Disk drives and laser heads wear out. Some can be replaced, some not. It makes absolute sense to get a newer or a new unit. Used Sim 750 and 650, plus Mohican, Bryston BCD-3 and now Primare CD35 would all be on my radar.
New or Old CD Player?
Let's say I have $5K, tops, to buy a CD player. I don't need digital inputs, outputs, etc. I don't need to spin SACD's. I only intend to play Redbook CD's and want a one-box solution. Would my money be better spent on a new unit, like maybe a Hegel Mohican? Or should I buy a component that was close to state of the art a decade ago? Like maybe a Simaudio 750D, or an Audio Research Reference CD8? Thoughts?
Showing 7 responses by twoleftears
@trelja I just Google-imaged innards of Mohican, Sony and Sanyo CD mechanisms, and the Hegel looks exactly like the Sony, with that tell-tale grid/lattice pattern on top. Hegel, on the Mohican homepage, states that it's Sanyo, but as you say it's hard to believe. Ironic to see just today that @monkandmozart was so taken with it. |
@trelja As the owner of a BCD-1, I can attest first-hand that Bryston stands behind their products way after the warranty period has expired. Unfortunately, the transport they used in that is now NLA. For the BCD-3, they chose the StreamUnlimited JPL-2800, which as I understand it, is also to be found in dCS products. Interesting, for their brand new similarly priced unit, the CD35, Primare chose TEAC, specifically the CD 5020A-AT, which also has quite a pedigree. BTW, do you have any info. on where Primare is manufactured? A quick Google search turned up little solid info. but some talk about both China and Taiwan. |
@jafant Well, the BCD-1 came out in 2008, and Bryston chose a Philips L1210 CD drive, a reasonable choice at the time I think. They still to this day support all other parts of the '1, but the supply of drives has dried up--about a year ago. @trelja Given Teac's connection with Esoteric, doesn't that drive carry a very good reputation? |
@trelja Wow! Just wow. Photos of innards of the Consonance and the Mohican. Anyone can compare.... http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/consonance/hero_cdp.jpg http://hifiknights.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Mohican19-820x547.jpg |