Extreme Budget Challenge

[josbd]

This is a weird one, I know. but I need your help, chaps.

I have a Roksan Caspian M2 amp and CD player. Pro-Ac Response 2 speakers.

The CD player has been skipping horrendously recently, and is basically unusable. Right now, and for some while I suspect, I can't afford to have it sorted out.

This leads me to the weird question. I have £100, no more, to spend on a CD player to keep me going for a while. Yep, I know. This means an ebay special. So I went to have a look and quite simply I don't know where to start. I had a look at an Arcam Alpha 7, a Cambridge Audio Topaz CD5, a Cambridge Audio Azur 640.... and miserable enough already, I thought I would venture over here.

If anyone, please, has any suggestions, I would be immensely grateful!

(nb: I do have a Clearaudio turntable, but I can't get to it atm)

 

[gasolin]

try to find a used Marantz CD5005 should be possible (half price) whith these prices http://www.hyperfi.co.uk/marantz-cd5005-player-cd5005-black-p-2627.html

Price with discount is normally £170 so £100 should be possible

 

[insider9]

Philips CD751 or CD753
Marantz CD-48

One of the finest players with change to spare. Don't be surprised if they sound better than your Roksan.

 

[jjbomber]

I have £100, no more, to spend on a CD player to keep me going for a while. Yep, I know. This means an ebay special.

There's a few Arcam DVD players out there going cheap, as they're not up to modern spec. They go for under £100.

 

[Al ears]

This is a weird one, I know. but I need your help, chaps.

I have a Roksan Caspian M2 amp and CD player. Pro-Ac Response 2 speakers.

The CD player has been skipping horrendously recently, and is basically unusable. Right now, and for some while I suspect, I can't afford to have it sorted out.

This leads me to the weird question. I have £100, no more, to spend on a CD player to keep me going for a while. Yep, I know. This means an ebay special. So I went to have a look and quite simply I don't know where to start. I had a look at an Arcam Alpha 7, a Cambridge Audio Topaz CD5, a Cambridge Audio Azur 640.... and miserable enough already, I thought I would venture over here.

If anyone, please, has any suggestions, I would be immensely grateful!

(nb: I do have a Clearaudio turntable, but I can't get to it atm)

My suggestion would be save up to get the Roksan sorted, New laser mechanisms tend not to be too expensive, and in the meantime just buy a cheap new DVD player from a supermarket to act as your player.

Yes you can seek second-hand equipment but you never know what state that is in either until too late.

 

[MajorFubar]

Philips CD751 or CD753 Marantz CD-48

One of the finest players with change to spare. Don't be surprised if they sound better than your Roksan.

Agreed, in fact most players with a TD1541A are going to be excellent, and you don't have to spend a fortune. So into that mix I'd throw the venerable Marantz CD65DX. There's one on eBay for £40, though as usual some arsehole has lost the remote. God alone knows what people do with them.

 

[bigfish786]

Firstly, I would make a few enquiries to any local computer shops you have locally that could possibly fit you a replacement mechanism, this might be cheaper than your £100 budget.

If that is a non runner, the arcam dv88 can be picked up cheaply on eBay. And is a very good sounding player.

Last option is to contact roksan for a quote, might be worth it, might not, but it’s good to know either way.

 

[Gaz37]

I picked mine up for £90 on Ebay.

 

[radiorog]

Cambridge 651c or 351c
651c if you can find one.

 

[mond]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marantz-CD67SE-Special-Edition-CD-Player-Compact-Disc-Black/302644823272?hash=item46770984e8:g:dSEAAOSw8R9ai2fv

 

[drummerman]

When my Cyrus CD spinner needed attention I used a Toshiba DVD player for a short while.

Didn't sound half bad

 

[record_spot]

Anything from the Cambridge 650C or 651C would be my pick. Same DAC as the 752BD (Wolfson WM8740) and you won't be disappointed. Alan Sircom waxed lyrical in HiFi+ about the 650 back in 2010 when it came out. You'll snag one for £100 probably. Shop around. Of earlier vintage, Marantx CD52-II, solid, reliable player. You'll probably land the Special Edition model as well which was about £300 25 years ago.

That said, current players of the likes of the Cambridge pair would be my pick over something that was great but great a quarter of a century ago and with 25 years use on it. IMO of course.

 

[slice]

I still have a topaz cd10 in the attic. The loading mechanism is rough/noisy and cds take an age to load. Some models also place a silent gap when one track runs into another. As far as I'm aware via reviews the cambridge cd players higher in the range eg cd351 are much better. The yamaha cd s300 I have now is miles better.

 

[josbd]

Guys: thank you all so very much for taking the time to give me a steer. I shall indeed phone Roksan, tho I suspect I won't be able to afford to get it sorted just yet. Good to know not to even think about the Topaz. I shall return to ebay with your suggestions, and see what shows up.

Once again, thank you so much.

 

[josbd]

Ebay offers the following at the moment:

Marantz CD65DX Marantz CD-48 Cambridge Audio Azur 640c
The first two are around the £60 mark and the CA is £75

I shall have a think, and keep an eye out, but any thoughts to add regarding these three would be warmly welcomed!

 

[lindsayt]

£90 for a Marantz CD63KI?

Cool.

I paid £20 for my Marantz CD-48. It doesn't like being moved as it gives the tray eject hiccups. Once it's been in place for a week it settles down and works fine.

And I've just paid £30 for a Philips CD 753 to go with my AV system, as my Denon Blu ray player sounds relatively poor with CD's.

I find the differences in sound between CD players to be much more subtle than between speakers.

£100 is a sensible max budget for CD players regardless of the rest of the system.

 

[josbd]

I had a sudden memory...... Went up into the loft and pulled out a dusty box. Contained therein, a Philips CD604. I have no idea how long ago I bought it. Hooked it up to the Caspian amp, put on a disk.

It sounds superb! Seriously! This, as I remember was an average player years ago. Today: it is clear as a bell, wonderful detail. And it has been sitting up there in the cold for bloody years, so presumably it will only improve as it settles in.

Unbelieveable. I think, Lindsayt, you may have a very valid point.

Thank you all so very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[radiorog]

If looking at Cambridge, I would definitely go for 351 or 651. I had the 640v2 prior to the 651, and the 651 is a vast improvement. Way more detail. I wouldn't actually recommend the others, not for £100