Recent content by MentorRon

I'm afraid I have to agree with you, although I see (and knew) others would dissent. I have tried 3 or 4 DVD and Blu-Ray players (Sony, Samsung and Insignia) for CDs but was always disappointed, as I was with most 1-bit CD players (mostly Sony and JVC). In my 2 stereo systems, as I have noted...

It's honestly difficult to just recommend a player, new or used, IMHO. I have found that the various players I have auditioned in my 3 systems match one system but not the other. A lot of this may be psychological, but the perceived effect is there never the less. Some folk will go for the...

Yes, it could be the laser weakening. Usually just a tweak of a pot or 2. If you can get the service manual free online, it would be worth opening it up to adjust. I did that with a Sony CDP-950 (c.1988) which has the Philips TDA-1541 DAC. Bought the player at a thrift store for $12 about 10...

That player has the Philips Bitstream TDA1549. In my system, it played much better than any of the Sony 1-bit players. Sonys were only good IMHO in the days when they used 16 bit DACs like the Philips TDA1541 and Burr Brown PCMs (the higher the BB number, the better the DAC). If I HAD to live...

I have all thrift store CD players in my systems. I have tried several players and changers in my 2 systems. The ones that failed to impress are: Sonys with their one-bit DACs; A Marantz with a Philips one-bit DAC (but better than Sony's); Philips with the TDA1543 DAC (although I did run that...

Occasionally I have found that the commercial CD disc cleaner CDs don't work on many CD, DVD, Blu-Ray players. Not sure why. Have tried 3 different brands of cleaners. Also, occasionally the screws in the CD player cases are not standard Philips/Robertson screw heads and require a special...