DACs in cd players are usually not an issue. I'd prefer keeping the signal digital after the player rather than the player convert, but....
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Best Deal Cd Player 2026
- Thread starter mliuzzi
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Thanks Henreid!with my congratulations for getting a great deal on a CD player I know you will appreciate.
This. After I got this Denon 900ne, I took out all the CDs, gave them a quick clean and played them from track 1 up until the end. I do stream as and when to discover new songs but thats about it. My listening habits have changed completely now. It's more about taking time to enjoy each track as sequenced in the album.
It's how it was meant to be
You want to use the analog out of the CD player. IMO any main brand CD player from around year 1995 with a retail price once higher than 500$ will give you a 100% perfect output. Sound differences in this class are close to non existant, if there are objective ones, it is not about better or worse, but taste. The more expensive models usualy have better outside optics, haptic and as well some better internal parts
A DVD is not the best idea. First, most are very slow in reading the CD and in my experience they very often fail unrepairable without any explainable cause.
If a CD player fails, the most common cause is a deteriorated rubber belt, followedby a worn out laser. Dirty lenses are often mentioned, but not found that much in reality, unless you smell the nicotine... Belt and laser are quite simple to replace, but be aware of unabtainable lasers, as there are a few.
Here is a list of players, DAC and drive used: https://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
vasiltech.narod.ru
If you want me to mention brands, Marantz and Onkyo come to my mind first. Denon, Teac. Compared to the numbers sold, the majority of those usualy last forever. I dislike Sony, Pioneer. I would avoid those fancy brands like NAD, Caimbridge, Merian and the like. Usualy cheap internals adapted to some complicated stuff to make it look special. You will not find "better" sound there.
You can get first class CD player used from 50$ up. 200$ seems a reasonable limit for a maybe once 1200$ top model. People don't want them any more. Many of the streaming generation inherited them from their parents and don't have any interest in those dust catchers. So it is a buyer market, just like it was with record players 30 years ago. There are no urgently wanted, rare models, that's only sales talk. It's only unsellable at all or hard to sell once high quality units, maybe with a little interest from nostalgic people like us. Not only look at eBay, but at other, smaler or even local sales places too. If you can not test or return it, reduce the price for higher risk. If you can test it, have a know CD with you. I had sellers that pretended not to have one. Even without listening, you can tell how fast it picks up and wheter it skipps tracks. A cheap earphone with an adaptor will tell you if the analog out is working.
Many CD player, available new today, use cheap computer drives, those can be slow and loud. I have no desireable new player on my list.
A DVD is not the best idea. First, most are very slow in reading the CD and in my experience they very often fail unrepairable without any explainable cause.
If a CD player fails, the most common cause is a deteriorated rubber belt, followedby a worn out laser. Dirty lenses are often mentioned, but not found that much in reality, unless you smell the nicotine... Belt and laser are quite simple to replace, but be aware of unabtainable lasers, as there are a few.
Here is a list of players, DAC and drive used: https://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
CD-Player-DAC-Transport List
If you want me to mention brands, Marantz and Onkyo come to my mind first. Denon, Teac. Compared to the numbers sold, the majority of those usualy last forever. I dislike Sony, Pioneer. I would avoid those fancy brands like NAD, Caimbridge, Merian and the like. Usualy cheap internals adapted to some complicated stuff to make it look special. You will not find "better" sound there.
You can get first class CD player used from 50$ up. 200$ seems a reasonable limit for a maybe once 1200$ top model. People don't want them any more. Many of the streaming generation inherited them from their parents and don't have any interest in those dust catchers. So it is a buyer market, just like it was with record players 30 years ago. There are no urgently wanted, rare models, that's only sales talk. It's only unsellable at all or hard to sell once high quality units, maybe with a little interest from nostalgic people like us. Not only look at eBay, but at other, smaler or even local sales places too. If you can not test or return it, reduce the price for higher risk. If you can test it, have a know CD with you. I had sellers that pretended not to have one. Even without listening, you can tell how fast it picks up and wheter it skipps tracks. A cheap earphone with an adaptor will tell you if the analog out is working.
Many CD player, available new today, use cheap computer drives, those can be slow and loud. I have no desireable new player on my list.
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According to a review on Aliexpress, the PL100 'PRO' doesn't have gapless playback, whereas its predecessor does. Unfortunately, I can't confirm this either way, and I was searching on here to see if it was true.
However, after reading the above post maybe rooting through the markets for an old player would be a better idea in general.
However, after reading the above post maybe rooting through the markets for an old player would be a better idea in general.
I wasn't an "early adopter" of CDs when they were introduced in the '80s, but once I invested in a player and started buying compact discs I realized how much simpler and faster it was just to get to the music. And today I'm amazed by the vast number of Classical Music CDs available that have preserved truly great performances over the past 40+ years and are selling in used but excellent condition for a fraction of what they cost decades ago (sometimes for as little as $1 per disc). Of course there are several other formats for accessing audio and they all have their benefits, but in my case, CDs have provided one of the easiest entryways to recordings I love.
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I tend to just listen to albums when streaming. Just the way I have mostly done music listening....now, if I find a good single I use that as a way to go listen to the full album, and often the album just doesn't live up to the best tracks....
I don't think anyone is being annoying by just suggesting an alternative. I think they are saying that the main point about FLACs is simply that you can use a £15 USB CD/DVD drive on a PC and get the identical audio quality, if you already have a DAC or a streamer, plus you get playlists, which means you don't have to manually skip certain tracks, or just play singles with less fuss. In any large music collection, there are such albums, IMHO! And search, seelct and playback by band, genre, album etc.
Talisman
Major Contributor
But what's the point of suggesting streaming music to someone explicitly asking about a CD player?
I think someone on an audio forum knows full well that files and streamers exist, but they're asking something else.
I have two Denon CD players. I used them for about 40 playback sessions. They pretty much sit idle now while my RPI5 Moode setup with 96 favorite albums on USB drive gets used every day. It's nice to be able to support 44.1 kHz CD audio to 352 kHz high res with Moode and the visual album covers make selecting Music a breeze.
I don't know if my use is the norm, but it's really hard to recommend spending $500 on a CD player if you haven't tried Moode first. I guess it's a learning experience. When you have both, you are likely choosing between CD nostalgia and ease of use. It's not a small difference. As my library grew, it was so much easier to find that favorite song or album on Moode vs a stack of discs.
Pick your poison, but don't be surprised if you get spoiled by ease of use with a Moode playback setup and find the CD player becomes an orphan.
The RPi5 Moode setup is also way cheaper at less than $150 versus what I paid for my Denon DCD-900NE. Moode is continually adding new features and doesn't have any belts or gears that eventually break with time. I only mention this as I wish I had tried Moode before spending lots of cash on CD players (only to have them sit idle later).
I don't know if my use is the norm, but it's really hard to recommend spending $500 on a CD player if you haven't tried Moode first. I guess it's a learning experience. When you have both, you are likely choosing between CD nostalgia and ease of use. It's not a small difference. As my library grew, it was so much easier to find that favorite song or album on Moode vs a stack of discs.
Pick your poison, but don't be surprised if you get spoiled by ease of use with a Moode playback setup and find the CD player becomes an orphan.
The RPi5 Moode setup is also way cheaper at less than $150 versus what I paid for my Denon DCD-900NE. Moode is continually adding new features and doesn't have any belts or gears that eventually break with time. I only mention this as I wish I had tried Moode before spending lots of cash on CD players (only to have them sit idle later).
Sure - here's a good cd player, as the OP asked for one "that provides the highest performance per dollar on a budget"
Talisman
Major Contributor
I realize you can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.
The obtuseness of certain positions sometimes disheartens me.
The obtuseness of certain positions sometimes disheartens me.
Good value. But 96 CDs is a tiny collection
I do have a CD transport, mostly bought so that others in the house can spin up a CD without phone apps, or the NAS being turned on.
It doesn't get used a lot though, so I might sell it on....
It has a great party trick in that it plugs into my streamer amp which on play, checks the CD online, and displays cover art and all the usual tag data (track name, album name, band name) on the front panel display.
Nevertheless, I see no point spending much on any CD player these days. £1000 for example, will buy a lot of CDs or live shows!
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That's new to me....(not to hijack the thread that has already blessed me with a new CD player
). I've been trying to set up a Volumio system the past couple of nights and keep killing SD cards for some reason. Looking into MoOde now
Talisman
Major Contributor
For me, it was the opposite. I have two Wi-Fi streamers that have been unused since I got a CD player again. I love choosing a record from my CD rack, looking at the cover, inserting a CD, and sitting down to listen to an album.
Can you do that more conveniently with a streamer? Of course.
It's the same with vinyl records.
Is it possible that you accept that audio is a passion to be experienced according to one's emotions, not a job to be done as efficiently as possible?
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