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Buying a new CD player

I am aware of that and of that particular review. But I am also aware that many old CD players did not achieve full 16 bits linearity at playback either. Harmonic distortion alone have prevented dozens of old CD players to reach that level of performance. Nevertheless, the fact that CD players capable of true 16 bits performance were rare in the past didn't bother the enjoyment of millions of people who had used those. The same will be true with more recent ones. And old is old : wear and tear of the traverse mechanism is to be taken into account when buying on the used market. As well as the fact that old CD players obviously lack features that more up to date players have (digital inputs, network function, ...), if that's important for someone or to make a future-proof purchase.
IF it will actually do 16 bits, it can usually easily be refurbished.
If it is a good mechanism, parts are available.
& it can be made into new condition.
Here is an example:
The only Authorized North American Distributor of Philips CD PRO 2 CD Players



Home / Pro Player Modules / Refurbished Philips CD Pro 2 or 2LF drive


Refurbished Philips CD Pro 2 or 2LF drive​

$475.00
Enco SGI now offers high-quality refurbished CD Pro 2 & 2LF drives, serviced in our shop using our exclusive stock of new/old Philips manufacturer parts. All work is performed or supervised & approved by the same technician who helped Philips bring CD Pro to specialty-audio markets in the early 1990’s. And we offer a 90-day warranty and money-back guarantee on all parts & labor.
Note that the CD Pro 2 drive depicted does not include a centering hub, extension plate, or mounting hardware. Unless otherwise requested, refurbished drives are shipped with a “traditional” plastic center hub installed, and without extension plate or mounting hardware. Please contact us to request a specific mechanical configuration.
Please note that we only offer refurbished drives of the production version VAU 1254/31, VAU 1254/31 (M), VAU 1254/31LF, and VAU 1255/21.
Enco is the original and only authorized distributor of the Philips CD Pro family of compact disc drives. Philips discontinued production of these drives in 2013, and now new/old stock of CD Pro 2 is extremely rare. Our refurbished CD Pro 2 drives are the next best thing to new!
Repairing your own drive yourself is also an option. We sell parts for all versions of CD Pro elsewhere in our Store. Click here to view our self-service instructions, with video.
Contact Chris Bisha via [email protected] or on 248-541-6300.
CD Pro Family Product Compatibility
Product History

Refurbished Philips CD Pro 2 or 2LF drive quantity
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Category: Pro Player Modules Tag: CD Pro 2

Description​

Features Include​

  • Designed into hifi gear by many of the top high-end audio companies around the world
  • Designed into jukeboxes from all major manufacturers — Rowe, Rock-Ola, Wurlitzer and NSM, as well as Regatta and Universal
  • Drop-in, backward compatibility with entire CD Pro-family of player modules — CDM12 Industrial, CD Pro 1, CD Pro 2, CD Pro 2M and CD Pro 2LF – featuring the same electrical connections & communication protocol (DSA Bus)
  • Identical footprint, dimensions, suspension scheme and mounting points as CDM12 Industrial, CD Pro 1, CD Pro 2, 2M and 2LF
  • Variety of turntable centering hub options — solid, no-glue, press-fit, easily-removable — for compatibility with any jukebox or hifi
  • NOT drop-in or backward compatible with CDM-3, CDM-4 or other non-Pro family CD player modules
  • Integrated, elegant, high-performance CD solution
  • Heavy die-cast metal frame for improved stability and performance
  • Vertical mounting capable
  • Specified for 140+ ºF
  • Proven durable, reliable design for over 30 years

Related products​


Just because millions of people find something fine does not mean others don't.
That's like saying 200 people enjoy cliff diving, you should, too. A totally false argument.
And bolsters your point in absolutely no way.
The one point that you made that is good:
"if that is important to someone".
To me, none of the rest are important to me except that it does true to the Redbook standard.
And if I want SACD. Maybe I'll get one for each format, I don't know.
 
Hats off to good restorers of hi-fi gear!

Nevertheless, I do not see your point.

From the history of your posts on this thread since the very first one you wrote, you seem to believe than only old CD players of the past are capable of dealing properly with 16 bits/44.1 ksps PCM as produced through playback of CD Audio whereas newer one are less prone to achieve that.

This belief has no ground. There are plenty of old CD players that cannot achieve true 16 bits accuracy, whereas there are plenty of newer one, and even SA-CD players, DVD-V players or BR-D players, that, when playing CD, actually achieve 16 bits accuracy (or better when playing more advanced digital discs). And of course, there are some old CD players that may achieve true 16 bits accuracy (though they most probably were not cheap) whereas newer ones might not.

And all these players, the better and the worst, are true to the Redbook standard. If they weren't, they wouldn't be able the read CDs and they wouldn't bear the name "CD player" and its associated logo because neither Philips nor Sony, who own the intellectual property on the "CD - Compact Disc", would tolerate that situation.
 
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I never indicated that only old ones were good. As you indicate, many did not meet the standard.
But, until this series of reviews, I had also not seen ANY new ones that meet the Redbook standard and therefor, had no proof that any do.
Either way, I simply do not want to buy one that doesn't meet the Redbook standard.
If it meets that, then I am looking into it's mechanism.
And is it something that I can (or have someone) repair in the future.
If so, I will buy the parts when I buy the CD player (so that I will have them on hand, when the time comes).
New or Old does not matter to me as long as it meets Redbook Specs, is durable and can be refurbished when the time comes.
 
I never indicated that only old ones were good. As you indicate, many did not meet the standard.
But, until this series of reviews, I had also not seen ANY new ones that meet the Redbook standard and therefor, had no proof that any do.
Either way, I simply do not want to buy one that doesn't meet the Redbook standard.
If it meets that, then I am looking into it's mechanism.
And is it something that I can (or have someone) repair in the future.
If so, I will buy the parts when I buy the CD player (so that I will have them on hand, when the time comes).
New or Old does not matter to me as long as it meets Redbook Specs, is durable and can be refurbished when the time comes.
which CD players meet the Redbook specs, but are also not so expensive?
 
which CD players meet the Redbook specs, but are also not so expensive?
I don't know the answer to that.
That is a part of the reason that I come to this site: to try to find which items meet the standards at a reasonable price.
We already know that many don't even at unreasonable prices.
 
Just to be precise : the Redbook is not a specs sheet. It is a technical document that describe the Compact Disc both physically and the way digital data are organised and engraved on the reflective surface and the requirement of the process to be able to optically read, error correct and decode the data. It set no requirement for the final performance at the audio output of any CD player.

As for a relatively inexpensive and recent CD player that is able to achieve the best of 16 bits/44.1 ksps PCM, I reiterate the mention about the Denon DCD-900NE, whose level of performance has just been confirmed by ASR member @NTTY in his review.
 
Just to be precise : the Redbook is not a specs sheet. It is a technical document that describe the Compact Disc both physically and the way digital data are organised and engraved on the reflective surface and the requirement of the process to be able to optically read, error correct and decode the data. It set no requirement for the final performance at the audio output of any CD player.

As for a relatively inexpensive and recent CD player that is able to achieve the best of 16 bits/44.1 ksps PCM, I reiterate the mention about the Denon DCD-900NE, whose level of performance has just been confirmed by ASR member @NTTY in his review.
However that is the commonly used term for meeting the digital spec of a CD when talking with nomal people. It would be easy to speak in such a manner to only be understood by a few.
That is not my intent.
But you are going hard at it.
 
Take a trip and visit your local Goodwill stores. All the basic CD/DVD players around here are around $10. I recently picked up a Panasonic 5 DVD changer for $15 as a back-up to my old Sony CDP-C615 that’s (thankfully) still working since 1996.
 
Take a trip and visit your local Goodwill stores. All the basic CD/DVD players around here are around $10. I recently picked up a Panasonic 5 DVD changer for $15 as a back-up to my old Sony CDP-C615 that’s (thankfully) still working since 1996.
If you know what you are looking for, one of the great places to search. Also check their on line presence.
 
Personally I don't play my cds but once to make sure they're not outright defective in some way so I can return them or not. Then I rip them and just keep the cd in a binder for backup (as I have no issues with storage space generally, see no reason to bother trying to resell them etc). The rips are far more useful in more systems....and nothing particularly special about cd player dacs if going that route.
 
Personally I don't play my cds but once to make sure they're not outright defective in some way so I can return them or not. Then I rip them and just keep the cd in a binder for backup (as I have no issues with storage space generally, see no reason to bother trying to resell them etc). The rips are far more useful in more systems....and nothing particularly special about cd player dacs if going that route.
Ah the POINT!
Why I want a CD player (NOT A COMPUTER DISK player) that I can PROPERLY RIP the CD's from (as I am also making NEW CD+R's from) simultaneously.
& I know that the way that I want to do it is not the way most people would do it.
But how I want to do it is how I want to do it.
 
Ah the POINT!
Why I want a CD player (NOT A COMPUTER DISK player) that I can PROPERLY RIP the CD's from (as I am also making NEW CD+R's from) simultaneously.
& I know that the way that I want to do it is not the way most people would do it.
But how I want to do it is how I want to do it.
You make a distinction between a computer's optical disc unit vs an external? Eh?
 
You make a distinction between a computer's optical disc unit vs an external? Eh?
Yes, I do!
Guess what?
I do not care if you don't.
I want to do it my way, because that is the way I want to do it.
And that reason should be fine with you.
However you want to do it (or why) has no sway over me and how I want to do it.
As long as it works your way works for you and my way works for me, that is fine.
If my way does no work for me, then I will try it your way.
But my way will also get me a CD player that I have been wanting.
Also, my computer's (a desktop) optical disk players laser has gone out.
But why I want to do it my way is actually no one else's business (including you).
 
Yes, I do!
Guess what?
I do not care if you don't.
I want to do it my way, because that is the way I want to do it.
And that reason should be fine with you.
However you want to do it (or why) has no sway over me and how I want to do it.
As long as it works your way works for you and my way works for me, that is fine.
If my way does no work for me, then I will try it your way.
But my way will also get me a CD player that I have been wanting.
Also, my computer's (a desktop) optical disk players laser has gone out.
But why I want to do it my way is actually no one else's business (including you).
You be you :)
 
which CD players meet the Redbook specs, but are also not so expensive?
That Denon that Scytales pointed out looks pretty good.

So give us a price for also not expensive. Though a bit less simple, the easy way to get good performance for CD is to get the cheapest CD or Bluray player with an SPDIF output with controls on remote or front panel and feed it to one of the less than $200 DACs that provide near SOTA performance. Plenty of $120 or less DACs well exceed CD limits. Same thing if you pick up a used working CD/DVD/Bluray player.
 
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