[rcag_ils]

One of two CD players used for transports start having problem.....it won't play one CD out of my eight CD box set. But that CD played fine in my second CD player.

I've searched up and down on the internet for a low cost CD player which can be used for transport with digital output, all I can find are CD changers, and some don't have the digital outputs, or DVD/CD player that only have the video out.

A few single CD players are called "audiophile" CD players that cost $700 and up which I don't need. Any recommendation would be appreciated.

[BrianM]

There are usually a number on Audiogon in the $100-$200 range (Sony, Pioneer, NAD, Marantz, etc).

How about this nice looking Arcam going for $150 that was $1000 new?

[bregez]

The Oppo seems to be a popular choice for budget minded folks.    It has lots of good reviews.
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

[martyo]

I've always used a Sony DVD player with my AVA DAC. (first a changer which I had when I got the DAC, then a single player which is now on my wifes little tv, and now a changer again.)

Here are 2 current models, both with coax digital out: DVP-SR200P for $49
                                                                         DVP-NS710H for $69   

[strat95]

What box set are you playing and having problems with?

I second the oppo.

Look for some used players on audiogon.

Ted

[rcag_ils]

The box set I am referring to is the newest Neil Young Archieve 8 CD set. For some reasons, the second CD will not play in my first player, all the others are fine. I think there's something on that CD causes this player not be able to pick up songs immediately, sometimes it plays, most of the time it won't. But the second player plays it just fine.

I prefer to buy a new single player instead of a used one and taking a chance to have it break down later.

I don't like changers due to too many moving parts, I think Frank didn't like changers in the past, but now it seems like they are the only choice, if you don't want to pay for the "audiophile" name brands.


Please keep the suggestion coming.

Thanks

[oneinthepipe]

I am beginning to suspect that the digital output from a CDP/DVP, while the signal may merely consist of zeros and ones, has a lot more bearing than I initially thought, notwithstanding cheap players' noisy power supplies, EMI, RF, etc.  I notice a difference with files played from my computer and from my Marantz CD5001, which I use as a transport.

I thought this looked like a decent transport, based upon the components, but there don't seem to be any reviews online, which may suggest that the implementation wasn't very good.  http://www.pacificvalve.us/VanguardCDM12.html  Otherwise, transports seem to carry a premium price over players, even though the transports have fewer functions, although their sales volume is probably less. 

I continue to wish that Frank would consider developing a transport.  hint, hint.   


BTW, the Marantz CD5001, replaced by the CD5003, has been very reliable.  I also had a Jolida JD100 that had inferior sound from the analog outputs compared to the AVA DAC but played every CD, including CD-R, that I used.

[rcag_ils]

I think all CD players' mechanical parts will wear out, in my case, it can't find the song and play it, the display shows the selected track, but the counter won't start, and there's no sound. My second player can start the track immediately. That tells me my first player's getting lazy and eventually will die. The mystery still is, it can play all the other CDs just fine, only Disc 2 in that box set?????????

I don't want to pay $600.00 for a transport that will wear out like a low cost player......

[Tone Depth]

There are still single disc CDP units, I spent a few minutes and found three new ones at under $400 each. 

I have a 9 year old 5-disc changer which has had no problems.  Maybe you would have similar results with a changer.

Keep in mind, a changer is like a turntable, and one of the few remaining sources with rotating parts.  Maybe consider it a "wear item" that will need to be replaced eventually.

[BrianM]

I wonder how many digital players wear out because people aren't careful with them. I've seen lots of people treat them less than gently over the years, slamming the discs in and even pushing the cartridge closed manually instead of using the open/close button. My Sony is around nine years old I think and has had no issues with the tracking.

[Anji12305]

NAD C521BEE or the newer NAD C525BEE are good quality singles.

The thing I would want is a QUIET transport.  The NAD DvD players are surprisingly noisy.

I suppose what you're after is a robust power supply with good line filtering.  That, more than anything, will degrade the output from your digital section.

[sueata1]

Maybe all that machine needs is a good cleaning.
Take the top cover off and Very gently clean the Laser, Top and Bottom
clamping mechanisms with Alchohol.
It's worth a shot....and has worked for me,,,,,
Happy listening,,,
Mel

[turkey]

One of two CD players used for transports start having problem.....it won't play one CD out of my eight CD box set. But that CD played fine in my second CD player.

I've searched up and down on the internet for a low cost CD player which can be used for transport with digital output, all I can find are CD changers, and some don't have the digital outputs, or DVD/CD player that only have the video out.

A few single CD players are called "audiophile" CD players that cost $700 and up which I don't need. Any recommendation would be appreciated.

It sounds like that one disk is slightly out of spec or damaged/defective.

Some players are better than others at handling disks that aren't quite right. Sometimes a player becomes less able to handle these disks as the player ages and wears.

If it is only this one disk out of all the ones you have that causes problems, then I would not replace the player.

On the other hand, if you have several disks in your collection that used to work fine and now cause problems, then you might consider replacing the player. Or you could try carefully cleaning it like Mel suggests. (I think I've also seen gadgets for cleaning the laser without opening up the player too.)

If you do need or want to replace the player, changers these days seem to perform as well as anything else. An inexpensive DVD player is also a good bet.

Some DVD players are evidently a bit slower than a dedicated CD player in terms of navigating the disk (FF, rev, changing tracks). I haven't had any problem with that, but you might want to try out the player at the store before buying it.

The 2 Sony DVD players martyo mentions both list coax digital outputs, so they should both be quite suitable.

[JoshK]

I suppose what you're after is a robust power supply with good line filtering.  That, more than anything, will degrade the output from your digital section.

I agree with this.  Usually the "audiophile" CD players use linear supplies of at least decent quality, while cheap mass market CD/DVD players use switching supplies, some times of marginal quality.  It is of course quite possible to get acceptable performance with switching supplies but often not at the cheap-cheap price point.  This doesn't however justify some of the audiophile wares on the market with astronomical prices.

I think for the real budget price point, DVD players tend to be the killer app.  The reason is it is technically harder to read a DVD disk than a CD, so the tolerances have to be tighter and I believe the demands on the power supplies are higher too, but I am not 100% sure of that.  This means for CDs, even the mass market economies-of-scale DVD player is coasting playing CDs. 

Now, the catch with DVD players is that many of them have lots of overhead for being "universal", so they take a long time to load a disk and play or respond to actions.  The Oppo that I have it quite annoying in this sense.  It has an auto screen-saver that makes it need to be woke up before it will respond to a command.  There might be a way to override this, I can't remember, but I find it annoying for daily CD playback useage.  The earlier DVD players were much better in that they responded much faster to usual commands.  I prefer my older pioneer DVD player for transport use to my Oppo for this reason.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

[WGH]

I've always used a Sony DVD player with my AVA DAC. (first a changer which I had when I got the DAC, then a single player which is now on my wifes little tv, and now a changer again.)

Here are 2 current models, both with coax digital out: DVP-SR200P for $49
                                                                         DVP-NS710H for $69   

The Sony DVP-SR200P is $39.86 at Walmart. I just picked one up for my shop and it sounds great running into a CAL DAC. 

Save the box so if you upgrade you then have an early Christmas present for a movie lover.

Wayne

[martyo]

I've always used a Sony DVD player with my AVA DAC. (first a changer which I had when I got the DAC, then a single player which is now on my wifes little tv, and now a changer again.)

Here are 2 current models, both with coax digital out: DVP-SR200P for $49
                                                                         DVP-NS710H for $69   

The Sony DVP-SR200P is $39.86 at Walmart. I just picked one up for my shop and it sounds great running into a CAL DAC. 

Save the box so if you upgrade you then have an early Christmas present for a movie lover.

Wayne

Just buy it somewhere other than walmart. 

[WGH]

I've always used a Sony DVD player with my AVA DAC. (first a changer which I had when I got the DAC, then a single player which is now on my wifes little tv, and now a changer again.)

Here are 2 current models, both with coax digital out: DVP-SR200P for $49
                                                                         DVP-NS710H for $69   

The Sony DVP-SR200P is $39.86 at Walmart. I just picked one up for my shop and it sounds great running into a CAL DAC. 

Save the box so if you upgrade you then have an early Christmas present for a movie lover.

Wayne

Just buy it somewhere other than walmart. 

Ouch! Too late for me, Walmart already has my money. 

Somebody else will have to save the world, Sony Style has a refurb for $29.

Wayne

[strat95]

The box set I am referring to is the newest Neil Young Archieve 8 CD set. For some reasons, the second CD will not play in my first player, all the others are fine. I think there's something on that CD causes this player not be able to pick up songs immediately, sometimes it plays, most of the time it won't. But the second player plays it just fine.

I prefer to buy a new single player instead of a used one and taking a chance to have it break down later.

I don't like changers due to too many moving parts, I think Frank didn't like changers in the past, but now it seems like they are the only choice, if you don't want to pay for the "audiophile" name brands.


Please keep the suggestion coming.

Thanks

I had a feeling you were talking about the Neil Young Archives Box Set.  The reason this may be of issue is that over at the Steve Hoffman boards there have been many complaints that many of the CDs in the CD box set version had glue on the playing surfaces left there during the packaging process.  There were others that had similar problems.

Have a good look at the CD in question and see if there is any glue residue on the playing surface.  This is what may be causing your problem and there may be no need to buy a new CD player.

It is a known problem and if that is the case they are sending out replacement CDs.

Ted
 

[rcag_ils]

strat95, I found out about the glue myself without reading the message board ( do you have the link, so I can read it?)

When I tried to get the CDs out the packages, I found that there were at least half of them got glued onto the packages. Obviously, the druggie shoved the CDs into the packages when the glue was still wet inside (I've never like the green idea of using paper sleeves instead of the plastic jewel cases.) Yes, there are indeed glue on at least 4 of the 8 CDs. 

I took the boxset back to the store and they did the exchage. I inspected the second boxset right in the store, and only found one of the CDs had a little glue on the edge, but the glue didn't make it to the playing surface. I had the store clerk tested that CD, he came back and told me it played just fine. He tested it in the back so I did not witness it.

After I got the boxset home, I play each CD on my first player, and guess what, it got worse. My player could play three CD out of eight in the first boxset, now it can only barely play one. And boxset number 2 doesn't have any glue on the CDs.

However, my second CD player can play all of them with no problem.  Does it mean that my first player can't track as well as the second player? If that's the case, does it mean that it doesn't sound as good as the second player?