All DAC's sound the same so no
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
TASCAM CD-200 Review (CD Player)
- Thread starter NTTY
- Start date
If your cd player has balanced outs and your pre amp can accept them? Well worth trying this..if your pre amp doesn't accept balanced cable then try a Haosheng R2R pre amp ( not expensive and surprisingly good in my opinion ) using balanced cable with my my Tascams internal dac it then sounded very good
Based on the specs alone of the CD200, an external DAC would likely be an improvement. I have two SMSL DACs both of which have been a significant improvement over the analog output of my Tascam. I paid $200 for one of my two SMSL DACs; the other $500. And yes, in my experience, it is well worth it!
mustang_flht
Member
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2021
- Messages
- 23
- Likes
- 43
I use the digital output with a 1995 Cambridge DACMAGIC 1. The sound is greatly improved, and you can find these DACs used for around €200.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #45
Like I showed in the initial post, you can improve the output using an SMSL PS200, if you think it can make an audible difference.
Of course many other DACs of similar performance would improve the analog output the same way.
Of course many other DACs of similar performance would improve the analog output the same way.
Roland68
Master Contributor
The SMSL SU-2 is a good option for such cases, if not the best.
A true balanced DAC with an integrated power supply for around €100 is unbeatable.
It can also be upgraded to USB at any time with an inexpensive DDC. This gives you a galvanically isolated USB DAC, which is even more unbeatable for €140-170.
Roland68
Master Contributor
No, they are made in China.
Even if a device says "Made in Japan," that doesn't mean the circuit boards, components, board assembly, drive, etc., aren't made in China.
Even the large TEAC CD players and transports are manufactured in China.
If you want "Made in Japan," you have to pay the premium for Esoteric.
It clearly shows Made in China in the picture in the first post.
Mine is still working perfectly, long after the warranty ran out.
Sublimity of Analog
Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2025
- Messages
- 37
- Likes
- 2
Is it better than the Onkyo C-7030 as transport?
OP
- Thread Starter
- #52
Same, unless you have heavily scratched CDs.
I just received my new Tascam CD200 player which I use as a transport. To test it, I play my CDs that have defects or have been scratched over time (some are almost 40 years old). On the first CD I just played on it, it went "like clockwork," as we say in France. The display is easily readable from over 3 meters away, which is pretty good. Actually, I chose it for its ability to play problematic CDs. It replaces a NAIM CDX2 that I had bought second-hand about ten years ago and whose mechanism broke down. Without Florent's test, I probably would never have thought of buying this player at the very reasonable price. And then, what a pleasure to have a player with all the controls (and even more) that we had on almost all models in the 80s and 90s.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #54
Nice to hear and thanks for the feedback!
audio_tony
Major Contributor
I sent you a DM regarding buying the test CD - have you seen it?
Sublimity of Analog
Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2025
- Messages
- 37
- Likes
- 2
Which sounds better this or Naim?
Since the TASCAM is used as a transport, it cannot have any particular sound. It's exactly the same as with my Sony Blu-ray player when I used it to play CDs.
However, I was able to compare this Sony player directly with the Naim (before it broke) using 2 copies of the same CD, and there was absolutely no difference.
Ultimately, the only advantage of the NAIM was decoding HDCDs, which (to my ears, at least) added an audio benefit.
So why buy a CD player if it works just as well with a Blu-ray player? Because this player has no display and therefore you have to turn on the TV, which consumes a lot of energy and is not very good for the screen since it mainly shows a static image. So the reason is purely practical.
Sublimity of Analog
Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2025
- Messages
- 37
- Likes
- 2
Every transport differs in sound quality and presentation most of the time.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #59
Yeah, sure. So you didn’t get anything of what’s written here, did you?
Too bad.
Last edited:
Similar threads
