cd player / dvd player

kejolly

I am looking into getting a cd player for my home system. I have been reading a lot of reviews and many of the ones that I have seen mention that they don't reconize the disk half of the time.

Should I just save my money and put it into a better dvd player or continue to look around? I already have a descent dvd player but would be open to upgrading.

I have looked at the one from H/K as well as Denon. I don't want one that is really expensive but am willing to pay 300 or so

Thanks

danger boy

which brands or models of CD players don't recogonize the disc? that's very curious.. unless you are trying to play something like a SACD or DVD-audio disc in a regular CD player.. it's not going to read it of course..

but any CD player should read any regular store bought CD. it may not play CD-R's but Redbook yeah.

I say find yourself a decent stand alone CD player since you already are happy with your current DVD player. I'm a seperates type of guy.. i love seperates.. i don't care to much for when one play is able to play 4 or 5 or more types of discs.

StopherJJ1980

To me it seems stupid to buy separate CD and DVD players. I would favor just getting a new DVD player with maybe some better features, video upconversion seems like a big plus, and youll get the CD. And if your current DVD player doesnt play CD's then it sounds like you definitely need an upgrade anyways.

Just a smart value decision IMO.

cfrizz

There is nothing stupid about wanting separate CD & DVD players. It is all about music.

If you are really into music & have good ears, you will hear a difference in clarity going from a DVD player playing a CD to a CD player playing a CD.

One was designed on the strength of its ability to play music, & the other on its ability to play video.

If you really care, just be willing to save for it!

shack

cfrizz wrote:

There is nothing stupid about wanting separate CD & DVD players. It is all about music. If you are really into music & have good ears, you will hear a difference in clarity going from a DVD player playing a CD to a CD player playing a CD.

One was designed on the strength of its ability to play music, & the other on its ability to play video.

If you really care, just be willing to save for it!

Yeah....Cathy nailed it!

F1nut

StopherJJ1980 wrote:

To me it seems stupid to buy separate CD and DVD players. I would favor just getting a new DVD player with maybe some better features, video upconversion seems like a big plus, and youll get the CD. And if your current DVD player doesnt play CD's then it sounds like you definitely need an upgrade anyways.

Just a smart value decision IMO.

But a poor sound quailty decision. Garbage in, garbage out.

scottyf

It really depends on the DVD player.

I have a Pioneer AX-10 universal player (I bought on Stereophile's recommendation) for my CD player. It makes the finest music I've heard from a digital disk player ever. I am a vinylphile and until I got this unit, my cd's never sounded as good as my records. Now it's close enough that I just don't care!

As a bonus, I can watch DVD's on it. I am very pleased with my player.

You might consider getting one of the modified Pioneer players from John Hillig. I've owned two of his players and was very impressed with the cd sound, plus they play DVD's.

Just my two cents....
http://musicalconcepts.com/MC_NEWCD.htm

shack

I do believe that once you move higher in the range of universal or multiformat players you "can" get decent audio quality. Some of the better Denon Universal players get good marks for their audio quality. Mid-Fi DVD/CD players from the likes of NAD, Cambridge Audio and Rotel can offer good audio reproduction...but...they have put the effort into the audio section of their players.

For $300 you will not get the level of audio in a DVD/CD player that you would in a dedicated $300 CD only player (ie: NAD C521Bee, Cambridge Azur 540C, Marantz CD-5001 or a Rotel RCD-02).

polkatese

I think the decision doesn't have to be either/or. Both of my modded players are DVD players: Philips SACD1000 and Pioneer 563 (which is the one that Scotty has, different modder though). Here is my modder link:

http://www.aplhifi.com/Pioneer563a.html

I am sold on modded DVD/CD players path, since the improvement is very real and noticeable. Of course, ymmv.

marker

shack wrote:

I do believe that once you move higher in the range of universal or multiformat players you "can" get decent audio quality. Some of the better Denon Universal players get good marks for their audio quality. Mid-Fi DVD/CD players from the likes of NAD, Cambridge Audio and Rotel can offer good audio reproduction...but...they have put the effort into the audio section of their players.

For $300 you will not get the level of audio in a DVD/CD player that you would in a dedicated $300 CD only player (ie: NAD C521Bee, Cambridge Azur 540C, Marantz CD-5001 or a Rotel RCD-02).

Isn't Cambridge Audio's 540D DVD player supposed to be about the same at playing CDs as the 540C cd player?

TroyD

Put me in the camp that when it comes to sources, there is no free lunch. If you want good sound, it's going to cost you.

BDT

aaharvel

most dvd players i've heard can't do redbook for $hit. I went out of my way to buy a 15 year old stand-alone for playing music, that's how bad it was. There's nothing wrong with a separate player for music and dvd's - in fact it's prob. recommended by most on here. My roomate knows jack about audio and even he could tell a noticeable difference.

Pablo

I think the sound an video quality I get from my player is great. I more into the video than the audio, but wanted something that could make decent sound. In my opinion, the 2910 more fit the bill. It will run you a but more than you are willing to spend, but if you're looking for something that does it all, this may be the machine for you.

kejolly

Thank you for all of your responses. I will continue my search and see what I like. I am not in a hurry right now. I still think that I want to stay with seperates though.