Sub-$400 CD Player

[vapman]

getting more and more sick of computer based audio as time  goes on, so if i don't move to some sort of streaming soluition, i'm thinking about investing in a cd player again.
also expanding my cd collection again, so would be useful for that alone.
heard the emotiva units were cheap and really great for the price, don't have the opportunity to try one or compare it to many similar units.
i had a SCD-CD595 back in the day, nothing special all, there was certainly room for improvement. if i'm getting a cd player I want it to sound good enough to make me not want to use my EMU DAC anymore (very hard to beat SQ-wise especially for the price).
heard some great reviews abou the emotiva units but not a lot here.
any other models i should look inte?
remote isn't essential but would be nice.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  getting more and more sick of computer based audio as time  goes on, so if i don't move to some sort of streaming soluition, i'm thinking about investing in a cd player again.

 
$400 is a huge chunk out of what you can spend on a streaming solution like the Aune S1.

 

[vnmslsrbms]

Why not just go to vinyl?  Not sure what issues you're having with CAS solutions, but there has got to be ways to fix them.  But CD players do work splendidly simple.  Plus they are now pretty easy to get cheap since most people are moving away from them.  In your signature you're using a professional usb sound card paired with an amp and also STAX gear.  I'd say upgrading the DAC might change your mind.  It was a huge difference when I switched from my xonar essence STX card.  

 

[Brubacca]

For less than $400 you should look at the entry level Cambridge Audio, Marantz or NAD players.
The Emotiva player is $499 new. Some people love it, others feel that the transport is noisy.

Good luck.

 

[kenman345]

Pro-Ject CD S Player is a solid choice. $399 on Amazon but other places have it for a much more reasonable $299. Open Box its usually low $200's. 

 

[ZoNtO]

Refurb Oppo-103 is $415 when they are in stock. Mentioning in case you care about SACD or Blu-ray formats. Uses the same CS chip as some Marantz players.

Disclaimer: have not heard 103, but own 105D.

 

[vapman]

I do not care about blu ray audio. I do want SACD if possible but it is not necessary.
 
 
@vnmslsrbms : My vinyl setup is exactly to my liking. That is irrelevant to the topic.  I am asking about CD players because I am looking for a solution for my CD collection. I have tried many DACs and I am not unhappy with the ones I have. I have more than the 0404 listed in my sig but use that the most. My current method of playing CDs is thru my laptop thru the DAC. I hate this setup so a new DAC is no good. Before anyone tries to convince me about different DACs, I do recording/mastering for a living and as such prefer the flattest most neutral response in all my gear. Thus if I want better sound I'll use a better AD/DA but I do not own "audiophile" gear as I dislike the sound of it more often than not. The 0404 is severely underrated.
 
@Brubacca Thanks. I always liked NAD a lot. Still love my NAD 3155. I was under the impression cambridge audio was junk though.
 
@kenman345 thanks for that, looks cool, i'll try to find some opinions on it and look for an open box one maybe.
 
@ZoNtO i would definitely love an oppo. my boss has a 105D which is actually what made me decide i should invest in a cd player that's a little nicer to have set up permanently than my docked Sony D50.

 

[vapman]

@ProtegeManiac I was aware of HD based solutions but I have an ever increasing collection of CD's and don't wish to rip them before listening. I would like to keep this on topic with CD's but I was aware this was an option although not the model you mentioned in particular.
 
I have not found any reviews yet which indicated the Emotiva transport is noisy but I will keep looking. Keep in mind however I am currently using a Sony D50 with the dock into a Crown power amp on my stereo
 
As a general rule I don't do preamps in my home stereo, but I make exceptions for vinyl.
 
I forgot to post, i am worried about the slot loading mechanism of the Emotiva. I do have some mini CD singles i am worried about getting stuck in it.

 

[Brubacca]

The current design of the Emotiva ERC-3 is a tray CD player. They ditched the slot load after ERC-2. The trade off is that the new mechanism is a DVD mechanism so it spins faster than a dedicated CD mech (which they used in eRC-1/2)

 

[vapman]

The current design of the Emotiva ERC-3 is a tray CD player. They ditched the slot load after ERC-2. The trade off is that the new mechanism is a DVD mechanism so it spins faster than a dedicated CD mech (which they used in eRC-1/2)

Does this have any negative consequences other than noise levels?
Sorry for my noob-y question.
 
I do definitely enjoy the sound of my Sony D-5A through the Crown on my stereo, or into my SRD-7 for my Stax, but really would like to have something with a balanced or digital output, as I have a lot of Discmans but nothing else for CD playback.
 
Edit: I am listening to my D-5A thru my various power amps again. It's going to be hard to beat, even with a 400-500 dollar price limit. it has a more musical  and relaxed sound than my professional AD/DAs but lacks the unforgiving honesty of my professionally oriented units.
 
I am hoping to at least get something with balanced outputs if I am going to upgrade... I might consider an older NAD unit if they are cheap and still sound good (I haven't had one in about 20 years) but for the time being I am still leaning towards the options with balanced outs. That said, I really do love the sound of the D-5A...

 

[vnmslsrbms]

  Refurb Oppo-103 is $415 when they are in stock. Mentioning in case you care about SACD or Blu-ray formats. Uses the same CS chip as some Marantz players.

Disclaimer: have not heard 103, but own 105D.

I would definitely suggest the OPPO 105D too, since the OP is looking for a solution that also has a great DAC.  I'm not sure about flat response, but it's really popular for a good reason.  Alternatively you can try the OPPO HA-1 as a DAC to replace your laptop in the source chain, but that's outside of your budget.  Finding a good DAC shouldn't be too hard either, since OP is not looking for DSD.  
 
Actually I'm still not sure if the OP is looking for a CD Player to go through the OP's laptop as DAC as currently set up, or for a CD player to just go directly to preamp (or similar device).  Either way the OPPO is a solid choice for that price range I think.  OPPO is a great bang for buck brand with well designed products.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  @ProtegeManiac I was aware of HD based solutions but I have an ever increasing collection of CD's and don't wish to rip them before listening. I would like to keep this on topic with CD's but I was aware this was an option although not the model you mentioned in particular.

 
Just to clarify though, what were you thinking specifically about streaming? Internet content? I'd much rather rip CDs or buy them. If you're worried about HDD noise it won't be a problem as the S1 can do network-based or private Cloud-based content. It has a LAN port, hook it up to your router, and then you can access some Cloud apps (just check with those who use them). Alternately, an HDD server in another room (that you can use to back up your other files, so I'd invest in one with at least two drives, one for music) that is network-capable can be hooked up to the same router. The nice thing about LAN-capable streamers is that you can use each brand's dedicated remote apps from a tablet or smartphone.
 

Also SSDs are getting cheaper so that's another option for local storage, although I'd still prefer the network route since that's what's going to allow remote apps.
 
 

 
I have not found any reviews yet which indicated the Emotiva transport is noisy but I will keep looking. Keep in mind however I am currently using a Sony D50 with the dock into a Crown power amp on my stereo

 

I haven't either but it's likely a case of Emotiva getting a bad batch of transport units. Remember the NAD C520 thing a little over ten years ago? Big PITA over here because even after NAD HQ ordered a global recall the local distro was too lazy to acknowledge it. People complained directly to NAD HQ, replacements were processed, and by next fiscal year they had a new distributor. If that transport noise thing is consistent enough with the serial number batches then you could have better luck by now.
 
 

 
I forgot to post, i am worried about the slot loading mechanism of the Emotiva. I do have some mini CD singles i am worried about getting stuck in it.

 

It totally will not work - optical discs that are not the same size as the standard will not work on slot-loaded transport mechanisms, or conversely standard-size discs in smaller slot-load transports. Sadly a lot of the decent CDPs in the lower price range are slot-loading but look up Shanling - they have a small mini-CDP that stacks with their headphone amps, built into the same chassis so it all looks neater on one's desk.

 

[Brubacca]

I'm a regular on the Emotiva forum. there were several reports about noisy transports. Just a fair warning. There were enough reports that personally i would only buy new from them so i could possibly send back if it was an issue for me. I may actually give one a shot as a transport only to my DAC. It seems to be a solidly built machine and lots of people like it better than their DACs.

Yes a faster DVD transport could be louder than a standard CD transport.

 

[vapman]

Actually I'm still not sure if the OP is looking for a CD Player to go through the OP's laptop as DAC as currently set up, or for a CD player to just go directly to preamp (or similar device).  Either way the OPPO is a solid choice for that price range I think.  OPPO is a great bang for buck brand with well designed products.

I know I would enjoy the 105D a lot. I know this because I have heard one in use on coworker's stereo and really love the sound.  However, it's about 5x as much as I'm willing to spend.
 
 
@ProtegeManiac thanks for clarifying the mini CD situation, i guess the emotiva is off the table as an option now as I encounter mini CDs and the rare business card CD for my uses. that is good information for people who don't know about HD based media player options but as I said in a previous post I wish to keep this thread on topic with CD players. I was hoping to not have to explain the reason I want a dedicated CD player before receiving suggestions for CD players as opposed to alternative formats. But since this topic has gone off topic far enough already I have 2 music related businesses so on a weekly basis I get a lot of new vinyl and even more CDs. very few i actually want to keep. even fewer i listen to more than once. 90%  at least ends up on one of my store shelves as used CDs. But the fact of the matter is I want a CD player dedicated unit and will not be considering other options. My vinyl, cassette and computer based audio solutions are all perfectly to my liking. Likewise i can not justify getting a dedicated mini CD player as I run into them infrequently enough that the extra gear would be a huge hassle. this is a home system though so even though I don't want to spend 105D levels of money I am willing to spend a  couple hundred to get a noticeably nicer sound than a "normal" CD player or even FLAC thru my setup for a less analytical and more enjoyable sound.
 
@Brubacca  thanks, sounds good and i am really not too worried about the transport, honestly the lack of ability to play mini CDs has become a bigger issue to the point where the Emotiva is off the table.

 

[Brubacca]

I'm sorry if I sound like I am lobbying for the Emotiva.  I am not.  In fact, I no longer use any Emotiva gear on a daily basis.  , BUT....
 
I believe in making decisions based on all the facts..
 
I do believe that the current generation Emotiva CD player will play mini CDs.  It is a tray loading player like the Marantz/NAD.  The first two versions (ERC-1, ERC-2) were slot loading using a CD only mechanism by Toshiba I believe (could be wrong).  With the ERC-3 they switched to a DVD mechanism (the player only plays CDs still) which is a standard slide out tray, that should be able to play your mini-CDs (but I would double check that).
 
Good Luck...
 
Personally I am considering the Emotiva, Marantz, NAD because I will feed an external DAC and only need a transport.  I may save up for a Rega Apollo-R because I Love their gear and then I would feel comfortable using it without the DAC.  Since I like the Rega analog sound.