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Classic quality cd transport

Neil P

Neil P

pfm Member
I'm after a cd player,.perhaps an old Sony or Pioneer, that would work well as a transport into a high end (ish) DAC. obviously the quality of the built in DAC doesn't matter as I'll be bypassing it, but the transport needs to be quality (and ideally one which can be repaired/serviced). I'm trying to avoid those with a laser mech which is no longer made.

Maybe I'm asking too much?
 
Hi Neil,

I’ve picked up a few classic CD players in the last couple of years, including Sony, Philips, Denon and Marantz. They sound lovely through their own DACs, and some of them do have (I think all coaxial) digital out.

Definitely not a major ask. Expect to pay £200-£lots!
 
Neil P said:
I'm after a cd player,.perhaps an old Sony or Pioneer, that would work well as a transport into a high end (ish) DAC. obviously the quality of the built in DAC doesn't matter as I'll be bypassing it, but the transport needs to be quality (and ideally one which can be repaired/serviced). I'm trying to avoid those with a laser mech which is no longer made.

Maybe I'm asking too much?
Click to expand...
Quad cdp 2
 
Whaleblue said:
Hi Neil,

I’ve picked up a few classic CD players in the last couple of years, including Sony, Philips, Denon and Marantz. They sound lovely through their own DACs, and some of them do have (I think all coaxial) digital out.

Definitely not a major ask. Expect to pay £200-£lots!
Click to expand...

I've always hankered after a silver Sony with sliding lid... But I'm guessing everyone my age has the same idea and spare cash so prices have rocketed!
 
Neil P said:
I've always hankered after a silver Sony with sliding lid... But I'm guessing everyone my age has the same idea and spare cash so prices have rocketed!
Click to expand...

Prices are up, but compared to modern CDPs I think there’s still value to be had. @Mike P is the man to go to as he keeps the old players alive. Most of mine have come from him.
 
Neil P said:
I'm after a cd player,.perhaps an old Sony or Pioneer, that would work well as a transport into a high end (ish) DAC. obviously the quality of the built in DAC doesn't matter as I'll be bypassing it, but the transport needs to be quality (and ideally one which can be repaired/serviced). I'm trying to avoid those with a laser mech which is no longer made.

Maybe I'm asking too much?
Click to expand...

There are very few who still manufacture CD mechs. Teac and Stream Unlimited come to mind. The latter still offers replacements for the Philips CD Pro transports arguably one of the best ever. Esoteric still make very high quality mechs, but very pricey. Older players are still serviceable though and some of the 'copy' mechs aren't too bad.

If you just want a half decent CD transport, rather than going 'classic' then the Tascam CD200 is good as a transport (professional arm of Teac). Around £220. Or buy a Cambridge CXC or Audiolab transport.

I'm afraid that if you want a quality CD transport then it's going to be a bit more spendy. There's much more than just the mechanism involved in good transports.
 
Neil P said:
I'm actually buying a UHD player soon, so should probably get something like this which could double up as a CD transport (and SACD!):

https://www.richersounds.com/sony-ubpx800m2-black.html

I haver heard talk of people modding players to get i2s via HDMI, bit of a rabbit hole!
Click to expand...

It'll work, but might not be optimum. For example, that player outputs 48/96/192kHz on its coaxial out, not the native 44.1kHz. I use a Sony 1000ES blu ray which is OKish as a transport, but nothing like as good as my disc player in to my DAC. I would forget all the i2S nonsense. That's designed for when components are physically close to each other on a circuit board, not via long cables.
 
I have a Sony CDP XB930E CD player, which is one with a fixed mechanism and puck. It sounds fine as a stand alone player, but works very well as a transport via coax into my Pontus 2. Well built as well.
 
From previous posts I got that you have a new big Denon player in packing, maybe even 2500NE. That one is excellent transport, I think, and also very quiet one.
 
gints said:
From previous posts I got that you have a new big Denon player in packing, maybe even 2500NE. That one is excellent transport, I think, and also very quiet one.
Click to expand...

I do indeed, but have decided to focus on redbook CD. At some point I'll get a high end transport (Jay's etc) but at the mo just need a stop gap.
 
Whaleblue said:
How long do you need a stop-gap for?
Click to expand...

It's very hard to say, probably months to a year! I'm procrastinating over gear choices, buying new gear even though existing kit still in boxes (due to house move). I need to decide between rega Saturn and separate transport/dac. Reading that back to myself I should just run the Saturn into a new dac and see if there's much improvement. If there is, I can then get a new transport.
 
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