I just ordered my CDP-7030 on amazon it dropped down to 152.00 from 181.00. It may hit 139.00 again but did not want to gamble over 13.00 if it shoots back up. I signed up for a trial Prime account and got free two day shipping cant wait to see how this sounds.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teac-CD-P650-CD-Player-Black/dp/B0042FMBSI This is also a fine player for the $$ . Has a Top Notch Burr- Brown Dac too. I have been using this player for the last year with no problems. .
At the risk of sounding stupid, I'm a little confused. This thread was started with high praise for the DAC (Wolfsen) that comes in the Onkyo cd player. Why are you and @GuildX700 recommending a bypass? Or are you talking about using the Teac for high res and other digital files? I'll go back to the Music thread shortly.
Reading the reviews on Amazon the reliability of the p650 are all over the place. Some people like your self have had no issues and some do. It seems like a crap shoot, if you get a good one your set if not it's toast in 6 months or sooner. The Onkyo seems to have better reliability in the reviews I read on Amazon and both get praise for really good sound quality.
I mentioned the later Teac player as it offers DSD for little outlay. It's an option really, not a replacement.
I still say the headphone out on the CDP-7030 is a great value-added feature. I know some have said it's nothing to really get excited about, but I have to respectfully disagree. For someone without a dedicated headphone amp, or who isn't satisfied with the headphone out on one of their components, give the 7030 a try - you may be pleasantly surprised.
C-7030 Owners: Where would you rank this players performance in terms of retail price if you could set it? Will it be up with the $500-700 players?
Going on audio memory here.... I think the Onkyo is at least the equate of a Yamaha CD changer/Cambridge Audio DAC combo I heard at a head-fi meet here in the Bay Area. That's a combo that easily cost $500, if not more.
I think the point for me is that the 7030 sounds good and is available for less than $200. I wasn't looking for players in the $500. range.
I concur. A local audio dealer had a Rega Apollo for $500 that I was considering until I found out it lacked this feature.
My C-7030 arrived today had to let it get to room temp and fired it up. It sounds really good right from the start. I auditioned a Marantz 5004 which sounded really good for 399.00, the main difference from what I could tell is the 5004's mid range seems a little more prominent. I cant really say if that's good or bad. For 250.00 less the Onkyo is the clear winner IMHO in the sound department it has a nice balanced sound I can listen to for hours without fatigue. I just got done listening to some familiar disc for the past 3 hours minus the few minutes I dozed off my recliner is sometimes to comfy. When you skip tracks with the remote you can sometimes hear a audible tick which has been mentioned by some post but does not bother me. My unit is nice and quiet no transformer hum. If your using a budget or mid line Technics or Sony from the 90's or mid 2000's you should hear a audible improvement in how your cd's sound. To sum up, I'm really digging this disc spinner.
I've really had a lot of time now with a wide variety of discs on my Onkyo C-7030 paired with a Teac UD-H01 DAC, and it never ceases to impress me at the price point this setup cost. $139+$189, less than $330 total. Right now the best price would be quit a bit higher, I see the 7030 is now up to $172 and the DAC is $249. Even at those prices it is a steal IMO. The C7030 alone did not hold a candle to my vintage Sansui CDX711, JVC XL-Z1010, or Pioneer Elite PD-91, all top of the line $1k+units from the late 1980's, but paired with the Teac DAC, everything changed, it certainly does. It also did not beat my recent model Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc alone, but again with the Teac DAC it handily does. My main setup is still using a Musical Fidelity late model M1 DAC and the killer high end transport Pioneer Elite PD-S95. Allthough this combo outclasses the C-7030/UD-H01 combo, it isn't by a vast margin, it's in the micro details that the more expensive combo excels. IMO It takes a lot of $$$ to really make a significant leap in sound quality in digital, and at some point the law of diminishing return kicks in big time. The only caveat is how long will these budget units last? My vintage ones are still going strong after 25 years. My guess is the Onkyo player and Teac DAC will not make it 1/4 as far. Oh well, for the price I'll enjoy them and hopefully when they die there will be something better at a similar price.
While I do like the headphone section of the C7030, pairing it with the Teac UD-H01 DAC's headphone section is an order of magnitude better, with much more clean, useable volume.
Yes, the Onkyo C-7030 has an amazing sound for the price and even for much more: detailed, neutral, transparent, analog-like, perfect bass timing, spatial accuracy. However, no company uses high-end components like Wolfson DACs on a cheap player without cutting costs somewhere. Well, I'm afraid I have discovered how they cut those costs. Like many others, I notice left-channel clicks when pressing or releasing the scan buttons (<</>>) on the remote or unit (not on track selection, interestingly), which is odd but acceptable. But I also kept noticing random and irreproducible left-channel clicks during play--with any disc. Muting circuit glitch? Error-correction glitch? On every disc?! Onkyo tech just said I had a defective unit and to return it. But the next one was identical in this regard, as was the third; #2 and #3 also were apparently refurbs selling as new from Amazon(shame!), and had cosmetic issues--scratched, scuffed readout windows that one can see in the light, fingerprints, gouged power button, etc. Clicking on scan should not happen but is not a problem; clicking during play is. And they all do it. Many do not notice or think it's their chair or neck creaking,as I did at first. But, sadly... Also, and perhaps worse, the lifespan of these things is alarming. My NAD 521BEE, bought in 2003 is still working (a little particular as usual, especially on CDRs), but many reports (go to Amazon reviews) give this Onkyo 5-7 months before it stops reading discs. Moreover, Onkyo seems to refuse to honor even their minimal warranty, but according to the reviews' authors, Amazon is usually willing to replace. But then does one get just another 5-7 months? Quality control is non-existent.
I had the left click issue only when tracking forward, it seems to have dissipated now, It only happens once in a blue moon now, for the price I paid I'm overlooking it as it it not doing it during an actual song
That sucks, I'd get a refund and maybe go for a Marantz, If this player was my main source I would of spent a little more and went higher up the chain, but for the price for me it was a nice add-on
Hello Guild. That's the $64000 question isn't it?? Here at work we use chinese made analog single line phones and the main thing I see when they fail is solder. On the circuit board, some of the solder joints have such little solder that with any amount of movement/vibrations/cold hot changes, the conductor of a component just comes loose. I see it all the time. The 7030's are manufactured in Malaysia and Onkyo has a rep to protect, so hopefully things like my example above won't become a factor in the future. the beave.
Yeah, it does suck. Amazon won't send a fourth, though the second and third were physically damaged--and by my reasoning (not theirs), don't even count as replacements--as well as having the ubiquitous clicking. They even offered a 30% refund if I'd keep the damaged one. Yeah, right. So it is a refund. Probably just as well, given the Onkyo's track record with a lot of people; and I seem to be one of the unlucky ones. My main player is the NAD 521BEE and I was looking for something cheap to add to it as well. No idea what now. The clicking on pressing and releasing scan was livable, but occasional clicks during play--and just waiting for it to happen every fifteen minutes or so--was making me crazy.
