I second the Rotel 1072. One of the best underpriced players out there. |
Addendum, make sure the Cambridge comes with the matching remote control! Before it I had a Krell CD player. It was really nice sounding too, but then being older, it developed leaking caps that shorted a power supply and an unobtainium gear broke in the drive. And the repair est. was at least 900, thus making it impractical to fix based on used value. So even higher end brands can croak eventually, they are well made but not tanks! |
I have the Cambridge 840C, it might be the later version, and the matching amp with balanced interconnects. I certainly have found it to be nice and it doubles as a hi rez dac, if you can get a hi rez source to it! Up to 192/24. Either coax or optical. Not USB, etc. It is good enough that you can hear the diff. with various balanced interconnects to the matching amp. And I have a 640C which I feel is also a quite good sounding player in my second system with vacuum tube amplification. But it is unbalanced output only. Same family of technology and looks. |
I also like a used Rega Apollo. I have one and run a cable from it to another external DAC. So it's just a good transport at this time. I would, if in your shoes, get a cd player based upon two factors beside good sound. One, the best transport system one can find. Two, one that has a DIGITAL EXT OUT so that it may be used as a transport for a better DAC. Sony has made very good ones, even older ones. I like CD players that meet that criteria. Rega and Cambridge Audio do so. Check out the Sony CD-XA20es.
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Oleschool - yup, that was a smoking deal!
Mike
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How about a sony s9000 modwrighted ???
I know the hot lick lately has been the oppo bdp 105 modwrighted
I can say the 840 seems like a great go to for the money
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michaela ,
I messaged about the bel same day, it sold imediatley.Maybe someone read your post before me.lol
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For $300 you can get a used Rotel RC-1072 - a true giant killer. |
No affiliation with the seller but a member just listed a Bel Canto PL-1a on here for $750.00. That is a great deal. It was a $ 7,500.00 Stereophile class A+ rated player that can also play DVD-A’s and SACD. I have it’s little brother the PL-2 and it is a great player, which originally sold for $5,000.00, that can be usually found for about $600.00. For another $150.00, you would be getting an awesome player!
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I agree with jakeman on the Emotiva ERC-3. I have one and nothing will beat it in the price range we're talking about. |
I've bought a lot of used gear over the years but one thing I steer clear of is anything that uses an optical drive...... The Marantz players are good, l just bought an OPPO 103D to use as a universal transport and it's a great machine. I use it with a DAC but often times I use it's analog outs to take advantage of it's variable output and to listen to HDCDs and it sounds pretty damn good as a stand alone unit. |
Try Rega Planet or Apollo. I sold my Rega Planet not long ago for $250 which I paid almost $1,000 when I bought it. It worked perfectly and sound very natural.
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still expolring options and opinions? this is a 2nd system
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Anyone- Marantz DV-9500/9600 ?
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Look for an Oppo BDP 95, used they go from 600.00-800.00 on the used market. Run it in Pure Audio Mode with either Variable or Fixed Output. Sounds awesome and you can play concert BDVD through it with awesome sound quality!
just my 2c |
I can third the vote for an 840C.
Bill |
Having owned one in the past I can second the vote on the Cambridge 840C.
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I would try the Emotiva erc-3. I have heard nothing but good reviews about it ($499). |
It's a risk buying used but you'll likely get much more of a player over a new one at the same price; plus the new player is worth about half once you crack the box.
Marantz, NAD, and Cambridge players are all very good in that range new. If you have a nice system but not the most revealing, no doubt you'll be very happy with a new player from about any manufacture in your budget. Not sure anyone really makes a bad player today unless you buy it at Walmart.
If you're looking for a great used player and don't need Blu-ray or SACD the Cambridge 840c is a player to consider. On a system that can reveal the differences between components the 840c is going to pull ahead of the new players in the same price range.
Marantz and and the others are really good players, but you'll almost always get more buying used. If you're wanting to stay closer to $300 then definitely agree on a newer Marantz. |
I would be very reluctant to buy used especially when for your buget Marantz has two players that are very good the cd5005 (399) and the cd6005 (499 comes with USB input on front for your iphone). Both sound very good. I've bought some used cd players but you never really know how much life is left in them. Some have been ok but some didn't last too long. |
