[n_maher]

So, a little background on my search. A while ago I picked up a Sony DVP S7700 for a very reasonable price with the hope of using it as a source. Shortly after it arrived it developed major transport issues (ah, the joy of used gear). Around the same time I picked up a NIB Toshiba 3950 with the hope of modding it to use as a transport with an external DAC. Long story short the Toshiba was out on loan to a to a friend who called this morning to let me know that it gave up the ghost last night when he tried to watch a movie with it

. So, if you can't tell, my luck with sources these days blows. And investing any money in getting either of these repaired seems like a complete waste unfortunately.

So I'm on the hunt again for a good quality transport. I've got a DAC (see here) which sounds better than the Sony or Toshiba so I think I'll be content to use it for a while. My budget is not fixed but is certainly less than $500 considering that all this thing will be doing is spinning a disc and sending a digital signal to Monica.

Thoughts, suggestions, creative ways to destroy a broken player?

Thanks,

Nate

 

[sjt78]

Nate,
Are you gun-shy about buying used now? If not, I would recommend a nice used higher-end cd player (e.g., Rega, Rotel, Arcam, NAD, etc.). You can get something very nice for under $500, and who knows, you may like the internal DAC as well? If you need new...I have no idea

-Steve

 

[InSides]

There is an offering on Audiogon currently for the NAD c542 at slightly less than $300. According to the seller "...a demo model, with less than 20 hours on it...".

Has both Toslink and coaxial S/PDIF outputs.

EDIT: Oh, and also plays HDCD - if you care about HDCD, that is.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjt78 Nate, Are you gun-shy about buying used now?

Yes, a little bit. Even though my adventures with the Sony and Toshiba have cost me very little it's still been extremely frustrating. I kick myself on a near daily basis for not picking up a modded NAD that was for sale here a while back but at that time financially I just couldn't swing it.

Anyway, the suggestions so far are appreciated and I'll watch the auction on the gon for the 542.

Nate