CD player; New or Vintage

Bob in WI

I have a Sony DVP S7700 (96Hz, 24bit) DVD/ CDC player for listening to audio CDs. A new preamp has revealed the Sony to be quite harsh & overly brassy. This unit dates from 1999/ y2k, like 14 years ago & its time to replace. Used CD players are pretty cheap but its hard to judge quality (so many brands & models) & some say a cheap new unit will blow away a superior older unit (newer dac's , etc). Looking at new stuff, everything seems geared toward home theater. I just want good stereo sound/ many of the features on a new deck would be useless to me. Looking for some feedback & ideas. I know some say no CD player at all - thats not where I'm going. Budget is modest/ I'm not dropping $1k+ on a new Oppo. TIA

AsSiMiLaTeD

What is your budget then? An Oppo 83 SE would be a nice choice if you can find a good deal on one.

deronb1

You could introduce a tube buffer between the cd player and pre. It helped me tone down a tad bright SS component

cnh

Take a look at some mid-line models from Marantz if you're not willing to go up to the 1K+ 8004

The CD 6004 for $499 is a decent player.
http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=HiFiComponents&SubCatId=&ProductId=CD6004

Some also like the Onkyo C-S5VL in that price range:
http://us.onkyo.com/Products/model.php?m=C-S5VL&class=Compact%20Disc&source=prodClass

or Cambridge Audio 550 or 650? Lots of options. All are "good" but not "great" because you really "do" have to step up to the NEXT level for great!

cnh

EndersShadow

Here's the million dollar question, are you looking for a Cd player to use via RCA out's or a Cd transport to use via coaxial or optical out? The suggestions will change drastically depending on that answer.

cfrizz

The Rotel CDP-1072 is a great player to take a look at.

Syndil

I'd take a look at any of the Denons with Alpha processing. I really like what it does for the sound in my DCM-460. There's a few different generations of it, too.

http://denon.bigazines.com/eng/technical/technology_list.php?tid=8963

Mikey081057

Just got a Marantz SA 8004. It is a magnificent machine and does SACD also. A bit pricey but a bargain compared to it's competition.

pglbook

I have always liked the sound and quality of Rotel CD players.

As cfrizz suggested, the Rotel RCD 1072 is a great CD player.

I have the Rotel RCC 1055, which is a 5-disc CD changer, and I absolutely love it.

DollarDave

Consider any of the single or multi disk players from CAL. My CL-10 has bested all others I've tried. So far.

pglbook

I forgot to add to my earlier post that the Rotel RCC 1055 is basically the multi-disc (5-disc) version of the Rotel RCD 1072.

Great CD players, imho. I love my Rotel RCC 1055!

drumminman

If your CDP is fully functioning and has a digital out, adding an outboard DAC would be a very effective solution. Lots of folks rave about this for $350: http://schiit.com/schiit-faq/about-bifrost/

pitdogg2

Bob in WI wrote: »

I have a Sony DVP S7700 (96Hz, 24bit) DVD/ CDC player for listening to audio CDs. A new preamp has revealed the Sony to be quite harsh & overly brassy. This unit dates from 1999/ y2k, like 14 years ago & its time to replace. Used CD players are pretty cheap but its hard to judge quality (so many brands & models) & some say a cheap new unit will blow away a superior older unit (newer dac's , etc). Looking at new stuff, everything seems geared toward home theater. I just want good stereo sound/ many of the features on a new deck would be useless to me. Looking for some feedback & ideas. I know some say no CD player at all - thats not where I'm going. Budget is modest/ I'm not dropping $1k+ on a new Oppo. TIA

Interesting to say the least. I have the same player best 50.00 I ever spent used it on many different pre's and receiver's harsh and brassy is never in the same sentence with this one.

jon s

I have to agree that the older Sony's do not compare with the current crop of players. If you have the money, I would still consider and look at the (now discontinued) Oppo BDP-95 (still available at Music Direct or Amazon for $1000). I had Marantz CD players (SA-8260/SA-8001), a Sony CDP-777ES, Onkyo DX-7555 and a Yamaha (forgot the model number).

The Oppo BDP-95 is far superior to any of them. If you google the Oppo, you will read many reviews on how good the DACs (ES 9018 Reference DACs) are. The BDP-95 is superior to the current BDP-105 because the BDP-95 dedicated the DAC to the analog outputs, where the BDP-105 splits the DAC 8-channels to the analog out, headphone output.

I have the Oppo BDP-83SE with the older ESS 9016 Reference DACs as well as the BDP-95. While it is superior to most other DACs (in fact, Pioneer and Yamaha are using it in their new TOTL AVRs coming this summer), the 9018 is noticeably better. Home Theater, Absolute Sound, Audioholics, Stereophile, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, Perfect Vision and Home Theater Review all named the BDP-95 as product of the year. All of those publications cannot be wrong. You owe it to yourself to at least give it a spin...

If the $1000 is too much, try and look for a Oppo BDP-83SE... It is still a good value.

Bob in WI

Here's the million dollar question, are you looking for a Cd player to use via RCA out's or a Cd transport to use via coaxial or optical out? CD player. RCA jacks out. Interesting to say the least. I have the same player best 50.00 I ever spent used it on many different pre's and receiver's harsh and brassy is never in the same sentence with this one. It was fine until I got a Yamaha preamp. I've heard Yamaha pre's can be bright. This is like a laser pointer in your ears. I'm unsure whether the preamp is faulty (it seems ok, but I'm not a tech). I'm hearing that the consensus is that new is worth the considerable premium over used.

cnh

Depending on the Yamaha it very well may be the Yamaha! How do you have it hooked up? RCA L/R to the Yamaha or Coax or toslink with the Yamaha doing the processing? Rule of thumb is to use it BOTH ways and compare which hook up is the "least" offensive. I've seen it go either way!

Sounds like a different pre may be a solution for you?

cnh

Bob in WI

I'm afraid the pre may have been a bad choice. I try to research this stuff but its always a cr@p shoot. As it sits now I have Vandersteen 2CEs, PS Audio 200 CX amp, Yamaha C-60 pre (the new component), a quality but 14 YO Sony CD player & a Dual 1237 with a Grado Blue cartridge. My understanding is Yamaha equipment tends towards bright & the PS Audio amp tends towards bright. Maybe they are a poor match. Before the Yamaha, I had a Cambridge pre that only operated on bypass (direct) and a NAD 1700 - they both sounded fine. Can the pre make a difference between "just fine & I can listen all day" and fingernails on a blackboard? I have another CD player, I'm going to swap that in & see what happens.

Bob in WI

I'm learning every day. So, now I need the non existing database that ranks preamps by brightness so I don't duplicate the error. I've heard Haflers tend to be more neutral but I have no direct experience. This is comparing a Yamaha C-60 & a Hafler Model 110; the Hafler would be more neutral? Opinions or other choices? I'd be buying used & I'd like to keep it under $250. TIA.

cnh

A lot is about synergy--how well everything plays with everything else. But, in general, that Hafler would be on the "warmer" side of things and not bright at all. Someone above suggested a "tube" buffer. That might work as well. Or any good tube pre-amp with decent tubes.

I have not heard that Yamaha pre or the PS Audio. But your NAD is also a "warmer" sounding piece so, yeah it makes sense that things changed with the system changes.

cnh

tonyb

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/ele/3818104401.html

nooshinjohn

Grab this one and enjoy

!http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?149632-Pioneer-Elite-pd9-D-SACD

headrott

DaveMuell wrote: »

Consider any of the single or multi disk players from CAL. My CL-10 has bested all others I've tried. So far.

Speaking of which, How is that AMC CD player working out for you Dave?

smglbrth

DSkip wrote: »

Anything can make that kind of a difference, depending on the gear.

So true. I swapped out my NAD C542 with the Pioneer BDP-51FD which quit playing BD's just for the heck of it. I couldn't believe how the NAD put the Pioneer to shame. I knew it was going to be apples/oranges since the 51 is a BDP but, wow, more like apples to steak...

DollarDave

headrott wrote: »

Speaking of which, How is that AMC CD player working out for you Dave?

I like it a lot, but the CAL won out in the bass department. I even used them both with a CAL DAC. I usually setup family and friend with systems and my brother-in-law's NAD went belly-up, so I gave it to him. He loves it.

cfrizz

Hey Bob did you see this?

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?150074-Rotel-RCD1072-Nakamichi-CA-5-Multimeter-Clamp-Meters

StantonZ

Bob in WI wrote: »

I have a Sony DVP S7700 (96Hz, 24bit) DVD/ CDC player for listening to audio CDs.

I used the SAME DVD/CD player until a couple of years ago when it bit the dust! I replaced it with a Samsung 2550 I really like, but that's not the reason for this post. I was forced to use my (old) Pioneer Elite CLD-99 as a CD player for awhile, and to my (pleasant) surprise CD's sounded much better! I still use it for critical listening to this day (much better than even the newer Samsung). I've since admitted that transports must make a difference, as I've always used the same DACs (in my Yamaha amp) with a Toslink connection in all cases.