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Budget system cd options?

C

Colinb

pfm Member
Putting together a system for my son. So far I have a pair of Rega Kytes on foundation stands and a Rotel RA840b. Total cost £88. Just hooked it up to an old sony dvd player retrieved from the loft. Sounds really surprisingly good, if a little bass light.
Is it worth buying a cheap s/h cd player (£50ish marantz/nad/cambridge audio)?
Any other suggestions?
Should I fill the columns on the stands and if so what do people recommend?
 
Colinb said:
Putting together a system for my son. So far I have a pair of Rega Kytes on foundation stands and a Rotel RA840b. Total cost £88. Just hooked it up to an old sony dvd player retrieved from the loft. Sounds really surprisingly good, if a little bass light.
Is it worth buying a cheap s/h cd player (£50ish marantz/nad/cambridge audio)?
Any other suggestions?
Should I fill the columns on the stands and if so what do people recommend?
Click to expand...


Yes, that where you bass has gone! It happenened to me!

I woiuld certainly get hold of any of the marantz 63(esqu) stuff...its going to do a better job than the dvd player.

Try to keep your kit on some thing half reasonable even tho you don't want to spend a fortune on it.
 
I would second the Marantz CD-63, my SE version kept me happy for years, responded very well to damping the casework and transport, changing the mains cable and plug, and earthing the chassis - my brother is still using it today. Although modern budget players do beat it in "hi-fi" terms, it has a very natural easy going sort of sound that is hugely enjoyable. I went from mine to a CD5x, it took that size of jump to get something that I (subjectively) felt was better in every respect!
 
Just a note, kytes are bass light!
As for cd players, try and get an arcam alpha7/7se.
If you are patient you will pick one up for around the budget you have, they are pretty reliable, sound good and spares are inexpensive :)
 
There are hosts of decent CD players from 10-15 years ago that you can now pick up for a song and that will work very well. Marantz 63, Denon 1015, Rotel 965, all are now plentiful and cheap in Cash Converters etc. where they pop up for £30 upwards. While you are at it, there are hifi rcks for loose change all over the shop, there were a couple here for £30-40 needing collection, and a mate found me a decent 3 shelf glass affair in a Heart Foundation shop for £30. They probably improve on the sound you get and certainly look smart.
 
Thanks for all the replies. There are a few players mentioned that I will add to the list in addition to the usual suspects. I know that Kytes are bass light so I was thinking that filling the stands would improve things, although I'm not sure what to use for best effect.
 
Lead Shot is reputedly best, but not cheap and some people cite health concerns, also environmental concerns about disposal at end of life (I was under the impression we had quite good facilities for safely disposing of such things in this country, but I suppose in the distant future someone might chuck them out not realising what they contain).

Sand is a popular option, though if your stands are steel (like most) you need to make sure it's (completely) dry and not contaminated with anything - drying children's play sand in the oven is probably the cheapest option though I've never really looked into it. This can be a problem though if the stands aren't well sealed anywhere but the top as it can leak out. Clay cat litter is supposed to be good in such cases and some people prefer it, but whether it's usable probably depends on the size of the holes you have to fill your stands through - also probably a good idea to make sure it's dry, as it's quite absorbent even if it's just been somewhere humid it might be a bit damp. Definitely not used stuff either!
 
Sounds like block paving sand might do the trick. The columns are welded at the base so no chance of leaks, although it won't be on my floors even if it does!
 
Now you mention it I seem to remember someone recommending just that, but specifically the kiln dried version from Wickes - apparently B&Q's isn't as dry or some such!
 
Colinb said:
Putting together a system for my son. So far I have a pair of Rega Kytes on foundation stands and a Rotel RA840b. Total cost £88. Just hooked it up to an old sony dvd player retrieved from the loft. Sounds really surprisingly good, if a little bass light.
Is it worth buying a cheap s/h cd player (£50ish marantz/nad/cambridge audio)?
Any other suggestions?
Should I fill the columns on the stands and if so what do people recommend?[/QUOTE]


Defo yes.....sand, shot, anything you like.

Remember set up is half the battle.

Sounds nice straight out the box......twice as good with a bit of thought and attention.
Click to expand...
 
Colinb said:
Thanks for all the replies. There are a few players mentioned that I will add to the list in addition to the usual suspects. I know that Kytes are bass light so I was thinking that filling the stands would improve things, although I'm not sure what to use for best effect.
Click to expand...



Yes your local builders merchants shoiuld be able to do you some kiln dried sand.
 
Does he use a computer for music at all? If you got him a Lite DAC AH, which are about £80 from Hong Kong, and attached that to a cheap but half decent cd transport, it would sound better than a lot of mid-range cdp's, and he could also use the optical connection to his computer for Spotify etc.
 
Yes he used to use his computer a lot for music, but most of it was in mp3. He does have a lot of cds so to start with I'll get him a cdp and take it from there. I have a squeezebox with several terrabytes of music on a nas as part of one of our systems, but have not tried it with a separate DAC, so we may well go down that route later.
 
I got some dry sand from inside B&Q. Put some slim bin liners or such in the stand first then no worries about leaks etc.
 
Just bought a rotel 965BX for £20. Very interested to hear how good it sounds, having read a lot of reviews. So the final system which my son will be getting is Rotel 965BX, Rotel RA850B and Rega Kytes on Foundation stands. Total cost £108.
 
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