CD player.

[chebby]

I have a backlog of some 100+ documentary/drama/comedy CDs still to rip (mostly in BBC box sets) with more being bought each month. They are quite labour intensive due to them not having artwork available to Gracenote (nor accurate disk info because it's not 'pop/rock'). So ripping a box set with - say - 11 or 8 disks can take a big chunk from an afternoon.

Waiting until i've got around to ripping new disks, to listen to them, can be a few weeks (sometimes more if i've bought a lot), so I am thinking of a cheap CD player as a 'stopgap' just for listening to new/as yet not ripped content.

I've considered Richer Sounds offerings and the best [cheap] one seems to be the Onkyo c-7030 for £179. Basically on the grounds that no-one has anything bad to say about it and it handles 'gapless' content well (an absolute 'must-have' for a lot of my BBC and Classical stuff).

Any oher ideas? £200 maximum and must handle 'gapless' content without issues.(Drama/comedy/documentary/classical/'live' concerts etc.) Must be black.

Also thinking of the Pro-ject CD Box S but, despite an excellent - 'throw in a drawer when not required' - small size, it's £299. Very tempting though.

 

[daveh75]

What are you using to rip discs? Why can't you just use that for playback if it's just a 'stopgap'?

Though personally I would probably just by an inexpensive BD Player, as it's more versatile than a CD player.

 

[muljao]

Wont the cheapest cd/dvd/bdp you can buy that handles gapless sound great if digitally put through your Quad Vena Dac

 

[chebby]

What are you using to rip discs? Why can't you just use that for playback if it's just a 'stopgap'?

Though personally I would probably just by an inexpensive BD Player, as it's more versatile than a CD player.

I have a good Sony BDP for Blu-ray & DVDs.

The last time I plugged in an old DVD player - to try playing a CD through the hi-fi - it was incredibly noisy (just with CD, perfectly ok with DVD) and ended up sounding like a Rolls-Royce Trent turbofan (and probably spinning almost as fast). I don't want a repeat of that!

I use a £20 Samsung external DVD writer (USB) that I plug into the computer when ripping CDs, then put away again when finished. (I don't like clutter.)

I think I am talking myself into ...

a. taking a couple of days off and devoting them to nothing but clearing the backlog.

b. the Pro-ject option. (About the size and shape of a paperback.)

The size of traditional CD players is just too damned big. I really don't think I can do that again. So forget the Onkyo.

I'll call Henley Designs tomorrow about the gapless thing.

 

[muljao]

People are quick to recommend their own stuff, I suppose because they have first hand knowledge. I bought an inexpensive bluray player a few weeks back, run it through a DAC and it is quiet and sounds (to me, I'm no audiophile) great. It also plays FLAC through a usb on the front. It has no display, but on entering a disc its highlighted so you just press play. It's approx 8 inches x 8 inches and 2 high

(I've no idea about gapless though)

 

[chebby]

People are quick to recommend their own stuff, I suppose because they have first hand knowledge. I bought an inexpensive bluray player a few weeks back, run it through a DAC and it is quiet and sounds (to me, I'm no audiophile) great. It also plays FLAC through a usb on the front. It has no display, but on entering a disc its highlighted so you just press play. It's approx 8 inches x 8 inches and 2 high

(I've no idea about gapless though)

Well it's only £90 (which is almost semi-disposable nowadays), so i'll give it a go.

It's smaller than our present Sony BDP (curved top, pre-Darth Vader version) and that's always 'a good thing' to this user. (Did I say I hate clutter?)

In fact I might go for the £64 Sony BDP-S4500 from our local Argos. (I don't need it to have internet, whether wireless or otherwise, that's covered already.)

 

[MajorFubar]

If all you want is something low-profile that basically just plays CDs, then a CD walkman + mains adaptor will cost beer money.

 

[iMark]

In fact I might go for the £64 Sony BDP-S4500 from our local Argos. (I don't need it to have internet, whether wireless or otherwise, that's covered already.)

The last dedicated CD player we had was a Sony CD/Minidisc combo deck. Quite cool at the time. At the moment we don't have a dedicated CD player since all our CD's have been ripped and stored in the attic. We did however buy a Sony BDP a couple of years ago. It's one that also plays our SACDs. For CD playback I've used it connected to our DAC and that sounded very good. I can definitely recommend a Sony BDP as a transport to a DAC.

Eventually we may look at getting another Sony, the UHP-HI because this would also play the couple of DVD-A discs we own. The Sony BDP S-590 could then go to another room because it does Netflix.

 

[paulkebab]

uses freedB as its database which I've always found does the job, but it also has another one, GD3, which has a free trial then a one-off $7.99 for a lifetime license. Might be worth a look?

 

[chebby]

uses freedB as its database which I've always found does the job, but it also has another one, GD3, which has a free trial then a one-off $7.99 for a lifetime license. Might be worth a look?

Thanks.

I have just tried a few random titles and 'artists' on freedB and drawn a blank.

As I said earlier, my tastes encompass a LOT of BBC full-cast drama, comedy and documentary content. This is why I have to add all the artwork myself and sort out all the track/episodes data myself.

Try 'Welcome To Our Village. Please Invade Carefully' for instance, or 'Gloomsbury', or 'Cabin Pressure', (The ones I tried just now in freedB.)

Yes, I know, it's my fault for not having more mainstream content

 

[plastic penguin]

I have a backlog of some 100+ documentary/drama/comedy CDs still to rip (mostly in BBC box sets) with more being bought each month. They are quite labour intensive due to them not having artwork available to Gracenote (nor accurate disk info because it's not 'pop/rock'). So ripping a box set with - say - 11 or 8 disks can take a big chunk from an afternoon.

Waiting until i've got around to ripping new disks, to listen to them, can be a few weeks (sometimes more if i've bought a lot), so I am thinking of a cheap CD player as a 'stopgap' just for listening to new/as yet not ripped content.

I've considered Richer Sounds offerings and the best [cheap] one seems to be the Onkyo c-7030 for £179. Basically on the grounds that no-one has anything bad to say about it and it handles 'gapless' content well (an absolute 'must-have' for a lot of my BBC and Classical stuff).

Any oher ideas? £200 maximum and must handle 'gapless' content without issues.(Drama/comedy/documentary/classical/'live' concerts etc.) Must be black.

Also thinking of the Pro-ject CD Box S but, despite an excellent - 'throw in a drawer when not required' - small size, it's £299. Very tempting though.

As you've mentioned Richer Sounds, this looks a good buy.

 

[chebby]

Duplicate

 

[chebby]

Thanks PP. I am going to replace our old Sony BDP for a new Sony BDP-S4500 (£64 in Argos) and - just for CD/SACD* playback purposes - use the digital co-ax to my Quad's integral DAC. (The same Cyrus Logic CS4398 DAC used by Marantz up to, and including, the SA8005.)

It's barely larger than a paperback (!) and replaces a larger model (therefore no extra boxes), so it satisfies on a 'de-cluttering' level too

* I have a collection of RCA Living Stereo SACD hybrid disks so i'll be able to hear the SACD layer for once.

 

[thewinelake.]

Will the SACD output properly via a digital link? I'd have thought it might be better using analogue!

 

[spiny norman]

Will the SACD output properly via a digital link? I'd have thought it might be better using analogue!

No, you can't get an output from SACD over conventional S/PDIF digital: these have always been limited to output from the CD layer on multilayer SACDs.

 

[chebby]

Will the SACD output properly via a digital link? I'd have thought it might be better using analogue!

Oh well, it's not a big deal. They still sound amazing even as ripped CDs.