Rob, when you get that cd player, be sure to play this😉
Best Basic CD Player (no SACD, USB, etc.)
Hey guys! Old dude here! My Panasonic SL-PJ316 CD player took a dump after years of faithful service. I started looking around for a replacement only to discover CD players with price tags into the thousands of dollars!! WTH?? Ok, I know there is SACD, USB, bluetooth, etc. BUT, I am not going to try and re-purchase my entire CD collection of almost 40 years to buy a SACD player. And, from what I've read, the USB, streaming lot seems to cause problems in certain players. ALL I need is a high quality, basic CD player that won't cost thousands of dollars. Any suggestions? Yamaha? NAD? Marantz? I'm "all ears". Thanks, for the advice. Best regards, Rob
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I love the Soulnote C1 that is made in Japan pure CD player/Transport😀 Non negative feedback, fully balance circuit, Teac CD drive....etc...
https://www.aria-audio.com/en/products/soulnote-c1-cd-player-transport
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Fellow old dude with 3k Cds. I have 3 players running in different systems. Marantz ND8006 CDP with streaming fx about $900 from Audio Advisor 3 years ago. Been great, good sound, dac can be used outboard with pc and streaming fxlity. Second, Sony ES 5400 SACD about 10 years old plays great never any issues. 3rd, Marantz 8005 is probably the best but no longer made. Can be found used and I would recommend highly. Good build quality and sound. Previously had NAD, Rotel and Cambridge Audio. Rotel sounded good but that was about 12 years ago and it had transport issues. CA had good sound but also had transport issues after 3 years...fixed 2x then gave up. Buddy has a Rega Apollo and I would get one of those too but it is a little bit more money than the others. Hope this helps. BTW, if you have an external dac then just go with a transport. |
As the US distributor of YBA, a point of clarification: All YBA CDPlayers/Transports use the standard "RedBook" laser - i.e. Philips CDPro2, CDM4, etc On most models a "Blue LED" is mounted to bathe the data side of the CD and enable the red laser to read the pits more accurately. Hope that helps... Jim Ricketts/tmhaudio
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I second the recommendation for the Bryston CD-3. Absolutely best player I have ever owned. Yes, a bit pricey but if you love to listen to CDs don't skimp. Streaming has eclipsed my CD playing significantly so the CD-3 gets little use nowadays but I enjoy the Bryston unit when I engage in a CD listening session. |
Many, many years ago, I purchased a Carver sdl/410t. Other than at times wishing for more cds at once, I have never heard any other player that would make me want to change.. SACD isn’t really necessary.. just put files on the NAS and play.. same with ripped cds.. only ever use the cd player for anything I don’t have ripped and internet is down.. But not really playing discs much any longer anyway with tidal, qobuzz and hidef up to 512dsd files available for purchase and a decent dac/streamer.
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I concur with the idea of a transport + DAC vs a stand alone CDP. The DAC inside of a CDP will eventually become outdated IMO. As long as a transport is working then it can be matted with an unlimited amount of DAC's through the years, so why pay for something you may outgrow, or not use with a CDP with built in DAC. Just doesn't make sense to me. The downside of this course of action is obsessing for ever and a day on which DAC to use. This method does provide far more flexibility in the future too, should you need it. But to respond to cd players only, as requested, you might consider used Arcams which hasn't been mentioned, used Oppo's, and Emotiva makes a great CDP the ERC-4 but you could probably find some used ERC-3's too, Audio Lab makes great products as well for sensible prices. |
@shutupuface sometimes (but not that often) they’d mention gapless playback on the spec sheet or in the advertizing blurb. I know Cambridge Audio mentions it in their ad copy. That’s another brand of basic player many people seem to love even if on paper it has "average" specs. |
Denon DCD-600ne is a great basic player. (I have the DCD-800ne I bought last year because I did want USB for FLACs and DSD). +1 for the Rotel CD11 Tribute as well. Whatever you buy make sure it is gapless so all your CDs play like they are supposed to do. (Just like players did in the 1980s and 1990s). The Emotiva reviewed by cheapaudioman and some Onkyo are NOT gapless. That would drive me crazy. Would it you? Depends on the kind of music you have. |
Any CD player, regardless of price, can have issues. You may be better off not spending too much, on a new player. Brands such as Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, and Rotel seem to make decent units for the money. I`d be careful about spending too much on a CD player. Personally, I would not spend north of 2 grand for new player, because the cost of repair may equal the price of a lower level CDP. |
If you want the best bang for the buck, look for an old Harman Kardon HD 7600. The 7400 is pretty much the same but with less features on the remote control etc. Saw a 7600 on EBay a few weeks ago for $175. I've got a 7600 and a 7400. They sound good to me and I've never had a problem with them. They were new in 1990. |
Hi old dude - I have a lot and I mean a lot of CDs. I would guess I am in the 5000 or more neighborhood. I am also officially a senior citizen and have stockpiled a few cd players, so I will be able to play my music until I can't anymore. I have not have had much luck with basic Onkyo and even less with basic Yamaha. Mostly breakdowns after a few months. So, two players that I own are the - - Music Hall CD 15 - on sale for $390, list $650 at Audio Connexion - Emotiva ERC 4 - list $650, direct from Emotiva; sometimes run sales If you want to spend more, then go for the Rega Apollo at a grand. All 3 are excellent spinners. Rich
Music Hall
Emotiva ...
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@curtdr right, Marantz is such an embarrassing brand, they pretty much invented hifi.... :) |
@shutupuface; Like your handle! Had an aunt who used to say that all the time. I haven't been in the market for a "basic" CD player in 10 years or so. Back then, as I always do before buying anything of substance, especially HiFi, I did an awful lot of reading, research and, ultimately. serious seat-time with the (new) products available that intrigued me, within my budget range. I ended up buying a Marantz CD6005. I'm currently using it as a transport with a basic McIntosh DAC (DA1). Frankly, the DAC in the CD6005 sounds about the same, to my ears, (Pangea coaxial hook-up) as the MAC's DA1. My wife actually likes the Marantz's DAC a tiny bit more. Be that as it may, they sound remarkably similar, if not exactly the same. During my serious seat-time ruminations, back then, I liked that Marantz a hell of a lot more than an NAD machine that was over a hundred bucks more. Like you, I have a rather large CD collection. Haven't counted them but I'm sure it's on the order of 5 or 6 hundred or so. I tend not to recommend things that I haven't heard, owned or spent serious seat-time with. I certainly haven't heard them all or, for that matter, a good many of them. As such, I'm sure there are other very fine machines out there, new and gently used, but of those I've spent serious seat-time with recently, as well as in the past, Marantz and Rega are those that consistently stand out, to my ears. My good friend recently purchased a used Marantz CD6006 and loves it. Sounds about the same, to my ears, as the CD6005. About 3 years ago, I spent around 3 to 4 hours with a Rega Apollo A/B'ing 2 pairs of speakers I was interested in. That Apollo was around twice the cost, if not more, than my Marantz and I didn't think it sounded any better. To my ears, sounded about the same. There's only so much you can do with digital. When my Marantz craps the bed, I will likely go with a dedicated transport and, possibly, a better external DAC. If you want to squeeze the budget a bit, that's the direction I would go in. Regardless, no matter what I or anybody else thinks, as always, let YOUR ears decide what sounds best TO YOU! Good luck! |
I wanted my CD play to sound like my analog play and I managed to get it close by ripping my CDs on a $40 drive via DbPowerAmp and then streaming the CDs. DbPowerAmp makes sure that the stored file is bit perfect. I have no idea what your system looks like but if you have a streamer, most streamers will stream off of a USB drive and many off. NAS. CD art gets automatically stored with the ripped file. I resorted to this approach for both audio quality and convenience. My physical CDs are now in storage. I tried to find a CD transport under $1000 and just didn’t like the sound quality. |
If you are OK with buying used, the SA 800X series of Marantz players (now discontinued) sound very good and are durable. I upgraded my SA8005 player to a KI Ruby and I'll be selling it soon. They go for around $750 (original price was $1200). The SA 8004 is also an excellent choice (I had one of those before the 8005). Marantz made their own drives for these players and they are very reliable. Players that only do Redbook CD are becoming more rare. You shouldn't limit yourself to this class of players. A player that does SACD always plays regular CDs so you don't have to buy any titles in a new format. Heck, you might even find an SACD or two that you want to own. IMO the sound quality of modern players have become quite similar. It's hard to buy a player from the last 15 years that doesn't sound good. Three resources I would recommend are Music Direct for new players, and Audiogon or U.S. Audio Mart for used players. People upgrade their digital gear a lot and with a little research (Google the reviews on particular models you are interested in) you can get a very nice recent vintage player for reasonable money. |
try to find an older Meridian G08 or YBA 1 transport/cd player
both of these were excellent players in their time and can be purchased on the used market, with YBA be careful sometimes the Blue laser would fail so make sure it is working order Meridian players were built like tanks so even if used as a transport with external DAc that will be a great option for CD playback |