CD player's

[skinnypuppy71]

So we have a few sticky threads, turntables, headphones,streaming but nothing for the most popular medium of the last 30 years or so...The good old cd player....This is probably aimed more towards the more mature end of our forum members lol...soooo. what are folks fave players over the years....I've had a few cd players...and turntables myself, but mostly stream my ripped cds or use a streaming service or two these days....but I'm after a cd player that's a bit quirky, has character, something that gives me a close to vinyl experience(if that's possible) but without the heartache of pre amps, cartridge (capacitance), tone arms, etc etc etc..I do find the whole streaming thing a bit uninvolving and sterile if you know what I mean ...but I do still buy cd's......I love going into my local store and just going through stuff and buying, but only after a good listen on the streaming services I use...I have lots of blind buy poo in my collection.lol.
I will probably run any player as a transport through my dac, but it will also be a interesting listen to the dac within the player itself.

 

[Tinman1952]

So we have a few sticky threads, turntables, headphones,streaming but nothing for the most popular medium of the last 30 years or so...The good old cd player....This is probably aimed more towards the more mature end of our forum members lol...soooo. what are folks fave players over the years....I've had a few cd players...and turntables myself, but mostly stream my ripped cds or use a streaming service or two these days....but I'm after a cd player that's a bit quirky, has character, something that gives me a close to vinyl experience(if that's possible) but without the heartache of pre amps, cartridge (capacitance), tone arms, etc etc etc..I do find the whole streaming thing a bit uninvolving and sterile if you know what I mean ...but I do still buy cd's......I love going into my local store and just going through stuff and buying, but only after a good listen on the streaming services I use...I have lots of blind buy poo in my collection.lol.
I will probably run any player as a transport through my dac, but it will also be a interesting listen to the dac within the player itself.

I am in a similar position. I converted to streaming my ripped CDs 15 years ago when I had bought a Slim Devices Squeezebox from the USA and sold my Meridian G06 CD player...what a shame THAT didn't have digital inputs!
About 6 months ago though I had a change of heart and bought a CD transport to play through my DAC and re-acquaint myself with the experience of playing some of my 1500 or so CDs.
I chose the Audiolab 6000 CDT and I have to say I am very impressed with the sound quality and it's excellent construction. 👍

 

[oldie]

I'm about to buy a Rega Apollo......

Rega | Apollo CD Player

Apollo utilises our own custom chipset and software, offering a truly unique level of performance for a CD player. Audio hi-fi made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

 

[SallyB]

Lots second hand these days as well. Opens up options for classics like Marantz, Meridian or Naim ND5 XS.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I was looking at a lovely Rega Saturn -r on the ebay yesterday....expensive though.
Have been scouring eBay looking for quirky players, old pioneer and Sony models mostly, love the look some of the old stable platter pioneers, again people stil want a fair amount of cash for players that are 20 years old.

 

[bigfish786]

I’ve had a few nice CD players in the not too distant past.
Arcam Alpha
Rega Apollo
Simaudio Moon Equinox.
most recent is my Marantz SA14S1SE which I can’t ever see me parting with .

 

[Al ears]

Have had plenty, usually old Marantz models and even a Pioneer CD recorder.
nowadays I am constrained by my collection of SACD discs which can limit the choice a tad hence the universal disc player.

 

[Sixtyten]

I bought a Marantz CD52MkII SE on Ebay for £90. Then spent a tenner replacing the drawer belt. It doesn't sound the same as my CD6005, but it doesn't sound any worse. And, if I'm being honest, I think it sounds better.

 

[Gray]

I'm connecting a Philips CD604 to the analogue input of my brother's Denon DAB-40 mini system later today. The deck in the Denon is **** and has never worked properly.
Whereas the Philips works and sounds great.

I've still got a Philips CD634 with 'FTS' (remembers favourite tracks of each disc)
a Philips CDR-870 recorder, a Sony CDP-561E and a lovely Marantz CD-6000KI, a '£500' player that I couldn't resist on special offer for £300 (still looks / works / sounds as it did 20 years ago).

 

[Gray]

....people still want a fair amount of cash for players that are 20 years old.

Yeah, I'd probably want quite a bit for my 6000KI if I ever sold it.
(It's'champagne gold' but they'd be expecting solid gold).

 

[RoA]

I have not used cd's for years but would I still do so I'd likely get a transport from Audiolab or Cyrus and use the DAC's in my amplifiers.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I am in a similar position. I converted to streaming my ripped CDs 15 years ago when I had bought a Slim Devices Squeezebox from the USA and sold my Meridian G06 CD player...what a shame THAT didn't have digital inputs!
About 6 months ago though I had a change of heart and bought a CD transport to play through my DAC and re-acquaint myself with the experience of playing some of my 1500 or so CDs.
I chose the Audiolab 6000 CDT and I have to say I am very impressed with the sound quality and it's excellent construction. 👍

yeah tinman I've looked at the Audiolab a few times, but I crave something of cd player's heyday which probably would be the nineties and early 00's some of the players back then were built to last...I mean check this one out from Sony...

 

[skinnypuppy71]

Have had plenty, usually old Marantz models and even a Pioneer CD recorder.
nowadays I am constrained by my collection of SACD discs which can limit the choice a tad hence the universal disc player.

Hi Al...just wondering do you listen to sacd playback in multi channel or does it also have any unique abilities in a two channel system? Forgive my ignorance, it's something I've never really looked into and lately noticed my own Sony ubp-x800 has the ability to play sacd's although I don't know how well it'd perform this feature.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've had CD players ranging from entry-level Arcam, to excellent Rotel, disappointing, over priced Electrocompaniet and equally as bad Naim CD 5i (italic version). By far the best CD player I've owned is the current Exposure CD 2010.

It pretty much is a sonic Swiss Army Knife in terms it sounds happy with smoother sounding amps or livelier electronics: it's beautifully dynamic, the detail is very good but above all else it's very musical.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I've had CD players ranging from entry-level Arcam, to excellent Rotel, disappointing, over priced Electrocompaniet and equally as bad Naim CD 5i (italic version). By far the best CD player I've owned is the current Exposure CD 2010.

It pretty much is a sonic Swiss Army Knife in terms it sounds happy with smoother sounding amps or livelier electronics: it's beautifully dynamic, the detail is very good but above all else it's very musical.

.....and it'd work a treat with my Exposure 31010s2d I'd imagine.🤔

 

[TrevC]

Philips CD850 mk II here. After fixing the loading gear it's working great!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Ignoring the stuff from so far back I can't even remember what it was:

Arcam Alpha 7SE.
Arcam CD23t.
Present MF M6S CD.

Got better, as you would hope.

 

[plastic penguin]

.....and it'd work a treat with my Exposure 31010s2d I'd imagine.🤔

Yup, sure will.

The same effect If I purchased a Leema Antila. Same stable.

 

[Al ears]

Hi Al...just wondering do you listen to sacd playback in multi channel or does it also have any unique abilities in a two channel system? Forgive my ignorance, it's something I've never really looked into and lately noticed my own Sony ubp-x800 has the ability to play sacd's although I don't know how well it'd perform this feature.

For what it's worth not all SACDs are multi channel, many of mine are stereo. Those that are multi channel will also play as stereo or they get played on my home cinema set-up which isn't quite the same.
they are, to my mind, much better than the standard CD through my system but that's a different topic entirely and one which I shall not go into on this thread.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

I bought myself an Audiolab 6000CDT transport which arrived about an hour ago. It has some really good reviews where it can take a much much more expensive DAC and not be outshined.

My plan is to try it with the Arcam D33 I've got and see what I reckon. I'll post my (own and very subjective) thoughts once I've done this.

However, I am temporarily defeated in that I've bought a new rack and my kit now lives in the corner of the room. My speaker cable didn't reach and so I've had to order some more. This arrives on Thursday, so I've currently got nothing 😞.

 

[Al ears]

I bought myself an Audiolab 6000CDT transport which arrived about an hour ago. It has some really good reviews where it can take a much much more expensive DAC and not be outshined.

My plan is to try it with the Arcam D33 I've got and see what I reckon. I'll post my (own and very subjective) thoughts once I've done this.

However, I am temporarily defeated in that I've bought a new rack and my kit now lives in the corner of the room. My speaker cable didn't reach and so I've had to order some more. This arrives on Thursday, so I've currently got nothing 😞.

With the proliferation of external DACs around, and the number of amplifiers being produced with internal DACs, a CD transport like yours appears to be the sensible way to go these days.

 

[Oxfordian]

I bought myself an Audiolab 6000CDT transport which arrived about an hour ago. It has some really good reviews where it can take a much much more expensive DAC and not be outshined.

My plan is to try it with the Arcam D33 I've got and see what I reckon. I'll post my (own and very subjective) thoughts once I've done this.

However, I am temporarily defeated in that I've bought a new rack and my kit now lives in the corner of the room. My speaker cable didn't reach and so I've had to order some more. This arrives on Thursday, so I've currently got nothing 😞.

Loving my 6000CDT, had it 9 months and it is just great, it replaced an old, in fact very old Marantz CD50SE which was dying, I love the fact that I can go via the amp (Hegel H95 atm) or I could go via an external DAC, great flexibility.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

With the proliferation of external DACs around, and the number of amplifiers being produced with internal DACs, a CD transport like yours appears to be the sensible way to go these days.

Yep, that's what I thought. I mostly stream, but I do also have a pretty extensive CD collection although I barely spin a disc.
My new plan is to bring some CD's into the living room (they are currently not easily accessible in another part of the house) and to re-listen to my collection.

I also have a couple of DACs so will try both.

The best and most exciting but for me will be hearing "new" stuff again - in pre-covid times I was going to gigs near constantly and many of which as underground hip-hop, where you just can't stream what I already own on the silver spinny thing!

Exciting times. Just need my speaker wire to arrive now!!!

 

[plastic penguin]

.....and it'd work a treat with my Exposure 31010s2d I'd imagine.🤔

This a pic of my Exposure. It cost me £250 with original packaging and box. The only thing it didn't come with was a remote.

 

[Friesiansam]

If I decide I need want a CD player, I will almost certainly go the Audiolab 6000CDT route. I know my headphone amp will do a good job of the DACing.