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Anyone recently heard a vintage CD player

U

UKSwede

pfm Member
Just curious how those first generation CD players sound like these days against the modern stuff eg philips 100/101. Bright, lacking detail, etc....are they really so dead an buried. I have forgotten how they sound...

On the other hand maybe those old 14bit 4x oversampling players are not too bad....Was thinking of getting one to play with more as collectors item...
 
I have the 14 bit Marantz CD84 battleship. It has very good dare I say it PRaT and a warm tonal balance but not the transparency of modern designs. A lot of fun tho' like the lp12 is.
 
Mission DAD 7000 here - not quite 1st generation but close enough
Made in Belgium (Phillips CD 104?) & still plays most new CD's but fails on Cd'rs recorded at high speed.

I use this as main cd player in preference to newer types as it has warmth, presence & all the detail I need & is very close to analogue sounding - not at all bright, harsh or coarse.
 
Marantz CD80 with Double Crown chips is the best CDP I have heard in my system at any price. All the detail and openness you could ever want, very analoguey and bass to die for. That is why it is still the CDP for my main system and is likely to remain so for years. oh, and it weighs 20+kg and is built like a Swiss safe!
 
Until the transport died very recently I had a Virtue Audio Piano cd player. This is a modern cd player using a TDA1543 dac with 4x oversampling. In other words, pretty 1990's old school. It was pretty hard to fault overall, especially since it's pretty inexpensive and very well built. Compared to the current generation cd players using hybrid delta sigma dacs I'd say it sounded more natural and analog. It also sounded pretty close to non-oversampling DACs, of which I've owned several and prefer to anything else.
 
No, but I wish I still had my old Sansui CD-x711 (RIP). Not as detailed as my current machine but that is all I could fault it on.
 
Depends what you call vintage? I still rate the Marantz CD7 (circa 2000) as the best red book CD player I have heard and that uses the early 16-bit chip set from the first 16-bit machines.
 
I have have a modified (non-oversampling, no filters) Philips CD 304. This one really sounds fantastic! Very musical in contrast to many modern players.
 
UKSwede said:
Just curious how those first generation CD players sound like these days against the modern stuff eg philips 100/101. Bright, lacking detail, etc....are they really so dead an buried. I have forgotten how they sound...

On the other hand maybe those old 14bit 4x oversampling players are not too bad....Was thinking of getting one to play with more as collectors item...
Click to expand...

The Mission DAD7000 is very good. Sounds very much like an LP12. The Quad 67 is supposed to have been about the best from that era.
 
My Micromega Duo Pro from the (Late 80's / Early 90's?) is in daily use - sounds great. The DAC is ridiculously transport sensitive and the Drive part is going to need a NOS transport at some point but together with balanced connection into the Pre-amp they sound great.


cheers
Jason
 
Vinyl v Cd Soundstage Anomaly

This is sort of relevant to the thread & I'd be interested in other's experiences.

I use a Mission DAD 7000 & Yamaha CDX880 cd players
Both give more than acceptable playback in terms of tonality & in most cases are better or as good to my ears & cleaner sounding than my TT’s.

Where the TT wins is in the depth of soundstage giving a real sense of space way behind the speakers. This changes with the cart / stylus. For example with the SAS I can sense the room its played in so have a better picture of what’s going on & where the instruments are (or appear to be).
Both the CD players are more forward sounding & lack the same sense of depth.

Now here is the anomaly - when I record Vinyl to CD the depth of soundstage is preserved – this is not so apparent with a shop bought CD issue of the same Vinyl (although it’s there but not so easily read / felt).

Can anyone explain this?

For my future reference What CDP’s offer the TT’s / (Carts) sense of soundstage depth & space, & preferably with a warm presentation?
 
I am currently using a Naim CD2 and like it very much.

It has I think the 1541A chip set and a rather analogue sound.

I bought it from here a couple of months back it is absolutly mint and seems hardly used. It is hooked up to a Densen Beat 200 at the mo with a Chord Anthem cable which does give it a lift.

Tough player to beat but then it did cost 2 grand back in the '90s.
 
I am using an early Acoustic Precision Eikos player based on the Pioneer PDS904 from 1995. Ok, mine has offboard PSUs and a host of other mods but its performance is up there with low end dCS players like the P8i and it will see off a Naim CDS3/XPS2 in terms of prat and tunefulness with a pleasing 3D aspect and tonal colour/texture thrown in for good measure.

As I have no intention of ever parting with it I also have a 1995 Pioneer player mint and boxed ready to act as a spares bin.
 
Maybe my Krell KPS-20i isn't vintage enough then? One of the best ever in its day (according to Stereophile). I'll keep it as artwork when it fails!
 
I've got an old Marantz CD52 and a Naim CD3, both early-mid 90s I think. Both sound great, and truth to tell there is not that much difference between them.
 
Send the CD3 to LesW and turn in into a giant slayer. You will also get a transport backup should it ever fail.

What Les does to the CD3 is similar to what Tom Evans did to the pioneer player I mentioned.
 
I have an Exposure CDP. Don't know if it qualifies as 'vintage' (1995-ish) but it sounds excellent.

I disliked almost all the CDPs I heard back in the '80s (Marantz, Pioneer, Sony, Rotel, you name it) apart from Meridian, which sounded great but which I couldn't afford.
 
Naim CDI here - does that count? I have not heard better (not to say there isn't, I just haven't heard it :)).

Richard
 
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