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Buying top brands's older CD players: Pros& Con

I recently saw an ad in a magazine audio mark for a Audio Research used/good condition CD-1 CD player; i might be able to negotiate a lower price It was reviewed well in Stereophile in 2005, but in the high end business that is already ancient history. However, has anybody ever heard or owned this machine?? Is the technology of the model and its sound possibly been bypassed by the newer CD players of the last 3 years. The CD-1 first came to market in 1995 which makes me leery of buying; I currently have a Rega Apollo, but want to make a noticeable upgrade in sound, e.g, smoother highs, better bass and imagng Thank you
sunnyjim
hifiharv
351 posts
 
Well, the biggest problem here is that the transport will stop working and be unrepairable because the parts are obsolete and unavailable. This happens all the time. My $1600.00 player sits in it's box because of this. Digital moves so fast that you can't count on repairability of older players. It is possible that Audio Research has stocked up on repacements and could service the unit if necessary, but I wouldn't count on it.
winoguy17
1,118 posts
 
Cant comment on thr AR as I have'nt heard it, but I use an old Sonograph SD1 cd player in a second system,and while it is not the last word in detail,it still sounds very good. I think I bought it around 1990?! A cd player that sounded good 20 years ago should still sound good today,assuming it is healthy electronically.
lostbears's avatar
lostbears
538 posts
 

You can call ARC and see if they still have transports for the CD1. I know that they no longer have transports for the CD2. But I think you are taking a risk even if they still have a few transports. I would suggest a CD3 or later. The CD3 and later models are all top loading and can be repaired. They all use a similar transport.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Hifiharv makes a good point about designed obsolescence. This is done to keep folks buying. That being said, I think the claimed digital progress is over-rated. I'm still very happy with a 8 year old CDP. I have heard better, but it would cost a LOT more money for a slight improvement. I did try to sell it a little while back, but did not receive any realistic offers. I've decided to just roll with it and enjoy the ride.
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