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Posted

Good morning,

I would like to buy a cd player that was the TOTL more or less 10/15 years ago.

There should be the possibility to have spare parts for laser or the whole transport mechanism.

I would like to avoid Philips CD PRO 2 mechanism as they are now difficult to find and very expensive.

I am looking to, for example:

Meitner MA-2 (slot in drive, I don't know the manufacturer)

Playback Designs MPS-5 (Esoteric transport but I don't know which one)

other ideas?

thank you!

 

Posted (edited)

Emm labs Xds1 with possible future update beyond version 3 and updates to esoteric drive.

Edited by chesebert
  • Like 1
Posted
16 minutes ago, chesebert said:

Emm labs Xds1 with possible future update beyond version 3.

Which version do you mean? V1? SE? V2 ....

Does it share the same transport as the Meitner MA-2?

 

The SE version I see it had not the slot in transport.

Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, yatahaze said:

Which version do you mean? V1? SE? V2 ....

Does it share the same transport as the Meitner MA-2?

 

The SE version I see it had not the slot in transport.

A new upgrade for existing xds1 owners with an updated esoteric vosp drive and dac board from DA2i. This has not been announced or confirmed by emm labs and no pricing yet. 
 

XDS1 is a different tier of product than MA2. 

Edited by chesebert

Posted

Likely not what you call TOTL, but I have my old Marantz 67SE sitting in a cupboard requiring some TLC.

A well regarded CDP in its time.

 

Mike

Posted
5 hours ago, David A said:

What is your budget?

4.000-7.000 depending from what I find used.

If I find an Esoteric K01X I can spend 7.000 or little more for example.

Otherwise less.

Posted
14 minutes ago, yatahaze said:

4.000-7.000 depending from what I find used.

If I find an Esoteric K01X I can spend 7.000 or little more for example.

Otherwise less.


Here are 3 new players within, or just over your budget to consider;

 

- https://soundgallery.com.au/product/audia-flight-fl-cd-three-s/
- https://www.classaaudio.com.au/cd-sacd-blue-ray-player/2343-luxman-d-03x-cd-player-4958136010539.html
- https://www.classaaudio.com.au/dac-audio-streaming/2790-3800-unison-research-unico-cd-due-cddac.html#/27-colour-silver
 

And here is a pre-owned player I found on Audiomart. I briefly owned the Aesthetix Romulus & it is a well built and natural sounding player thanks to it's tube output stage. The only limitation is it is a rbcd player;

 

- https://www.aussieaudiomart.com/details/650163323-aesthetix-romulus-cd-player-dac/
 

  • Like 2
Guest Moon 600i V2
Posted
21 hours ago, yatahaze said:

Good morning,

I would like to buy a cd player that was the TOTL more or less 10/15 years ago.

There should be the possibility to have spare parts for laser or the whole transport mechanism.

I would like to avoid Philips CD PRO 2 mechanism as they are now difficult to find and very expensive.

I am looking to, for example:

Meitner MA-2 (slot in drive, I don't know the manufacturer)

Playback Designs MPS-5 (Esoteric transport but I don't know which one)

other ideas?

thank you!

 

Playback Designs got rid of the Teac transport in favour of the D&M unit according to the rep at last year's Toronto Audiofest.

Posted

@David A thank for the suggestions, I live in Europe so the first 3 are easier for me, even if I prefer buying used ones in this moment.

 

@Moon 600i V2 yes MPS5 and MPS3 are risky about the transport spare parts. I never heard of D&M trasnport, it is an american company?

  • Like 1

Posted
5 hours ago, yatahaze said:

4.000-7.000 depending from what I find used.

If I find an Esoteric K01X I can spend 7.000 or little more for example.

Otherwise less.

 

I listened to a Esoteric K3XD SE recently on my system, and yes they are lovely sounding players🎼👌

Dare say the older K01X would also be a lovely sounding player too, which ever way you go...Good luck on your Hunt.

  • Like 1
Guest Moon 600i V2
Posted
1 hour ago, yatahaze said:

@David A thank for the suggestions, I live in Europe so the first 3 are easier for me, even if I prefer buying used ones in this moment.

 

@Moon 600i V2 yes MPS5 and MPS3 are risky about the transport spare parts. I never heard of D&M trasnport, it is an american company?

Denon and Marantz. PS Audio also use it.

Posted
3 hours ago, yatahaze said:

@David A thank for the suggestions, I live in Europe so the first 3 are easier for me, even if I prefer buying used ones in this moment.

 

@Moon 600i V2 yes MPS5 and MPS3 are risky about the transport spare parts. I never heard of D&M trasnport, it is an american company?

Not sure you want to get stuck with a bad DM unit. DM terminated all manufacturing of their SACD driver last summer. 

  • Like 1
Guest Moon 600i V2
Posted
26 minutes ago, chesebert said:

Not sure you want to get stuck with a bad DM unit. DM terminated all manufacturing of their SACD driver last summer. 

Marantz and Denon still have current production of CD and SACD players under Masimo ownership. They just launched the new SACD 10 which uses the transport from the SA 10. They sell transports to other companies. You can buy spare laser assemblies from Encompass-Simply Parts. Brand selection is no guarantee of avoiding a bad unit. My 14 year old Marantz SA KI Pearl is still on its original transport. My SA 8001 was retired because the display died and it was outputting DC. To offset trouble I lubricate the rails and remove dried grease from the gearing every five years. I use a  Milty lens cleaner every six months. A buddy of mine had an Audio Aero Capitole SACD player that needed a new Phillips Pro transport which he obtained, installed and promptly sold before it needed to be attended to again. He bought a used Cayin player that has been going strong for ten years. If you fear failure, get a spare while they're available. Or, you could just stream and/or play files.

Posted (edited)

What about a Naim CD555. Very involving and analogue sounding.

I heard one along side a friend's Metronome, (not sure of the model), couldn't believe how much better it sounded even though twice the price.

It's also built like a tank and pure solid state. Pretty hard to find in Oz, I don't recall seeing one for sale in years.

I'm sure you'd be able to source one down in Europe, definitely worth it.

Edited by maximus
  • Like 1
Posted

Worrying about replacing a failed transport mechanism should be a last concern, in my opinion. Everywhere CD players are discussed this seems to be a major factor, but most transports last a decade, two decades... Your first concern should be sound quality, then synergy (with a matching DAC, and / or amplifier. 

 

My recommendation is to look for a used Metronome CD player.

  • Like 2
Posted

Do you know which transport was used in the Meitner MA-2?

I discovered it was a German OEM supplier, but I don't know the company and if it is still alive 🙂

 

 

Posted

@maximus good advice the Naim CD555...I think the transport should be still available today.

 

@was_a Metronome used Philips cdpro 2 mechanism, which now is difficult to find used and it's still very expensive, so I want to avoid it.

more recent Metronome used different transport, but prices are higher than my budget

Guest Moon 600i V2
Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, chesebert said:

Sad news indeed. Looks like Masimo is killing off its investments. Still, existing units can survive years if taken care of. Stream Unlimited still makes transports in Austria. If you primarily worry about eventual device failure, why buy anything? BTW, Soulnote , which is fronted by ex-Marantz engineers will have to manufacture a premium transport for the S3 if they want to continue production. SME forced many TT manufacturers to develop their own tonearms when they stopped selling to competitors. Sounds United must have got a sack of cash to divest themselves of the brands they carried. Big fish eating little fish. Sad indeed.

Edited by Moon 600i V2
correction

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