Integra CDC-3.4, Mark II, with remote, delivered: $195. plus tax
IF serial # has suffix ’M’, it’s a Mark II and uses remote RC-778c
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.
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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!
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!
169 responses Add your response
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SACDs are DSD, not PCM It seems MOST SACD/CD/Blu-Ray players Convert the DSD to PCM, only a few have dedicated DSD circuits
This implies the majority of the benefits, the DSD recording stage is what counts "I know a lot of people are wary about DSD to PCM conversion, but as big a fan of DSD as I am, I’m beginning to think that the benefits come from doing the digital <=> analogue conversions with DSD. Once in the digital domain, I don’t think DSD <=> PCM conversion is nearly so significant."
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@beeswax: "I don’t know what happens to the Bryston BCD-3 now that its chip manufacturer has burned down, but I can vouch that the player is superlative and at a slip under four grand a worthy value". I wanted to buy one and Audo Advisor said Bryston has informed them they cannot say when the player will be available, again. Disappointing, to say the least. |
Mr. Fixit Lost the Parts, TWICE! 1. I had the Denon finding CD’s, but not SACD. Returned/Received Replacement Laser. Successfully de-soldered two anti-static solder lumps on the laser, grabbed my little bag of parts to reassemble, 1 of 3 springs missing! F.....d without it. In the trash. Humiliated. 2. Yamaha DVD-C961 arrived. As described: works, finds and plays SACD, CD, DVDs. Opens, loads. Problem: need to MANUALLY close the drawer. Sure enough, problem is a worn/stretched belt. Real easy fix, cover off: complete access to it’s 3 belts when the tray is extended, just put it on. Remember? Mr. Fixit pre-ordered a mixed bag of belts and put them in a ’LOGICAL’ location. I cannot find that bag of belts anywhere!!! New bag of belts arrives tomorrow, Humbled,
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WINNER: Yamaha DVD-C961 Changer. DVD/SACD/CD Changer
"The DVD-C961 has four two-channel Burr Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs for the stereo and 5.1-channel output sections to provide absolute sonic transparency." It sounds terrific, as good as the former winner, Integra CDC-3.4 mark II which I will now sell. Different Processors, Different OEM Bag-O-Tricks whatever they are. I’m keeping the Yamaha as it plays the few SACDs I own, Integra is CDs Only. It’s a bit smaller, awkwardly has the drawer at the top, so it blocks the buttons when open, 5 discs, Integra has 6. Like Oppo’s the Yamaha has Audio Direct which avoids all video circuitry. Also, like the Oppo, I don’t hear any difference, but ... It has 3 identical currently available rubber belts. Case off, Open the tray, in full view, no tools, simply replace them, couldn’t be easier. ......................................... It has Digital Outs, so if you tried one, didn’t think it was great, you could always use it as a spinner and go to an outboard DAC. Does it send SACD out as DSD via the Optical Outs? I presume it converts DSD to PCM for the RCA out, but you still get the recording benefits of SACD. .......................................... Answer to the former question: do I think I can get a great sounding CD player for not much money? Quite Happily, Hell Yes, I found Two! WINNER, Yamaha, $133. including tax and delivery. Add $14. for two OEM belts for the future. RUNNER UP, Integra CDC-3.4 Mark II, nearly new, $284. incl. tax and delivery. CD only, Never heard Mark I, I highly recommend the Mark II, (newer, remote RC778, serial # suffix M). LOSER: Denon 2910, total loss -$54. I didn't like it's sound, too bright, then I lost a critical spring needed to try and replace the laser to read SACDs (I had it reading CD's). I was going to give it to somebody, now the recycler, oh well, I learned something.
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I’m following this thread closely. I’m not into streaming as of yet and have close to 2k CD’s. So far the best sounding setup I have push’s aside the Oppo and a few other players for an older Sony CDP-2700 feeding into a Denafrips Pontus ll dac. The Sony was for industrial use and still works great, but it never came with a remote. So my old bones are looking for something that sounds as good or better and has a remote. JD
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I found/think, after the DAC(s) it really is the combo of an OEM's bag-o-tricks (over ... up.... re-..., anti... ) you 'prefer', why I finally found something I prefer to prior Sony which I preferred over many. Still thinking about SACD DSD out the RCA jacks without conversion to PCM. I have been reading about some older SACD players. It's the aging of the lasers, belts, motors, dried lube that concerns me, but some tempting finds: ................................ Sony SCD-XA5400ES, 2009 SACD DSD out the RCA jacks, no conversion to PCM. Upscales CDs 8x to SACD numbers, then out same as SACD. ........................ Sony SCD-XA777ES, 2001, 6 audiio dacs, 3 left channel, 3 right channel. 2 lasers: 1 sacd, 1 cd. some lasers were 'fixed' the disk traversed while spinning. https://www.stereophile.com/hirezplayers/491/index.html note: XA... is front loader, the top loader was SCD-777ES, 55lb beast 2 fixed lasers, 6 audio dacs, 5 selectable 'filter' sounds. .................... SCD-XA1200ES, 2009, 8 DACs ............. Pioneer Elite DV79AVi, 2007, 3 audio dacs, I want to learn more about it |
Luxman D-03X Digital Player uses: Dual Monaural D-to-A convertersLUXMAN engineers selected a pair of Texas Instruments 32-bit PCM1795 digital-to-analog converters to process digital signals with remarkable precision. Separating left and right channel conversion helps reveal the subtlest micro-dynamics. http://luxman.com/product/detail.php?id=36
McIntosh MCD85 SACD/CD/STream Conversion of the digital data stored on the discs or in the digital music stream into an analog signal for playback is performed by a quad balanced, 8-channel, 32-bit/192kHz Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). Four DAC channels are dedicated to the left audio channel, and four to the right audio channel to ensure truly exceptional stereo sound reproduction.
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I sold my Integra CDC-3.4 II here. Kept the Yamaha DVD-C961 (plays SACDs) found out about/bought a lightly used SONY SCD-5400ES, (surprised nobody mentioned it). Upscales CD's to DSD#s, and SACD out without PCM conversion.
AND After my Denon 'lost the spring' Humiliation, Mr. Fixit goes for Redemption: I just bought a non-working Integra CDC-3.4 Mark II for $53. delivered. (a hospital, they are unable to test things). I have the remote. Wish me luck. |
$40. Integra CDC-3.4 Mark II arrived: 'Mech. Error'. Cover off, revolving tray was resistant to movement, a bit of a forced spin, it freed up, works perfectly. Less than 5 minutes! I think someone dropped it, or carried it upside down or something. some fresh lube, now what? Sony SCD-xa5400ES due Sunday. Makes up for the humiliation of the lost Denon spring. I didn't like the sound of the Denon, but someone might have preferred it and wanted it. |
Absolutely LOVE this Sony SACD/CD Player SCD-xa5400ES ALL CDs sound better, first 2 comparisons: equal to LP SACD without intermediate PCM conversion: Awesome, now I know what some have been hearing. .............................. If someone you let go regrettably used you as a job reference, and you get a call, you respond "I cannot say enough good things about ..." I truly cannot say enough good things about this Sony SCD-xa5400es. Very familiar, very revealing content, ALL CDs, all SACDs: ALL OBVIOUSLY, SURPRISINGLY BETTER. Not Preferred, BETTER! Andreas Vollenweider’s White Winds; sounds of the Eurythmics Underground Train; Distinction of ’No More Tears’ duet by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer; Richard Burton and the Martian Death Rays in Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds; ah, there’s a second mandolin behind Kate Wolf’s guitar; the distinction of different string types of the 3 guitars on Friday Night in San Francisco; and finally, what SACD people who have been hearing that I never heard properly until now. FUNDAMENTALS. I think there is a tighter, firmer, more solid, ... start to the fundamental of Each and Every Note. Improved overtones, volume and time decay all follow that BETTER start. I have never heard a CD sound so good anywhere. The 3 guitars on Friday Night in San Francisco, my favorite music to refine my cartridge’s anti-skate. I am very very familiar, love this music. I could not imagine the added degree of genuine realism this player got out of a standard CD. I am sooooo glad I kept going on the DSD/no pcm conversion search, the unexpected big win here is the redbook cd output from it’s 8x oversampling filter. SACD. Among others I have a series of Oscar Peterson performances, ’exclusively for my friends’. my prior listening conclusion was ’lower noise floor’, eh, I’m not spending a lot more for that. OH holy crap, first one I tried, Mellow Mood SACD, just landed in the room. You know how a visitor says, "sounds like they are right there" and you know your system, you know it’s great, but no, right there it is not. This seemed like Oscar was playing my Uncle Johnnie’s piano right there! I can keep slobbering, or go listen. Bye! EVERYONE: get thee an xa5400es!!!
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