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can you recommend me a reliable CD Player?

F

Fin

pfm Member
Hello all

I’m back here and into hifi again after a hiatus of a few years. Kids are old enough now to not poke fingers into cones and domes.

Rather than go the streaming route or vinyl, just to be a little different I’m going to start with CDs and hence a second hand CD player is required. I held onto an old NAD integrated amp. I am a bit worried about buying a used CD player due to reliability.

Can anyone recommend a decent CDP that’s perhaps reliable? I’m in Ireland if that matters, I guess not as the same stuff can be had over here, just a smaller market.

thanks guys
 
Thanks guys, checked the local advertisements and nothing cropping up yet, will keep an eye out for one
 
CD players have a finite life so non will live forever. Kinda three good options.

Buy a cheap player and replace it when or if it dies.

Buy a player with really good support. Rega = lifetime warranty.

Buy a good DAC then feed it with whatever disk player is handy. Has the plus of getting sound from any other digital device you have.

Budget?
 
Alternatives to rotel, and I listened to them back to back when I bought mine, are denon 1015 and marantz 63. All sound great, my preference is the order given. My dad now uses mine, 25 years on it's just fine.
 
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Philips CD502. Fugly as a fugly anything & of lightweight plastic construction. I'd call them indestructible & they even sound ok. They handle CDRs. I have two of these decks from the early 90s but have never needed the backup that was shipped to me in the most rudimentary fashion. They don't even have laser locks. Here, they can be had for nearly nothing,
 
CD players are mechanical beasts and all will eventually fail...
Definitely not something I would consider buying 2nd hand.

I still have 22 linear meters of shelving crammed with CDs but never actually take them out to play - they're all ripped to the NAS :)

As for long term reliability, I've found DVD and BLURAY players to be superior - Cambridge 540 DVD, 1st gen CXU (the one with separate phonos for stereo and 5.1) and cheap Samsung BLURAY. On the plus side, they tend to be more tolerant of damaged discs and on the minus side they can be annoying slow at recognizing what sort of disc they've been given..
 
I regularly lens clean my CD players as a bit of preventative maintenance.

I still have many CD players. My experience.

Rotel RCD965BX is reliable but be careful of buttons falling off. Sounds great and a brilliant transport.

Marantz are reliable but the drawer gear wheel mechanism crumbles. Luckily easy and cheap to repair. I have 3 and all still play fine but all needed this repair.
Same for Philips.

I have 3 Arcams in the classifieds. 2 are working fine but one doesn't power up. Could be a simple fix.

Never had an issue with cheaper Sony CD players but my X33ES is waiting to get to @Mike P for some leaking capacitors. Built really well though and utterly brilliant.

Technics seem bulletproof.
I have 4 and all still work with no intervention.
Find a SL-PS900 (I have 2) and both work beautifully. Amazing build quality and the sound is equal to my Sony ES.
 
Fin said:
Hello all

I’m back here and into hifi again after a hiatus of a few years. Kids are old enough now to not poke fingers into cones and domes.

Rather than go the streaming route or vinyl, just to be a little different I’m going to start with CDs and hence a second hand CD player is required. I held onto an old NAD integrated amp. I am a bit worried about buying a used CD player due to reliability.

Can anyone recommend a decent CDP that’s perhaps reliable? I’m in Ireland if that matters, I guess not as the same stuff can be had over here, just a smaller market.

thanks guys
Click to expand...
It’s the luck of the draw. You could buy a brand new £3000 CD player and it could die shortly after warranty ends and the manufacturer may not be have spares for a repair (not unheard of) or buy a £30 CD player from 80/90s and it will last for the rest of your life. If the £30 CD player stops working after several years, it’s not a lot of money you’ve lost.
 
uncl_nigel said:
CD players are mechanical beasts and all will eventually fail...
Definitely not something I would consider buying 2nd hand.
Click to expand...
Definitely something I only buy 2nd hand. Collect them, check they work, hand over tenners, take home. If they break, you need to find a few more tenners. The MTBF is about 20 years.
 
I bought my 965BX in 1992. It now needs help to open the drawer (fingernails either side of the drawer and pull after pressing the Open button. A kind PFM soul explained how a belt change would cure this but it’s beyond me).
My daughter inherited it around 2005 when I bought a CDX, which was better but the surprise was how closely they perform.
In 2010 she gave it back so it came out to France where it sounds wonderful, sits neglected for a few months then becomes wonderful again.
I’d imagine it’s now worthless but it does a great job here.
 
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