My first CD player was a Sony, way back in the early 1990's when CD's were just getting traction. I'd bought my first high-end system. Eventually, I drank the TAS Kool Aid of that day saying that the whole CD format was junk and that I should stick with analogue. I sold my player to somebody else. I still have the first CD I ever bought back then: "Dream Of The Blue Turtles" by Sting. It is actually physically different than CDs today: the outer edge of the CD tapers to a thin, sharp edge. |
Creek and Rega Cd players |
NAD C545BEE. Harsh and no bass. |
Yeah I remember the M.F. KW CD player, a local dealer was really on me to purchase there demo player. I liked the sound of the player but didn't care for the company's flavor of the month attitude. They would just introduce the latest greatest player and within a year it was replaced by something supposedly far better. The way I looked at it, if they spent considerable time, money and resources on a piece of equipment it should not be trashed in favor of something new that must have been developed quickly. |
Musical Fidelity kW SACD Player. $7,000 cd player with a .50 cent cd tray. sounded great when it played. what a horror. |
True...but digital has progressed...and the gap between midfi and hifi has closed considerably...especially in the last decade...with the hi rez advancements being computer based...and with previous audophile formats never cracking the mainstream... |
Upscale equipment doesn't automatically equate to superior sound, but the changes of upscale equipment sounding better are many times greater. One place you don't want to cut corners is a digital source, or any source for that matter. Some of the early CD players were pretty much unlistenable. |
Sounds like the cheap SOny style cd was defective...years ago TAS had a review of a JVC DVD that could be had at street level for about $100 or less...it was compared favorably to players up to 1k...even a Rega unit which was hot at the time...point being...alot of upscale equipment is marketing, build quality, and pride of ownership...nothing wrong with those...but it doesnt automatically equate to superior sound... |
I do not remember exactly what brand it was other than it was just a "cheap" Sony style cd player.
It was back in the mid-'90s and I agreed to help a friend with his wedding, I agreed to supply the music. I only had one CD player at the time and it was actually a Pioneer Laserdisc player, so I could cue up one song while the other played I borrowed a friends cheap CD player. The Pre-Amp and Amp was a British made set from Magnum with a pair of Vandersteen 2ce speakers.
So as the dancing went on I took a break and stepped out to dance, that's when I noticed the sound was terrible, sounded like the speakers were blown or something. I started to think I played the music too loud for too long and killed my speakers, but then the next song cued up and the sound was back to normal. I listened for a while and noticed every time a song played from the Laserdisc the music sounded normal but when a song was played thru the cheaper CD player the music sounded way off, like the speakers were damaged.
That is when I came to realize there is a difference between cheap and not so cheap gear. While the Laserdisc is not the best transport, the cheaper CD player was deffinetly way too cheap. You get what you pay for!
That is why I have no problem paying for Hi-Fi Gear that I like. |
I've heard many over the years that didn't impress me, but the worst I've personally owned yet hated was a Meridian G08. I had heard it at a headphone meet driving a Headroom Blockhead and it was fantastic--I had to have one.
Upon buying it and burning it in for about 40 days 24/7 (literally was always spinning) I pawned it off on someone else who sold it shortly thereafter.
I bought it new too while a zero income law student... still sour about that one! |
How about a thread, "Worst CD for the money"? |
09-19-12: Tmsorosk QUOTE:
" ...but one thing I have learned in thirty five years of upgrading, is that each upgrade I've done has been a true upgrade, not a step sideways and each upgrade has unfortunately been more costly than the previous one. Is it like live music ? of course not, but it's a lot closer and it's become so good I'm continually amazed and engulfed in it's magic, something I couldn't say with less costly systems...."
AMEN ..... Bravo Tmsorosk ... you nailed it! |
" The is a good chance I have been listening longer than you ".
That may be true , but one thing I have learned in thirty five years of upgrading, is that each upgrade I've done has been a true upgrade, not a step sideways and each upgrade has unfortunately been more costly than the previous one. Is it like live music ? of coarse not, but it's a lot closer and it's become so good I'm continually amazed and engulfed in it's magic, something I couldn't say with less costly systems.
You can buy love when it comes to audio. But you won't buy it by just throwing money at it. It requires a good ear, allot of listening ( in your own system ), some research and much soul searching. |
Knghifi, Pull your head out and stop reading stereo magazines. |
" I'm not sure what price gas to do with sound quality " Keep listening, you will.
The is a good chance I have been listening longer, harder and to a lot more equipment than you. If there is one thing I have learned, money can't buy love and it can't buy a stereo system that sounds any more like the real thing. Well.....maybe sometimes.
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Knghifi. The ARC DAC8 probably would be a crappy CD player since it's not a CD player, but it's the best DAC ever made. Maybe you should reconsider posting until you learn a little bit about audio. |
" I'm not sure what price gas to do with sound quality " Keep listening, you will. |
"It's an Audiophile thing."
It is a misconception among some audiophiles, but not all.
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A many way tie between all the ones that do not function. Suggested tie breaker; the one that originally cost the most loses. |
'I am not sure what price has to do with sound quality.'
It's an Audiophile thing. Most other people don't get it either. |
I am not sure what price has to do with sound quality.
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Rok2id
"Maybe the rest of your system was responsible for the 'crappy' sound."
Nope, my 35K system sounds wonderful, thank you. The Marantz not only sounded like crap in my system, but it also wouldn't read many of my disks. After 2 trips back to factory service, I gave up. I am using an Esoteric player now and there is absolutely no comparison. |
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the origonal sony bdp something. looked cool, but just horrible. maybe it was the aad discs tho. a 30 dollar magnavox blows it away. |
'Marantz SA-8001, Sounded like crap in my system.'
The SA-8001 is a player praised by all established reviewers that I have read. Including Stereophile.
Maybe the rest of your system was responsible for the 'crappy' sound. I have owned it for many years and it is reliable and sounds great. Looks great also. I like the full size. |
Conrad Johnson. Sorry, I know their amps/preamps are great, but the tubed DAC and transport I paid $3600 for 15 years ago were the absolute pits. Not just poor sounding -- laid back to a fault, uninvolving, just plain blah -- but unreliable to boot. Beautiful, though. |
"Marantz SA-8001, Sounded like crap in my system."
In your system is right. Also, I owned the Proceed separate transport and DAC many years ago and it sounded great. A little light weight, but very good.
This could be a very misleading thread from people with little if any credability at all.
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Anything from Best Buy, Sears, Walmart, ect. |
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Marantz SA-8001, Sounded like crap in my system. |
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