C.D Players.....general questions:)

Given that a cd player contains little or no moving parts,what constitutes or sets one player apart from another? What governs sound quality? Would the difference between a budget entry player and a "serious" player be as marked as say the same parameters with regard to a turntable or an amplifier?
My questions are posed purely because "cd" has always been a last resort,have I assumed incorrectly that all players are pretty much the same?

 

The transport and laser mechanisms are moving along quite briskly, you'll want quality there for certain. The built in DAC (Digital to Analog Convertor) is perhaps the key component. Different chipsets perform with varying levels of quality, you want to purchase a player that's got the right goods (within your budget). The overall construction and materials used will have a big impact on the sound as well, better players will provide quality in all these areas.

 

Thanks for that....I have just realised that I have probably never heard a "serious" cd player,and am minded to think I may have missed out,and judged the medium unfairly!

 

You have

 

I have CD players in 4 different price ranges.... $100, $300, $600, $1300. There is a a major audible difference between the 300 to the 600, and no contest between the 600 to 1300. Worth the money !

 

You might consider a lower priced CD player with SPDIF out and use it as a transport and then put your money into a dedicated DAC that accepts multiple inputs including USB. Best of all worlds.

 

It's like any other electronics, the line stages are critical for good SQ, the power supplies must be stable and noise free. On top of that, the transports need to be low in jitter. I have been using low-end CD players for many years. Still do, but I managed to get a big improvement in sound by connecting the digital [toslink] output of my cheap Sony DVD/SACD/CD player to the digital 'ins' of my Onkyo TX 606 A/V receiver. Previous experience has indicated big sound improvements by upgrading the D/A converters. And I know that loading the sound file into a digital storage medium, such as a hard drive, SSD or flash drive potentially offers improvements down the line.

 

If you're REALLY curious, go the secondhand route. For a long time I was happy with what a decent £200 player could do, but someone at work suggested paying £200 for a good secondhand machine (honestly, that thought had NEVER occured to me). A week later, I was in posession of a £500 Arcam CD72. I paid £120 for it. The difference between a decent £200 player and one costing £500 is not small. I only wish I'd done it much, much sooner.

 

Thing with cd players is even the cheapest ones sound great. But don't be fooled. The higher models sound way better, are better built and are more refined, although the sonic differences are not as dramatic or readibly noticeable to the untrained ear as they are between a cheap and a high-end TT.

 

I agree with this, a good quality looked after player is worth a look, a while back I found a Meridian 506, fully factory serviced for £300, I understand it was a £1,000 machine originally, beautiful machine.

I found a company who sells and maintains Meridian legacy products:

http://meridianrepairshop.co.uk/?p=240

 

That "run in" option is tempting....scouring local UK ads now!

 

This looks like an interesting machine. I'm a vinyl listener (starting 6 years ago) but I've been looking at adding a digital component for supplemental listening. I don't want to go overboard with my spending in this area either. I've been debating a decent CDP or DAC ($300 - $500 range). I've basically narrowed downed my choices to the Dragonfly, which is nice bang for buck and this CDP linked below.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121515310179?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Note: My goal is to add a component that is less than 15" x 15" for space reasons and the Meridan 506 appears to fit these dimensions. I might add it to my list even though it's a bit more than I was looking to spend.

Would the main disadvantage be that DACs are more advanced in newer machines like the TEAC versus this refurbished Meridian?

 

DACS have come a long way in a relatively short period of time so it is likely that current midrange even some lower tier DACs are better than what is in that CD player. But that's misleading as well because its all about how everything comes together as a unit.

 

Although I don't want to discount the importance of the DAC, in my view what follows the DAC chips is what defines the sound of a cd player. I say this because have an older (1999) cdp that retailed for $3k+; nothing has even come close to the liquid sound of this player.
This player uses 4 Burr Brown PCM63P DAC chips. These are 20 bit chips which are outdated by today's standards. The discreet class A output stage makes up for this with the smoothest sound I've heard from cds.

 

Gumtree is a good option. Got my AVI Lab Series CD player that way. Meant a trip up to Aberdeen but with petrol I probably still saved £200+ over typical secondhand price via a dealer or on eBay. Very pleased.

 

Given that most transports are made by only so many companies anymore - yes, there are crappy ones, but most are pretty good now. More about long term reliability than performance.

The big factors as mentioned are the DACs (which can be outboard, so that can be different) and stable power supply. The rest is pretty direct anymore.

Take apart a mid-80s CD player by anyone big and notice all the wires, capacitors, etc. and then look at a current one: power supply, transport, small main board with mostly chips, and another small minor board for the front panel's buttons and display. There could be large variances in the 80s' CD players' by design and brand, and the later ones, not too many variables.

 

The power supply design in the "serious" players are complex and expensive. The DAC section isn't a random microchip with a few wires in and out. The complexity there is well beyond my understanding, but many of the hi-end units which use traditional chips will have a design which isn't traditional at all. The word clock is another area of distinction. And there is the critical design of the analog output section. Again, major step up in design in the hi-end players.

The difference between a good entry level player and good hi-end player is as great as the difference between other components. At least. Perhaps more so. Vanity and aesthetics aren't going persuade informed audiophiles to spend well into the thousands or tens of thousands on a CD player. Same can be said of turntable rigs.

It's not possible, in my experience, to convey the dramatic difference in sound in such a way that a skeptic will be won over. I'd recommend borrowing a common hi-end player such as the Ayre C-5xe MP.

 

Fair comment

 

Some truth in that

 

I recently aquired the first CD player Arcam introduced, The Arcam Alpha. I believe back in its day it was quite highly rated. I've heard the Philips TDA1541A D/A Converter fitted, was often used in high end machines.

I paid £35 for mine & it's immaculate, it came with its manual & remote, not bad considering it retailed over £400 back in the day!

 

After I returned nearly full time to vinyl about a year and a half ago, it was only then that I realized I needed much better CD playback than I had grown used to. This was especially so after I purchased a vintage 1976 Pioneer SX-850 receiver ($255 on EBay), a unit that provides high quality sound unlike the AV receiver I had been using for many years. After doing some research on the forum and elsewhere I decided to purchase a 1989 Philips CD-50 ($173 on EBay), a Belgian made player which featured a high quality DAC. I used that as my primary player until I saw a thread here about an amazing deal on the Onkyo C-7030 for only $139 at Amazon. I was not disappointed, it is a very well built and fine sounding player that outshines the Philips CD-50. I also get excellent playback from my Denon DVD-1940CI, a device I had purchased for it's SACD option as well as positive reviews for it's DVD picture quality. For myself I need to find good sound on a reasonable budget, all of these players have fit the bill.

 

Here is the "tech" stuff about the player I use at present,detailing the onboard dac etc....how much would I need to spend to better it?

Compact and well equipped but also boasting impressive audio quality, the Onkyo CR555DAB is a tough act to beat. PUTTING SOUND QUALITY FIRST Compact and convenient it may be but that doesn't stop the Onkyo CR555 from putting sound quality first. Onkyo have one of the best reputations within the audio industry and when you take a listen to the CR555 it's easy to see why. Using Onkyo's proven Wide Range Amplifier Technology (WRAT) gives the CR555 a far punchier sound than you might expect. Added to this is Three-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry and VLSC noise-cancelling technology. Combined with symmetrical circuit layout and a high quality DAC gives the CR555 class-leading sound quality. Not only is the sound dynamic and punchy it's also low in distortion and true to life. QUALITY DAB TUNER AND CD PLAYER BUILT-IN Boasting DAB+, DAB and FM, the built-in tuner has radio covered - both for now and future. With 40 presets it's also easy to keep track of your favourite stations. The CD player benefits from a high quality 192 kHz/24-bit Wolfson DAC, sounding natural yet detailed. CLASS-LEADING CONNECTIVITY INCLUDING DIGITAL INPUT In addition to the built-in CD player and tuner, the CR555DAB comes with a wide range of connections. The newest and most impressive of these is a digital input.

 

Try the Cambridge Azur 851 in your system. Try to find a way to home demo it and then also the Ayre C 5xe MP. Your line stage plays a huge part too though.

 

The Ayre would be extremely pricey in the UK.

 

Ayre? Hardly anybody stock them in the UK, but something like the C5 would go for over £5000 new. Dependant on model, if new and if not, general condition (so perhaps less). Depends what the OP would buy it for of course, take away the boutique element of the player and decide if something that expensive is worth it to them. Boutique build, marque, etc, etc.

To the OP: check out Ebay. There's a Linn Karik II on there just now. £275 and free postage. The Karik would've gone for £1100 in its day. Maybe more. The Linn's have a nice sound. I had a Mimik that you'd probably get for about £200 these days (RRP £900).

On the other hand, you could buy something more up to date and use it with a decent DAC. £500 will get you my current player, down from £800 - the Cambridge Audio 752BD with its twin Wolfson DACs. A trip to the likes of Emporium Audio, Audio Emotion or Jordan Acoustics will get you a wide range of gear - and prices - for your perusal.