Might be way cheaper to just replace damaged CDa
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Look at the Emotiva ERC-4, has 2 digital inputs
built like a tank $600, has played old cd's with scuffs and scratches
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Thanks Grinnell. Will take a look at it. winoguy17. I don't have that many scratched CD's. Just a few. Most are very dated and can't be replaced easily if at all. |
I second the ERC-4 recommendation, very good CDP. Sounds even better as a transport via AES cable to outboard DAC. |
Can you copy the cds to computer and then burn a new one? I have had cds that won't play on a cdp but did fine on a mac
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Of course you can. Have done this countless times. I would recommend DB Poweramp as the best software for ripping and use Roxie Toast for burning. |
The Marantz hd cd-1 is a beautiful player. It is compact and has faux wood side panels, rather unique. No longer made, discontinued but may be available used. Plays just about all I’ve thrown at it. I use mine as transport running into the also excellent musical fidelity v90 dac. I like the dac so much I bought a spare. I think I may have bought the last new one available from accessories for less...also own the audiolab, which is a nice transport. Only issue is remote is sometimes unresponsive....who knows. Lastly, you may want to seek out a Marantz sa8005. It is/was a great cd/sacd player. The last of the affordable ones from Marantz. Got one of those too!
Those tribute Rotels look interesting too, used to own Rotel years ago! |
Thanks for the additional ideas. Yes, gave some thought to the Audiolab as well and have a cheap Topping D30 DAC I could use with it while I decide how to purchase something better. Will have time this weekend to explore all of the ideas presented. |
The Rega Apollo-R is an excellent player and available used within your budget. |
I went through this exercise myself sometime ago. I settled on a Cambridge Audio CXC and a Pro-ject DAC that I also use for streaming (mainly because I wanted quality MQA support).
For the price and value, it's a hard combination to beat.
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I could recommend CAMBRIDGE AUDIO - CXU. Decent player with five separate Wolfs on WM8740 DACs on board and upsampling (Adaptive Time Filtering). upsamples all audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. “Pure Audio” mode could be used to disable all processes except those participating in audio reproduction - cool future, definitely benefits SQ. Wide range of supported formats: CD, SACD, Blu-ray (BD) including BD-3D, DVD, DVD-A, AVCHD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+-R/RW, DVD+-R DL, BD-R/RE. Good luck!
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I just use old DVD players fed into a DAC. Some of the new blu-ray players will also handle SACDs. I own quite a few CDs and some of them have seen better days. I now mostly listen to vinyl and streaming, but I do own a few disks that are not available to me any other way.
Take your worst disk and try it in every DVD and Blu-ray player you own. If it plays to your satisfaction get an inexpensive DAC and enjoy. You can always get a transport later.
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You're not going to get anything that's any good for 600 bucks |
Try the Sony ES UBP-X1100ES universal disc player. It's right at $600 and will play SACDs along with CDs and BlueRay disks. You can't get more for the money. |
I don’t know of any measure of a player’s ability to read scuffed discs. Maybe a repair tech can comment on that. I think it has to do with the strength of the laser and critical focus adjustments that can be tweaked. It definitely has nothing to do with the DAC...that is downstream from the pickup. On the Rega Apollo, my experience says it’s data recovery is not its strong suit. Buy new if you want a strong laser...they do weaken with age, and you get a warranty to help if adjustments are needed. Another option is to buy from a reliable repair shop that has thoroughly tested and tweaked the player. Nakamichi made great sounding players that are abundant on the used market. |
Urbie. That's an absurd statement. That's like saying you can't find a quality car for under 20 grand. Granted the more you pay for anything likely will result in higher quality construction and components and more bells and whistles but that doesn't mean you can't find something decent for a lower price. You can also find lemons at higher prices in most products.
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Thanks for the additional replies. Working a lot of OT at work this week. But I will have time this weekend to start researching the units mentioned.
Crustycoot. Thanks. I have a 30 year old Onkyo CD player that handles the scratches and scuffs better than the Yamaha. But it is pretty dated now and as you noted, the laser probably has a limited lifespan left. For its time being a $250 model it was halfway decent.
Owned a Nakamichi tape deck in the early to mid 1980's. BX2 I believe. |
+1 for the Marantz HD CD 1. It's built like a tank
or
Shiit should be introducing a cd player soon (or is it a transport?)
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If your Onkyo has digital output use it into a newer DAC. |
Schiit will introduce a transport, I think; at least the guy I swapped emails with me said so. With even the Modi MB DAC it should be a decent combo.
But check out the Audiolab 6000 CDT. It's $549 new (I got one for $400 on USAM, so used ones are out there), and it needs a DAC. The Audiolab is usually preferred to the Cambridge by those who have used both (I have not), and A-lab claims one of its strengths is accurately reading less-than-perfect cd's. |
Schiit will introduce a transport, I think; at least the guy I swapped emails with me said so. With even the Modi MB DAC it should be a decent combo . If they include an i2s port it could be quite a contender. |
mesch. The Onkyo DX 702 does indeed have a Toslink cable to the Topping D30 DAC. Cheap DAC though. Sound with that is only slightly better than the built in DAC.
But, this does give me something to think about. Perhaps spending a few hundred on a quality DAC would then allow this CD player to perform on the level of a newer model. Would that be the case? |
anton99. Yes, I noted the Audiolab gets good reviews for handling scuffs and scratches on CD's. It is something I've given some thought to.
BTW. To the others recommending players that handle BluRay and SACD, I don't actually have any of those disks. Only CD's. Prefer a pure CD only player. Don't watch Video through a Home Theater system either. |
will62
for $600 you can buy a very good CD player. Watch here, eBay and U.S. Audiomart daily. I look forward in reading about the player purchased.
Happy Listening! |
I’d go with spending the money on a decent DAC and use one of your older players or a repurposed DVD player as a transport. I also second the idea of burning the problem discs to a HD and then burning a new copy—I’ve done that with a few myself-or just play them from the computer to the new DAC.
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At your price point you could purchase a DAC better than the one in the Onkyo or Yammy. Then possibly replace either player with a dedicated transport st a later date. |
Will62
Sorry about derailing the thread with the DVD/Blu-ray player idea. I understand your need to keep things simple. I did it for a couple of reasons. The first one is for other people searching for a CD player so they can have a "more rounded" list of options.
The other reason I suggested using a free or low cost DVD player was that you could spend more (or all) of your budget on a better DAC.
You said you have an older CD player with a toslink output. I would use that and look into a Schiit Bifrost2. It has one nice feature for CD playback: polarity inversion. Some CDs have the polarity reversed during playback. Unfortunately at $700 it is more than buget of $600 not knowing how flexible you are on that.
To sum it all up you will get the best quality of sound from your CDs using a transport and a DAC (for the least amount of money). A dedicated transport can cost around $500. DVD players can do the same thing for less. I am using an old DVD player in my main system without a display (tv). It doesn't even have HDMI, but it does have buttons. I just pop the disc in and press play. Did the same thing at my parents house when I set up a stereo system in their living room (no tv there either). |
The top tier Rotel cd player. The cd14 no slouch either
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I agree with many of the suggestions to use an existing cdp/dvd and add a nice dac.
I have a second system up in a cabin in the mountains and have an Oppo 981hd sounded pretty good but I had a MyDac sitting around I had planned to sell but hooked it up to the Oppo. Big improvement in sound.
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At this point I am leaning towards keeping the Onkyo CD player and adding a new DAC. Seems to be the best move since it is working fine and handles the problem CD's better than the Yamaha.
Have looked at the Bitfrost 2 and Modius from Schiit. Good reviews for both models for the most part.
Will start researching some others now and if anyone has any other suggestions feel free to mention them. I don't know much at all about external DAC's. Will look at the MyDAC that Grinnell has mentioned. |
Consider the Schiit BiFrost (has all the current inputs PLUS balanced outputs, and using a cheap player as a transport until you can get a better transport. Better transports do matter
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Rotel - CD11 Tribute looks promising.
Happy Listening! |
if your priority is a cdp that'll play whatever cd you throw at it, i'd opt for a used universal player like the pioneer elite 79 or sony s9000es, either of which are easy to find for $200 or so--they're overbuilt and very reliable.
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I offer another alternative... I too had been searching for a newer CD player. I found a new old stock Bluesound Vault. I decided to start the long process of adding my CDs to the vault hard drive to have a FLAC file of all my CDs. When I buy a CD I add it to the Vault, but mostly I get CDs from libraries because I am cheap and add them to my Vault collection. Additionally I have an audio streaming device (another function of the Vault) for Spotify, Tidal and other streaming services. Now I have all my CDs available to play and a growing collection of new music. I think I paid $850 for the Bluesound Vault.
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Agree with 2psyop to pick up a BS Vault then later add a better DAC. Pick up Qobuz and start streaming. I don’t think I’ve played more than a handful of disc through my Cambridge or Oppo since streaming... why bother? I get it though as today I purchased three NOS sealed TDK SA-C90 cassette tapes from 1975-77 for my NAK that’s also collecting dust. |
will62
Did you purchase a new Cd player? Update us.
Happy Listening! |
Jafant. Just checking back in again. I got sidetracked from the search for either a new CD player or DAC. Been involved with a number of things including OT at work and also my radio station work and relocation in a few months.
Will be back on this next month. Currently upgrading cables first and then I will work on the CD player. |
2pysop. Unfortunately this is not an option. I have well over 2,000 CD's and the amount of time to burn them isn't there. I just spent over a year burning and recording around 6,0000 songs for my radio station's playlist (three different formats) and that had to be done while working around other things including a full time job with OT. Will have to stick with either a new CD player or DAC.
My money situation is better thanks to a nice raise at work and I will likely buy a new CD player and a DAC. Leaning towards the Rotel models especially the 11 thanks to the late Ken I's involvement with the design. DAC will be for the Onkyo CD player. I have three systems and can use both.
Does anyone know how well the Rotel's handle CD's that skip occasionally?
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will62
Excellent! Have fun searching for a new CD Player.
Happy Listening! |
Ordered a Rotel CD14 today. Looks like this will be my main player for years to come. |
will62
Thank You for the update. Happy Listening! |
will62,
How is the Rotel CD14 treating you? It’s a player I’m considering, and am curious to hear how you like it.
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Hi I have a good deal from direct music open box a Rotel cd 14 Mk2 today .I just curious if any one have both Rotel cd14 mk2 to compared with Rotel rcd 1572 mk2 to determine which one is good.?I need advised from audio fan help to choose between these 2 model?Thank you for reading and yours opinion.
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Hi folks I forgot to mention my source are Krell K300i integrated amp + oppo 105d dvd/cd player + pairs of Quads z2 speakers which ordered it from Uk.my hobby is listening to oldies Goodies music and classical music.I want to purchase new cd player but confused to choose between Rotel cd 14 mk2 and Rotel RCD 1572 mk2 ? Would anyone have experienced to these 2 cd players?
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