On the hunt for a nice CD player

[Jeff White]

Hey peeps, I've got a few decent receivers, nice dual-cassette deck, and a nice turntable. However, I no longer have a CD player for my home setup. Hunting for a single-disc, no-nonsense CD player, possibly even vintage, for under $100. Wondering what you all are using.

Thanks!

Jeff

[Gregg Juke]

No nonsense, for under $100? You are obviously not talking high-end "stereophile" gear. If D/A conversion isn't an especially big issue for you, I'd just use a simple, cheap "Walkman-type" still available at a lot of stores for $20. Vintage, for under $100? I had an original Sony Walkman from Japan (still do, actually). It gave up the ghost a few years back, and I haven't looked into repairing it, but that player took a beating, and could play _any_ disc that I ever put in it (not like a lot of players that have come and gone since then, and some available now). It never let me down (until it had to "say goodbye"). If you can find one of these working on ebay or Craig's List, I'd say bag it.

If you wanted to spend some more, and go with a pro audio player, I love the Numark NDX400's, which you can get for closer to $200 or so each (but sometimes less). They are great players that can do lots of cool stuff, but you might not need all of the extra features.

GJ

[Jeff White]

All I need is a play button, a stop button, and the ability to skip forward and backwards. Honestly, I'm never going to use it for anything but playing full discs. I'm an album listener. And sound quality is obviously important. Looking for simple.

Ok, so let's say $200 and under. Makes, models, vintage or new, what's out there to take a look at. I'm really interested in something that's traditional size; ya know, that will sit on top of a receiver and under a turntable.

Jeff

[vvv]

I wet thru this search last year and could find nothin' new.

So I went to the evilBog, and bought yet another Sony; I like the most basic table-top models, the only features I use (and seldom) being "shuffle" and "fade".

I now have tw, one similar to this, the other like this.

[Bro Shark]

If you have any unused DVD players laying around they work fine. They are also cheap and ubiquitous used.

[vvv]

DVD players work, but IME are aggravatingly slow to load.

[Bro Shark]

That is true, but the OP listens to the whole album so what's an extra 5-10 seconds wait time at the start?

I know what you mean though. Also the controls are kinda on their own agenda. Sometimes it'll pause, sometimes not.

There is a TEAC model single-disc CD player on Amazon I've been considering. I never liked those multi-disc trays.

[Gregg Juke]

I had an Onkyo multi-disc home player that worked fine; I'm sure they make/made a single-disc unit. But Bro's suggestion re: DVD player is a good one; that's actually what I use at home and at school (studio has Walkman, computer, D3200, a couple of DVD players, and I can always pull-out the NDX400's, which I primarily use live).

If you're going for simple, just keep it simple. You probably already have a DVD player that you can re-purpose.

GJ

[Jim Williams]

If that budget is $200, use a low cost DVD player and get a Ross Martin PCM1794 DAC to play it through. That will run you $179. It's probably better than the DAC you have in the studio so prepare to "borrow" it from time to time.

[Jeff White]

If that budget is $200, use a low cost DVD player and get a Ross Martin PCM1794 DAC to play it through. That will run you $179. It's probably better than the DAC you have in the studio so prepare to "borrow" it from time to time.

This is AWESOME INFORMATION and I plan on going in this direction now. I realized that I have some records as DVD 96k/24-bit audio and this solves that problem. Thank you!

Anyone recommend any DVD players?

Jeff

[austin]

I've been using a spare DVD player (snagged from my GF's family), but it has a mind of its own. Its latest trick is randomly skipping to the next track for no discernible reason.

Maybe there's a reason it was a "spare."

[Bro Shark]

Oppo brand.

[EasyGo]

All I need is a play button, a stop button, and the ability to skip forward and backwards. Honestly, I'm never going to use it for anything but playing full discs. I'm an album listener. And sound quality is obviously important. Looking for simple.

Ok, so let's say $200 and under. Makes, models, vintage or new, what's out there to take a look at. I'm really interested in something that's traditional size; ya know, that will sit on top of a receiver and under a turntable.

Jeff

I did this search as well last year. I like NAD amps, but I ended up ruling out used NAD CD/DVD players after buying one that was DOA, reading many bad reviews and seeing so many being sold for parts. Then, I really wanted the least expensive Cambridge Audio CD player but couldn't cough up the $300.

I read several good reviews about a single CD Onkyo, model number is C-7030 that can sometimes be found for around $170. But again, I wasn't able to scrounge up the funding. I've also read great things about the Oppo brand.

Since money was and is tight, I use a 1990s Marantz player ($10 from a yard sale) and a 1986 Technics player ($5) which both work great. The Technics loads up faster than any player I've ever owned. It sounds surprisingly good. I was able to find a compatible Philips remote for $22 on eBay for the Marantz.

I have a $30 Philips DVD player from Target, but the operating noise is heinous, it has no display and takes forever to load. A DVD player will work in a pinch, but it's not the best solution.

[Gregg Juke]

>>>>Since money was and is tight, I use a 1990s Marantz player ($10 from a yard sale) and a 1986 Technics player ($5) which both work great. The Technics loads up faster than any player I've ever owned. It sounds surprisingly good. I was able to find a compatible Philips remote for $22 on eBay for the Marantz.<<<<

Seriously, in my experience the older players (early old, 80's-early 90's; not mid-old like late 90's-early 2000's) seem to be the best at tracking and fast loading any kind of CD, and will play almost any disc in any kind of shape (burned or manufactured, scratches, divots, food particles stuck to the CD; CD-Rom's that have audio content on them, etc., etc.). Some of the other players and CD drives that are not currently up-to-date but not from that initial period have all kinds of trouble, and often it seems the higher-end the player, the more finicky it is...

GJ

[Teacher's Pet]

Since money was and is tight, I use a 1990s Marantz player ($10 from a yard sale)

Me too, precisely.

It even scrolls the CD text in the window, what a thrill.