[h3nG]

have any of you heard this?

my uncle is about to give this to me and i was wondering if it's complete crap compared to the stuff that's avaiable now.

i cant seem to find anything on it, being really old and all. here's one quote i got from soundstage.com:

"The Magnavox CDB-650, a top recommendation of the audiophile press at the time, was the source."

if it was the top recommendation then, how would it compare to the players now in term of sound quality? like would it suck if compared to lets say the toshiba 3950? or is it still pretty decent. i've actually never really heard or had any cd player so cant really know.

hope someone cant help, thanks!

 

[Duncan]

Nope, Sorry...

Even sat here with a huge list of Philips (Magnavox) PDF files for all things CD player, I can't find that one... nearest I can find is the CD634 from Philips... is it definetly a 650? if so... pass?

 

[Duncan]

Wow...

This has impressed me... not so much that I have an answer about its sound quality or anything, but just ran a google search, which highlighted that one of the members here has one already...

might well be worth sending jamont a PM asking for impressions

 

[h3nG]

jeez duncan, you're always so damn helpful! thanks!

it's definitely a 650, and i will be sending a pm to jamont for an evaluation.

again, thanks.

 

[Duncan]

No problem h3nG

One thing I can tell you is that its from 1987, and uses a TDA1541 (cheap, but very effective) DAC... You'll have to let us know what you think, incase this is another player from under the Philips umbrella that deserves to be reborn, like the CD850 that a couple of us now have

Cheers

Duncan

 

[ppl]

I have one of these oldies but goodies the CDP-503 and it Rocks. The 650 is older and cost more when new so it might not be the same, however all those old Phillips 16 Bit DCP's are verry Dynamic and can be moded by paralelling DAC Chips and Bypassing the Op amp I/V convertor. I replaced the LM-833 Op Amps with AD-827 and removed the output DC Blocking cap and balanced out the 2 Volts DC on the output.

 

[fredpb]

I had a CDB650 until just a month or two ago. Drive gave out. It was top notch for it's time. Dual DACs and lots of features.

It is not "crap". Just listen to it. If it sounds good, use it!

 

[jamont]

I have one of these, bought new in the late '80s when it was hot stuff. It sounded good then and now. Mine still works fine, the build quality was good for a mass market item. I use this player in my workroom, for testing new gear and general listening. I have a Sony NS500V downstairs, they're of comparable quality to my ears. If the unit you are considering is in good working order, go for it, it's not crap by any means.

In its day, the 650 was well regarded by the audio community. There was an article in Audio, also in the late '80s, that suggested some mods, along the lines of what ppl has mentioned (I think Walt Jung was a contributor, my copy is long gone). You might enjoy trying them.

 

[h3nG]

thanks a lot for all the feedbacks...

i am excited, cause i am getting it for free. i am going to pick it up once he finds the power connector for it. cant wait to try it out, should be able to get it by next weekend. thanks alot guys!

 

[mkmelt]

The Magnavox 650 is one of the better single-disk CD players from the 80s. This was designed by Philips and featured a fairly heavy duty transport for a consumer player.

There is a fair amount of information on this player on the Audio Asylum Vintage Audio forum. This is not the only 80s Magnavox CD player with good sound, but it does have a following and one recently sold on eBay for more than $100.

If you can't locate the detachable two-prong Philips power cord, Radio Shack has these.

Out of curiousity I recently purchased a Magnavox/Philips CDB 482 player. This player featured dual 16 bit converters. Overall it had a nice warm sound, very analog like in most respects. When compared to my Denon 1500 the Denon had slightly better bass response, but the Magnavox player was a close second.

Anyone looking for an inexpensive CD player would be wise to seek out these older Magnavox players.

 

[bangdon12]

"The Magnavox CDB-650, a top recommendation of the audiophile press at the time, was the source."

if it was the top recommendation then, how would it compare to the players now in term of sound quality? like would it suck if compared to lets say the toshiba 3950? or is it still pretty decent. i've actually never really heard or had any cd player so cant really know.

hope someone cant help, thanks!

I had a 10,000 dollar sound system and was a real audio file after many many times of comparing my Denon costing a $1000.00 bucks and this Magnavox CDB-650 a could not hear a difference in sound which really bothered me until I accepted it was a very good sounding player and I compared later models of Magnavox the Magnavox CDB-650 sounded the best .
Maybe you will never see this ohh well , would of been nice to chatted with you .
bangdon12

 

[1UP]

I had the Philips CD-650 on which it's based; sounded really good! Very fun and unrefined in a good way; kind of like a Grado sound, but from a CDP.

There were also lots of mods documented in the Pooge Chronicles.

It whets my appetite for a TDA1541 dac

 

[zowie]

I bought one new in 1988. It broke less than two years later. It was well known as about the best sounding cd player available through mass-market channels, and the guts were used for "high end" players with better analogue output sections, better chassis. I can't really tell you how it compares because all the rest of my system back then was mid-fi. I can tell you that the CD player I replaced it with cost more and sounded worse.

It is NOT complete crap. If it's free, go for it. But I'd think a reasonably priced Marantz today would beat it handily.