Crazy to buy a 17 year old CD Player?

Last time I looked, you can get a real nice new transport plus a real nice new R2R DAC for the price of a high end old CDP like Levinson, etc. The combination that piqued my interest the most was a Cambridge Audio CXC paired with a Denafrips Ares. If I remember correctly the combo came under $1500.

I totally agree- beernut.
I do not mind exchanging discs in a cd/sacd player as well.
Happy Listening!

Thanks! for sharing- George and nordicnorm.
I have never read a bad report on the DV-50s player.
I hope Esoteric continues support and parts for these older spinners.

Happy Listening!

Ok, I'm not yet ready for computer based audio. My silver disks are now the new vinyl to me and I do enjoy popping them into a player. I would agree with many here that DAC technology has improved vastly in the last few years. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a newer player and forget the "vintage" cd players. You would be very surprised at how far digital has come....

I used my  broke Wadia as an excuse to try computer audio and never looked back.  But running it remote like a CD player can be a "computer-eze" pain for non-techies.

What is the advantage of R2R-based DACs for CD playback, you ask?

Nodicnorm is correct, this is from MoJo Music which gives you the reason why a R2R Multibit coverters are better to do RedBook (pcm) with, than a dsd (delta sigma converter.

"When a PCM file is played on a DSD or Bit Stream (Delta Sigma) converter, the DAC chip has to convert the PCM to DSD in real time. This is one of the major reasons people claim DSD sounds better than PCM, when in fact, it is just that the chip in most modern single-bit (Delta Sigma) DACs do a poor job of decoding PCM."

The reason why I said to the OP to get the earlier ML no.39 than the later ML 390s. Also the Linn CD12 and Naim CD555 are great older units for RedBook replay. All these are still very pricey on the used market for a good un-molested one..

Cheers George

What really separates the older, high-end CDPs from the newer ones is the improvement in DAC technology.

In order to future-proof any investment you make, I would suggest that you buy a decent older CDP (i.e. Primare, Rega, Hegel, Yamaha, etc.) and mate it with a newer external DAC (i.e. Denafrips. Lampizator, Ayre, Soekris,  etc.). But if you are only interested in CD playback (i.e. non-DSD), focus on R2R DACs (Denafrips,  Soekris, Holo, etc.).  

What is the advantage of R2R-based DACs for CD playback, you ask? An R2R DAC converts 16bit/44kHz  Redbook PCM bit perfectly (i.e. without any conversion or processing). When a PCM file is played on a single-bit Delta Sigma DAC (used in most DACs that support DSD), it has to convert the PCM to DSD in real time.     

I recently compared the DAC in my Esoteric DV-50Ss against my Gustard x20Pro DAC (new, $800), which is considerably newer technology. After level matching, I was unable to detect any difference in sound quality between the two.

Now, the DAC in the DV-50S would probably be easily beaten by a $3,500 external DAC, but I only paid $1,000 for the DV-50S in the first place, so I am more than happy with it.

There's a Ayre C-5xeMP Universal Disc Player listed right now for $2250. I'm not sure you could do any better under your budget.

Thank you all for your time to respond.  I'm hearing from most that its best to move on...kind of thought so myself, just out of the loop for so long and not really sure what is up to the quality I'm used to .

Am open to suggestions on used equipment @ 5yrs old.  Again, max budget is @ $2000 - $2500.  As you can probably infer, I'm very old school with a preference toward analog.  That said I've got so many CDs it makes no sense to walk away from my very nice library.

I found the CD3mkll to sound significantly better than the CD2

Buying an older unit is fine if you get a rally good deal.  I would see if the parts are still available or the mfg still supports the unit.  Georgehifi is right about the R2R they do sound better IMO but a good DAC design can make things sound special also.  Happy Listening.

I use a ~15 year-old Electrocompaniet EMC 1-UP, and it is both excellent, and built like a tank.

Further info here:

http://www.electrocompaniet.no/products/classic/digital/discontinued/emc1up.html

cmcdaniel5
  Crazy to buy a 17 year old CD Player?

No, definitely not, not if you want the best from a RedBook (pcm) collection.
But you need one of the players that use R2R Multibit conversion to get the best from RedBook (pcm).
Your choice of the ML 390s is OK, but it's a Delta Sigma dac converter based unit, you'll be far better off getting the earlier ML No.39 as it's R2R Multibit PCM1702 and it has the HDCD PMD100 HDCD filter chip, a far better choice.

Cheers George  

Someone recently posted about this Cary model on sale/closeout.

The last Cary deck I listened to was the 306, so don't know how this one sounds.

https://carydirect.com/shop-now/digital-sources/dmc-600.html

DeKay

Yes it's crazy to buy an old CD player.  They one of the audio pieces that actually move and are subject to wear and tear.  That and the argument re: older technology, especially the DAC.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/281960796364?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Quick Google search reveals this is the one used in the CD2 - do your homework though !  but for $ 22 you might be able to get it going again - these are not difficult to replace if your handy - if not have a skilled tech do it for you.

Best of luck

Peter

What is your budget ?  Mike at Audio Archon turned me on to the 
Lumin steaming player .you can stream or has plugged directly in 
The  Lumin D-1 is exceptionally well balanced, if you buy the outboard
LINEAR tube Audio PS it takes it to a Very high level. It will please over 90% of Audiophiles even many of  the doubters That never heard it.for under $2400,with Super PS.it does most of  Everything pretty well.
At least give it a read, then a listen.

I had an ARC CD-2 for several years and enjoyed it the entire time. I have auditioned the subsequent ARC models and have observed the improvement in performance at each level. The ARC CD-2 unit, however, is still relevant in as much as it has a very balanced and non-fatiguing character. If you like it and can find a way to get it fixed, I would stay with something you know you will enjoy. 

If you like your AR why not just put in a new laser assembly - it's really not that difficult. 

Best of luck

Peter  

If you don't want to bother dealing with a CD player but you don't want to give up your discs or sacrifice quality, you could always try Murfie. They digitize your collection in wav and can convert it to whatever format you like, from ALAC downloads to lossless streaming. They even offer to store your CDs if you don't want them taking up space in your house.

You own a very nice system- cmcdaniel5

Yes, go for it. Consider a CD3, CD5 or CD7. Keep me posted on the model that you choose. Happy Listening!

Cambridge CXC. Wadia 321. Under your price new as the Wadia is on close out sales    Many options 

17 year old one yes, get a more modern reliable one.  17 years is old tech.

CD/SACD did not get real good until the last 5 years IMO.

 The Audio Research CD players starting with the CD3 use variations of the Philips CDM Pro2 drive mechanism. This is the same  drive mechanism in CD jukeboxes so complete drives as well as parts are readily available. 

 So I wouldn't worry that much about buying a CD3 mk2. If you can push it you might consider a Ref CD7. The price of these has really dropped. And they are a truly amazing analog sounding CD player. 

An old but maybe good at the time DS DAC can be hammered nowadays. You are in for a treat! I would look for a used Audio Note 3.1 balanced. Great tubed R-2R DAC with no up sampling or filter, dead smooth and analogue sounding. Just real and IMO a classic.

I would buy a current CD transport, like a Rega Apollo, McCormack DAC-1. Both are good CD Players by themselves, but you can add an external DAC like an Ayre Codex or Schiit Gungnir or Yggy and get really high fidelity. I think your (excellent) components would benefit from it.
Bob

Though some prefer the sound of older players, the risk is that old transports and lasers usually cannot be replaced 

if you weren't crazy you wouldn't be here

Do this: buy the best Oppo (~$1200) which has a return privilege, and test it vs. any high end used player you are thinking about

DACs have advanced greatly in recent years so old may not be so great

or... rip all your CDs onto a Lossless format and just get a good DAC unit

I do the latter and enjoy them on my own ARC 25 II pre amp and big Maggies