which CDP is better for under 100 bucks , PHILIPS 850 II cdp or SONY X33ES .

[quadklipsh]

Hi all, I need to decide in a few days, if the Sony X33ES is more musical or this Philips 850 mk2.
Both were old cd players and much respected, but now ???


I have a Cambridge Dacmagic100 , not much in use as I went for convenience and use a cheapo blue tooth device with my android phone.
but I get it , the cd players have a dedicated DAC and a better transport also makes the difference much better than some modern DACs. It depends on the caliber of these individual products.
please suggest

 

[quadklipsh]

google images

 

[rochester21]

Initially I chose the Sony but the Philips is a serious machine with the CDM4 laser which I know and love. Good sound too, but....

For $100 you can also get a modern Denon DCD-520AE or a Onkyo C-7030, they might be better than the old players, sonically I mean.

Quality wise you can't beat the old Philips units.

 

[Bodhi1]

I found a Magnavox CDB-470 on USAudiomart in claimed 8/10 condition. The player has been refurbed with new caps incl: Nichicons and Wondercaps, gold plated rca's and features the analogue sounding Phillips TDA1451 chipset. That should be an nice sounding spinner for $165 bucks.

 

[quadklipsh]

So all these days i am not so convinced as the older cd players , x33es, philips 850II , may not supercede a dacmagic 100.
Wouldnt it be a better addition if a nice preamp C-2102 was added to the BaF1 instead of cdplayer.

 

[cpt_paranoia]

Wouldnt it be a better addition if a nice preamp C-2102 was added to the BaF1 instead of cdplayer

What are you trying to achieve? A preamp won't play CDs...

A cheap BT receiver is likely the weak link in your current setup, due to lossy compression. You don't say what source you are using; if it's Spotify, this low quality.

 

[quadklipsh]

My current system is sansui baf1 , connected to a logitech Bluetooth device ( yes the weak link) and i run my mp3s, youtube audio or sometimes flacs through my cell phone sony xz3 8416.
The weak link is definitely the bluetooth . Im using an audax 8inch driver KLS9 speaker speaker but the tweeters now are the phenolic ones made for old marantz speakers.

 

[cpt_paranoia]

Again, what are you trying to achieve here? What do you wish to improve?

 

[quadklipsh]

Higher fidelity ....
Better extension of highs and transparency.

 

[DeadRock]

Higher fidelity ....
Better extension of highs and transparency.

That's more than a Hun...

 

[quadklipsh]

I remember from the olden days when I had a CD player it was a Sony x33 ES and it worked flawlessly it was beautiful but I had limited number of cds and it was time for me to get into storing my data and music into the computer and I found it really cumbersome to maintain the CDs as they would get scratch and problematic.....

The cd player developed a problem in reading the cds ...
I gave away that sony cdp to the mechanic at the shop...

iPod or the mobile phones suck some of that air and charisma i suppose....

so now again I realise that that I could use the opportunity to get one of these cdps cheap, as i remeber they were fun to use .....

 

[jayvis]

The DAC that you have is on par with or better than the ones in both of those old CD players. Whichever one is in the best operating condition is probably the one to get. If I had to choose between the two, it would be the Sony.

 

[quadklipsh]

Ok another cdplayer has been offered.
Its the TEAC CD 5.
If the dacmagic is to be used then the only thing im paying is the spinner for cds. Right?
And teac may not be offering digital outs for the dacmagic.

 

[jayvis]

Ok another cdplayer has been offered.
Its the TEAC CD 5.
If the dacmagic is to be used then the only thing im paying is the spinner for cds. Right?
And teac may not be offering digital outs for the dacmagic.

That TEAC does have an optical digital output that can be used to your DAC. If you want to use your existing DAC only, you'll just be using the cd player as a cd transport. Sometimes it's nice to have different DAC options for cd.

 

[quadklipsh]

And what's your word on the teac. Is it a superior one compared to the Sony and Philips here

 

[Bushikan]

Having rotated numerous CDPs (old and new; costing from $100-$7K) through my system, I believe that better and best rarely mattered. Currently, I have a $600 professional Oppo UDP. It’s always been about synergy.