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Any suggestions for a 1/2 width good quality CD player?

post #1 of 12
9/7/11 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 

Need it to fit on top of a desktop PC under my desk.

 

Doesn't seem to be too many of these out there.

 

??

 

Thanks !!

 

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post #2 of 12
9/8/11 at 3:48pm

Hi Kevin,

 

Take a look at the Teac Reference series.  Here is a goodsound review from a few years ago

( http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/teac_reference_pdh300mkIII.htm).  I bought one of these used from this forum for $50 and love it. 

 

200812_teac_cdplayer_b.jpg

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post #3 of 12
9/8/11 at 4:55pm

I spent A LOT of time researching this issue a few years ago.  There was a clear winner:

 

Shanling PCD300A or PCD3000A (no difference, one is meant for export, the other not -- buy the cheaper, you might get non-English docs but who cares).

 

See the great reveiw:

 

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/shanling6/shanling.html

 

I paid $250.  The price is now $280 on eBay, with like $60 shipping ... some U.S. dealers sell for $350 with shipping included, comes to the same thing.  The 3000 I think has the English manual.  Don't pay $500 like some places charge!

 

Even has a nice HP amp built in, and a fine remote.  I love mine and use it all over the house.  My other CDP is a $15,000 Wadia (I didn't pay that) so I have some basis for comparison.

 

It's got a Burr Brown DAC.  And a number of mod shops will upgrade it.

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post #4 of 12
9/8/11 at 5:32pm

 

  • Metric: 365mm (length) by 217mm (width) by 61mm (height)
  •  English: 14.37 inches (length) by 8.54 inches (width) by 2.4 inches (height
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post #5 of 12
9/8/11 at 6:18pm
Thread Starter 

Good suggestions. I didn't even know about the little dot.

 

Here's a few others I've come across:

 

Audio Analogue Primo CD Player  (rev2.0)  (haven't able to find out much on this one)

Cyrus

Pro-Ject CD Box SE, Pro-Ject CD Box 

Musical Fidelity X-RAYv8 24/192 upsampling CD player


Cambridge Audio Sonata CD30  $329  (clips beg of tracks)

NuForce CDP-8 CD Player  $1500

DENON DCD-CX3 Micro CD/SACD Player  $1000

 

I have the Shanling on my list too, but I had kind of dismissed it because of where it's from.  I guess I need to research that one some more !!

 

I need to decide how much I want to spend too.  

 

I've come across a lot of Teacs: PD-H380  P-700  P500  PD-H01, h-500, h-550, h-300, pd-h600, but it's hard to figure them all out !!  smile_phones.gif  I like the looks of the pd-h300 mk iii though ...

 

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post #6 of 12
9/8/11 at 8:52pm

If you want to go even smaller, you can get a Sony Walkman CD with optical out (there are several, many at very low used prices; I have the D555), and stack it on top of (or next to) a tiny DAC, like moodlab or others.

 

See the middle shelf of:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/wavoman/MiscHeadphonePhotos#5365601938032038386

 

 

There are even some vintage Sony's with sweet line-outs (Sony has a lot of DAC expertise) -- search HeadFi -- so you dispense with the DAC altogether.

 

This is what I had before the Shanling.

 

 

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post #7 of 12
9/8/11 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 

Yeah, maybe I need to look more at this as a process, and not that I need to buy something right now.

 

I really need to add those Sony Discmans to my search.  I had a very early Sony full-size CD player, wish I could remember the model number, and to this day, I remember it as very sweet sounding.  (The next one I remember is the Nakamichi OMS-7AII.  Should have kept that one.)

 

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post #8 of 12
9/9/11 at 1:53am

I heart the Rega Apollo is going to be replaced by a half width model; I owned the original player, and it was the most engaging CDP I ever heart and could afford. However, it'll probably be a toploader, could be a problem for you.

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post #9 of 12
9/9/11 at 9:31am
Thread Starter 

I have heard that Parasound is going to do a half width model too within the z series.

 

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post #10 of 12
9/9/11 at 7:12pm

I was going to recommend some of the foregoings but you already done the search.

If price is not object, the Resolution Audio Opus 21 with two chassis stacked on top of one another has small foot print.

It is true that performance will be compromised if you stack the two chassis, but if you stick some suitable intervening material such as the cheap grungebuster dots from Herbie audio would restore quite some.

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post #11 of 12
9/10/11 at 1:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatcat28037 View Post

 

  • Metric: 365mm (length) by 217mm (width) by 61mm (height)
  •  English: 14.37 inches (length) by 8.54 inches (width) by 2.4 inches (height


 

X2, you can pair this with a small dac and it'll definietly fit.

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post #12 of 12
9/11/11 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatcat28037 View Post

 

  • Metric: 365mm (length) by 217mm (width) by 61mm (height)
  •  English: 14.37 inches (length) by 8.54 inches (width) by 2.4 inches (height

Just to note, this is a transport only and needs a DAC.
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