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Considering getting a CD player (again). Used? New? Criteria?

After years without one, I'm considering getting a CD player. I'm not against streaming, but I have many CD's and would like the simplicity of just playing them from time to time. I probably want to cap my expenditure at $700, or so, because this won't be the only way I play music.

A few questions:
If you've purchased a new CD player, what did you buy? Why?
If you've purchased a used player, how old is too old? What factors helped you choose?

My concern with used is that the transport mechanism of older players will be getting tired, and this won't be knowable just because a unit "checks out" with the site (or individual) testifying to the player's working condition. There's got to be an average point for many machines to give up the ghost, mechanically (varying from machine to machine, of course).
128x128hilde45
routlaw
46 posts
 
As a few others have suggested get the Emotiva ERC-4 it fits your budget, performs way above its price point in terms of audio quality. Sounds much better than my Oppo 203 but will add IMO to get the most from this player it should be used with the balanced outputs feeding a fully differential balanced pre-amp. The ERC-4 is a fully differentially balanced design. I owned the ERC-3 previous to this and feel confident in stating the ERC-4 sounds better although it uses thee exact same DAC chip, the Analog Devices 1955.

Given my experience with the ERC-3 I thought a lot of people were making a mountain out of a molehill regarding the noisy transport. To that I should also add in all fairness the ERC-4 can be significantly quieter but on some disc most of the time but for what ever reason I can still hear some chattering/noise with the ERC-4 on a few but not all disc which is easily remedied by hitting the stop button, then play again. Alternatively one can eject the tray, then close again and this will fix any noise. 

In conclusion the audio performance of this player is equal to if not better than my Holo Spring DAC Level 1 using Aurdirvana + 3.5. They sound different but after a few weeks of comparing I tend to lean toward the ERC-4 which sounds more pleasing to me. Its very dynamic spacious and smooth. Highly recommended.

surferandy's avatar
surferandy
52 posts
 
Marantz CD6006

Price / performance it is one of the best. Buy new and get warranty, sounds great on my system.

doitwithlife's avatar
doitwithlife
98 posts
 
Wanted to follow this. I currently stream 100% using a directstream Dac. Internet is unreliable,  so no network,  no music.

Ive got a dac I love so only need the transport portion of a player. Been considering a used high quality transport, but always well beyond the price it seems I could get a hi rated new CD/DVD.

Was thinking what would be important is a reliable loading system. Being able to manual drop a disk rather than tray loading or slot load seems to make sense.

A good clock and steady motor. Not sure if jitter specs would be the measure of this. A buffering player seems to get around some if this by delaying handoff for a bit allowing timing and read errors to be corrected before handoff to a dac. I like that feature but that is still too expensive 


minorl
1,015 posts
 

I absolutely don't agree with the don't buy used policy.

There are some outstanding used CD players/transports out there that are under $700 that originally costs in the multiple thousands that will blow away many new CD players/transports today.

If you already have a decent dac, I recommend Pioneer Elite CD/Blue Ray players such as the DV-09, BDP-O9, DV 79 avi, etc.  The DV-09 and BDP-09 were seriously overbuilt and are actually outstanding as transports.  The BDP-09 and DV-79 AVI are great transports and also really good as CD players.  These are just a few.

You can get a working DV-09 for about $300.  it weighs a ton (so to speak), overbuilt and sounds great.  Doesn't play SACDs though.  The BDP-09 and DV-79 avi do.

The industry kept growing and therefore, it started out with CD players/transports.  Then Blue ray came into existence and many people got rid of the CD players for Blue ray players.  But, if you only wanted one for playing CDs, you can't go wrong. 

If your budget is $700.  There isn't a $700 CD player out there that can touch any of the ones I listed above.  And as transport only, I can tell you that I have tested many in the multiple thousand dollar range that couldn't touch the ones I listed above as transport only.

enjoy

hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,872 posts
 
Re: new vs. used. Everyone has different perceptions of risk and risk tolerance. If I buy a used player, I have no idea how hard it was used by the previous owner (or their family). All that matters is that it works when they sell it. Unlike a car, it has no odometer. If I buy new, I know it's new and there's a warranty for years. Audio hobbyists are fine with owning many different CD players and/or getting replacements. I'm not planning on making CD's central to my audio life, and so I want to do something reliable here and not revisit it. Better ways to spend my time and money.

Re: transport vs. CD players. Lots of folks continue to weigh in with their best CD player suggestions. I'm fairly convinced that I don't want to pay for the DAC section of a player if I'm going to purchase a kick-ass DAC that I will use in lieu of the CD players DAC. If I just pay for transport, from a good brand, I'll get better transport.

These are just the way the advice here is striking me, given my situation. There's a lot of good info here for those in a different situation, so glad people are taking the time to weigh in.
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