2. digital
  3. 170321-132884

Better CD Sound: The Search

Went Big into Vinyl last 2 years, then re-discovered my many CD’s, mixing it up plenty now.

I continue to try and find a CD Player with better sound than my existing cheapo Sony Changer that surprisingly keeps on keeping on.

I am hoping recent upgrades to the system will more readily reveal differences:

99.9999 copper speaker wires and interconnects, locking rca connectors, mx110z tube tuner/preamp overhaul by Audio Classics; cayin a88t bias by VAS; 16 ohm L-Pads replacing 8 ohm pots; and finally a I bought a sound meter to balance/refine the speaker’s L-Pads (it ain’t easy) for the best sound ever.
.....................................

CD Quest So Far:

I want dual processors, go used to keep cost down, even consider older vintage.

1. my Onkyo Grand Integra (DX-7500 I think), fixed the damn drawer opening problem several times.

2. This cheapo Sony Changer given to me, eh, use if for parties, why not.
surprisingly sounded as good as the Onkyo to me and friends, gave the annoying Onkyo away.

3. tried used Oppo 83 Video Player for it’s audio

Laser was weak, ’no disc’, found it is a common problem with heavily used lasers. Back it went

4. lightly used Oppo 105. Everything worked, but didn’t sound better than the Sony. Oppo is big, single, expensive, not sellers fault, so I sold it myself rather than return it, lost $205. on that attempt.

5. ’new original stock’ KLH (made by?). played a few discs, then the discs started mis-tracking on discs I know are ok.

found small black bits clinging to the surface in the area of the problems (cds play from the inside out, just guess how far out). Turned out, the belt(s) were dried out, thus when put into motion after years of storage (where?), they shed bits of rubber. Back it went, full refund including return shipping. never compared it to the Sony’s sound

6. Resolved: if vintage, make sure belts are available, get a low price, open it up when it arrives, watch it move ... use, replace belts, return as last choice.

7. Just Bought Two, in transit, One Single; One 6 Disc Changer. (both with oem remotes and power cords, most for sale are missing).

a. Denon DVD-2910 Single Player (big dent on the top. $52. del’d, eBay) (crutchfield keeps old info on their site)
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-6TIPMQKBMUZ/p_033DV2910B/Denon-DVD-2910-Black.html

b. Onkyo Integra CDC-3.4 six disc changer (open box/demo) ($51. delivered) (bserplus.com)
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_164CDC34/Integra-CDC-3-4.html

c. a bag of belts. because I will be keeping something, and I have other old stuff with belts
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334135204014

d. spare rare OEM remote for Integra 3.4, eBay

Keeping My Ears Crossed!

elliottbnewcombjr

Showing 3 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,477 posts
 
I tend not to buy used stuff that has a mechanical component. But it can really help leverage your buying power. You are fishing in the real low end of pond. Better sounding and more reliable is going to come from an old high end deck. Go to Stereophile and look at old recommended component brands.

My first jaw drop came from frustration from a highly rated (as if it were a high end product) Onkyo tape deck. I auditioned an ancient first generation Nakamichi tape deck… it completely blew the Onkyo away… as if the Onkyo was a plastic transistor radio. After that I realized the value of high end gear.

BTW, a CD player is a physical transport, Streamer, and DAC. The folks recommending using one of your current CD players for it’s physical transport and streamer and buying a better DAC can get you a sizable increase in performance. It can also be a stepping stone to improving all the pieces… eventually just going to streaming… a good streamer / DAC can sounds as good or better than a CD player. Your choice in paths.


ghdprentice
6,477 posts
 
@soix


+1. Absolutely. Whole worlds of music… for the same price as a CD per month. A complete revelation. Now instead of bouncing around my collection, I can explore the entire world of music.
ghdprentice
6,477 posts
 
With today’s audio products one can easily find CD Players that sound better than a Streamer / DAC combination, the reverse as well. It is a question of the component(s) choice and the system you are plugging them in to. My streamer sounds as good as my CD player, often better because of the higher resolution of the files available through streaming. This can be true at different price levels.


But the important point is that CD Players do not inherently sound better (no fundamentally different principles involved)… it is essentially the same technology packaged differently. The cost of achieving this is highly varied due to the number products out there.


What you choose should be based on what you enjoy (if you like handling discs, how much music you want access to… etc), your time horizon, and how good you are at choosing system components (a CD player is one box) a Streaming solution is typically two. The future is streaming… if that is important to you, then you weigh these things and choose we’re to put your money.
More to discover