[DougGreenberg]

I have been vainly trying to coax decent sound out of what apparently is a loser combination: Sennheiser HD-600's powered by a Headroom Little More Power amp attached to a (here's the real loser part) portable cd player. The results were pretty sorry, so someone in these forums finally suggested that I try the headphone and amp with a full-sized cd player. I have one in my living room, an old Sony (it has a really low model number, so it's truly ancient). The sound was MUCH better than I had experienced with the PCDP, and it certainly demonstrated that a full-sized component cd player provides a more robust signal to the headphone amp than can a portable.

But my real wish has been for a little headphone system that I can use in the bedroom, i.e., with the components located on the nightstand next to the bed.

So: I am wondering if there are any "good" (not necessarily "the best," which I can't possibly afford) basic cd players that have a small footprint. A regular-sized component cd unit is just too large for this purpose. Something with good sound is what I'm looking for, of course. Any suggestions? (Various price levels are ok; I'm learning here).

 

[gtortorella]

Tough question...the only current half-chassis CD player of which I am aware is the Audio Analogue Primo. It is, indeed, about half the width of a standard player. It runs, I believe, $799 retail. A friend has told me it sounds good. It has a hard-wired power cable (non-detachable).

You may also check the used market for some older players--even separates, perhaps. CAL made the Delta transport and Sigma DAC some years ago. These are fine pieces, even today. They are true half-chassis designs (8.5" wide). I heard them in a seminar years back, and they sounded great. I imagine one could stack them on a nightstand. They range between $200-$275 each used, depending on condition. I have even considered going with these more recently, but lost interest when I could not find any in strong 8/10 or better condition. I have always liked separates. Congrats on your 100th post!

 

[elnero]

The Eastern Electric MiniMax might fit the bill, it's a 3/4 sized unit with a tube output stage and also has a fairly decent headamp built right in. New pricing is $1050 but I've seen them go for quite a bit cheaper used. The Cyrus CD players are also smaller chassis' as well but I don't know much about them.

 

[clarke68]

I auditioned a Musical Fidelity X-RAYv3 in an audio shop over on the peninsula for a few hours and loved it...noticable improvement over my Rotel DAC that I brought into the shop to compare. They're about a grand new, which I certainly wouldn't call a bargain.

Tivoli audio, makers of the highly-regarded table radios, also makes a CD player. I haven't heard it, but for $200 it might fit your "good (not necessarily the best)" aesthetic well.

Teac makes some smaller DVD/CD players: the DV-L800 and the DV-H550. Again, I don't know anything about them but at around 11" wide, they're probably the largest of the options I'm mentioned here.

My favorite solution (if you're okay with adding a 2nd box): an old NEC 602 ($30 on eBay) and the small footprint, budget DAC of your choice.

 

[Boognish]

Linn also make some smaller cd players. Not sure of the exact price, but I would imgaine the are fairly expensive.

 

[lini]

In addition to Audio Analogue and MF, Cyrus also makes some high quality cdps with small footprint. A tad bigger, but still smaller than usual is the Quad 99 CD-P. For considerably less money, I'd recommend to check the Teac PD-H300(mkII).

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Totally forgot another recent contender: Onkyo has also released a new small cdp a couple of months ago - the C-733.

 

[drarthurwells]

The Eastsound E5 is your best bet for $3000 or less - cost only $750. But its big and heavy.

At the other extreme of size, the iRiver IMP series PCDP is great sound for the money (about $70 used for a nice IMP 400 or IMP350). Lined out to a good amp and headphone the iRiver PCDP gives a nice clean sound that competes with low priced home CDPs, and is very small in size. Used with the BLAudio LP-1 amp ($330) and Etymotic 4S canal phones ($200), you have a great low cost system.

 

[ShaolinRasta]

I've currently got two mini-rigs hooked up bedside: 1) CAL Delta transport to Grace 901 dac/amp (total footprint: 9" x 12") and 2) D-303 vintage pcdp line out to Perreaux SHX-1 amp (total footprint: 8.5" x 6").

Not surprisingly, the CAL/Grace duo is reference quality, but the Perreaux holds its own as a sweet and mellow nighttime listen at a budget price. Don't be too quick to write off pcdp's as decent line out performers (provided you can find one of the good ones).

 

[DougGreenberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells The Eastsound E5 is your best bet for $3000 or less - cost only $750. But its big and heavy. At the other extreme of size, the iRiver IMP series PCDP is great sound for the money (about $70 used for a nice IMP 400 or IMP350). Lined out to a good amp and headphone the iRiver PCDP gives a nice clean sound that competes with low priced home CDPs, and is very small in size. Used with the BLAudio LP-1 amp ($330) and Etymotic 4S canal phones ($200), you have a great low cost system.

I actually have used my iRiver SlimX PCDP as a source. It works ok with my present amp with Ety 4S's, but with the Senn HD-600's there just isn't enough power. The Headroom Little More Power amp I have doesn't have any kind of gain control (that I know of). Maybe I need a better/stronger amp? Is the amp described above noticeably better than the one I have?

 

[micaela]

How about a pcdp or iriver H120/40 w/optical out fed into a micro DAC or micro stack? I have that set up except I'm using a hornet instead of the micro amp & sounds pretty darned good. Its very small & is perfect for a bedside table or can easily be moved from room to room as needed.

Micro DAC - $300
pcdp w/optical out - mine is sony d321 - I paid $90 for it & cable - it sounds close to the same as the optical out on the Iriver.
amp - $300

not bad $'s for a very good sounding & still very portable set up.

 

[THeX]

When i think small footprint, i think Cyrus as well... but they are pricey. Probably best check out the CD6. The CD8x is very expensive.

I hear rave reviews about the Musical Fidelity X-Ray V3 CD player. Then again most of these are players which require a serious investment.

 

[DougGreenberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by micaela How about a pcdp or iriver H120/40 w/optical out fed into a micro DAC or micro stack? I have that set up except I'm using a hornet instead of the micro amp & sounds pretty darned good. Its very small & is perfect for a bedside table or can easily be moved from room to room as needed. Micro DAC - $300 pcdp w/optical out - mine is sony d321 - I paid $90 for it & cable - it sounds close to the same as the optical out on the Iriver. amp - $300 not bad $'s for a very good sounding & still very portable set up.

The suggestions people are making are terrific. At least in the short run, I don't want to spend a lot of $$ (can't, partly because my wife is NOT an audiophile

). I do have two PDCP's with optical output. If I got a Micro DAC (which one?), would I have to get a new amp or would the Headroom Little More Power be ok? You can see this is an area in which I'm pretty much groping in the dark.

My understanding is that the advantage here would be that instead of using just the "out" of the cd player, I would be using a pure digital output in combination with a dedicated DAC, and that would provide a better signal to the amp. That would be an improvement, unless in my case the amp is really a weak link.

 

[DougGreenberg]

Ok, I looked it up, and I realize that the Micro DAC is a "proper name," a Headroom product. Am I correct that I could, in fact, go ahead and use it with my Headroom Little More Power amp? And if so, would this represent an improvement over my current setup? Would I get more VOLUME when using the Senn HD-600s? One of the things that bothers me about my current bedside setup using a PCDP is that it seems underpowered, e.g., when playing some cd's the volume control has to be turned up past "three o'clock" to get any decent volume. The Headroom Little More Power doesn't have a "gain control" that I can discern.

But if I could get a discernible improvement in my setup for $299 I would consider it strongly as a short-term move.

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougGreenberg I actually have used my iRiver SlimX PCDP as a source. It works ok with my present amp with Ety 4S's, but with the Senn HD-600's there just isn't enough power. The Headroom Little More Power amp I have doesn't have any kind of gain control (that I know of). Maybe I need a better/stronger amp? Is the amp described above noticeably better than the one I have?

I have had the Headroom Cosmic and the Headroom Micro with desktop module.

The BLAudio LP-1 is a battery powered high end preamp and headphone amp that works best with headphones of 70 to 100 ohms impedance or higher. It has more power and a smoother, sweeter sound than the Headroom amps I have owned. It cures the Etymotic harshness, and sounds good with harsh CDs, relative to any other solid state amp made, IMO.

 

[replytoken]

The MF X-Ray is no longer in production, but is half-sized and built like a tank. Linn's Classik is small, but expensive. Two for consideration.