mechanically inclined. It switches on, but that is as far as I can test it.

I'm always on the lookout for unique CD players . . .


Cheers

 

[automojo]

Like every other topic, I think this is a matter of subjective opinion. One of Stereophile's primary missions is to push new equipment into your hands, preferably from their advertisers. Having said that, I will also say that anyone who knocks on my door with a "new, improved" cd player expecting to swap it for either my Denon 1500 or 1700
(both from the mid-80's) would be very disappointed, as a minimum. And, depending on their attitude about the whole thing, might go away wearing their balls for a necklace.

?
I'm not sure they are the one with the attitude problem.....
I do agree it's a perspective thing to a point, but IMHO I really don't think a lot of vintage cd player lovers have really gone out and heard some of the newer decks-not the entry level ones, but the ones more towards the high end spectrum.
And perhaps that's where the real 'attitude' (problem) lies....more of a vintage bias thing then reality-IMHO of course.

 

[sonci]

You can have a nice reading of vintage cd players here

The guy is a bit obsessed with Philips TDA 1541 DAC, which he states is even better than modern DACs, anyway is a fun reading..

 

[Dr Tinear]

You can have a nice reading of vintage cd players here

The guy is a bit obsessed with Philips TDA 1541 DAC, which he states is even better than modern DACs, anyway is a fun reading..

The Lampizator is entertaining, I'll agree ... but don't be taken in by his recommendation to yank the oversampling digital filter and the analog reconstruction filter from a perfectly good TDA1541-based player. All that will leave you with is a player that puts out high levels of ultrasonic noise along with your music signal. That noise can drive your preamp or amp into nonlinear operation, bringing new and exciting levels of distortion to your listening, and could even let the magic smoke out of your tweeters if you turned the volume up high.

 

[tommy6206]

My Technics SL-P1300
Pretty minty and sounds very good. I love the style, and the weight? Holy cow, it's heavy.

Jimmy

I have 3 of the SL-P1200's 2 mint and working and the third for spares/ repair
And they do sound good

 

[guiller]

The Lampizator is entertaining, I'll agree ... but don't be taken in by his recommendation to yank the oversampling digital filter and the analog reconstruction filter from a perfectly good TDA1541-based player. All that will leave you with is a player that puts out high levels of ultrasonic noise along with your music signal. That noise can drive your preamp or amp into nonlinear operation, bringing new and exciting levels of distortion to your listening, and could even let the magic smoke out of your tweeters if you turned the volume up high.

Agreed! :tresbon: