Was thinkin might buy a CD player

[1970zHiFiGuy]

Yes I know strange but true. I have a NAD C542 which is working fine. I guess I am prepping for a worst case scenario if or when the C542 fails. Don't want to spend a wad of cash and I prefer smallish components. I was really hoping one of our members might have heard or own the NAD C538. I haven't heard one but I did hear the C516BEE I thought it was very nice. No I'm not going to rip 1200 CD's to a computer so don't suggest it.

 

[BilboBaggins]

I have yet to hear a difference in sound quality between CD and DVD players. That being said, I try to have the function define the device. I did have a NAD CD Player and it was reliable. I have a few CD players in use right now. And cassette decks. When a cd player goes, I donate it somewhere and take another from the pile. Only my expensive cd players have died on me after the warrantee.

 

[Snazz]

I just ordered one. (NAD c538) Its a refurbished one for like 250$. I've read they are pretty good for the price.

 

[techguy0192]

Nothing wring with NAD. With that said, I have had good result from pro CD players, like Tascam. The pro/broadcast CD players will hold up well; add a DAC if you're looking for additional improvements.

 

[Snazz]

So im guessing there is a way to hookup the cd player that bypasses the internal dac? Thats my understanding anyway. Then i can purchase a better stand alone dac? Im gonna use it as is for now but i def want to get the best out of it.

 

[AudioGMan]

So im guessing there is a way to hookup the cd player that bypasses the internal dac? Thats my understanding anyway. Then i can purchase a better stand alone dac? Im gonna use it as is for now but i def want to get the best out of it.

You can hook up an external DAC if a CD player has a digital output.

 

[slow_jazz]

I use a Sony DVP-S7000 which is a dvd player that plays cd's.

Pick them up used for under $100 and they were $1,000 new.

Also has digital output.

 

[RGA]

Yes I know strange but true. I have a NAD C542 which is working fine. I guess I am prepping for a worst case scenario if or when the C542 fails. Don't want to spend a wad of cash and I prefer smallish components. I was really hoping one of our members might have heard or own the NAD C538. I haven't heard one but I did hear the C516BEE I thought it was very nice. No I'm not going to rip 1200 CD's to a computer so don't suggest it.

What you might consider is getting a good CD transport like my Cambridge Audio CXC for $350 or Audiolab's transport for similar dollars and running these into an external DAC - or if you amplifier has a DAC on board that can handle the duty.

I usually like separates but it really depends if you can hear the difference or not and it won't be heard in all systems. If all this sounds like too much work - I am not a big fan of the sound of NAD CD players - on a tight budget I would look at Marantz - they usually come with a longer warranty than other makers as well for what it's worth and so if people view CD players as all sounding the same then the one with the longest warranty makes sense. Marantz is usually well made and deals can be found whenever they close out a model for a new model (the mode numbers change but the amp or cd player inside the box does not).

Plus I think they look nicer - this one is selling for $399 on music direct usually $600 it comes in various colour schemes though Music Direct only seems to sell the black one with rosewood side panels. Still there outlets may be competitive on price and have the other finish options.

 

[gizzyman47]

Get yourself a decent player that has a digital out and get a good stand alone DAC. No need to buy an expensive cdp. IMO.

 

[Woodwind]

I started a thread last year on a suitable CDP for a "vintage" system, and there was a lot of really good info posted. I ended up following the recommendation that you go for a decent Universal player which can handle SACD and Blueray and picked up a Marantz UD 7007 and Sony NS900V. I then invested in some very reasonably priced dics to take advantage of the improved sound.

Like the OP, I am now looking into another CD-playback system and am tempted to go the transport/DAC-route rather than another Universal player, or indeed an expensive, stand-alone, high-quality CDP.

Another consideration is that I have a Cambridge Azure 540C V.2 (with digital outputs) which I am thinking of using as the transport: but what DAC of course? I have recently heard/read some say that some manufacturers try to replicate tube amp systems with the output from modern equipment. Has anyone come across that? Otherwise, I suppose that a half-decent "modernish" DAC will improve the sound of a 15-year old Cambridge CDP. (although it was not a bad little machine to be fair.)

On the basis that this might also help the OP in their deliberations, does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced but high quality DAC that is available on the second-hand-markets today?

 

[mr_light]

You can get some of the higher end Denon DVD players with quality transports and decent DACs fairly cheaply.

 

[RunOutGroove]

Get yourself a decent player that has a digital out and get a good stand alone DAC. No need to buy an expensive cdp. IMO.

I just did that very thing. I recently bought an outbound DAC to use with my Onkyo DVD player. You can read my post about it for more details, but suffice to say that I did notice a pretty dramatic difference in sound quality, most of it (but not all) good... It seems that much as with anything else, the more you pay, the better you're going to be getting. I have no doubt that a more expensive DAC would sound even better to me.

Anyway, I like the idea of buying a decent, but not too expensive player and spending the excess on the best DAC you can afford. CD players always seem to wear out and I'm not sure that a DAC typically does (no moving parts) so it seems like a better investment...

 

[GyroTuner]

Don't want to spend a wad of cash and I prefer smallish components.

CD players always seem to wear out and I'm not sure that a DAC typically does (no moving parts) so it seems like a better investment...

I don't know a lot about outboard DACs but older CD players do fail. I do think there is a difference in sound quality between players, the biggest clue regarding how they'll sound may be to check the signal-to-noise ratio, and there is definitely a difference in reliability.

I've had a lot of different players, but my sample size is still too small to say anything definitive, and my comments are mostly about low to mid-range "vintage" players. With those caveats in mind, I've seen models from Technics, Yamaha, Pioneer, Harmon Kardon, Luxman, Kenwood, and on on, break and not be anything special sound wise. NAD is good sound wise but not great reliability wise. Nakamichi players sounded great but were really unreliable - kind of a shame as some could have been classics. Unless you are looking to match the other gear in your system, are getting them very cheap, or can repair them yourself, you can probably do better than these brands. Audio technicians often won't work on CD players.

The best, IMO, are the Sony ES players - and even the lower end ones like the 1-bit, 8X sampling models from the early 90s are really good, such as this X229ES. Non-ES players made by Sony are still pretty good and can be had very cheaply.



If you want to spend less than a Sony ES, get a Denon or a JVC. Neither brand seems to break. The Denon pro gear is not expensive and almost indestructible, and before everything went to computers, were the brand of choice for radio stations.

Cheap JVC players from the late eighties (16-bit, 4X and 18-bit) have a nice sound and keep going and going. There are other threads about JVC CD players on AK - for whatever reasons they surpass all expectations, even a low end one like the XL-V211.



DVD players with SACD capability are also a good way to go for sound quality, but not necessarily for reliability, some won't last very long. Two of the best I've owned are the Philips DVD-963SA and the Denon DVD-2900 and 2910, but the 2900 is far from being small and weighs about 18 lbs.



Note also that some DVD players have the downside of using video menus to turn certain features on and off, which makes them kind of a useless in a good old-fashioned two-channel audio system. If you have the remote that might be enough, but not always.

 

[reggaenaut]

Dvd or cd player with optical out is another reasonable option.

 

[RunOutGroove]

I don't know a lot about outboard DACs but older CD players do fail. I do think there is a difference in sound quality between players, the biggest clue regarding how they'll sound may be to check the signal-to-noise ratio, and there is definitely a difference in reliability.

I've had a lot of different players, but my sample size is still too small to say anything definitive, and my comments are mostly about low to mid-range "vintage" players. With those caveats in mind, I've seen models from Technics, Yamaha, Pioneer, Harmon Kardon, Luxman, Kenwood, and on on, break and not be anything special sound wise. NAD is good sound wise but not great reliability wise. Nakamichi players sounded great but were really unreliable - kind of a shame as some could have been classics. Unless you are looking to match the other gear in your system, are getting them very cheap, or can repair them yourself, you can probably do better than these brands. Audio technicians often won't work on CD players.

Like you, I haven't owned enough of them nor have been able to A/B different players for SQ, but I'm 100% sure that they do indeed sound different. My current player sounds very different running through the Topping d50s DAC that I just bought and the DAC part of different players is going to be a little bit different (or maybe even a lot) so it stands to reason that differences between players ought to be pretty audible, at least between certain ones. I will say that my fairly decent Onkyo DVD player (which has SACD capabilities and is not budget one) supposedly has a decent DAC section and yet it was pretty obviously bested by the not very high end DAC that I hooked up to it.

 

[sanford12]

i have a Marantz CD 6006. It's an excellent player and sounds better than the Pioneer SACD it replaced by a goodly margin. It pulls things out of CD's that no other player ever has. The dac in the Marantz is better in than the one in my Outlaw RR2160.

Time to start doing some online research.