Someone I know has a stack of Denon DCM-5001 cd-changers. I can buy these for well below market value. These are 100-disk "slave" changers designed to be "daisy chained" to the DCM-5000 changer/controller, but they can also be controlled directly by remote control (included with these) or by any Windows PC (ports are built-in for direct connection to a PC).

Here is the gist of what I've learned about these online:
*They date from 1997 onwards (no more than ten-year-old technology)
*They were designed for, and mostly used by, broadcast studios, and built like super-tanks to withstand hundreds of thousands of hours of playing The solidiity of these is on a par with the 70's vintage gear - all "heavy metal". Just one unit alone -empty- weighs 16.5 kg = 36 pounds. A 36-pound CD player? Until I found these, I didn't know such a thing existed!
*Multi-zone capable
*They actually have TWO players inside each changer; as one disc/song is playing, the next disc gets cued up by the other player, so that there is no delay from one song to the next. No more waiting for clunky disc-changes.
*Songs can be set so one "fades out" as the next one "fades in" over it, at adjustable rates, if desired.
*These are audiophile-grade, high-end players -basically Denon's TOTL as of 1997- and NOT like the mediocre players usually found in consumer-type multi-disc changers.
*They are presicion-engineered/machined to be nearly silent - no noisy clunk-clunk sounds when changing disks.
*Fully shielded inside and out to maximize sound quality in a studio environment.
*140 steps can be pre-programmed at one time. [Liike iPod playlists on steroids.]
*Denon's "state of the art" (as of late '90s) HDCD-capable Burr-Brown DAC is built-in, and sound quality is reputedly outstanding (would appreciate confirmation of this, if anyone here uses these).
*Up to five of these can be daisy-chained to one controller, giving unified control of up to 600 CDs at a time.
*They use Escient's TuneBase (I think that's the name -?) technology to retrieve and display disc title, track, song... etc.. information (a bit like iTunes, I think). Of course, will also read this info automatically from discs which have it pre-encoded.

I am very seriously thinking of getting at least 5 of these, to daisy-chain and hook up to a computer to make a 500-CD high-end "jukebox"/music server. I don't think the 5000 controller is available; just the 5001 "slave" changers, but since these are fully controllable from their remotes or by computer, I can live with that, and maybe a 5000 will show up later. Basically I would end up with a computerized system similar to what broadcast station DJs use these days, complete with remote-control. I've been thinking about making a music server for a long time, and this may be the "nudge" I need to actually tackle the project. I'd make it juke-box style using the actual disks, rather than downloading everything onto a hard disk (time consuming). With this system, it would play back songs just about as fast. I might even spring for two chains, giving a 1,000-diisk capacity. I don't have that many discs (yet :D ) and may have difficulty making enough space for a second "rack", but it would be nice to be able to expand the system over the next few years without worrying about running out of capacity too soon.

I'm impressed with the apparent quality of these and what I've read about them. I'm definitely paying way-under-market prices for them, but buying as many as I am contemplating adds up to some real change in total sum, so I want to be sure it is the "right" move before I jump. If I get these, I won't plan to upgrade or buy another CD player for at least a decade or more, although I might eventually get one other multi-player to handle new formats these may not, like blu-ray, etc... I'm not sure if these have a direct-out that would allow future DAC upgrades, but I suspect/hope I'll be happy with these as-is.

I don't know anyone who has actually tried this system/used these, and (except possibly via radio broadcasts?) I haven't heard their sound quality first-hand. That said, I have a higher-end consumer Denon CD player that is several years older than these, which I like the sound of. These are supposed to be a significant improvement over my earlier type. All the units I can get (up to a dozen or so) come with the original remote control and are guaranteed to work perfectly when purchased. With the way they are built, I'm not too concerned about breakdowns, and Denon will still support these units (parts, servicing), anyway.

Does anyone here have first-hand knowledge or experience of these? Have I overlooked any important considerations in choosing to get these? I'm not really very familiar with CD technology beyond the basics, and don't want to make a big mistake. I THINK these amount to a great "score", but I honestly don't know if I'm completely wrong about it, and actually wasting money on outdated junk. I'm planning to get them this weekend or Monday, so any comments/advice before I leap off the cliff are much appreciated.

Hey ArKay

I've sold and installed a few of these babies in homes in the past. They are big, and contrary to what you read they are as noisy as any other mega-changer. Sound quality is, well..it's about the same as any other Denon unit - which is to say very, very good. But most any of today's changers will have a comparable sound quality, cost less, hold even more CD's, and still be RS-232 controlled. The changers, IIRC, are rebadged SONY's, but I could be wrong - it's been 10 years. Anyway, nothing stands out in my mind about the 5000 series. I'd sooner get the $800.00 SONY DVD/SACD/CD mega changer.
How much are you getting it for?

Jimmy

Hey ArKay

I've sold and installed a few of these babies in homes in the past. They are big, and contrary to what you read they are as noisy as any other mega-changer. Sound quality is, well..it's about the same as any other Denon unit - which is to say very, very good. But most any of today's changers will have a comparable sound quality, cost less, hold even more CD's, and still be RS-232 controlled. The changers, IIRC, are rebadged SONY's, but I could be wrong - it's been 10 years. Anyway, nothing stands out in my mind about the 5000 series. I'd sooner get the $800.00 SONY DVD/SACD/CD mega changer.
How much are you getting it for?

Jimmy

I hesitate to put this in print, but the asking price is fifty bucks each, and I might be able to negotiate that down to around forty bucks each by buying several at a time. At this price, I could have up to twenty of these (2,000 disc capacity) for ONE of those new Sonys. My thinking is to put most of my regular (redbook up to HDCD) CDs into these and later add something like that Sony for playing the newest formats, if and when I get enough newer disks to warrant it.

Thanks for the heads-up on mechanical noise. I'm more interested in sound quality than whether they make the clunking noises, and I'm not above opening 'em up and adding dampening materials, even adding sound insulation panels and a glass front to the rack I'll build for them, to suppress some of that noise if it bothers me. My current changer is noisy. The difference is that I only use the changer for my wife's favorite discs (she is less picky about sound quality than I am) and my seldom-heard ones. If these Denons sound good, I will put most of my better disks into them.

I'm a little surprised if there were Sonys inside, since I understand Denon pioneered much of the CD transport technology and were usually near the forefront of that technology (at least in the earlier years), but it wouldn't be the first time they'd used someone else's components (some LD players did, I understand).

The other possibility (hehe) if the "guts" on these really sound good, is to remove the transports and DACs from one and re-house them in a really solid cabinet (perhaps of my own design), without the changer function at all. Since each box has two transports, I'd be paying $40-50 bucks (around fifteen bucks each) for two good transports plus a decent DAC, right? Surely that is worth it?

Thanks for your comments/info, JimmyNeutron. Any further advice, based on the above additional info? I think I've decided to at least get a couple of these to play with, but in view of your comments, I might start with two (one or two as a changer, one for possible re-building as above) and only get more after living with the changer a few days to see if I like it. That way I cut my financial risk if I don't like them, although I believe I could re-sell them at a profit buying them at fifty bucks to begin with. I'd like to hear first-hand (first-ear?) how noisy it might be, etc...

Anyway, any further info/advice is welcomed and appreciated.

$50.00 each!? :banana: Do it! Heck, the resale value is much higher than that on epay! Don't take my comments as negative. They are Denons, after all. If you've heard Denon CD players before then you won't be disappointed in the 5000 series. I still do think the mechanics are SONY - that just keeps sticking in my mind. But the electronics, as well as the DAC's are pure Denon. Denon never manufactured their own "multi-CD" transport - they used Pioneer for their 6 CD changers. No shame there. The high price tag, after all the bulls@it advertising, was the fact that these can be daisy-chained adding more CD capacity. But then Mega CD changers came out for far less and this 5000 unit went to live in poverty under a bridge. Still, $50.00 each is not even something to consider. Buy as many as they got, keep what makes you happy, then sell the rest off on epay. IIRC the 5000 has a digital out, so adding better DAC's would be easy.

Jimmy

Thanks for all the info and advice, Jimmy'. Sort of confirms what I thought about these, and I appreciate learning something new, about the Pioneer transports. The wholesale places here are literally crammed with stuff this week, from the annual Chinese NewYear "spring cleaning". As a result, I've overspent my usual audio budget for a month in just two days (LOL), so I may just get two of these for now. That said, in a couple weeks (when I'll get another chunk of spendable cash for audio) the others should still be sitting there. If so, I'll just grab them all and flip what I don't want to keep. Thanks again.