[Doublej]

Some of us are frugal audiophiles.

[maxima95]

Since you already have an AVA DAC, the player in the link below has a Coaxial Digital Out.  You could use an RCA Interconnect* from this Output to the corresponding Digital Input on the AVA DAC (*NOTE - a cable made for this purpose (an RCA SPDIF cable) would, based upon what I've heard, sound better - but for this experiment, an RCA Interconnect would do).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-1080p-Upscaling-HDMI-DVD-Player-DVP-SR510H/20370542?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5968&adid=2222222227720370542_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9008192&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=20370542&wl13=5968&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5bzsrJ2D-QIVvj2tBh0tvQCqEAQYAyABEgJjYPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Doublej]

Here's one with a display and a digital coaxial output.

https://www.amazon.com/Megatek-Region-Free-Connection-Full-HD-Upscaling/dp/B07PNMTP1Y

And a less expensive one with a display and coaxial (digital?) output.

https://www.amazon.com/UEME-Players-Coaxial-Include-Supports/dp/B085NGFWNJ

[WGH]

... there's no such thing as "cheap CD player", it's all about marketing, the millennial don't play CD and have no use for the CD player, any CD players are considered "audiophile" equipment now, they have to target the audiophile few, so they charge. I looked, the cheapest CD players are about $300 and may not play this CD.

... what a bunch of bullshit.

Looks like we are posting in the Grumpy Old Man Circle. I'll be 74 in a couple of months so I'll fit right in.

I doubt any company is getting rich selling $300 CD players. How much did you spend on your AMC CD player? You never said. I would guess $199 in 1999.
Using an inflation calculator that AMC CD player would cost $353.94 today.

And you got a good one, I found a post from 2005:
"I had the AMC CD8b 24/96 CD player for awhile. It sounded very good, but it was flakey...after several years of ownership, the transport mechanism began to read "No Disc" every other time I placed a CD in it. I think others were known to have the same issues, so I would advise against purchasing a used one. I don't know how well their newer players rate, or who even sells them (AudioAdvisor.com sold the CD8b for $199 back in its day)." ¹

Sam Tellig raved about the the Radio Shack Optimus CD-3400 in Stereophile (6/30/1995). The CD-3400 retailed for $179.99 but usually on sale for $129.95. Maybe you can find one of those. eBay has some Optimus CD players listed.

I paid $249 for a NAD 5325 CD player in 1990.

Sam Tellig also raved about the Marantz CD-63. I bought one for $399 in 1994. It stopped reading CDs in 2006. That was the last CD player I owned and went all digital. I bought a Scott Nixon DAC and a Hagerman USB kit, ripped all my CDs and streamed from a laptop. My system has evolved since then.

Currently I'm upsampling all 44.1kHz-16bit (CD standard format) using HQplayer to 384kHz and music that sounded just OK is now jaw dropping good, everything in the mix can now be clearly heard without any added brightness or artificial sharpening. No CD player I could afford would ever sound this good.

Looking at your past posts it appears you like vintage sound. On that basis any CD player you get will be just fine. Any "extras" an expensive player brings like imaging, deeper tighter bass, extended crystalline highs will be lost playing through vintage speakers.



¹  https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/55573-anyone-familiar-with-amc-cd-players/

[rcag_ils]

I doubt any company is getting rich selling $300 CD players. How much did you spend on your AMC CD player? You never said. I would guess $199 in 1999.
Using an inflation calculator that AMC CD player would cost $353.94 today.

And you got a good one, I found a post from 2005:
"I had the AMC CD8b 24/96 CD player for awhile. It sounded very good, but it was flakey...after several years of ownership, the transport mechanism began to read "No Disc" every other time I placed a CD in it. I think others were known to have the same issues, so I would advise against purchasing a used one. I don't know how well their newer players rate, or who even sells them (AudioAdvisor.com sold the CD8b for $199 back in its day)." 1

Thank you all for the links, I probably will buy one of those $39.95 one, hopefully the jack that says coaxial on the back is the digital audio output.

WGH, you are most correct. I did pay about $199 for it from Audio Advisor. Good find on those posts. This guy probably used it a lot more than I did. I don't think mine's showing any sign of wearing out other than when I put this new Neil Young disc in then it says "No Disc".

You know, the older you get, the faster the time goes, all my stuff look brand new, but they are considered vintage now.

[Craig B]

Craig B, so you are saying a new regular CD player would play it? My CD player may be old, but doesn't get used much comparing to how other listeners use their equipment.

I didn't mean to imply a newer player would work just because it's newer - only that a new player isn't likely to malfunction, whereas most older players will almost always fail at some point.

I was actually trying to make two points - first, to the question of that "reel" symbol and the manner in which the recording was mastered - that shouldn't make any difference.

My second point is that if the disc is a CD and not a DVD-Audio or a single-layered SACD, and if the disc itself isn't bad, any CD player should play it unless the player is acting up. But you'd need to do more troubleshooting to see if that's the case in your situation. Like check if the disc plays in other players, or on a computer drive, or paying close attention to your player to see if it has trouble with any other discs or not.

[rcag_ils]

I didn't mean to imply a newer player would work just because it's newer - only that a new player isn't likely to malfunction, whereas most older players will almost always fail at some point.

I was actually trying to make two points - first, to the question of that "reel" symbol and the manner in which the recording was mastered - that shouldn't make any difference.

My second point is that if the disc is a CD and not a DVD-Audio or a single-layered SACD, and if the disc itself isn't bad, any CD player should play it unless the player is acting up. But you'd need to do more troubleshooting to see if that's the case in your situation. Like check if the disc plays in other players, or on a computer drive, or paying close attention to your player to see if it has trouble with any other discs or not.

Learned something new about the "reel" symbol, didn't know what the hell it was.

I've narrowed it down to that it will play in my computer, and my DVD player, but will not play in my 20-year-old CD player. I am hoping a new cheap DVD player will have whatever the hell new software that they put in and will play this CD/DVD-audio/SACD or whatever the hell they call it, why didn't they just tell us on the packaging what damn machine we need to play this damn thing.

[WGH]

...why didn't they just tell us on the packaging what damn machine we need to play this damn thing.

Didn't you notice the fine print? "This CD Does Not Play On Old Worn Out CD Players"


Other people have posted really weird guesses which just confuses you, they really shouldn't do that.

You said that the CD has a .cda suffix in the computer. Again: .cda means it is a 44.1kHz - 16 bit standard "Red Book" CD. Nothing special. There may be a misprint of a pit and your old player's error correction is confused. The laser may be old and dim and not reading like it used to.

"Red Book" specifications haven't changed since ABBA released The Visitors in 1981 on CD. Neil Young would play on a CD player from 1981 if it wasn't broken.

Put the CD in your computer like you did before, click on the DVD/CD Drive in File Explorer.

Right click on any of the tracks and click on "Properties" then "Audio Properties"
You will see it is 44.1kHz - 16bits.

Let us know if you read anything different. Surprise us. And Hey! It could just be a bad disk. Shit happens.

[opnly bafld]

deleted

[rcag_ils]

Didn't you notice the fine print? "This CD Does Not Play On Old Worn Out CD Players"

You keep saying my CD player is worn out, it may be old, but I've never used it all that much, I listen to my records more than CD over the years. It is under normal usage, not frequent or constant usage. It's plays the old regular CD just fine.

It could just be a bad disk. Shit happens.

If it's bad, shouldn't it be bad everywhere? Why it plays in the computer and DVD player?

[WGH]

If it's bad, shouldn't it be bad everywhere? Why it plays in the computer and DVD player?

Error Correction.

CDs always have reading errors, the Neil Young disk probably has an error at the beginning, which, unlike vinyl, is at the center. CDs read from the center out to the edge. Look for a goober stuck to the disk.

Errors are so common that disk ripping software like the free Exact Audio Copy and dBpoweramp use AccurateRip.
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

"AccurateRip™ furthers Audio CD ripping by verifying ripped tracks against an Internet database, making sure they are error free.

"AccurateRip™ is the only Audio CD ripping technology which can verify extracted audio files are 100% free from errors, or put another way...no CD/DVD drive exists today which is able to self detect errors 100% of the time (in PCs or CD players), we call this the audio CD error detection hole (and applies to drives with c2 reporting abilities)"

One way to test this theory is to use Exact Audio Copy to rip Neil Young to a WAV file, then burn a new CD using Windows Media Player. The CD you make will be an exact copy of the existing disk, minus the errors. I have read burned disks can sound better than the original but have never done a comparison.

Because a burned disk uses a different technology than manufactured disks, a weak laser may not read the disk. Also burned disks age quicker than the manufactured CDs. I used burned CDs in my woodshop for 20 years, the originals stayed safe at home. If a disk got damaged I would burn another, the cost was pennies per disk.

[rcag_ils]

One way to test this theory is to use Exact Audio Copy to rip Neil Young to a WAV file, then burn a new CD using Windows Media Player. The CD you make will be an exact copy of the existing disk, minus the errors. I have read burned disks can sound better than the original but have never done a comparison.

Because a burned disk uses a different technology than manufactured disks, a weak laser may not read the disk. Also burned disks age quicker than the manufactured CDs. I used burned CDs in my woodshop for 20 years, the originals stayed safe at home. If a disk got damaged I would burn another, the cost was pennies per disk.

I wouldn't know the first thing about ripping a CD, companies copy right is safe with me.

It should not be that complicated. Honestly, with all these digital technologies going on for audio in the past 20 some years, I could not tell the difference as far as one digital copy is better than the other, sure, I may not have the right equipment, and I don't care to chase it down.

That's why I have not upgraded my electronic for the past 20 years. Occasionally, I may buy a piece of old equipment, like a turntable or tuner, not because they are "better", because they take me back to a different time, the time that the millennial know nothing about. Hell with the new digital shit, I am stuck back in time.

[WGH]

I wouldn't know the first thing about ripping a CD, companies copy right is safe with me.

...I am stuck back in time.

As long as you own the CD making a physical or a digital copy for a music server is completely legal.

Google and youtube will explain all the concepts of ripping and burning. Time to learn a new skill, you will feel empowered, the Master of Your Universe.

I was stuck in time too but then I retired my 1977 Jeep Wagoneer I drove for 44 years. Now I feel like Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown.

[rcag_ils]

I was stuck in time too but then I retired my 1977 Jeep Wagoneer I drove for 44 years. Now I feel like Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown.

I purchased a new mini van, everything is push button, push a button to go from reverse to drive and to park, what the hell, every time I get in the car I have to pause and think about which button to push. All the control button are so damn small, trying to work them is as bad as texting and driving. Lights come on for no reason, messages pop up for no reason. What are they going to do next?

[WGH]

... everything is push button, push a button to go from reverse to drive and to park, what the hell, every time I get in the car I have to pause and think about which button to push.

When my Grandfather got too old to drive he gave his '64 red Dodge Dart GT coup to my Mom. I got to take it to college during my senior year in 1970.
I loved that car, the push button automatic and slant six would burn rubber in 2nd gear.

[rcag_ils]

push button automatic

Different kind of push button, those you really have to PUSH, and you can tell they are pushed in. The new ones nowadays pretty much like "touching", and you can't really tell what mode you are in, you could push reverse and think that you are going forward.

[Doublej]

Different kind of push button, those you really have to PUSH, and you can tell they are pushed in. The new ones nowadays pretty much like "touching", and you can't really tell what mode you are in, you could push reverse and think that you are going forward.

I don't suppose you could put some self stick Velcro (fuzzy half) on the drive button. Then it would feel different than the reverse button.

[Scroof Neachy]

Why are all the cars painted red? I gots to know.

[WGH]

Why are all the cars painted red? I gots to know.

Grampa must have been feeling frisky in his old age. Probably runs in the family. His daughter, my Aunt Eleanor, drove a fire engine red Cadillac convertible, that car was a land yacht and she was a beauty!

[avahifi]

Actually, the first new car I purchased for my wife was a baby blue 1964 Plymouth Valiant sedan.  Identical to the Dodge Dart pictured above with same pushbutton transmission control panel and slant six engine.  Since this was before standard 3 point seat belts, I ordered some from Germany and had them installed here.

She loved the car and we drove it for several years.  With Michelin "Stop" steel cord summer tires and Goodyear special order multi-studded snow tires all around on their own wheels, it was super driving on dry, wet, or ice covered roads.

This was several years before the general public knew anything about radial tires, studded winter tires, or three point seat belts.

After several years, it finally lost the battle to Minnesota winter heavily salted roads.