What kind of CD player does £21 buy you?

[record_spot]

And that's for a new CD player, not some Ebay/Gumtree deal.

If you're in Asda, it'll buy you one of these...



Okay, so it's a CD / DVD player, but, it comes with analogue outs well as HDMI and, handily, a digital coax out too.

So, £18 later (it's on sale!), I bought one. Hooked it up to the DACMagic 200M via coax and popped in a nearby CD, in this case, an early copy of Rattlesnakes from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. By chance, this also comes with a great production and is well mastered. Great bass line, but jangly guitars, so a decent setup should straddle (wot?) that line.

I didn't have too many worries on the replay front, but does £18 get you a decent transport? Well, you're not going to mistake it for anything by Plinius, Boulder or McIntosh, but you're not buying it with anywhere near those expectations.

You do get a decent range of connections, HDMI is a given I guess, but coax is a nice benefit. It's got a noisy transport, so ear defenders when you're opening and closing it, and it takes a while to load, but, again, this is quibbling.

The handset is roughly the size of your hand, so a little smaller than your typical remote but it's absolutely festooned with buttons. Forget backlighting...

And yes, £18, or £21, does get you a very usable little player and can either be an emergency backup, a source in a second system with DAC, or if you're on a really tight budget. Heartily recommended.

 

[Tinman1952]

Looks like something from NVA..😂
If it works then don't knock it.....noisy transport would put me off though.....

 

[record_spot]

Looks like something from NVA..😂
If it works then don't knock it.....noisy transport would put me off though.....

No need, only noisy when the drawer opens and closes, otherwise, nothing that I can hear during play.

 

[Fandango Andy]

I have a system in my bedroom/homeoffice. I mainly stream music in that room, but did get a CD player for occasional use. A Sony CDP-XE570. I paid £15 on ebay about ten years ago. I think they were about £150 new in the early 2000s

 

[Jasonovich]

And that's for a new CD player, not some Ebay/Gumtree deal.

If you're in Asda, it'll buy you one of these...

View attachment 5862

Okay, so it's a CD / DVD player, but, it comes with analogue outs well as HDMI and, handily, a digital coax out too.

So, £18 later (it's on sale!), I bought one. Hooked it up to the DACMagic 200M via coax and popped in a nearby CD, in this case, an early copy of Rattlesnakes from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. By chance, this also comes with a great production and is well mastered. Great bass line, but jangly guitars, so a decent setup should straddle (wot?) that line.

I didn't have too many worries on the replay front, but does £18 get you a decent transport? Well, you're not going to mistake it for anything by Plinius, Boulder or McIntosh, but you're not buying it with anywhere near those expectations.

You do get a decent range of connections, HDMI is a given I guess, but coax is a nice benefit. It's got a noisy transport, so ear defenders when you're opening and closing it, and it takes a while to load, but, again, this is quibbling.

The handset is roughly the size of your hand, so a little smaller than your typical remote but it's absolutely festooned with buttons. Forget backlighting...

And yes, £18, or £21, does get you a very usable little player and can either be an emergency backup, a source in a second system with DAC, or if you're on a really tight budget. Heartily recommended.

View attachment 5863

AliExpress does it cheaper, just under £18 and free delivery.
It plays different formats, including MP3 and 1080p but no HDMI or coaxial, therefore, not compatible with external DAC. The ASDA is better if you're planning to link it with a DAC.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005174912375.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.89.c850cf58l04C4v&algo_pvid=b246021f-9566-4ed0-84d5-36639fffd5e2&aem_p4p_detail=202401100234063076669097591440008013604&algo_exp_id=b246021f-9566-4ed0-84d5-36639fffd5e2-44&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%2129.95%2117.67%21%21%21265.48%21%21%402103879317048828465806531e62fe%2112000034680289967%21sea%21UK%212022925542%21&curPageLogUid=hBX3eCtxLgy6&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A&search_p4p_id=202401100234063076669097591440008013604_9

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

I might have to go spend £18 as have been looking for a CD player with an orange display to match the colour of the tubes on the PrimaLunas. I've been unsuccessful on E-bay bidding for Teac 1100s, so it looks like a trip to ASDA.

 

[Cricketbat70]

I might have to go spend £18 as have been looking for a CD player with an orange display to match the colour of the tubes on the PrimaLunas. I've been unsuccessful on E-bay bidding for Teac 1100s, so it looks like a trip to ASDA.

If you are still after a TEAC CDP1100 I have one.

 

[Rodolfo]

I only see "for parts" players for that on eBay; but many/most sellers then charge more for shipping.

 

[jjbomber]

I didn't have too many worries on the replay front, but does £18 get you a decent transport?

That was my initial thought. Anyone with a DAC can't go wrong.

 

[jy999]

For those considering this, I bought a cheap DVD player at Walmart as my kid was getting into CDs. With the digital out it sounded fine but the interface was godawful. Took a while to start, navigation slow, confusing remote. Like. I just want the basics.

It was so bad the kids wouldn't just it, I ended up giving it to the good will.

 

[Steve983]

I have my Budget Sony Blu Ray connected to my Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 and it sounds simply awesome especially for HiRes.

 

[nopiano]

I have my Budget Sony Blu Ray connected to my Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 and it sounds simply awesome especially for HiRes.

What hires sources can it play? I’m thinking that it cannot output SACD.

 

[Al ears]

What hires sources can it play? I’m thinking that it cannot output SACD.

It might put out PCM over the HDMI if that's possible, but I very much doubt it.

 

[Steve983]

What hires sources can it play? I’m thinking that it cannot output SACD.

I mainly use it for Blu Ray music/concert discs and Hi Res downloads that are 24 bit, it will go all the way up to 192 kHz supposedly. I have the coaxial output from the Sony connected to the DAC and then phono lead from the DAC to my amp. I can certainly hear a sound superior to cd depending on the source. Even normal cd's sound better sometimes than through my Marantz cd player. What sounds 'better' is all opinion of course, we all have different ears and preferences and your mileage may vary

 

[nopiano]

I mainly use it for Blu Ray music/concert discs and Hi Res downloads that are 24 bit, it will go all the way up to 192 kHz supposedly. I have the coaxial output from the Sony connected to the DAC and then phono lead from the DAC to my amp. I can certainly hear a sound superior to cd depending on the source. Even normal cd's sound better sometimes than through my Marantz cd player. What sounds 'better' is all opinion of course, we all have different ears and preferences and your mileage may vary

Thanks. I thought Blu-ray audio was simply a longer playing version of CD, but I must admit I’ve never bought one, nor knowingly heard one so have no idea what the results might be!

 

[Rodolfo]

What hires sources can it play? I’m thinking that it cannot output SACD.

As noted on another thread, my excellent Sony BDP-S580 plays SACDs, as does the X800. Both players are quite compact and have elementary displays.

 

[nopiano]

As noted on another thread, my excellent Sony BDP-S580 plays SACDs, as does the X800. Both players are quite compact and have elementary displays.

Oh, yes, thank you, I realise many Blu-ray machines play SACDs, including my Oppo. I was simply curious because when I see Hi Res and an external DAC combined I wonder what is actually being used as source material and whether the output is anything better than CD standard. Not that it needs to be, but I’m sure it’s not always obvious.

 

[plastic penguin]

Wow that's a bargain of the year.

 

[Jasonovich]

I know not your budget £18 CD player. but if you're looking at the opposite to cheap; I really love the look of this Shanling SCD1.3 CD SACD Player DAC DSD512 (USB) and the touch screen feature but price a little steep for me. Check the link if you're looking for a premier SACD player.

SHANLING SCD1.3 CD SACD Player DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Black

Shanling's SCD1.3 is a high-end SACD CD player featuring the AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ DAC chip combo, XMOS XU316 USB interface and TPA6120 headphone amplification.

www.audiophonics.fr