[Pangaea]

Can older models have a wear out date... for example the laser fading out.

 

[mdarnton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree, it sure measures pretty bad

But how does it sound? Isn't that what matters?

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangaea /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can older models have a wear out date... for example the laser fading out.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, I mean people are buying 10 year old Rega Planets and some of the older (20 years old or so) Marantz CD player also have a cult following. I think if it's made by a respectable company like NAD, chances are it'll last a good decade or so.

 

[Pangaea]

But some of these are older than a decade. There is a rotel and nad cd player I am looking at that was made in the early 90s.

 

[DJShadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJShadow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like everyone else I shall throw in a completely different recommendation and say check out the NAD C542

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif The new NAD C525BEE is also $300.

I've seen the C542 go for around $250-300 on Audiogon.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangaea /img/forum/go_quote.gif But some of these are older than a decade. There is a rotel and nad cd player I am looking at that was made in the early 90s.

Well I think real progress has been taking place in the last decade both in terms of DAC chips and digital filters. I'm not convinced that really old CDPs (more than a decade old in my book) are actually competitive with modern counterparts. Not to mention that CDPs have quite a few moving parts so the wear and tear (and also drift from clocks and capacitors) will degrade the sound a bit. Of course sometimes you can find older CDPs that are extrememly well priced (or are even in mint condition), but that's sort of a gamble. If it was me I would stay with the 3~7 year time frame just to be safe.

Have you considered the cheap transport -> DAC route? With a DAC you would be able to improve the sound from your PC as well.

 

[Pangaea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I think real progress has been taking place in the last decade both in terms of DAC chips and digital filters. I'm not convinced that really old CDPs (more than a decade old in my book) are actually competitive with modern counterparts. Not to mention that CDPs have quite a few moving parts so the wear and tear (and also drift from clocks and capacitors) will degrade the sound a bit. Of course sometimes you can find older CDPs that are extrememly well priced (or are even in mint condition), but that's sort of a gamble. If it was me I would stay with the 3~7 year time frame just to be safe. Have you considered the cheap transport -> DAC route? With a DAC you would be able to improve the sound from your PC as well.

I am actually already using a DAC in my current setup- I have a beresford which i really like. It is hooked up between my iMac and home amp. I suppose I could hook a cd player into that as well. What do I need for cables/ inputs on the player. The DAC only takes optical and coaxial.

 

[Pangaea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cisforchooch /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about a Sony SCD CE595... you get SACD and it's a changer. And you can get it modded.

Does this player have an optical out for connection to a DAC?

 

[twsmith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangaea /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am actually already using a DAC in my current setup- I have a beresford which i really like. It is hooked up between my iMac and home amp. I suppose I could hook a cd player into that as well. What do I need for cables/ inputs on the player. The DAC only takes optical and coaxial.

I agree that using a CDP with your DAC may be the best option but with one possible caveat. CDPs vary a lot with respect to the quality of their digital output (jitter, impedence, etc) which means that not all DACs may match well with a particular CDP. In fact, this the main reason many people still feel that a one-box CDP may still be the best option. Some DACs, such as the Benchmark DAC1-USB are remarkably immune to these problems, so that the choice of CDP becomes much less important. I have no idea whether your Beresford belongs to this category or not - if it's like the Benchmark, then you're all set! In fact, just get a cheap DVD player for a transport - the reliability may not be great down the road, perhaps, but then you can just get another transport - far cheaper than trying to fix it! Even with older high-end CDPs that you may find on ebay or audiogon, you don't really know how much actual use they may have had, and if they break, good luck - some may have the older Philips transports which are no longer in production.

 

[LarryK2]

I recently bought one for $155 plus shipping - beat several new CD players in the $1000-1700 range that I auditioned. I'm very happy with it. It's a 1992 model and weighs in at over 20 pounds. My understanding is that the DAC chip is still used in some current high end models.