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Cheapest used CD player for good sound quality.
- Thread starter Almonds
- Start date
See if it's supported by Harmony, if not, then look into a JP1 remote. If you really are going to be into acquiring cheap old gear you should have one of each.
Thanks N8, got this for a backup and it sounds really good. Basically a transport.......
doctor fuse
Super Member
I still use an old 90s Denon player I got for $10. I haven't been able to hear much difference in the few CD players I have listened to.
All I do know, is I listen to digital much more, now that I use a PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. I listen longer, I listen more actively, and I do actually hear more detail and "air" (the Denon has a coaxial digital out).
All I do know, is I listen to digital much more, now that I use a PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. I listen longer, I listen more actively, and I do actually hear more detail and "air" (the Denon has a coaxial digital out).
I recently stumbled across two of the Denon DCD line of CD players. Back to back against my PS1, I was surprised, they both provide a much better sound. Shockingly good. The DCD-1500 is amazing and can be found very cheap.
cpt_paranoia
Addicted Member
I saw a Sony CDP-M305 for £1.99 yesterday. No idea as to the quality, but, barring skip-diving, I don't think you'll get much cheaper than that...
Mr Alomds, I suspect the $5 Sony DVD/CD player is something like a s725, or similar. The DAC section in almost all those older Sony DVD Players was based on the Burr/Brown chip set. Short of an external DAC, it's about as good as it gets for a built-in. I think you should pat yourself on the back and enjoy the sounds.
Of course you can take the optical out to an external DAC and feed that into your system. But for casual listening, there is nothing wrong with that Sony DVDp. I have used many of them over the years for second systems. They work well. The only drawback is when playing a CDRW with MP3's, they are bit slow to jump ahead when skipping tracks. The remotes all seem a bit laggy doing MP3's.
Why would I play MP3's - well the cool thing is that you can write about 80 tunes, or more, to a disc (my rips are all at 320K). That means all of your Christmas music can play in the background while you're are having egg nog with friends, etc. Ditto country & western for the 4th of July, etc.
Of course you can do that streaming too. But that ties up a piece of computer equipment, or your phone. And those can be interrupted ...
Of course you can take the optical out to an external DAC and feed that into your system. But for casual listening, there is nothing wrong with that Sony DVDp. I have used many of them over the years for second systems. They work well. The only drawback is when playing a CDRW with MP3's, they are bit slow to jump ahead when skipping tracks. The remotes all seem a bit laggy doing MP3's.
Why would I play MP3's - well the cool thing is that you can write about 80 tunes, or more, to a disc (my rips are all at 320K). That means all of your Christmas music can play in the background while you're are having egg nog with friends, etc. Ditto country & western for the 4th of July, etc.
Of course you can do that streaming too. But that ties up a piece of computer equipment, or your phone. And those can be interrupted ...
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Thats like saying which used Porsche should I buy that will do the job without costing that much. We know you want a Porsche, but which model. Afew years ago when Oppo was still in business I would say one of their older machines. It would still be good choice today but collectors have bought most of the units forcing the prices way up. If I could find one at an estate sale would be what I would recommend. Then you can wheel and deal a bit. Thats how a close friend got a pair of XR 28's loud speakers for me.
Sam08861
Super Member
Old thread, but you can often snag these CD/SACD/DVD-A players for $2-300 and I think a sleeper, if you can ignore the fact that it was built as a universal player and has DVD video electronics inside (that can be shut off, as well as the display with front panel or remote buttons).
It's a well built beast at nearly 27 lbs and in league with some of the best players (linn unidisk 1.1, SCD-1, etc) for all those formats and the OEM laser assembly (Sony KHM 280AAA around $60-80) is still available.. An annoying bit of a delayed startup (5-10 seconds?) until initial disc index read, but lots of nice features including 5 24 bit/192khz & 64x DSD Wolfson DACs and has 5.1 capability for SACD and DVDA with 5.1 analog outs or DSD/MLP over Firewire (unfortunately not usb or hdmi)
The Onkyo DV SP1000 was also sold as the Integra DPS 10.5 and RDV 1.1, with the RDV 1.1 having an apogee clock. The units were co-developed by BAT, Apogee and Onkyo and original sales prices for these were over $2k and much more in Europe.
Some folks are using as a transport as well via optical/coax. In my case, it bests my mid level dac with Burson op amp.
It's a well built beast at nearly 27 lbs and in league with some of the best players (linn unidisk 1.1, SCD-1, etc) for all those formats and the OEM laser assembly (Sony KHM 280AAA around $60-80) is still available.. An annoying bit of a delayed startup (5-10 seconds?) until initial disc index read, but lots of nice features including 5 24 bit/192khz & 64x DSD Wolfson DACs and has 5.1 capability for SACD and DVDA with 5.1 analog outs or DSD/MLP over Firewire (unfortunately not usb or hdmi)
The Onkyo DV SP1000 was also sold as the Integra DPS 10.5 and RDV 1.1, with the RDV 1.1 having an apogee clock. The units were co-developed by BAT, Apogee and Onkyo and original sales prices for these were over $2k and much more in Europe.
Some folks are using as a transport as well via optical/coax. In my case, it bests my mid level dac with Burson op amp.
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twiiii
Lunatic Member
I would check out estate sales. You can normally find some real bargains that way. But you ave to know what you are looking for. Stay away from Yamaha units from the 80's an 90's for sure. I would want units built in the 2000's as life expectancy of CD players is not that long. I am told Luxman players hold up real well, but they can be pricey. You get what you pay for. Sony or Phillips would be the brands I would look for if I wanted to save money. Oppo made some great multi type disc players!!! DVD, Blur-ray, CD and SACD players. But they are no longer in production.