A new $7000 CD Player? Insane.

[guyboisvert]

A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind ?

I know lots of people who've copied their CDs to hard drive. Most are not technical types. Like you say it isn't hard. But it's not for everyone. I prefer to walk over to my 'library area' and select a physical disc from the shelves. Also I was happy to pay extra for a player with good build quality, ergonomics and pleasing aesthetics. Not everything can be boiled down to just cost and sound quality.

Each to their own, some even spend money on vinyl and cassettes!

 

[Mart68]

Each to their own, some even spend money on vinyl and cassettes!

Cassettes, yes. I can understand vinyl aficionados, but cassettes were just bad in so many different ways.

 

[Roland68]

Why, you use cheap gear?

Such a comment is simply condescending, immature and provocative. Everyone should be able to decide for themselves which devices they want in their living room and whether they prefer to play CDs or records.

And in case you missed it or just got lost, this thread is about CD players.

There are a bunch of Topping devices around me and none have broken down (all are at least 2 years old, the oldest is a DX7 DAC of 8 years old), what should we conclude from this? Could you provide us with your source statistics that support your claims?

I don't know which Topping you're talking about but here (D70 Pro Sabre) it's thick CNC-machined aluminium alloy construction... And i wonder how it could be "fragile"...

He certainly didn't mean the case .

In my area there were over 25 failed Topping devices, but this almost exclusively affected the device group with encapsulated modules and was a self-inflicted failure on the part of Topping. Most of the devices could be returned via Amazon or dealers, the PA5 is relatively easy to repair anyway.

But 4 more expensive defective DACs and HPAs from Topping have now landed on my desk, in which SMD resistors and capacitors of the smallest sizes are defective and cause a short circuit.
This has now become a general problem of cheap SMD components of the smallest size, cheap assembly, lack of product and long-term tests, inexperience in production, etc. This has nothing to do specifically with topping, but is a growing problem in consumer electronics, industry, IT, etc. Unfortunately, I am increasingly dealing with devices that have failed as a result in these areas.
The DSL routers of a European manufacturer fail in not insignificant numbers after just 3 - 5 years, of course outside the warranty period. Repairing these defects is hardly possible without circuit diagrams, measuring points, etc., as a short circuit to ground is often created.
The repair of topping devices for EU users with such defects outside the warranty often costs € 200-300 including shipping costs (for a defective SMD resistor or capacitor), which is often not economical and nobody knows whether it will happen again.
With an expensive Topping HPA with such a defect, I happened to see how a second resistor in another circuit went up in smoke and caused further defects.

Something like this could be avoided with slightly larger and higher quality components, better production and testing, through-hole components, etc., but that would also be more expensive.

We will see how this behaves in the next few years, not just with topping.

But that is also off topic in this thread, since topping doesn't even make CD players.