Great Giant Killer Wolfsen DAC Dedicated CD player-Onkyo C-7030

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by The Beave, Jul 5, 2014.

  1. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it! Thread Starter

    My youngest son just told me that he and Osama Bin Landin are restoring the disappearing craters on the moon. He told us to look at it tonight and see what he's talking about.
    Everything I just wrote is absolutely true.
    the beave
     
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  2. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Supposed to be a great full moon and meteor activity. Better turn all my components facing north.
     
  3. ddarch

    ddarch Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    Ready to chime in after a few weeks of listening. Now I am an analog guy, so digital is not really my thing. For me, though I own a few hundred cds, digital is about portability...ie, tunes in the car. My previous "serious" cd player was the NAD C542. Never really blew me away, but at one tenth the expenditure of my vinyl system, maybe that's appropriate. I do own both a low end Sony SACD player and a mid-range Denon SACD. I have very much enjoyed some tracks on those decks, even so much as to say they rival my vinyl playback.

    Anyway, on to the 7030. Right out of the box, the Onkyo topped the C542. Whether throwing Van Morrison's Astral Week's Live or Ray Lamontagne's God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise, the tonality of the 7030 was just right. The 542 was always "reaching" for musicality. The 7030 exudes it. What is truly extraordinary about the 7030, at this incredibly low price point, is the headphone output. Wow. I am listening on my new Grado RS-1Es...and I am continually blown away. This is without a Head Amp! Blakey's Jazz Messenger's Mosaic (Van Gelder 2005 remaster) ...track 5, "Crisis" is very challenging, a lot of stark contrast.. The Grado/703o combo was truly revelatory. Tonight was Ronnie Earl's Healing Time cd on Telarc. Some very challenging organ/lead guitar work on that cd. The 7030/Grado combo is just stunning. I am not even a "headphone guy" and yet I am completely drawn in. Captive.

    All in all, at this price point, BUY BUY BUY. What ARE you waiting for? If for nothing else, hook it up solo and plug in your best cans...

    Dave
     
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  4. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Certainly for the price it's nice, but far from a landmark for headphone sound and output. With my Onkyo 7030 running into my Teac UD-H01 DAC the Teac headphone output has vastly more useable output and the sound quality is an order of magnitude better then the Onkyo. Considering the Teac DAC can be had for under $200 it's a reasonable addition at these price points and the sound quality improvements are well worth the price to performance ratio IMO.
     
  5. Arvid Audio

    Arvid Audio Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Issaquah, WA
    I've had an Onkyo C-7030 for a little over a year now (Amazon purchase on July 2, 2013), but it was a long trip for me to get here. At the age of 63, the 7030 was my very first CD player, believe it or not. Hell, I'd never even bought a CD until 2005 (Depeche Mode's Playing the Angel). I played it on my computer through headphones (Senn 212s plugged directly into the "headphone out" on the motherboard) and knew instantly that I wasn't really playing music, I was just "catching some tunes." I continued buying CDs, building a small (100 or so titles) library, ripping them to a harddrive and just playing the files, just biding my time, hoping for a place to set up my turntable and get my LPs out of storage.

    Yep, analog kinda guy to the core.

    Then I got the space to finally set up my audio system and used a DVD player (meh) for a short while to play CDs, before moving up to a BR player (also meh) that had decided it didn't like playing Blu-ray discs anymore. I decided that maybe it was time to give in, to finally own a real CD player. A mention in Stereophile's The Entry Level #14 (a review of the NAD C 515BEE) in the comments section alerted me to the existence of the Onkyo C-7030; a very lengthy, detailed description of it on Amazon in the Customer Reviews convinced me to buy it.

    I hooked it up and ran it on random repeat (Stooges, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order) for close to a week before I even listened to it, through headphones the first time (not the Senns, but Grado SR225 I now own).

    I wept. Seriously.

    For the first time I knew that I hadn't wasted my money on CDs. They are no substitute for LPs, but they are much cheaper to check out new (to me) music before deciding to spring for the LP (if one is even available). I'm pretty happy with the 7030.

    As for modifications, has anyone installed an IEC jack to replace the kinda small power cord on the unit? Anyone think it would be worthwhile? And what about damping the thin top cover?

    Arvid
     
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  6. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    If you were to modify the cord you'd be better off going direct in as opposed to an IEC jack as the cord plugs into a socket.

    [​IMG]


    The top cover sucks, I fit a sheet of thin highly compressed black craft foam to the cover and a 1/2" thick slab of granite on top of it. After noticing a minor hum from the transformer and experimenting, I added a small block of copper over the transformer.

    I'm a bit hesitant to add any dampening material to the inside, not being sure if it would result in issues from outgassing.
     
  7. Arvid Audio

    Arvid Audio Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Issaquah, WA
    The reason I'm considering an IEC jack is so that I can use a Pangea AC-14 power cord, as I do with my preamp and DAC. I've got some AWG 10 and AWG 12 OFC cable I could use to run between the IEC socket and PC board hookup at the transformer end.

    I've also got an old Mission (remember Mission, from the U.K.?) sorbothane turntable platter mat that I haven't used in years that I have considered cutting up and applying to the underside of the cover. Other choices could be Dynamat on even Mortite caulk, which I've used before to damp turntable plinth vibration.

    Either way, I'll probably wait until I can order another C-7030 before I touch anything.

    Arvid
     
  8. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    I was all set to audition a Rega Apollo at a local dealer who had it on clearance and now I am thinking about this Onkyo. I originally started with a $300-500 range which I thought provided good bang for the buck and still do with exceptions for lower priced models like this which do so in spades. Another local dealer specializing in used gear had a couple really nice Adcom players from the early 90s, but at $250 for something that could die tomorrow I feel the Onkyo is a better deal. Going back to the Rega it took me a while to realize that it doesn't have a headphone jack/amp so that nice option of a standalone source to be used with headphones is not there as it is with the Onkyo.
     
  9. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Looks like almost every place has this on backorder. Tried to find a white one via google.co.uk but no luck.

    Anyone have experience with Abt Electronics?
     
  10. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I would imagine it won't be long until it's available again. Looks like we broke the inventory bank.
     
  11. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The old Adcoms were nice, but I would not bother. The C7030 for $130 and a budget DAC like the Teac UD- H01 for $199 is a near untouchable setup at double, even triple the price IMO. And the Teac has a KILLER headphone output, way better than the C7030 with is good in it's own right.
     
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  12. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Looks like the C-7030 has gone up in price with diminished supplies with most places asking $199 or more. Amazon is still $139, but on backorder. There is another at that price but they are not an authorized dealer for what that's worth.
     
  13. Arvid Audio

    Arvid Audio Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Issaquah, WA
    Wow. Looks like I ordered my second C-7030 just in time.

    Okay, so I've had my second 7030 for a week now, burning it in; not necessarily for the sonic benefits, but to make sure that if the unit fails, it does so while it's still under warranty. This is pretty much de rigueur for any of the electronics that I purchase.

    So, at 3:00 AM I'm going to the kitchen to fix some coffee (I'm retired and tend to keep unusual hours) and pass by what I laughingly refer to as my "music room," a small den I use for nothing but two-channel music, and I hear... nothing. This isn't too awful unusual, as I have a condo in a relatively isolated retirement community where it's pretty much lights out by 8:00 PM. So at 3:00 AM, even with all the windows open, all you can hear is pretty much your own breathing. And the refrigerator when it kicks in.

    I looked at the 7030's display; the numbers are changing, so there's a CD still playing. I bent down to get my ear closer to the case; nothing. The transformer and the cover are absolutely silent. I picked up the Onkyo manual and rolled it up, used it as an ear-horn and went over both sides and the entire top of the unit. Directly over the loading tray, I can only hear the soft purr of the CD spinning. Maybe I'm missing something?

    I placed my first 7030 (unaltered but for Vibrapods replacing the stock feet) on top of the second 7030 and started playing a CD in that unit also, thinking that maybe two players together might create enough noise that I can hear something from a foot or two away. Still nothing after hours of play.

    The two players are (temporarily) on the top shelf of a spiked Sanus six-shelf Euro rack, sitting on a carpet-covered concrete slab. They are NOT connected to any other equipment right now. They **were** plugged into a Furman PST-8D power strip, so I dug out an el-cheapo Prime brand 6-outlet power strip and plugged both units into that instead, thinking that maybe a diet of dirtier power might cause some hum. Still nothing has changed. If not for the changing numbers on the displays, I would swear that neither unit is even plugged in. I've since removed the original unit in preparation for doing some minor mods, while the newer unit continues burn-in.

    And I bought a stethoscope. I finally heard the hum; it was evident from any and every point on the cover. And it was there whether or not a CD was playing, and didn't seem to increase or decrease while playing a CD. The overall hum seems to mask the sound of a CD spinning. Listening to the drawer operate was a trip: it sounded like a Bobcat dragging its' bucket along an asphalt road. Quite loud.

    Now I'm wondering if the hum that kellybob and GuildX700 have reported hearing might be due to minor variations in the build of the transformer itself. It's happened before (see Head-Fi's riveting thread "Schiit Happened- The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up" for some examples of transformer screw-ups).

    My first C-7030 has a manufacture date of May 2013, my second (newest) one has a manufacture date of February 2014.

    Arvid
     
  14. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    IIRC mine's a Feb 2014 also.
     
  15. chumlie

    chumlie Forum Resident

    Ordered one today. :agree:
     
  16. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Wow, I see Amazon is back up to $249 for the C7030 now that it is back in stock. I guess we did good at $139.

    Mine is still playing and sounding outstanding for the $139 price, and now being partnered with the Teac UD-H01
    32-bit/192kHz Dual D/A Converter DAC I got for $189, that combo sounds nothing short of outstanding. Sadly also it looks like that DAC is now back to $249 best price.

    Guess I hit both at just the right time for $$$.

    I've had a lot of time now with this setup as a secondary system in my man cave.

    Amp is Pioneer Elite A91D running in direct mode, speakers are Pioneer DSS-5, well tweaked with a lot of time adjusting the insulation amount and type in the midrange chamber as well as in the main cabinet for best response.

    For a bare bone budget system it leaves me in awe every night. If this was my main rig I would be totally satisfied. Synergy at it's best.




    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    I had the A717 Pioneer amp in at the time, although a nice amp in it's own right, I swapped it for the vastly superior sounding A91D after that pic:



    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    The amp and speakers were bought used for a fraction of original MSRP, $125 for the speakers and the A91 amp ended up costing me nothing due to some shipping damage, but the A 717 was $189 used, so even using that for the amp cost for about $700 I've got satisfying sound that does not make me run for my kilo buck main rig.
     
  17. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Anybody looking for a new DAC to partner the 7030 could do wise than also check out another Teac, but this time the slightly more expensive UD-301 which comes with DSD functionality. Should be around $400 or so I'd guess.
     
  18. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Got my 7030 today. Big question was what CD should debut on it? I was sentimental so when with If I Should Fall From Grace with God by the Pogues. The finish to the title song was pretty fierce while I could hear the raspiness of Shane's voice on Turkish Song of the Damned quite well. Pleased so far.....now just have to find that headphone plug adapter that I haven't used in 9 years.
     
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  19. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Wow, priced sure spiked recently, glad I got in at the bottom.

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I also, thanks to the Beave man :cheers:
     
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  21. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It would be interesting to know what drove the price that low. I mean, it basically fell off a cliff.
     
  22. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    What did you pay?


    Put that thing on repeat with a really full range long playing disc and let it run a few days straight, not only might a burn in help, but if the player's gonna take a crap it probably will be then while under warranty. I let mine play for several days straight when I got it.
     
  23. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    $139 in mid -September. Abt was nice enough to send me updates while it was backordered.

    Is burn in a good practice with all new CD players?

    Appreciating the simplicity of the unit and having a headphone listening station. This is my first single disc play since my 1980's Multitech unit!
     
  24. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Interesting thread. Seems like this model is very popular here, yet I was unsuccessful in trying to sell mine here back in February.
     
  25. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    When a new one is going for $128., who needs a used laser drive that could have a million hours on it.
     
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