Good DVD changers to use as transports?


This weekend a knowledgeable friend helped me go through my audio system to diagnose the source of a rather annoying problem that makes it difficult to listen to music for very long. I have added a power conditioner, better interconnects, and other tweaks, but it appears that the problem is the CD changer that I have been using as a transport. My friend has recommended that I get a different transport. Because I prefer a changer as a transport due to a health problem, it appears that my best option is to go with a good DVD changer. My DAC is a modded Art Di/O, so the DVD changer must have a coax out.

I know nothing about what is recommended for DVD changers and would appreciate any recommendations from fellow Audiogoners. Thanks for any help.

Sal
salby6
Hi,
"Good" and "DVD changer" probably shouldn't be used in the same sentence. (SomeAudio Law or something ;-) Flimsy, feather-light DVD changers are made for convenience, not sound quality. Changers are good for parties, playing background music when sound quality is not important.
If you want a good transport for CD, find a good used one on Audiogon with a coax output. There are plenty of good dedicated CD transports and players with better mechanical stability, better "sound" etc. (with Philips transport mechanisms up to ten years old even - excellent value)that will blow any cheap DVD player transport out of the water.
The older high-end Sony's make excellent changers, particularly the DVP-S7700 and DVP-S7000, and they are real cheap used on Audiogon. With mods, they both are reference quality.
Try the Parasound CDC-1500 5disc CD changer (about $200 used). Parasound is a DAC company (with several DAC models), so their single and changer CD players are regularly used as transports. In fact, my CDC-1500 even has the optional ADAM module, which added AES/EBU and AT&T ST Fiber Optical digital outputs.

Also has quiet operation and sturdy construction/changer mechanism.