Cd player purchase help/advice

shack

dragon1952 wrote:

The main issue with NAD is that they are butt ugly, IMO. Nothing worse than cheap black plastic.

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I sort of like the minimalist look of NAD...always have.

Kex

dragon1952 wrote: »

The main issue with NAD is that they are butt ugly, IMO. Nothing worse than cheap black plastic. ...

shack wrote: »

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I sort of like the minimalist look of NAD...always have.

LOL! Well, this is clearly a matter of taste. What some find "butt ugly", others find "understated elegance", and even classy. I don't think they would ever win any beauty contests, and they are certainly anything but flashy. Like Shack, I like them that way, and I like their products because of how they work, and the excellent value they represent IMO, since they don't need for external amplifiers. In fact, reputedly at least, some of their receivers are so well designed, that you're actually buying almost the exact technical equivalent of their separates in a single chassis, for half the combined price, or less. I have not yet seen the "new look", however. Maybe it will appeal to a wider audience than existing NAD owners.

Whether you like the look or not, however, they are not "cheap black plastic". If it is plastic, it is good enough to have fooled me into thinking it was metal! It doesn't look as expensive as my Denon, but then it cost less too, and it performs much better.

BigMac

NJPOLKER wrote: »

Have you thought about or looked at the Jolida 100's? I've seen them over at Audiogon at real reasonable cost lately.

This player never crossed my mind (well it did looking back but never researched it). Will look at the info. and if all looks good then maybe look into it further.

dragon1952 wrote: »

The main issue with NAD is that they are butt ugly, IMO.

I agree to a point. I like the minimalistic look but could do with a little eye candy to make it more appealing to some people. Very plain jane look but the sound vs the price is just incredible. For me though, I am more about the sound than looks for now.

Face wrote: »

I agree, NAD reminds me of 80's BPC.

In the last year or so, I went through an Integra player, 3 Marantz players, 2 Cambridge players, and a Cambridge DAC.

Since the OP wants a warm or laid back player, Cambridge may be out of the picture. They can be a little analytical and a little on the forward side compared to Marantz. They can also sound a little thin in comparison. Marantz definitely has more mid and upper bass and more warmth up top.

Sweet comparison between the two. Yep, I'm looking for neutral or the warm side of neutral with a little more detail thrown in; not to the point of it sounding harsh like Sony htib crap though,lol. I don't like players that are tooooo in your face. Looking to reproduce the music as close to how it was recorded as possible. I know the Marantz sound kinda tones down harsh highs and I don't mind that at all since I am running M10b with original tweets.

On a side note I see that Sony ES players all over the place. One was recommended here and after looking it up I found a gazillion more. Most are modded heavily from what I have seen. Do any of these players have the sound I am looking for? I know lots of people have them but that does not make em good......kinda like herpes, lots of people have it but it does not make it good to have,lol. It's just when I think of Sony I think of cheap htib junk. I hate the normal Sony sound.....thin,dull,harsh,and lifeless imo.

shack

I have a Sony SCD-CE775 CD changer modded by Matt Anker at SACDmods.com. It is certainly a nice sounding player. All the advantages of SACD with all the modifications that take it to a much higher level than an out of the box Sony CDP. I also have a stock Sony NS755V I've considered sending to him to mod (just have never gotten around to it). I would always have some concerns about buying a used modded machine. The age and condition prior to modifications is always an issue and the amount of useful life is a concern. Most sellers want to get their investment out of it...but IMO it is hard to discern what it is really worth. I would rather take a machine I own and send it to be modded rather than buy a used one.

BigMac

shack wrote: »

I have a Sony SCD-CE775 CD changer modded by Matt Anker at SACDmods.com. It is certainly a nice sounding player. All the advantages of SACD with all the modifications that take it to a much higher level than an out of the box Sony CDP. I also have a stock Sony NS755V I've considered sending to him to mod (just have never gotten around to it). I would always have some concerns about buying a used modded machine. The age and condition prior to modifications is always an issue and the amount of useful life is a concern. Most sellers want to get their investment out of it...but IMO it is hard to discern what it is really worth. I would rather take a machine I own and send it to be modded rather than buy a used one.

Thanks for the input and food for thought. The more I delve into this the harder this decision is going to be I think. Really need to get my hands on a few players to try out. Put in a call for the NAD and just waiting on a call back now. The store I found that has the Cambridge wont open until Tuesday at around noon so I will talk to the owner then. Usually you have to wait till Saturday to demo his stuff as he is closed on Sunday and Monday. He has higher end cd players as well so I will see what he would be willing to part with for a few days.

rubin

NJPOLKER wrote: »

rubin,
I hear you. My Arcam CD72 is a nice sounding player kind of neutral which for me is perfect for my set-up, a excellent tube pre-amp and a killer SS amp. I have humongous copper speaker cables and silver IC's. I think synergy is very important with all the components, cables and IC's included of course.

NJ...sounds like we both have somewhat similar systems.I also have a tube pre along with a pair of ss amps...nothing special just good sound.

BigMac

steveinaz wrote: »

Another element that is EXTREMELY important and almost always overlooked (as we tend to focus on the DAC's)---is the analog output section; Arguably more important. Your better CDP's have beefy analog output sections. With CDP's, it's a really a whole package (and how it is implemented) thing rather than specific components. In your list, I like the Cambridge and Music Hall choices, FWIW.

I have been listening to the Cambridge 640c for the last few weeks. I like it to a point but find the sound kinda thin. I keep wanting to add some "oomph" to it for some reason. I found a Denon DCD-810 modded player yesterday. The guy who was selling it added a Phillips TDA 1541 DAC. I know what a DAC is but not what he was talking about. He goes on and on about this chip and how kick **** it is. He started talking all this technical mumbo jumbo which made no sense to me at all. I ask him if I can try it out to see what he means. He says yes but only if he comes with the player while I listen to it. We arrive at my house and hook it up in place of the Cambridge. We begin listening to everything from classical to country with plenty of rock thrown in. All I can say is I bought the Denon and returned the Cambridge. The sound this player produces is the best I have heard considering my limited exposure to cd players compared to some of you here. For such an old cd player, this thing kicks ****!!

My question now is..........how to add a beefier analog output? Do you think I would see an improvement in sound doing this? I am a complete idiotic noob when it comes to this stuff but getting my learn on daily.

BigMac

When it rains it pours I guess. I am getting a Sony DVP-S7000 in a couple of days. I bought it for $40.00......just for the motorized front (I thought it was cool,lol). After reading more about this player, it looks like it has a ton of mods that can be done. I also did not know this was Sonys first reference player either. Guess I just got lucky. Anyone here have any experience with this unit? If so, which mods are the ones to go for?

Krazyz1

Brown-Burr been around FOREVER. I noticed it appeared no concern for oversampling rate. I have a JVC XLFZ258 5 disc exchange and play. 1 Bit P.E.M D.D. Converter with 8X oversampling. 119.00 new when I bought it. BEST CD player I have ever owned and I attribute it to the 8X oversampling. What are the oversampling rates on units you are shopping?????

tryrrthg

BigMac wrote: »

When it rains it pours I guess. I am getting a Sony DVP-S7000 in a couple of days. I bought it for $40.00......just for the motorized front (I thought it was cool,lol). After reading more about this player, it looks like it has a ton of mods that can be done. I also did not know this was Sonys first reference player either. Guess I just got lucky. Anyone here have any experience with this unit? If so, which mods are the ones to go for?

I owned the S7700 for a while and used it as a CD transport. There was a lot of buzz several years ago about the S7000 and S7700 being fantastic CD transports. I used mine for a while and it certainly did a nice job.

http://web.archive.org/web/20010303075657/http://www.planethifi.com/planethifi/sum97dvps7000rev.htm