DazzS Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 (edited) Hi folks, I've just gotten into hifi this year and am building a 2.1 system. I'm mainly using usb with flacs (most ripped from cds and some downloaded from qobuz) and streaming from qobuz. However I've been slowly rebuilding my cd collection and am looking to potentially add a cd player. I'll probably still mainly use usb for ease of daily use, but like the idea of having a cd player for dedicated listening sessions and nostalgia as I still like physical media. For this reason and because I have a limited budget, I'm only looking to go 'entry level', but preferably still quality from a known brand. Anyway, for various reasons I won't go into, I've narrowed down to these 3 options and would very much appreciate advice about which would be best: - new NAD C538 (best price about $635 AU) - new Yamaha CDS-303 (best price about $500 AU) - used Yamaha CDS-700 (seem to be a few around for around $250-400). Note: Quality of internal dac and other features like usb playback are not really that important as I have other solutions for these in my system. Edited September 30, 2024 by DazzS
Snoopy8 Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 Why not a CD transport? It feeds your "physical media" needs and can use your existing DAC. 1
DazzS Posted September 30, 2024 Author Posted September 30, 2024 6 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said: Why not a CD transport? It feeds your "physical media" needs and can use your existing DAC. Thanks for your reply. I would consider a transport but thought they tend to be more expensive than budget cd players (unless you mean a used transport)? I'm happy to receive other suggestions but nothing over $650 AU
Snoopy8 Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 Make an inquiry, and offer if still available, on a couple of expired adverts https://www.stereonet.com/forums/classifieds/item/7326-cambridge-audio-cxc-cd-transport/ https://www.stereonet.com/forums/classifieds/item/5895-audiolab-7000cdt-cd-transport/ If you still want a CD player, suggest a used higher end model.
rantan Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 1 minute ago, Snoopy8 said: If you still want a CD player, suggest a used higher end model. Definitely agree. Although the listing I linked to is the only half decent cd player for the sort of coin mentioned by the OP 1
rantan Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 Yikes! Just noticed this one. Definitely a good buy for that price. 1
DazzS Posted September 30, 2024 Author Posted September 30, 2024 Thanks for those suggestions. I did see both of those ads for s700s, which is what got me thinking about maybe going used. Is the older s700 better than both the newer s303 yami and the NAD?
Dystoria Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 (edited) As others have said, there are a lot of excellent cd players / transports that get listed. I recently picked up a mint Oppo 103 for $300 on SNA - absolute bargain. Granted, I was very patient but definitely worth the wait. Edited September 30, 2024 by Dystoria 1
Ian McP Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 New Silcron cd player debuts at Stereonet show in two weeks. Fully featured and a very reasonable $399.
DazzS Posted September 30, 2024 Author Posted September 30, 2024 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Ian McP said: New Silcron cd player debuts at Stereonet show in two weeks. Fully featured and a very reasonable $399. Thanks mate. I did see that on the main pages and it does look quite interesting and it's a bit cheaper than the basic yamaha (even though i wouldn'treally need the usb input or headphone amp). If I'm being fussy though I also do prefer black and standard width to match my other components visually (though aesthetics wouldn't be my no.1 priority)! I will add it to my 'maybe' list though. Edited September 30, 2024 by DazzS
Snoopy8 Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 1 hour ago, DazzS said: Is the older s700 better than both the newer s303 yami and the NAD? It is much better to get an older higher end model than a new one, which is built to a price. DAC chips are cheap and putting a higher end one in a cheap CD player is a marketing trick because it is severely handicapped by a cheap transport and even cheaper analog circuitry. 1
DazzS Posted September 30, 2024 Author Posted September 30, 2024 Thanks mate, that makes sense. Being new to all this I find can make it tricky to compare the value in older and newer gear, given tech changes, inflation factors etc. So I do appreciate the advice. 1
shailesh Posted September 30, 2024 Posted September 30, 2024 (edited) On 30/09/2024 at 2:20 PM, DazzS said: Hi folks, I've just gotten into hifi this year and am building a 2.1 system. I'm mainly using usb with flacs (most ripped from cds and some downloaded from qobuz) and streaming from qobuz. However I've been slowly rebuilding my cd collection and am looking to potentially add a cd player. I'll probably still mainly use usb for ease of daily use, but like the idea of having a cd player for dedicated listening sessions and nostalgia as I still like physical media. For this reason and because I have a limited budget, I'm only looking to go 'entry level', but preferably still quality from a known brand. Anyway, for various reasons I won't go into, I've narrowed down to these 3 options and would very much appreciate advice about which would be best: - new NAD C538 (best price about $635 AU) - new Yamaha CDS-303 (best price about $500 AU) - used Yamaha CDS-700 (seem to be a few around for around $250-400). Note: Quality of internal dac and other features like usb playback are not really that important as I have other solutions for these in my system. I would recommend an older player with the tda1541 chipset. Many brands used them in the 80s and 90s eg marantz, arcam used them. These have a coherent musical sound. Factor in a proper service (belt and laser) so try to pickup something around $300 with $300 for laser replacement (typically good for 10 years). Of the new players the Rega units (old or new) sound nice to me. hope this helps. YMMV. Edited October 2, 2024 by shailesh 1
fjs Posted October 8, 2024 Posted October 8, 2024 Dont know if you have finally bought a cd player but have a look at fiio dm13 not yet released but could be worth a look.
DazzS Posted October 9, 2024 Author Posted October 9, 2024 26 minutes ago, fjs said: Dont know if you have finally bought a cd player but have a look at fiio dm13 not yet released but could be worth a look. Thanks mate, I was curious about tge fiio but I ended up buying an Oppo from the classifieds here. It arrived yesterday and I've given it a quick spin on my system and it sounds great. Think I'm going to be very happy with it. 2
surprisetech Posted October 9, 2024 Posted October 9, 2024 On 30/09/2024 at 5:32 PM, DazzS said: Thanks mate. I did see that on the main pages and it does look quite interesting and it's a bit cheaper than the basic yamaha (even though i wouldn'treally need the usb input or headphone amp). If I'm being fussy though I also do prefer black and standard width to match my other components visually (though aesthetics wouldn't be my no.1 priority)! I will add it to my 'maybe' list though. Silcron is an old Australian brand name that had long disappeared, but has recently been resurrected by an Australian importer. There is no manufacturer website and the brand doesn't seem to have a presence outside of Australia. The products may be fine for the price, but with an unknown pedigree, I would tread carefully. I'm fairly certain the current Silcron products have no connection at all to the Silcron turntables and speakers that were around in the 70s and 80s, which I believe were assembled locally.
crisis Posted October 9, 2024 Posted October 9, 2024 I can definitely recommend hanging out for a good second hand one from this site. I’ve picked up some great equipment for very reasonable prices and everyone I’ve dealt with have been great. Also check out the various dealers ex demo equipment. I have also taken advantage of a couple of these.
David A Posted October 9, 2024 Posted October 9, 2024 (edited) If you can stretch a bit, this Marantz CD-63 Mk2 Ken Ishiwata Edition (K.I.) player is in excellent condition & is correctly described as a very collectable player. It was regarded as Ishiwata-san's magnum opus - https://www.aussieaudiomart.com/details/649977976-marantz-cd-63-mk2-ken-ishiwata-edition-ki-made-in-england/ Edited October 9, 2024 by David A fixed link
DazzS Posted October 9, 2024 Author Posted October 9, 2024 Thanks for the suggestion mate but I've already bought a used Oppo on here which should meet my needs. 1
Balzer Posted October 18, 2024 Posted October 18, 2024 The new shangling cd transport could be good. It also has ripping features
DazzS Posted December 18, 2024 Author Posted December 18, 2024 On 09/10/2024 at 10:36 AM, fjs said: Dont know if you have finally bought a cd player but have a look at fiio dm13 not yet released but could be worth a look. The release date here keeps getting pushed back for some reason. Addicted to Audio's website now saying pre-order for late January release.
muon* Posted December 18, 2024 Posted December 18, 2024 (edited) The old Philips swing arm transport mechs are cool, found in many old players, the best is the CDM1 Mkll. Edit: although the older players likely need a recap to guarantee no failure in the future. Edited December 18, 2024 by muon*
thoglette Posted January 8 Posted January 8 (edited) On 09/10/2024 at 2:47 PM, David A said: If you can stretch a bit, this Marantz CD-63 Mk2 Ken Ishiwata Edition (K.I.) player is in excellent condition & is correctly described as a very collectable player. It was regarded as Ishiwata-san's magnum opus - https://www.aussieaudiomart.com/details/649977976-marantz-cd-63-mk2-ken-ishiwata-edition-ki-made-in-england/ Ooh, tasty. Tempting - as my old Rotel RCD-02 has for some time point-blank refused to play certain CDs (declares the tray empty) that other players and transports happily play. Edited January 8 by thoglette Added some history
David A Posted January 8 Posted January 8 3 hours ago, thoglette said: Ooh, tasty. Tempting - as my old Rotel RCD-02 has for some time point-blank refused to play certain CDs (declares the tray empty) that other players and transports happily play. For the doh, it's a nice spinner and would be ripe for a couple of conservative mods, incl: higher end caps and a Furutech NCF iec.
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