Let's talk CD Players!

[rdenney]

The better Sonys, Denons, Tascams, and so on up through the early 90’s seemed to use the Sony KSS151 transport, which is a thing of beauty.

But the drawer mechanisms are unique to the implementations, and some are a major pain the rear to keep in good nick. I’ve spent hours with a Denon DCD1560 and simply cannot get the drawer to open reliably. The mechanism for operating the closure latch gets its latch spring from stretching the drawer belt, and I haven’t figured out the issue with it.

The Tascams are super-serviceable in my experience. I have two of them. But it’s a good thing they are serviceable, because I’ve had to deeply service both of them to keep the drawers working. The drawer mechanics on those are much simpler that the massive drawer in the Denon. Both use the KSS151 mechanism that uses a linear motor to operate the laser sled.

I have three Cambridge Audio players—an old D500 Special Edition, an Azur 640C, and a CXC transport. The first two use a KSS213 laser unit, and the drawer belt is easy to change. The newer CXC uses the current cheapie Sanyo transport, but the issue I have with it is the dimness of the display, which has just about become unusable. I find that annoying in the extreme.

Rick “keeping a fleet going but not finding it easy” Denney

 

[Timcognito]

Big fan of the Oppo players: CD, SACD, DVD-A, DVD-V, Blu Ray, several digital and analog outputs and a bargain on Ebay since the company stopped selling them.

 

[Angsty]

I have yet to find a really bad sounding vintage cd player.

I have two vintage CD players and while neither sounds "bad", both sound better with an external DAC. I have three external DACs: a Bryston BP-25DA, a Schitt Modi 3 and a Topping D70s. I am equally satisfied by the sound of each DAC when playing CDs.

 

[Snoopy]

I just rip my CDs that I can't stream on qobuz or buy digital somewhere else (that's 2 CDs so far). And never use the CD again.

A CD player these days seems like a waste of resources and space.

 

[rdenney]

I just rip my CDs that I can't stream on qobuz or buy digital somewhere else (that's 2 CDs so far). And never use the CD again.

A CD player these days seems like a waste of resources and space.

What is a waste is a CD player that works or would with a fresh belt in the landfill.

If it’s working, and in use, it’s not waste.

What’s a waste are all those laptops and hard disks used to store ripped music, that have to be replaced every few years because they are made “obsolete” by software.

Rick “keeping CD players out of the landfill…computers, not so much” Denney

 

[Angsty]

I can respect why people rip CDs once and then never listen to them again, but I do like the experience of using a CD player. Yes, I also play vinyl. I do have some ripped songs that I primarily play in the car, but I do CDs and vinyl at home.

 

[TheBatsEar]

You may find the Discman's ESP circuitry (the shock protection) degrades the audio. Try turning on and off the ESP when playing music with a lot of detailed high frequency content.

How? Why?

 

[Angsty]

How? Why?

Because of the “lossy perceptual encoding algorithm to compress the audio in order to fit more time in the anti-shock on-board RAM.”

Conceptually, it’s like reducing the native 16 bit CD output to a lower grade MP3 level to allow for a less expensive memory buffer. The buffer prevents audible track skipping during movement. An early Discman could not be sold affordably with a RAM buffer big enough to hold several seconds of full 16 bit output.

 

[Angsty]

The irony! I have a 5 disc NAD T572 changer that I use as a transport, primarily to use during the holidays. On Christmas Eve, it decided to be naughty versus nice and refused to play any CD. I had to switch to my single drawer Cambridge Audio to play CDs. I have almost all my Christmas music on CDs, because of the changer!

Anyone know of a good U.S. repair shop for CD players? Alternatively, does anyone know of a reliable replacement CD changer?

I put coal in the NAD’s stocking…

 

[TheBatsEar]

Because of the “lossy perceptual encoding algorithm to compress the audio in order to fit more time in the anti-shock on-board RAM.”

Conceptually, it’s like reducing the native 16 bit CD output to a lower grade MP3 level to allow for a less expensive memory buffer. The buffer prevents audible track skipping during movement. An early Discman could not be sold affordably with a RAM buffer big enough to hold several seconds of full 16 bit output.

Didn't know it was done like that, thanks.

 

[Snoopy]

Didn't know it was done like that, thanks.

I had no idea as well. But at the same time I think MP3 CDs where a big thing.

 

[Angsty]

Hi

I had no idea as well. But at the same time I think MP3 CDs where a big thing.

Lots of older CD players cannot play MP3 CDs and I don’t know of any commercially produced MP3 CDs. That physical format was mostly for “mix tape” compilations, in my opinion.

 

[Limopard]

Recently bought a used Marantz CD 5001 in good condition. It looked like it wasn't playing for a long time. Some dust was stuck on the remote sensor so it didn't respond to remote commands properly. Nothing a q-tip plus a drop of isopropanol couldn't fix.

So the next thing I stumbled upon was a CD 6002 sold as defective. It turned out theat the drawer was blocked. Again: easily fixed. The player didn't read CD-RW so I replaced the laser with a new one. Afterwards it worked perfectly.

Unfortunately the 6002 had a clearly visible scratch on the front panel near the open/close-button. Furthermore it was silver while the rest of my gear is black. So I switched the black front panel and case lid of the 5001 with the silver ones of the 6002. Except for the four buttons below the display they are identical. (The front PCB and the headphone PCB of the 6002 had to be kept)

So a CD 6002 with a 5001 front does the CD job now.

 

[Angsty]

The irony! I have a 5 disc NAD T572 changer that I use as a transport, primarily to use during the holidays. On Christmas Eve, it decided to be naughty versus nice and refused to play any CD. I had to switch to my single drawer Cambridge Audio to play CDs. I have almost all my Christmas music on CDs, because of the changer!

Anyone know of a good U.S. repair shop for CD players? Alternatively, does anyone know of a reliable replacement CD changer?

I put coal in the NAD’s stocking…

My NAD changer did return to form today, but now I’m thinking I will want a back-up for when it really does die. Saw an Integra CDC-3.4 changer today, which is new. I don’t have any experience with the Integra brand. Any thoughts out there on reliability?

I was impressed that it had a three-year warranty versus just one year. Not so worried about sound quality, per se, as I’ll likely use it with my Topping D70s DAC. But, if sounds good enough, maybe I’ll sell the Topping!

 

[JaccoW]

Picked up a Marantz DV6400 today. I was looking for a cheap way to dip my toes into SACD (even though the library of that format is geared towards old men) and came across this one for €50.

Hooked it up to my Topping E50 over coax and I have to say... it sounds great. Maybe even slightly better than the FLAC ripped version of that cd but with a cheap 5m (16ft.) usb cable connecting the DAC to the laptop I'm not commenting on that old debate. Maybe it's just the placebo effect.

At the very least a player makes me sit down and just listen to the entire album instead of moving around like I will do with files.

I came across a Yamaha BD-A1060 as well but that one was gone before I knew what it was. If I like it I might hunt down one of the OPPO SACD players and mod them to output DSD directly to the DAC and splurge on a Topping D90SE. But so far the only ones I come across are €2000 ($2250) and I'm not paying that just yet.

 

[mhardy6647]

. I was looking for a cheap way to dip my toes into SACD (even though the library of that format is geared towards old men)

... and your point?

 

[JaccoW]

... and your point?

It would be nice if they offered some recordings that were made after I was born.

 

[Limopard]

It would be nice if they offered some recordings that were made after I was born.

Mark Knopfler "Shangri La" - although only the recording, not the style originates from a time after you were born.
There were other past 1990 SACDs (for instance Aimee Manns Bachelor No. 2 & Lost In Space), that usually go for a truckload of money. Another one from 2001 is Ryan Adams' Gold (not Bryan!), but that one stood the test of time not as good as I expected - it simply bores me nowadays. It's a single layer / non-hybrid SACD.

 

[Angsty]

My NAD changer did return to form today, but now I’m thinking I will want a back-up for when it really does die. Saw an Integra CDC-3.4 changer today, which is new. I don’t have any experience with the Integra brand. Any thoughts out there on reliability?

I was impressed that it had a three-year warranty versus just one year. Not so worried about sound quality, per se, as I’ll likely use it with my Topping D70s DAC. But, if sounds good enough, maybe I’ll sell the Topping!

I did buy the Integra. It's a nice and highly functional changer, but I still have to use it just as a transport. The analog out sounded less detailed and distinct than from my external DAC. From the published specs, I calculated a SINAD of 86 dB versus the 105 dB of my Modi 3. I was surprised to hear a difference which is why I did the calculation. I can't hear the difference between my Modi 3, my Bryston and my Topping D70s using CDs. But, I could hear a difference between the Integra and the Modi 3, acknowledging it was not a blind test.

The spec sheet for the embedded Wolfson DAC gives a THD of -88dB and a SNR of 100 dB. Those seems like awfully low specs for these times.

 

[BobbyTimmons]

Currently have a sony DVP-NC80V from a thrift store for $10, have it hooked up to topping E30.
I have a small collection of 600 cds and just wanted a dedicated player for them, kinda like a turntable but just for cds. The prices for theses are so low so why not have one!. Long live physical media!

Honestly these past years have been the best for collecting cds as most thrift stores price them for around 25 cents!
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Beautiful CD player. But what is the purpose of connecting it to the Topping DAC? Surely it has an onboard DAC which will be equally transparent?