Buying expensive used CD player/transp = bad idea?


Hello Everyone,

I wonder what is your say(from your experience) about
buying a second hand "hi end" cd player or transport.
As far as I know the optical block(laser) in even the best cd transports(like Philips Pro)are good for 5000-6000 playing hours and after that must be replaced.
Purchasing 4-5 years old Hi End CD player which may have accumulated nearly 80-90% of above stated figure seems to me as an absurd.
Of course,laser block can be replaced,but is it always available??(might be discontinued)
and what the cost is? + the hassle of the whole procedure.
Going for more affordable(brand new) cd transport and spending the big money for top class DAC seems to be a better idea.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.
kdbg00
is a DAC much better in terms of D to A conversion than a good pre-amp/ integrated amp?
is a DAC much better in terms of D to A conversion than a good pre-amp/ integrated amp?

A separate DAC (with no DSP processing) may be better at dealing with incoming jitter and internal generated jitter than a DSP pre or integrated - there is a lot less going on. However, "in theory" there is absolutely no reason a good preamp/integrated cannot sound as good. I suspect that a separate DAC may be the most cost effective option as the lower priced DAC's sell in large volumes, which reduces the machining costs on the most expensive pieces - fascia etc. Often the raw ingredients (chips/components) will be similar - as practically nobody makes their own chips/components for their own specific player...