What was/is your favourite CD player

[darkstarcrashes]

I look in small independent charity shops, the condition of c.d’s are usually excellent.
(the ones I am interested in anyhoo)

3 for a quid usually.

Just before Covid-19 hit I got 6 CDs of Brendel playing Schubert solo piano pieces for a grand total of £1.20 from a chazza here in Oxford. Unfortunately they've stopped selling CDs as it's not worth their while any more. Hardly surprising at those prices!

 

[djftw]

I look in small independent charity shops, the condition of c.d’s are usually excellent.
(the ones I am interested in anyhoo)

3 for a quid usually.

That's what I said, if they're managed well the stock they actually put out for sale is usually of a good standard!

 

[TimF]

@Hoopsontoast, I always loved the look and build of that Sony player! It is big, but has that very cool styling. I came so close to buying one when they first came out, sadly, I didn’t.

 

[Tarzan]

Just before Covid-19 hit I got 6 CDs of Brendel playing Schubert solo piano pieces for a grand total of £1.20 from a chazza here in Oxford. Unfortunately they've stopped selling CDs as it's not worth their while any more. Hardly surprising at those prices!

Shhhh!

 

[Quintessential Audio]

Errr...here goes:
Technics SL-PD667 (5disc carousel )
Tag McLaren CD20r
Musical Fidelity A3.2CD
Arcam CD73t
Arcam DV78 with CA Dacmagic mk1
Meridian 507
Meridian 588
Cyrus CDXt se with DAC X
Cyrus CDXt se+ with DAC XP+
Rega Planet 2000
Meridian 508.24
Meridian 598DP (transport into Meridian 218)

Think that's the lot, but may have been the odd one I've forgotten about but that probably tells you what I thought of them.
Hardly ever play CDs any more but love the look of the Meridian 500 series so I keep the 598 around for those nostalgic moments!
Favourite of the ones I've owned was probably the 508.24 (sometimes think I should've kept it).
Favourite ever was Meridian 808 which I never got round to buying and would be a waste of money now...so maybe one day

 

[G.smith310]

Do you think it's worth picking up a budget CD player instead of streaming via spotify ? Something like a Denon 520 ?

There's something very impressive about a nice shelf of CDs

 

[Del monaco]

Do you think it's worth picking up a budget CD player instead of streaming via spotify ? Something like a Denon 520 ?

At the moment Spotify is only offered as compressed audio, so if you want to achieve better sound overall, yes. Otherwise hifi level from Tidal, Deezer or Qobuz.

 

[G.smith310]

£20 = many CDs ! CD player it is ha

 

[Del monaco]

I listen to all formats. Great to have choice.

 

[Tarzan]

£20 = many CDs ! CD player it is ha

The local Charadee shops are your friend.

 

[stormyuklondon1]

Marantz CD-7 for me, I’d never heard a player that made me sit up and listen the way that did the first time I heard it.
Haven’t heard any CD player since that’s made an impression on me as the CD-7 did.
I’d love to own one now..

 

[Whaleblue]

£20 = many CDs ! CD player it is ha

Do you have an extensive collection of CDs already?

 

[G.smith310]

Do you have an extensive collection of CDs already?

No. I do have some CDs though.

A lot of the music I like is the type that fetches £300 for a record and £6 for the CD so CD seems a good way to get value and quality.

 

[hairyderriere]

Lite Audio LT-One, Dac 83. Currently.

I like and used to own a Marantz CD-7. It's quite nice and a beautiful creation. I preferred the AMR CD77 as a player at the time - another statement 1541 player - which better exploits the 1541A chipset to my ears. Actually, for that matter, I prefer the Cambridge Audio CD3 as a musical player, or earlier Marantz Reference players such as the CD94, etc, for similar reasons.

I found that Ken Ishiwata was already tending in the aural direction that the SA-10 has recently achieved. He managed to capture some of that sonic goal in his lovely CD-7 design but for me, ultimately his goal fights against the natural audio disposition of the 1541 DAC. Passed on the SA-7 but am currently saving for the SA-10, which is a whole other paradigm of digital performance to my ears and the first 1 bit player I (a diehard multibit fanatic clinging to my 1541 and 1704 devices) actually want to own.

 

[Thorn]

Moon 260.

 

[Woodface]

CD is such a great format, sounds consistently good & is fuss free.

 

[James]

My first favourite CD-P was a Musical Fidelity CDT. It featured a pair of triodes in the output stage. It sounded fabulous to my ears, and matched the A-100 amp I had at the time.

My second fav was a Naim CD2 with the CDM-9Pro drive.

My all time fav is the Densen B-400XS. I don't think its successor, the B-440XS, is nearly as good.

 

[Ptah]

My favourite (if not the most revealing) was the Naim CDI I had for a couple of years in the early 90s. Sadly the puck kept slipping; and all I'd really compared it to then was Philips or Denon players. The Meridian 500/566 was a lovely player - the Naim CDX or CDX2 didn't better it.

 

[boneman]

My all time fav is the Densen B-400XS. I don't think its successor, the B-440XS, is nearly as good.

Interesting. What is it about the 400 that you prefer?

 

[stevec67]

Do you think it's worth picking up a budget CD player instead of streaming via spotify ? Something like a Denon 520 ?

There's something very impressive about a nice shelf of CDs

It certainly is worth doing. It's nice to have the physical object, they are easy to use and robust, and used ones are dirt cheap.