Cheap and cheerful CD players

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Greydogs

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Cheap and cheerful CD players
« on: 18 Feb 2021, 04:27 pm »
Hi
Could people recommend some cheap and cheerful CD players? Under $300 or so.

Letitroll98

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #1 on: 18 Feb 2021, 05:45 pm »
Welcome to Cheap and Cheerful.   My advice is get one of the better universal players for cheap, my JVC XV-523 cost $5 at a thrift shop plus $7 for a universal remote that mates well.  Make sure it has a digital out that fits your needs, some Sony's only have optical, because you'll want to get a nice sounding DAC to pair with it.  The Topping E30 is $149, the Loxjie D30 looks even better for $179, the are many others.   My JVC has a lovely sound on its own, sweet and romantic, lacking in resolution, but quite musical.  It's not in the same league as the little Topping. 

You could try a little older model from one of the well regarded brands, Rega, Tempest, Meridian, et al.  But that means older lenses assemblies and drive units, they all break.  Accessoriesforless.com has a Marantz for $400 and a Denon on backorder for $239.  Lastly NAD and Cambridge Audio have some nice sounding units around your price range.

Greydogs

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #2 on: 18 Feb 2021, 06:14 pm »
Thanks those are great suggestions.

djpk

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #3 on: 18 Feb 2021, 10:15 pm »
I have a couple of Onkyo C-7030 CD players and consider them to be very good.

Letitroll98

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #4 on: 19 Feb 2021, 12:56 pm »
I have a couple of Onkyo C-7030 CD players and consider them to be very good.

That was the one that was first on my list when I went looking at Accessoriesforless.com, but unfortunately it's been discontinued.   They're available on Ebay, but they're asking over $350 for what sold new for $250 and discounted to $160 everywhere.

Craig B

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #5 on: 19 Feb 2021, 01:14 pm »
Unfortunately a lot of the less expensive universal players out there have had their used/resale prices driven up by high demand from audiophiles. These days, about the only way to get a deal is to find one at a garage sale, since anyone who puts theirs online sees what others are going for and prices theirs similarly. The Oppo 103 is a good example. As soon as audio folks realized they could be hacked to output raw DSD files from SACDs, demand and prices on the used market rose pretty precipitously.

Doublej

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #6 on: 19 Feb 2021, 02:19 pm »
A few cheap and hopefully cheerful options to ponder:

I asked around for an old DVD or BD player and a friend gave me a Sony BD players with analog audio outputs as well as coaxial and optical digital outputs. So far the analog output is meeting my needs.

My plan B was to buy a Sony DVD player for $35-$50 with a coaxial digital output and connect it to an external DAC. You could use the analog audio out on the DVD player but the sound quality may not be to your liking.

One could also use an old computer with a CD or DVD drive and a USB DAC.

opnly bafld

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #7 on: 19 Feb 2021, 05:35 pm »
The cheap Sony DVD players have a noisy transport which can be annoying with certain music.

Sparky14

Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #8 on: 30 Apr 2021, 12:56 am »
Agree with the thrift store suggestion for disc players. Here are the ones I use:

$10 JVC XL-Z431 - a real tank, sounds great
$5 Toshiba SD-2300 - for HDCD playback
$10 Marantz DV6400 - for SACD and DVD-Audio

I did spend another $10 on the JVC and Marantz to get remotes.

BubbaJack80

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #9 on: 9 May 2021, 02:27 am »
For a truly out of the box idea try the PlayStation model SCPH-1001!

It doesn’t have the greatest visual appeal but they really ain’t IMO. I have a vintage Magnavox CDB560 with the famous Philips TDA1541 DAC (paid right around $100 shipped) and to my ears the 1541A and whatever opamps are in the PlayStation clearly outshine my vintage Magnavox. So much so that I am going to put the Magnavox up for sale soon most likely.

I vote save yourself some time and buy a PlayStation SCPH-1001 for $20-$25 shipped off the Goodwill website. Folks on EBay are charging a bit more because the word seems to have slowly spread there over the past few years but on the Goodwill website (who knew, right?!?!) they are still very affordable. Just make sure you get the SCPH-1001. You’ll know it by that model number and the RCA ins. The other PlayStation models don’t have them.

pinkfloyd4ever

Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #10 on: 10 May 2021, 07:47 pm »
For a truly out of the box idea try the PlayStation model SCPH-1001!

It doesn’t have the greatest visual appeal but they really ain’t IMO. I have a vintage Magnavox CDB560 with the famous Philips TDA1541 DAC (paid right around $100 shipped) and to my ears the 1541A and whatever opamps are in the PlayStation clearly outshine my vintage Magnavox. So much so that I am going to put the Magnavox up for sale soon most likely.

I vote save yourself some time and buy a PlayStation SCPH-1001 for $20-$25 shipped off the Goodwill website. Folks on EBay are charging a bit more because the word seems to have slowly spread there over the past few years but on the Goodwill website (who knew, right?!?!) they are still very affordable. Just make sure you get the SCPH-1001. You’ll know it by that model number and the RCA ins. The other PlayStation models don’t have them.
I saw this a couple years ago...but don't you then have to have it hooked up to a TV and use a PS controller to control the playback?

smata67

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Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #11 on: 23 May 2021, 12:12 am »
You can operate the PS3 with the wired remote control unit or you can use some of the wireless remote controls that were put out for the PS and PS2.  I attach the picture of one by x-tecnologies.  There were others, but seem to be hard to find now.




hifitommy

Re: Cheap and cheerful CD players
« Reply #13 on: 2 Jul 2021, 07:19 pm »
new sony bluray players have the benefit of being SACD capable.  pure sacd is only available in stereo but if used with hdmi through an HT receiver, surround sound can be utilized.  you just need to look at the box or front of the player to see if the sacd logo is present.  the prices vary all over the place but some models can be had for just over $100.