looking for new CD player

K

Kbobb

Member
Hi all
Recently got a Yamaha A-S500 amp to replace a broken Denon receiver.
Now I'm looking for a new CD player to go with it. I am using Boston VR2 speakers. My old TT is working fine and sounds very good with the new amp. My old Sony CD player (5 CD changer) gives varied results - some sound excellent while others are a bit muddy sounding (the same CDs actualy sound better on my computer!). MP3player and iPod also sounding good with the new amp.

looking at a $300 - 400 budget for the CD player. Unfortunately no place to demo so if you have some suggestions that'll give me a starting point.

I should add that this is for 2 channel music only listening and I listen to a variety of music from classic rock to jazz/big band to bluegrass.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I would go used myself. Look for something that does not have an unobtanium laser.

Some older Sony units sound great to this day. Anything with a td1541 or a pcm 63 chip still sounds good to me but they tend to be very old.
 
Many here on Audiokarma have said good things about the Onkyo C-7030, although I don't have any experience with it myself. On the plus side, it's about half your budget amount.

I can personally recommend the Oppo BDP-103 as a CD player, although at $499 it's more than your budget. Obviously, it's also a DVD, Blu-Ray, and SACD player and will play audio and video from your network, USB drive, or other media.
 
Glad to see this as when we were hooking my new old home theater system up last night to the record player, my husband expressed a wish for a good cd player. Following along.
 
MitzyG said:
Glad to see this as when we were hooking my new old home theater system up last night to the record player, my husband expressed a wish for a good cd player. Following along.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for a great cd/dvd/br player for home theater and you have the budget the Oppo bdp-105 is a awesome option.
 
Thanks for the quick replies - please add more.
I was under the impression that a dedicated CD player was a better choice for just CD than a blue ray player.

What makes the Oppo devices better than/ as good as a dedicated CD player, and how are they different from other blue ray/dvd players that play CDs?
 
BeerCan said:
I would go used myself. Look for something that does not have an unobtanium laser.

Some older Sony units sound great to this day. Anything with a td1541 or a pcm 63 chip still sounds good to me but they tend to be very old.
Click to expand...

Indeed, agreed. ;)

I have an older Sony and it's my go to CD player for sure. I wish I had three of them for my three main systems. Awesome units.

On the advice of some here on AK, I also hooked up my Pioneer Laser Disc Player from 1992 and that also has become and amazing CD player.
 
If your old Sony still works and has a digital output, why not just buy an upgradeable DAC like the Schitt Bitfrost? You can get the Uber model w/o usb for $419.
 
seminole54 said:
If your old Sony still works and has a digital output, why not just buy an upgradeable DAC like the Schitt Bitfrost? You can get the Uber model w/o usb for $419.
Click to expand...

Thanks - interesting idea. Yes the sony still works and has optical out.

So the sony will send a high quality signal to the DAC (via optical) which will then provide the highest quality analog signal to the amp - correct?

Also can use other digital sources such as ipod, mp3 or computer into the
dac - correct?

Just an old guy getting into the digital world.

Thanks
 
I would suggest, since you have the Yamaha A-S500, the Yamaha CD-S300 is a very good choice. I am using it currently, nothing but pure clean sound and very silent when playing CDs. It also has the option of connecting an iPod, iPad, or iPhone to it directly, and it will use it's own DAC to play back music from your device. You can find them around $250 on ebay. I'm pretty sure it uses the same DAC as the higher end Yamaha CD players, such as the CD-S1000. Good build quality too.
 
even cheaper, if you can find one of the older(say 5 years, tops) models of Yamaha universal DVD players(the one in my sig was popular, but I think hard to find at a fair price now), they were sort of optimized for sound, and will do nicely. They also offer the option of quite good SACD play, and I can vouch for the sound matchup with the amp!! Like the amp, run the player on 'Direct' mode for best effect.
 
With using the digital output of the Sony to the DAC you are just sending the x's and o's for the DAC to process as with any of the other sources you mentioned. Just use the Sony as a transport until it dies.
 
I'm somewhat leery about buying used CD players; the lasers and transports are prone to breaking. I am, however, a fan of factory refurbs. The units are essentially new and generally come with a warranty of at least a year.

You can find some good stuff in the OP's price range at Accessories4less.com and Spearit Sound.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
what makes a good cd player ?
2 3
Replies
49
Views
12K
dtb300
D
TedNeu
Seeking to purchase new CD player
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
opnly bafld
opnly bafld
B
CD Player Yamaha CD-C600 or Onkyo DX-C390
Replies
2
Views
4K
Hafizullah
Hafizullah
N
cd player recommendations
2 3
Replies
48
Views
9K
guiller
guiller
Turbota
HELP .. CD player vs Blu-Ray player for 2-Channel music?
Replies
16
Views
2K
Tom Brennan
Tom Brennan
Back
Top Bottom