Any good CD player/transport around?

[deniall83]

Good job. Do let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

 

[Farenheit]

Update

Many thanks everyone for the tips. You guys rock. I think I might have found what I needed. Just purchased this one

Tascam CD-200

CD Player Plays audio CDs, MP3 / and WAV files, CD TEXT and ID3, Continue, Random and Program play modes, Repeat all and repeat single play modes, Index search, Shock / skip protection with memory buffer, Speed ​​adjustment +/- 12% for analog...

www.thomann.de

Seems to have all I need and nothing I don't

1. remote
2. reasonably clean/simple to operate front fascia
3. tray loader, front
4. small display
5. both coax and optical digital out to go into my Benchmark DAC
6. Bonus: an headphone amp and headphone jack - this will be useful for when I want to continue listening late at night, I'll just plug in a pair of beat-up Beyerdynamics I have around. Hopefully this is good enough to drive them ok.

I don't have any use for those rack mount ears, but they seem to be easily removable.

This is turning up cheaper than the cheapest unit I had in my list (that Yamaha S303) and it has a headphone jack to boot, plus the CD tray looks larger and more robust than that on the Yamaha, which makes me hopeful it'll last a little longer.

So yes thank you again everyone for your input. Will report back in case someone else is in the same shoes.

I have the same model and I absolutely recommend it.

 

[Sashoir]

Slot loading mechs make a mess of CDs, especially when the roller guides get dusty/sticky.

@tokyo_blues Maybe see if you can track down a NOS Denon professional player (19" rack mount)?

I had been about to recommend the 6000CDT because it has worked very well for me (it's never failed to read discs which my computer drives can't rip with dB power amp and my blue ray player doesn't manage), but Restorer-John is one of the members here who seems to have a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of audio hardware, so my advice is to follow his advice.
I used to have a sony cd player which had a magnetic puck which was cool (though presumably useless) which is still going strong for my brother 20 years later (I moved around a lot so got rid of all my stuff and had to buy everything again), so maybe pick up a Sony ES model from the mid 1990s?

 

[tokyo_blues]

I had been about to recommend the 6000CDT because it has worked very well for me (it's never failed to read discs which my computer drives can't rip with dB power amp and my blue ray player doesn't manage), but Restorer-John is one of the members here who seems to have a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of audio hardware, so my advice is to follow his advice.
I used to have a sony cd player which had a magnetic puck which was cool (though presumably useless) which is still going strong for my brother 20 years later (I moved around a lot so got rid of all my stuff and had to buy everything again), so maybe pick up a Sony ES model from the mid 1990s?

Thanks. See post #19. I've just made a purchase, went with a Tascam.

 

[Vacceo]

I like the aesthetics of the TASCAM.
I suspect its innards are uninspiring, especially for the price.
But it looks quite nice in a purposeful way.

Oh. In terms of the OP.
I would do what I did, if I were me.

Old DVDPs (and even some CDPs) are cheap or free. Pick up one (or 10), find one (or two or three) that look good and work reliably, then add a good DAC. Done. Keep one or two spares.

In full disclosure, the DVDP I use as a "daily driver" CD transport (from the swap pile of the Harvard, MA, town "transfer station") was found sans remote control, so I bought one on eBAY for $20 (USD). EDIT: It loads quite quickly -- surprisingly so given that it's not a purpose-built CDP.
It's all plastic, all the time, though (although not junky in appearance nor in feel, IMO).



"Daily driver" since July 2013.

I use that exact model of DVD/CD in the living room setting. I got it connected via optical to a pair of LS50 Wireless II (that also work as soundbar/radio tuner). Couldn´t be happier with it.

 

[sq225917]

Audiolab cdm user here, philips cdm pro 9 mech, 97 vintage, recapped and aligned, it'll see me out.

 

[deniall83]

Got this Sony DVP-NS900V a few weeks ago after becoming frustrated with the lack of options for good quality, entry level CD players. So far I'm enjoying it. Nice build quality and some nice features as well as SACD playback.

 

[richie60]

I went through this a while back after convincing myself that I need a transport. Honestly, there isn't much. The Audiolab 6000CDT was the one I was going to get until I started reading dozens of reports that it scratches discs. The Cambridge CXC looks OK but in Australia is $1300 which is way overpriced for the quality. I'm still deciding what I'm going to do but I'll probably end with a budget player from Marantz, Denon or Yamaha.

hmm, mine isn't scratching discs..

 

[Rednaxela]

Got this Sony DVP-NS900V a few weeks ago after becoming frustrated with the lack of options for good quality, entry level CD players. So far I'm enjoying it. Nice build quality and some nice features as well as SACD playback.

Sorry for the necropost but I got one of these too yesterday, pretty much for the same reasons. It’s an incredibly nice unit that can be had for very little these days. It’s good looking, well built, with a nice display, and as a CD transport it’s very fast and responsive.

Mine came with the wrong remote, and through the headphones out there’s a strange sort of virtual surround like effect going on with lots of reverb. Need to hook it up to a display that accepts analog video to see if it’s because of an audio setting or two. It’s a shame that it’s just a hair too old to include HDMI, because with my 2023 TV even the option to to use its video functions is no longer there. But other than that I’m very happy with it.