advertisement


Good vintage CD player buys?

I recently found a Denon DCD 1520 for a good price (in theory if you ignore the undisclosed dent on the faceplate and broken boards behind some buttons). Dual Burr-Brown PCM64P + SM5813AP and Sony KSS-151A. Very solid build (12kg). Tends to be available in the £70-150 range.
 
gustav_errata said:
I recently found a Denon DCD 1520 for a good price (in theory if you ignore the undisclosed dent on the faceplate and broken boards behind some buttons). Dual Burr-Brown PCM64P + SM5813AP and Sony KSS-151A. Very solid build (12kg). Tends to be available in the £70-150 range.
Click to expand...

That's a good shout. I've just finished preparing a DCD-1700 in fabulous condition which will be offered for sale in the classifieds here soon. They're really excellent quality players and seem to fly under the radar a bit compared to Sony and Marantz.

I also have a DCD-3300 in my personal collection.

The version of KSS-123a mech used in the 1700 and 3300 is superb. Linear motor for tracking and the best turntable motor assembly I've ever seen!
 
Another Denon battleship owner/user - a DCD-3520. Still a stonking sounding cd player 8 )
51418384872_0ec1121b67_c.jpg
 
stevied said:
Another Denon battleship owner/user - a DCD-3520. Still a stonking sounding cd player 8 )
51418384872_0ec1121b67_c.jpg
Click to expand...

That's a beauty :cool: Burr Brown PCM64P DAC chips and Sony KK-151a laser.

New KSS-151a lasers have recently been surfacing on ebay for around £200. I fitted one recently and it was fine. It might be worth bagging one now as future insurance.
 
Mike P said:
That's a good shout. I've just finished preparing a DCD-1700 in fabulous condition which will be offered for sale in the classifieds here soon. They're really excellent quality players and seem to fly under the radar a bit compared to Sony and Marantz.

I also have a DCD-3300 in my personal collection.

The version of KSS-123a mech used in the 1700 and 3300 is superb. Linear motor for tracking and the best turntable motor assembly I've ever seen!
Click to expand...

Have to say, your DCD-1700 looks an absolute beauty!
 
@Mike P - thanks!

I'd also noted these lasers appearing, so that's good to know as I'd be gutted if my '20 packed in one day! I wonder if they're refurbs/copies, though? They need very precise tuning of the diodes (6, I believe) to get the best out of them, having read about them over the years.

An under the hood shot, for those interested.
28089770805_0a68037153_c.jpg
 
stevied said:
@Mike P - thanks!

I'd also noted these lasers appearing, so that's good to know as I'd be gutted if my '20 packed in one day! I wonder if they're refurbs/copies, though? They need very precise tuning of the diodes (6, I believe) to get the best out of them, having read about them over the years.

An under the hood shot, for those interested.
28089770805_0a68037153_c.jpg
Click to expand...

Rumour has it that they're old heads refurbished with new diodes. I was also sceptical but the one I fitted measured and performed perfectly.

I can help with any servicing work you might need on your 3520 and I sell superior quality silicone rubber belt sets for the KSS-151a.
 
DCD-1700
DCD-1700 internals by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

and DCD-3300
DCD-3300 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Marantz CD94 mk1
20210508_104506 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-303es (for sale)
P1110119 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Marantz CD84
20210424_130611 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-710 (under the radar giant killer!)
P1110770 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-707esd
P1110283 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-X7esd

P1100907 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-555esd
P1100686 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr
 
Mike P said:
DCD-1700
DCD-1700 internals by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

and DCD-3300
DCD-3300 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Marantz CD94 mk1
20210508_104506 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-303es (for sale)
P1110119 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Marantz CD84
20210424_130611 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-710 (under the radar giant killer!)
P1110770 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-707esd
P1110283 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-X7esd

P1100907 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Sony CDP-555esd
P1100686 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Vintage rules !
 
Seeker_UK said:
The 206 / 207 mechanism works fine (a lovely piece of swing-arm engineering) but won't play anything outside Red book standard. Any CD longer than 65 minutes and it will struggle.

The 500 / 506 has no such problems.

However, if I was buying an all in one, I'd go for a 598 which has a mechanism that's more 'standard' (think PC DVD drive).

What can be picked up for under £400 (I have one) and which are very good are Lexicon RT-10 which plays all 5" disc formats: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/lexicon-rt-10-universal-disc-player
Click to expand...
There is a 596 available to me in North American voltages but supposedly the draw doesn’t always open on first try. Should I avoid this or is it easily remedied? Thanks
 
Linus said:
There is a 596 available to me in North American voltages but supposedly the draw doesn’t always open on first try. Should I avoid this or is it easily remedied? Thanks
Click to expand...

Depends on what's causing the problem. AFAICT, there's no common solution. :)

Meridian in the UK got a bit funny about repairs. They only accept repairs from an authorised dealer which is a pain as their HQ is closer than the nearest dealer to me... You may be lucky and be able to fix it yourself (or have a competent repair person on speed dial) with a replacement part from eBay.

Personally, if that's the only problem and the price was right, I'd have it.

Join Hitchikers Guide to Meridian https://www.meridianunplugged.com/ as they have a wealth of expertise on there and a lot in North America.
 
Linus said:
There is a 596 available to me in North American voltages but supposedly the draw doesn’t always open on first try. Should I avoid this or is it easily remedied? Thanks
Click to expand...
A tray that doesn’t open quickly is often caused by a stretched belt and easy and cheap to repair if that’s the case.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Depends on what's causing the problem. AFAICT, there's no common solution. :)

Meridian in the UK got a bit funny about repairs. They only accept repairs from an authorised dealer which is a pain as their HQ is closer than the nearest dealer to me... You may be lucky and be able to fix it yourself (or have a competent repair person on speed dial) with a replacement part from eBay.

Personally, if that's the only problem and the price was right, I'd have it.

Join Hitchikers Guide to Meridian https://www.meridianunplugged.com/ as they have a wealth of expertise on there and a lot in North America.
Click to expand...
Thanks much. What do you think a fair price in dollars would be?
 
Linus said:
Thanks much. What do you think a fair price in dollars would be?
Click to expand...

Looking on eBay, there's two. There's one in the UK at $550 and one in the US at $1300.

The US one comes with a recently fitted drive but I think it is way overpriced - you could get a G series (G98) for less than that price and which is much newer.

The UK one is not as perfect (but AFAICT working).

Based on that, if I was looking at one that doesn't work perfectly and may need fixing, I'd probably look to pay $450 but could make sure I had someone who could repair when required.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Looking on eBay, there's two. There's one in the UK at $550 and one in the US at $1300.

The US one comes with a recently fitted drive but I think it is way overpriced - you could get a G series (G98) for less than that price and which is much newer.

The UK one is not as perfect (but AFAICT working).

Based on that, if I was looking at one that doesn't work perfectly and may need fixing, I'd probably look to pay $450 but could make sure I had someone who could repair when required.
Click to expand...
Thanks very much.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Looking on eBay, there's two. There's one in the UK at $550 and one in the US at $1300.

The US one comes with a recently fitted drive but I think it is way overpriced - you could get a G series (G98) for less than that price and which is much newer.

The UK one is not as perfect (but AFAICT working).

Based on that, if I was looking at one that doesn't work perfectly and may need fixing, I'd probably look to pay $450 but could make sure I had someone who could repair when required.
Click to expand...
There is a guy who is asking 799.00 but would come down to $600.00. Reports it’s mint with remote. What do you think? Or is a 507 just as good? And what about the 586? Lots of questions…thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top