Tell me about your cd player.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by The Good Guy, Sep 13, 2014.

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  1. The Good Guy

    The Good Guy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I love CD

    I bought my first player a Hitachi DA 1000 in 1985. I loved it's ease of use & absence of surface noise , scratch free sound. Since then I have owned , Denon 1300, Meridian 200/203 , Meridian 507 & Denon 1510 (I still own the Meridian & Denon). I am borrowing my friends lovely Meridian 207.

    Nothing nicer than to just put on a disc , relax & float downstream.

    From day one I took CD seriously & made sure I had it well set up as far as isolation,mains & interconnect was concerned.

    I have bought extensively since 1985 & I enjoy them as my collection in my room in my various racks .

    Please tell me about YOUR cd player, doesn't matter how cheap or how expensive & if you like it or not (strange question but we all upgrade from time to time). Feel free to upload your pictures.

    Please respect each others choices & could we please avoid " I sold my cd collection & player years ago it's all now on cloud/flac/dak/kak/zardos 9" kind of comments. Lastly no Turntable/Vinyl intense manifesto declarations. We all know . Ok. This is a CD appreciation thread

    Thank you.
     
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  2. JMT

    JMT Senior Member

    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA
    I have two:

    1. Meridian 507 - I've owned it for about 8 years after buying it used from a dealer friend of mine. I realize it is considered "vintage" but I like how it sounds so I have not had the desire to change it.
    2. Sony SCD-555ES - I use it only for the 15+ SACD discs that I have. Honestly, I haven't listened to it in months.
     
    hifisoup likes this.
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Still have an original CDP-101 sitting in storage. I had Sony service go through it and bring it up to spec in the early 1990s, and they just barely had the parts available. Got no idea if it still works.

    My first CD player was a second-generation ES model, but I can't remember which one -- circa 1984-1985. I've had at least 30 players since then, so they tend to blur together over time. I don't see a point to them now, because having access to all the music on servers is far too convenient nowadays. I agree that CD players were terrific in the 1980s and 1990s.
     
  4. Chip57

    Chip57 Member

    Hi all ... Here's another great thread.
    Well... I currently own and enjoy a MARANTZ DV6001 player.
    It plays DVD /cd/ sacd.
    From what I was told and read it's got a great sampling rate for plain old CDs and it does sound great compared to other machines I've listened to.
    It's low profile fits nicely into my setup.
    It's motor is whisper quiet if you can call that a sound floor?
    That's about it.
    Happy listening to all...
    Oh yeah almost forgot.
    It's got a multi-function remote.:wiggle:
     
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  5. ether-bored

    ether-bored click OK to continue

    my first player, in 1985, was a sony d-50 discman. i was youngish, so i believe i thought of the new format as something of a revolution in portability and naievely less of a something that would come to replace by burgeoning vinyl collection. i still remember the strange sensation of watching as the (crude by today's standards) lcd screen displayed the track number and elapsed playing time. it now seemed like music was somehow now being quantified. maybe in more ways than one.
    [​IMG]




    not long after realizing how un-novelty like the compact disc was, i purchased a technics sl-p1 (their first player, i believe). i bet a lot of people around here remember this model...
    [​IMG]



    almost 30 years later i now own a cambridge audio 851C which is a cd/dac that i couldn't be happier with. in the 12-18 months i've owned it, i've been rediscovering my collection of nearly 6,000 titles. this machine has given me more audio listening pleasure than just about anything I've ever spent time with - and for that i'm grateful.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2014
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  6. Bob_in_OKC

    Bob_in_OKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    Rega Saturn, here. I expected to like it more than I do, but I like it pretty well. It is most likely the last CD player I'm going to buy. I also have an old Nakamichi and an Adcom. They're each very nice, too.
     
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  7. sfaxa

    sfaxa Active Member

    Mission PCM4000

    [​IMG]
     
  8. tyinkc

    tyinkc Senior Member

    Location:
    Fontana, Wisconsin
    I have a Marantz SA 15s2 in the classic champaigne finish in my main system. It plays SACD and CD and can be used as a stand alone DAC if desired. It looks and sounds fantastic.
    In my 2nd system in my office, I have a Sony C222ES SACD/CD player that I have had at least 13 years and it still works perfectly.
     
    RonW likes this.
  9. dnuggett

    dnuggett Forum Resident

    Location:
    DFW Texas
    My main player is a Marantz DV6500 that I use for CD/SACD/DVD-A. It's connected to a DAC and a headphone tube preamp. It's what I listen to almost every night. Another one that gets a lot of use is a Panasonic portable connected to a Fiio E17 that I listen to at work. People are amazed to see a portable cd player still being used. I probably will retire in when the new Sony player comes out and I finally get a DAP with FLAC loaded on it.
     
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  10. RonW

    RonW Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    My first player was a Magnavox CDB-650 from around 1990 or so. I still have it here and love it for the memories and beautiful warm sound. It was one of the best in its day. I believe it saw a good twenty years of use on and off and it still sounds very nice.

    [​IMG]

    I upgraded to a Marantz SA-8003 back in 2009 or so to explore SACD and the newer technology. That is one fine player as are most the Marantz models. I bought some SACD's and yes they sound great but this guy does a great job on redbook as well. The DAC uses some special filtering to warm over some of the harsh digital processing on so many CDs it really does a nice job of that. Great machine. Well, it's a Marantz what more can I say.

    [​IMG]

    This summer I bought the Onkyo 7030 for 139 bucks. It's not a bad player at all. It has a sound all it's own I do enjoy although it won't come close to the realism of the 8003 it holds it's own. I couldn't pass on that deal although I must admit I haven't many hours on it. The music has been off most the summer. Too busy.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2014
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  11. Jerryb

    Jerryb Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I have two right now. An Onkyo c-7030 and a Yamaha dv-s5860. The Yamaha plays scad,dvd audio,hdcd, and region free dvd. The Onkyo is just a straight cd player.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  12. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.
    Up until four years ago, I'd been happy with what a good £200 player could do. Then one broke down and someone at work suggested I pay the same amount for a good secondhand player. Honestly, that had never occurred to me before. Less than a week later I was in possession of a mint/barely used Arcam CD72 player. For £120 delivered. The difference between a good £200 player and a very good £450 player still shocks (and delights) me.
     
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  13. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    This is right where I'm at. My primary CD player is whatever data drive pulls the bits off the disc and onto the share.
     
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  14. steveharris

    steveharris Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    About 4 years ago I bought a demo Naim CD5i-2 off Audiogon.Before that I had a refurbished NAD T585 and an old entry level Sony.
     
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  15. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    My current CD player has been going through a bit of identity crisis; it thinks it's a Blu-ray player.

    My first CD player was in a boombox! Still works too, I think, or at least the radio does. My brother's got it and still uses it from time to time.

    In between I've had some players I've liked a lot. One was a Pioneer, maybe DV47ai? Can't remember as after it broke I gave it away. The HKCDR2 was a dubbing deck which I still have and which always sounded great as a straight-up player.

    I've occasionally been tempted to get a new, dedicated player, as when push comes to shove I really am a CD guy.

    P.S. Still have my Discman, and it usually goes on trips with me.
     
  16. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    My first CD player was one of those original top-loading Sylvania units. I think that I purchased it in about 1984 or so. I never cared for it very much though, and always thought that my TT just stomped all over it.

    My Second CD player was much better. It was a Yamaha CDX-1100u. That player actually was not totally embarrassed by my turntable, but it still was not its equal.

    My third CD player was a CAL Alpha-Delta combo. That player was the first time that I stopped actively trying to buy vinyl because it sounded so great.

    My Fourth player was a Sony SCD-C333ES SACD player which I purchased on sale so that I could try-out the SACD format. The CAL was not challenged by it on redbook, but it did have a transparency on SACD that I'd never heard out of digital before. I then modified it to VSE Level 1, and subsequently, level 6.5. It sounds terrific to this day.

    I purchased an SCD-1 which I also modified to VSE 6.5+ status, and which was just a tad better than the 333. But its transport died, and I am back to my 333 again.

    I've played around with modifying some OPPOs, and have had some good success and figure that one of these will pobably eventually replace my Sony 333.
     
  17. ElizabethH

    ElizabethH Forum Resident

    Location:
    SE Wisconsin,USA
    My first was a tilt drawer Sansui. Then a POS Sony. Then a Philips 880 Then a Sony SD89ES five disc (I wish I had a dozen of those stashed away. Ditto the SCD777ES)
    My best CD player is Sony SCD777ES. Bought as a demo for $1,700.
    I typically use a different CD changer for everyday music, A Sony SCD333ES.. Got that as a refurb for $300. I run it through a Adcom DA700 DAC I bought used for $250.
    Then I also use a bunch of other CD five disc changers I bought for around $50 each off EBay. Also to my DAC.
    I also have three TTs.. But for day to day all day music listening I use the five disc changers to my DAC.
     
  18. Scott in DC

    Scott in DC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I have the Linn Ikemi. It's an excellent CD player and was pretty expensive in it's time.

    Scott


    [​IMG]




    [​IMG]
     
  19. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I remember at the dawn of the CD age (1983-1984), there was a big debate as to whether CD players should be vertical, have a horizontal drawer, or even slot-loading. A lot of the early ones shown at CES were vertical, which I thought were cool but unfortunately took up a lot of space:

    [​IMG]
    One feature all the early CD players had was index search, but that fell by the wayside in favor of track search. I thought it was unfortunate that indexing never caught on, because that would've given you the ability to jump through different parts of a song (or movements of a classical piece). It's also incredible that when CD was being designed during 1979-1982, nobody had the idea to have readouts with song titles and artist names. I think that didn't happen until CD+Text modified the format a decade later. Even then, the support for CD+Text has been very haphazard, which was really frustrating.

    At least with a server, you can enter any information you want, drop in illustrations, song lyrics, and all that stuff. I think as it was they were really struggling to make inexpensive 16-bit D/A converters in the early 1980s, so it was amazing this stuff could work at all. People take all this crap for granted today, but 30 years ago this was very, very cutting-edge technology.
     
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  20. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    Since this thread got me thinking about it so much...

    Did anyone else's jaw drop the first time they saw a CD spinning SO FAST in a player?
     
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  21. dwm67

    dwm67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alberta, Canada
    My first CD player was purchased in 1986 - a portable model by Technics.

    A few years later, I bought a basic Sony model. I then moved on to a Sony ES carousel changer a couple years later ... it had a bunch of audio modes I never used (Hall, Club, etc).

    My next player was a Nakamichi MB1 - I used this player for over a decade before the next one (and it is still in use via a close friend I passed it along to).

    I also jumped on the SACD wagon early ... used the Sony DVP9000ES for several years. Since DVD gave way to Blu Ray, I eventually replaced the 9000 with a dedicated player ... I think it was the Sony xA777ES. The 777 is also still in use today thanks to another friend.

    In 2007/8, I revamped my entire system and decided to buy one last player ... at the time, I was not yet into vinyl (which started in late 2008). I ended up with the EMM Labs CDSA-SE which I still use.
     
  22. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    I have three, not counting a Phillips carousel model my wife won many years ago. It's hooked up in our bedroom system at our second home but almost never used. Also at that house is my original JVC CDP from the mid-late 80's. Don't recall the model but it's hooked into my main system there with a Marantz PM6004 integrated and NHT SuperOne speakers.

    At our main home I've got two systems. Downstairs, in the *home theater* system, is an Onkyo C-S5VL (which replaced the JVC now at the other house). It runs through a Yamaha RX-V990 analog AV receiver and into Celestion DL-8 II's. Upstairs, is the living room system which has a Marantz CD-6004 playing through a Marantz PM-8004 integrated and into another pair of the wonderful NHT SuperOne's.

    These are all mid-priced units but sound just great. When I've listened to more expensive units, well, to my ears, the differences are subtle at best

    I'm a die-hard CD fan and have been since the beginning of CD's. But I'm also a fan of vinyl, cassettes, and streaming. As long as it sounds good, I'm happy.
     
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  23. Vaudio

    Vaudio New Member

    Location:
    Spain
    I am a flac HDD guy since my 777ES SONY dies 4 years ago. Now I have an Oppo 103d but fot me is mostly a Bluray player. Ocasionaly I am use it for play some red books, but I am too lazy. HDD with flacs is my way to go so far.
     
  24. fuse999

    fuse999 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    What was your disappointment in the Saturn?
     
  25. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I happened to be in Tokyo the week that Sony introduced the very first portable CD player, the D5 (over there it was the D50). At the press conference at Sony HQ, Morita went down the table and pointed out various prototypes of full-size CD players, then triumphantly whipped back a cloth to reveal the new portable CD player.
    [​IMG]
    With about 500 members of the press in the room, there was a huge intake of breath when all of us caught the first glimpse of the player. After some technical banter, Morita then announced the new player was only going to sell for about $300... and everybody went completely nuts, because we had expected a price at least 50% higher. The papers reported the next day that the other manufacturers were livid because Sony was basically giving away the player at little or no profit, just to create more fanfare and publicity about CD.

    At the time, the D5 Discman was a stunning achievement. Morita later said something that stuck with me for many years: "the smallest size of any player or recordable is dictated by the size of the format itself." But that day in Tokyo, nobody expected a CD player that was roughly the same width and depth as a jewel box, only about 1.5" thick.
     
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