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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
winoguy17
1,107 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.
slikric3000
638 posts
 
Sony 707ESD 1984
mezmo
516 posts
 
Yea, think we've identified the major pros and cons. I run a Meridian 508.24. It's really old. But it consistently sounds as good or better than all manner of fancy, expensive, and "new" iterations of turning bits into music. Its a damn fine CDP, will give anything a run for its money, and can be had these days for relatively cheap. Full stop. Yet, the transport on that sucker has been unavailable for almost a decade. So, when it goes -- and some day it is sure to -- it's gone. (And no digital in, so when the transport kicks it, the DAC's paper-weighted as well). So there you have it: you can get truly world-class performance from a used, last-gen CDP these days for a real bargain, but for how long can be a real crap shoot and, not unlikely, a genuine zero sum game....

Not for nothin', but this reasoning (assuming it makes sense to you, which is certainly a matter of preference rather than objective truth or anything similarly fanciful) is precisely why I opted for the stand-alone DAC + separate (computer in my case) transport route instead. Mileage guaranteed to vary.
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