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Audiolab 6000CDT experience

JaccoW

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Thanks for the steers but I'm aware of all of those and I'm not keen.

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.



There's nothing new that looks like it I can find. I might end up taking a chance and buying one off ebay or something. Trouble is people ask too much for something that might die in a few weeks or months.
I get that but I think that particular styling is pretty early 2000's. Especially in that (hideous IMHO) champagne colour.
My Marantz DV9600 is from that time:


I'm guessing something overly fancy like a €2500 SACD/streamer like the Technics SL-G700 is too much? Otherwise I'd suggest looking at the usual suspects like Yamaha, Denon and Marantz for modern CD players.
sl-g700-getinspired-8.jpg
 

Angsty

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Thanks for the steers but I'm aware of all of those and I'm not keen.

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.



There's nothing new that looks like it I can find. I might end up taking a chance and buying one off ebay or something. Trouble is people ask too much for something that might die in a few weeks or months.
Jay's Audio makes battleship-style top loader transports:

CDT3-MK3-7.png

 
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Angsty

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Thanks for the steers but I'm aware of all of those and I'm not keen.

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.



There's nothing new that looks like it I can find. I might end up taking a chance and buying one off ebay or something. Trouble is people ask too much for something that might die in a few weeks or months.
Another option could be the Marantz CD60, using the digital output to your favorite DAC:
g642CD60SG-F.jpg

 

only.shallow

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Denon just released a new CD/SACD player that looks well built and can also act as a transport if need be. It's $1500 which seems to be the median compared to other contemporary SACD players. I'm curious how it measures, especially with the new Denon AVRs getting reviewed lately.

 

Mart68

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I get that but I think that particular styling is pretty early 2000's. Especially in that (hideous IMHO) champagne colour.
My Marantz DV9600 is from that time:


I'm guessing something overly fancy like a €2500 SACD/streamer like the Technics SL-G700 is too much? Otherwise I'd suggest looking at the usual suspects like Yamaha, Denon and Marantz for modern CD players.
I like champagne finish but yeah it does divide opinion, always has. I'd settle for one with the black finish too though.

I don't like the looks any of those new Japanese players including that Technics. I've searched a fair bit and come up empty.

I could just tough it out until styling trends head in a different direction. I've a fair few classic CD players but they all have temperamental issues, otherwise I'd put one of them in.
 

Mart68

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Denon just released a new CD/SACD player that looks well built and can also act as a transport if need be. It's $1500 which seems to be the median compared to other contemporary SACD players. I'm curious how it measures, especially with the new Denon AVRs getting reviewed lately.

That doesn't look too bad. Prefer it in the silver finish. Needs a proper 'Denon' badge though.
 

Angsty

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Roksan Attessa CD Transport

g371ATCDTS-F.jpg

 

Angsty

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I think the Jay's Audio unit is the closest you'd likely find on the current market to the old Teac. I would not claim myself that the audio performance as a transport is any better than a Marantz CD6007, but the build quality is unique.

 

JaccoW

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That doesn't look too bad. Prefer it in the silver finish. Needs a proper 'Denon' badge though.
You can always ask Etsy to make you one. ;)
 

thegeton

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I've owned my 6000CDT since November of last year. I bought it open box from a retailer through their eBay site. It arrived in perfect condition.

Subjectively, it sounds great. I have it connected via Optical (toslink) to a Topping D70, then balanced out into a Schiit Freya S.

Operationally, it's simple to use, the slot load is superb. Functionally, its built like a tank and it has one HUGE advantage over any other CD player in my house, or even in my vehicles: it has a robust read ahead buffer. As such, it plays damaged CDs which will not play in anything else. Amazing capability to play even the worst case damaged disks.

I really like it and feel like it is a worthy investment.
 

KellenVancouver

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I'm a bit surprised at some of the negative reviews that have occurred. I've only been using the 6000CDT for less than three years, but so far narry a hitch in performance. Perfect thus far. The comments by found.remains that his CDs/SACDs (I assume he had hybrids) were getting scratched is totally alien compared to my experience. Something definitely amiss there; in fact, not sure I've ever heard of a CD player doing that, although he implied it was an issue for the 6000. Maybe that means I've been lucky so far, but honestly I cannot relate any faults with the 6000CDT which I have. Lucky or no, I'm very happy with it.
 

hansponz

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I've just purchased one used, at a 39% discount off retail. I was using a Sony base level, no-frills DVD player as a transport, and it has started to distort. I'm glad it turned out to be the $40 component, the cheapest of them all in my setup. I'm ready for a CD sound upgrade, though last year I donated my ~750 jazz CDs in beautiful shape, to our local, listener-supported jazz station. I almost regret that. But, of course, my music-acquisition syndrome didn't stop, so I have a bunch of new jazz CDs as well as a box of classical and a couple of pop/rock. I have a budget Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100, so nothing fancy. After this upgrade of my transport component and a turntable upgrade, I think it'll be a while before I upgrade the DAC. I'd appreciate thoughts on how much the DAC upgrade, to, say, a $1000 or so DAC, would be likely to benefit my CD and digital file+streaming experience!
 

hansponz

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Those cheapo bluray payers are nasty to use and the mechs are noisy. I had to replace both a Samsung and a Panasonic with an Oppo as I could hear them grinding away when watching films. From ten feet away!

The Panasonic went faulty after a couple of years, not 20.

The Audiolab looks and feels like a proper bit of hi-fi kit and the mech makes no noise in operation.
My $40 Sony DVD player just went distorted after several months. I'm upgrading to the Audiolab 6000CDT.
 

Angsty

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I've just purchased one used, at a 39% discount off retail. I was using a Sony base level, no-frills DVD player as a transport, and it has started to distort. I'm glad it turned out to be the $40 component, the cheapest of them all in my setup. I'm ready for a CD sound upgrade, though last year I donated my ~750 jazz CDs in beautiful shape, to our local, listener-supported jazz station. I almost regret that. But, of course, my music-acquisition syndrome didn't stop, so I have a bunch of new jazz CDs as well as a box of classical and a couple of pop/rock. I have a budget Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100, so nothing fancy. After this upgrade of my transport component and a turntable upgrade, I think it'll be a while before I upgrade the DAC. I'd appreciate thoughts on how much the DAC upgrade, to, say, a $1000 or so DAC, would be likely to benefit my CD and digital file+streaming experience!
Don’t expect a $1000 DAC to sound any different than your DacMagic except in output volume.

I have three DACs of various price points and vintage. They all sound the same when level matched. They sounded a bit different to me before I tried level matching, then all the differences faded.

Even more to my chagrin, my new CD player sounds exactly the same as my DAC outputs, as I can switch between the sources in my preamp.
 

Tigi

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I'm a bit surprised at some of the negative reviews that have occurred. I've only been using the 6000CDT for less than three years, but so far narry a hitch in performance. Perfect thus far. The comments by found.remains that his CDs/SACDs (I assume he had hybrids) were getting scratched is totally alien compared to my experience. Something definitely amiss there; in fact, not sure I've ever heard of a CD player doing that, although he implied it was an issue for the 6000. Maybe that means I've been lucky so far, but honestly I cannot relate any faults with the 6000CDT which I have. Lucky or no, I'm very happy with it.
I tried a brand new 6000CDT three years ago, and unfortunately I have to confirm the negative experience as stated by the previous discussant. It was evident that the device was scratching a few discs (straight lines caused by the slot mechanism), so I returned it immediately to the dealer. More notices of this problem can be found on the internet, but I have not read them in any professional review. I finally bought Cambridge Audio CXC and am still satisfied with it. Nevertheless, in terms of looks, chassis sturdiness, disc loading speed and remote control, I liked the Audiolab transport more than CXC, so I'm glad that they recently started offering the 7000CDT and 9000CDT with standard tray mechanism.
 
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Joe Smith

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My $40 Sony DVD player just went distorted after several months. I'm upgrading to the Audiolab 6000CDT.
Lots of options between the two price points... Kind of going from one extreme to the other...

I'm still using lots of DVD players and dedicated CD players that work just fine...

I wish someone would make a good, simple, cleanly styled, tray-type basic CD transport for around $250 that I could use with some of my standalone DACs, that'd be something I'd buy.
 

Angsty

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Lots of options between the two price points... Kind of going from one extreme to the other...

I'm still using lots of DVD players and dedicated CD players that work just fine...

I wish someone would make a good, simple, cleanly styled, tray-type basic CD transport for around $250 that I could use with some of my standalone DACs, that'd be something I'd buy.
How about $399? You might be able to score one of these (or similar) at Safe & Sound for less. I’m still bewildered why people avoid using new players as transports.

 

rdenney

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How about $399? You might be able to score one of these (or similar) at Safe & Sound for less. I’m still bewildered why people avoid using new players as transports.

DVD players are slow to load, for one thing.

And they are very cheaply made—clearly made to be disposable. Most are intended for computer disk drives, which are designed for high-speed bursts, not real-time playback.

I also find that many current drives are mechanically noisy.

I have lots of CD players. Old ones have wear problems and new ones require one to pay for a nice box that will likely be in the landfill in a couple of years because of the plastic craptastic transport.

Reliability has been elusive for me, though I refuse to pay what a Philips pro-transport costs. My most reliable decks have Sony KSS151 drives—Sony’s best at the peak of audio CD players. I have two 90’s-era Tascam commercial and a vintage Marantz Professional playback deck with those drives that have been repairable and reliable. The Cambridge Audio drives have not been as good—the CXC (cheapie Sanyo drive) display is too dim, the D500SE (price-point Sony KSS213 drive) is currently not reading disks, and the 640C (Sanyo drive, I think) is picky about CDRs. Those Sanyo drives are price-point drives made for $30 players, but they are made better than the computer drives I’ve seen recently.

I have several players more on the fixit pile including a lovely but non-functional player by Naim Audio with a cheap Philips transport.

I’ve ripped hundreds of CDs in a laptop computer drive, but it is picky about real-time playback. That may the the computer, but the drive looks to be the cheapest possible construction.

Rick “choosing between age-related wear and quality, it would seem” Denney
 

thegeton

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How about $399? You might be able to score one of these (or similar) at Safe & Sound for less. I’m still bewildered why people avoid using new players as transports.


I bought the NAD C-538. It arrived DOA from Amazon and I returned it. Never tried it again.
 
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