Alright, CD players, let's see what we can agree on.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by PinkIsTheSky, Sep 9, 2019.

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  1. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    How about this beaut ?

     
    Scratcha, ubiknik, cdgenarian and 2 others like this.
  2. arcamsono

    arcamsono Senior Member

    Location:
    MN
    Well after year and a half
    I'm still really happy with a Onkyo 7030.The clarity,soundstage is just so nice. Separates the sound very good.Vocals.The separation.
     
    cdgenarian and Brother_Rael like this.
  3. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    Does anyone here own or has heard the latest Rega Apollo? I think it may be the same as the Apollo-R with just new casework. I was just wondering if the reliability and glitches that many complained about in the Apollo-R have been ironed out.
     
  4. Andy Dursin

    Andy Dursin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Providence RI
    Have to give a major thumbs-up with the limited time I've had with the Cambridge AXC35.

    Sound right out of the box is the best among the recent players I auditioned over the summer time (the Yamaha 300, Denon DNE800, and Teac 650). It has a really striking, crisp neutral sound with a fuller mid-range listening off its Wolfson DAC compared to the other players. It really does present a unique (compared to the competition), seemingly "balanced" sound that will probably only improve over time, but even straight away, it's really a delight to listen to.

    Build quality seems nice -- who knows how it will hold up over time, but it's off to a good start. Certainly worth a consideration, especially given the competition in the sub-$400 price range.
     
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  5. BilboAlaska

    BilboAlaska Forum Resident

    Looks to be great based on a bunch of reviews. I am not ready to go that high right now.
     
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  6. BilboAlaska

    BilboAlaska Forum Resident

    When did Apollo become Apollo R. Both my Apollo cdp are pre R. Is the newest one still called R?
    I never had any problems with my old Apollo but read a lot of people having problems with the R.
     
  7. displayname

    displayname Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    I’ve spent a good amount of time with the Jays Audio transport, and it is outstanding. Truly reference quality and could easily fit right into an ultra high end system. If CDs are your main playback source, it really would be worth your time to pair with a quality DAC (or a few DACs).
     
  8. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    The latest one is the same size as the R but looks slightly different. I have seen it called the Apollo 2017. I have also read about a lot of problems. I tried an Apollo-R out at the dealer when it first came out probably around 10 years ago, and I thought the controls seemed cheap and slow to respond.
     
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  9. Greg Fox

    Greg Fox Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Nice buttons. I bought my SAAB just for the buttons:)

    I'm not a fan of slot or top loading though.
     
    cdgenarian likes this.
  10. Greg Fox

    Greg Fox Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Seems I get used to spending a bit more, and the next thing I know, I’m thinking, OK, so maybe $3000 for a Simaudio MOON Nēo 260D CD Transport/DAC is only a little bit crazy. Then I end up frustrated with anything less, and end up with nothing. That said, the Emotiva Audio ERC-4 or Music Hall c-dac15.3 dac CD look like relative bargains… or even a $1500 Musical Fidelity M3SCD CD.

    I’m most concerned about the quality of the master clock/buffer area, so it might serve as a good transport if I were to later upgrade to an outboard DAC. Right now, I sort of want the best of both worlds in a moderately high-end unit.

    I hate reading new reviews, since you end up wondering if you system is now ****, despite the actual sound. I mean my Adcom GFA-555 I got rave reviews back in the day, but now reads like, “well it’s not bad for a sub woofer” etc. I suppose I should just get a better preamp than my old Phase Linear 2000 II. If I listen too critically, I end up finding fault with the production values of my source material (e.g. poor drums on one recording versus good on some other, so not my system per se)
     
  11. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    You raise the same point I raise a lot that if something was truly good in, say, 2000 it should still be good in 2020.

    I remember when the Magnepan 1.6 came out and I was not terribly impressed - i found it bright, thin and lacking bass, dynamics etc. People dumped on me - the reviews were glowing. Then the 1.7 comes out and the reviews noted that it was improved in the treble and no longer bright. Problems only seem to come up in reviews when the new replacement model comes out - now it safe to complain about the faults because it is no longer made.

    The problem with digital is that it has largely turned solely into a numbers game similar to megapixels on a camera or computer motherboard processing power. Never mind that the eye is only good to a certain point and same for the ear. Or that there is more to a camera than pixel count.

    With CD players - well - in some ways most of them have gotten worse and what I find interesting is that the oldest technology of the lot - zero times oversampling which was the original has become to many, including myself, the best sounding CD replay of the lot - and the only one that I would buy. I have the Audio Note DAC 0.1X which has been selling since around 2006. A replacement of the Dac Zero which is similar and began in 2000.

    There is only so much that can be done (or with NOS DACs not done) to those silver discs. Modern Transport mechanisms are not very good compared to mechanisms and machines from the 1990s. So to me spending $3,000 on a stand alone unit is a waste of money. Chances are it's using a $20 off the shelf transport mechanism or made on that is about the same.

    I would sooner go with a relatively affordable and good transport like my CXC or and Audiolab for similar dollars ($350) and put the money to the best NOS DAC you can afford. Then you can also bring computer audio to the table. And if the Transport dies in 5 years - well it's cheap enough not to cry over. And DACs, with no moving parts, can last decades.

    Sure a really good transport like a big ole CEC or Audio Note or Metronome transports that use the Philips CD Pro2 will make noticable improvements but they're really pricey. CEC is going to be tough to get serviced with their belt drives and the Philips Pro2 mechanism hasn't been made for years. So you have to make sure the company has a big stock of parts in 10-20 years when you need a drive replacement. Indeed, it would not be a bad idea to buy a second mechanism when you buy the transport.

    But other than these juggernaut mechanisms - that retail for $500 just for the part - most everything else is $7 to $15 plastic toys.
    Back in the 1990s there were oodles of quality like the old Pioneer Stable Platter or even the original Rega Planet. My Cambridge Audio CD-6 that I bought in 1996 which still works is rather premium compared to what you would buy in its class today.
     
  12. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    With a decent DAC you could try something like the Audiolab 6000CDT (transport only) which gets terrific reviews and comes in well under your budget:
    6000CDT CD Transport From Audiolab - The Audiophile Man
     
  13. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I have a '97 and a '98 9000, I bought them to drive.
    I am going to ditch the digital clock in the '98 and put the more elegant on all the time analog clock.
     
  14. I too think the Audiolab 6000 & CXC transports offer excellent value.

    I've read, somewhere, that an eastern european company is making a sturdy transport comparable to the Philips CD PRO 2, which hopefully, can provide high-end transports & lasers for many years to come.

    I've enjoyed changes in sound by using Mortite to damp most of the chassis interior, the exterior bottom, the RCA's & transport mechanism in a CA 351c CD player feeding an integrated Marantz PM8003. The 351c's transport, power supply, servo unit are, in practicle terms, identical to the CXC which makes me think that a simple aluminum paneled, realatively heavy, stoutly powered, & well damped top loading quality transport might offer significant sound improvements over a $400 - $500 price range & justify a significant cost over the CXC or Audiolab 6000.

    Pro-Ject has a stout looking transport mechanism & looking at off-site images of the interior might have possibilities: CD Box RS – Pro-Ject Audio Systems

    Thanks for the advice & candor, especially about equipment reviews - makes me think of a line from Frank Herbert's Dune; "The Spice Must Flow!"
     
  15. Wngnt90

    Wngnt90 Forum Resident

    I just bought a silver faced CD6006 intended for the Japanese market (wanted it to compliment my silver face vintage gear) so it required a step down power transformer to output @100V. It's a great CD player IMO Smooth operation, quiet and sounds great!
     
  16. DryWhiteToast

    DryWhiteToast Where's my Ativan

    What do I know, really. But, having said that, if and when I put down my vinyl records and get back into CD's, from what I have read the Marantz 6006 is priced right and supposed to be a fairly good player.
    Take Care
     
  17. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I have an old Marantz CD5003 that I bought new years ago. I use it as a transport now but everything still works great on it.
     
  18. Greg Fox

    Greg Fox Member

    Location:
    Boston
    I have a Nikon D3S (12MP), and don't crop. It's funny, but in one breath reviewers say pixel count doesn't mean much and in the next, get all wet for a new 45MP camera
     
  19. JohnCarter17

    JohnCarter17 Forum Resident

    Location:
    TX
    I have been inspired and snagged a clean looking one from FleaBay for ~75.
     
  20. Swann36

    Swann36 A widower finding solace in music

    Location:
    Lincoln, UK
    I use a Cyrus Discmaster 8.0 which i got 2nd hand from a bricks & mortar Cyrus dealer back in 2012 for £350 ish ..i think it came out in around 2008 then selling for around £1000..and plays back DVD & CD ...i mainly use it for cds' but it's also my only means of playing dvds' too ... and touch wood no problems yet .. with play most days for at least 1 cd ..some days it's 8 or 10 hours if i'm working from home ... it goes directly into my Benchmark HDR Dac1 and then into a Cyrus Pre which then feeds either Cyrus MonoXs' into Kef LS50s or Minute EL34 tube amp into Klipsch Quartets both ways sound great to my ears ...with the tubes into Quartets sounding somewhat fuller and sweeter ...other days its out of the Benchmark into MrSpeakers Ether headphones or via Stax 353 energiser into Stax L300 limited or Stax SR-X headphones.

    Cyrus also have standalone CD transports sold from just after 2008 and due to their age i believe that were built well at the time and were designed by cyrus to be audiophile quality and ready to stand up to heavy use ...I'm not sure how easy and what prices cyrus stuff is in the USA but here in the UK their older gear comes up relatively cheaply on the bay regularly plus dealers often have 2nd hand trade in stuff to sell & although they ask top 2nd hand prices i've always asked have they "serviced" the item or is that in the price ? and found they will happily put that in at the price they are asking for ..so thats my input from the UK ... and hope that adds to the thread in a positive way :)
     
  21. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Either buy the Marantz or the Yamaha, those are as good as it gets today. Everybody save for a rare few are using the same cheapie CD-ROM transport, which is far from heavy duty. Treat a new CD player as a 2-3 year purchase if used heavily.
     
    fogalu and ALAN SICHERMAN like this.
  22. ALAN SICHERMAN

    ALAN SICHERMAN Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    Selling right now for $349.00 on accessories4less.com. New with 3 yr Mfg warranty!
     
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  23. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    How about the transport inside my Oppo ? Is that same cheapie one ? I use it twice a week, though.
     
  24. GoldprintAudio

    GoldprintAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lexington, NC
    Those are refurb units (not new). The 3 year warranty is through the company selling them (1 year from Marantz).
     
  25. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Your Oppo uses a DVD type transport, and one of the last good ones. My benchmark for longevity is the Philips CDM-1, the Philips CD-PRO and PRO-2 transports. The best ever built.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
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