Philips 1541 equipped player.

I have a line on a Magnavox single CD player that has the Philips 1541 DAC chip. Thrifty price, so that's not the question.

I have many CD players. My main ones are a Harman Kardon HD-100 (which I love) and a NAD 5340. There are some old Sharp models laying around too. None of them are even close to high-end and all are at least 10 years old.

Here's the question. Is it worth the time and cleanup effort to get the Maggie just for the included DAC? Is the quality that much better than what I currently have?

Opinions are welcome. I don't need another CD player, but this is the first that I have encountered with the 1541, and I am curious.

-Scott

There was a time - going on 25 years ago now - when the TDA1541 was "the" high end chip from Philips/Magnavox/Marantz, especially the "gold crown" version. However, the rest of the machine has to be up to the quality of the chip, too. The particular model of Magnavox, and its age, would also be important. Less important would be which 1541 it has; there were several, the top being the "double gold crown". See here:

http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/philips-tda1541.asp

So, it might be worth the effort...or maybe not.

Happy trails,
Larry B.

Model

MAGNAVOX CDB471 Philips TDA1541 – SAA7220P/A Philips CDM-2

In your opinion Weed?

Yes Yes Yes. Grab it.

An excellent player; not only does it have the 1541 (although not a Gold Crown), it also has one of Philips' best transports, IIRC. As long as the laser still works properly, it's a fine machine to have. Whether it'll be better than your HK is a hard call - that's also a decent machine. If it works, and you decide it's not for you, I'm sure you'll have no problem moving it along.

EDIT: Here's a link to the Philips version:

http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/philips_cd650_cdplayer/

Post pix if you get it!

Happy trails,
Larry B.

Thanks Larry. I will head there straight from work. Pictures to follow (hopefully).

Picked it up. Didn't have a CD with me, but the transport works and the display was good. Pictures will follow at some point.

Sent from my Android device using my fingers.

Listening to Spike by Elvis Costello. Everything is very clear. Seems that the Magnavox is just a bit nicer acoustically, but not nearly as pretty as the H/K.

Sent from my Android device using my fingers.

Some reading on the DAC.
http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/TDA1541 corner/TDA1541.html

I did some mods on my 1541 based player (Sony CDP-950) - some new electrolytics, new film coupling caps of larger value, opamp sockets that allow me to roll opamps. Player sounds very good.

Btw, Spike is a good one too. Big EC fan here.