[Bobbybudget]

Hi Everyone,
I'm a middle-aged audiophile, who has been out of the game for some years.  Back in the day, I had a set of Magnaplanar speakers, the pre-amps, and the whole enchalada........ along with a couple hundred cd's.
Now, my life is much, much smaller.
I'm researching a portable cd-player for my home and need some ideas.  I want to hear my classical music details, and my pop and rock booms. 
From what I read on-line, most current boomboxes are not great?

I'm hoping to learn about what's currently out there for great sound on a budget..........

bobby

[Guy 13]

A warm welcome to AudioCircle Mr. bobby.

Guy 13

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC bobby     I'm sure someone will have some suggestions.

[Phil A]

Welcome to AC!

[brooklyn]

[dB Cooper]

Welcome to the sweet spot, Bobbybudget.

First thought that occurs to me is, a portable CD player- are you sure that is the form factor you want? I used to do this years ago, and even with the most compact storage products available, the media will be relatively bulky, awkward to handle, and worst of all, prone to damage (I used to use these common thin sleeves but they caused abrasions on the discs that made many of them unrippable.)

While you can still get portable CD players for $29, I don't know why you'd want to do that in this day and age. A much better solution IMO is one of the many flash-based devices out there- you can rip the discs to a lossless format from your computer, load them onto the device, and presto, you have your entire music collection stored natively on a device with no moving parts and no media carrying hassles or damage potential other than keeping the device dry and not dropping on hard surfaces. These devices range from a few hundred $ for the ubiquitous iPod touch to more audiophile-oriented offerings like the Astell & Kern (to name just one). HeadRoom's website (headphone.com), innerfidelity, or the head-fi forums would be good places to start and I'm sure there are some good recommendations to be had around here too.

If you are not looking for a mobile solution, I would consider a docking speaker system and a sufficiently roomy iPod touch. CD's are so 1989...

[JLM]

Check out the Cheap and Cheerful circle.  But one example of a tiny, high quality, low cost system:

Small 2-way active speakers (like $300/pair 12"x9"x10" JBL LSR305 work desktop/small-medium room);

Meridian Explorer USB DAC ($300 and MQA ready if it takes off);

RCA/XLR interconnect (connect DAC to active speakers, like $7 Monoprice RCA/XLR 16 gauge, gold plated, shielded cable with 3.5mm stereo to female RCA splitter adapter);

Subscribe to Tidal ($20/month for access to 16 million CD quality albums);

Add your computer and enjoy.

[srb]

Bobby,

Reading your post, I'm interpreting that you're looking for a portable system ( mentioning "portable CD player", "boombox")?

If so, what's your budget and does it just need to be transportable (but still plugged into AC) or totally portable (with rechargeable battery)?  Either way you would need a larger size unit to get any decent bass response.

Steve

[Bobbybudget]

I want to thank you all for the warm welcome and the suggestions.
I will have to research the various types of equipment........... and make up my mind about an ipod?

I do like the idea of a system with no moving parts, can't be damaged, and can be "docked" to speakers.

If I did go that way, I guess the first step is the ipod device?  Then, I have to start my computer music files.

I'm pretty good with my PC, but never got "up-to-date" with that?  I don't know how to use Pandora, for example.
Do I just buy a program to start saving files and "burning" music from my CD's?

As far as total budget goes, I'm thinking $500 when I'm all done.

[Bobbybudget]

Thanks for your question, Steve.  Yes, I would like a "portable" unit that can be moved from room to room with me.  Needs to be able to plug in to AC and can play CD's.......... a radio would be a bonus.

Bobby,

Reading your post, I'm interpreting that you're looking for a portable system ( mentioning "portable CD player", "boombox")?

If so, what's your budget and does it just need to be transportable (but still plugged into AC) or totally portable (with rechargeable battery)?  Either way you would need a larger size unit to get any decent bass response.

Steve

[Doublej]

The requirement for attached speaker greatly reduces choice. I'd look at

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/desktop-audio/tsx-b235_u/?mode=model

If you can live with detachable speakers then you have a lot more options. Yamaha, Cambridge Audio, Teac, Denon, Onkyo to name a few. They are often called all in one, mini systems, desktop systems or micro systems.

Good luck in the quest.