Should I still buy a CD player? Suggest one?

 

 

Are zendaella and hiddleston both spamming?

Esoteric for you.

it is unwise
U should have a  Radio CD Players

Heck yes I bought 600 classical used CDs  Telarc, Deutch Gramaphone, Sony classical for $100 showing zero wear. I bought 100 jazz cds for a buck apiece again all the big names playing and singing. I'm retired and new to this hobby and my funds are limited. I'll wait a year or so to buy a good streamer and pay for monthly access to music sources.  I'm 74 and hearing is well not like I was 20.  So far the CDs sound outstanding to me on my Canton 9K. I'm a happy camper, upgrades will come later as disposable income accumulates ( hopefully)  if I live that long. Pick up a cheap player I have a Marantz cd 6006. but hey I'm a rookie but I'm also Scottish lol.

Here's one I am selling 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa6g49-primaluna-prologue-classic-tube-cd-player-cd-sacd-players

Fires are life changing. I imagine not only your sound pleasures got zapped. Sorry. But now it’s rebirth time. New gear is fun!
Steaming is a lovely Pandora’s box. Sooooo much. Too much. Jump all over or dive deep. 
I was all records, then CD’s but for a record set up on par with a good to great streamer pick a dollar amount that would make you gulp. Yes steaming (done right) sounds that good. 
If I had the cash I’d have records  too. But the set up I’d want is prohibitive. 

Do you like Radio CD Players? A good portable radio CD player can improve your entire experience when listening to music. You can refer to
JENSEN CD-490 Stereo CD Player. One thing I love about this radio and CD player is its portable and compact structure. I am also impressed with the inclusion of an auxiliary input jack as it lets you connect the unit to digital audio players, like an iPod or MP3.

I second the CEC transport.   They just flat out sound better than other CD players. I,ve had at least a dozen in the last 30 years and the CEC has always been the best sounding of them all.

Remember always this: the source is the most important element of a hifi chain. I have changed my CD player because I own more than 2000 CD. In particular I bought an ayon CD-35, an important and expensive gear, but it deserves every penny. The change has been incredible. It's important also what you have down the source, if it's inadequate you don't can ear the difference. 

Of all of the CD Players recommended here I would look at any Electrocompanient One Up CDP.  The are musical and the early models are going cheap from one to the current model 4.  It was more musical and involving then anything I saw mentioned above.  Probably get one for under a grand used for an earlier model.

IMHO invest in CDs. I have both and prefer my CPD / Dac way more than the streamer.

In a straightforward conversation the owner of the component streaming company said to me - there is no way that any streamer on the market today is going to best a high end CDP at any price. The technology just is not there. 

Another company to consider for an investment into a Dac 
These guys were the founders of the Wadia - known to push the envelope. I believe would provide fantastic quality and versatility as you grow -  great Value! 

Exogal
https://www.exogal.com/products/comet-dac

Also Oppo is no longer manufacturing products, as some people have alluded to, and Tidal is for sale.

Good Luck

Try, if you  can, to lay your hands on a new or used Oppo BDP-103. It will roll your socks up and down. Discontinued, but still in plentiful supply in the $800 range. That way you can play your Cds and DVD and have a 4D picture experience as well. Also makes a helluva good switcher for a multi-source system, and the 103's dandy back panel will tell you what you're getting in to.

I asked myself the same question 18 months ago and because I already have a large CDs collection (I also have vinyls), I got myself a Hegel Mohican (aptly called) which I really enjoy. There will be CDs around for a while, if only in the secondhand market. I don't regret doing buying the unit. Also, call me old fashion, but I hate the idea of paying a monthly fee for streaming (and not having anything the day I decide to stop paying...)

The Bryson BDA-3.14 is a combination of a superb DAC and streaming capability. Pair it with a Cambridge transport and you'll have an excellent CD / Streaming setup.
Just a thought.

I sell and service the CEC brand of CD players and transports. There are links to reviews on the web pages.  http://audio-union.com/audio-union/cec/

OP

Did your  CDs survive the fire?  Do you have a large collection?  Are they not backed up to a HD?  If the answer is yes to all 3 questions, then it seems like you will want a CD player.  Unless, of course you are ready to ditch the CDs and go with a streaming service.
  If you are undecided about replacing CDs with streaming, I would suggest buying a decent inexpensive streamer such as the Bluesound Node2i before buying a CDP.  Try one or more streaming services—they all have free trial periods, and the Node2i works with with all of them.  It has a decent DAC included, probably about the same level of quality as your old CDP.
  If you decide that streaming works for you, great.  If you miss CDs, then buy a CDP, and use the streamer for the  Internet Radio and perhaps  Bluetooth functionality .
CD players will continue to be sold.  To many people have large collections that they want to play and CDs will still be sold on line.
Personally I would put most of the money in a good DAC that can be used with all digital sources

What year is this? We have lived in California and Arizona, in close proximity to Best Buy, and I was told years ago that BB was discontinuing CDs. It’s a matter of saturation. Are there really any CDs that you want that you haven’t bought already? Of course not! Unfortunately, the same may happen to vinyl in Barnes and Noble. I was in last week and they are selling tons (yes, tons) of popular titles of vinyl for "50% OFF". Check it out.

The Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital is a great value at $400. The DAC functionality is very good sounding, it can function as a preamp and has a good headphone output. It works at almost any available resolution and got an EISA Best Product Award. I use one in my office system and can recommend it highly.

https://darko.audio/2018/03/pro-jects-densely-packed-s2-digital/

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/pro-ject-pre-box-s2-digital-dacpreamplifier/?page=3

https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/pre-box-s2-digital/

Several mentions of Oppo, Bluesound and Cambridge which I have all three. What I can say is my Cambridge 851C is better, more refined than my stock Oppo UDP 205 but the 205 is still a great player. Today I prefer using my Bluesound Vault II through the DAC in my Cambridge 851C and since the purchase of my Vault in over a year I haven’t bought a CD as I am more than pleased streaming with Tidal. Not sure I’d spend a lot of money on a stand alone CDP but pick up a Bluesound Vault or Node and look into an outboard DAC from Schiit, Denafrips and MHDT just to name a few. The DAC inside the Bluesound streamers are decent and probably will get one by, but they’re not great but decent for the price; partner with a better DAC and forget about buying CDs for good.

@river251 

The Zen Mini already comes with a built-in high-resolution 24bit/192KHz Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). 

New Creek CD players are widely available and supposedly quite good 

Thanks again guys. The Zen mini and the Cambridge will, if I understand correctly, require a DAC. Can anyone recommend some DACs? 

Thanks, spirifofradio, for the link, will look at it. Thanks badger_erich, I'll look at the Cocktail as well. Not sure what MQA is, will find out. Caljay, do you remember which NAD you have? NAD was respected back when I was checking stuff out, before I settled in with my system.

Can I only get the new Creeks from ebay? 

Thanks. I'll be talking to my claim guy in the morning to learn more about the process. 

Sounds like a lot of consensus on the Cambridge and Zen. Now to find a DAC. 

Jim

Prices have come down on the Cocktail Audio M45 as well. You could load it with 16 TB of Cd's, it's Roon ready and can read/unfold MQA as well.

I 2nd the recommendation by @soix for Zen mini MKIII with separate PSU.  It’s the best streamer / DAC / CD Ripper currently available around $2K. I would go with at least 2TB storage. 

I can also agree on the Cambridge CXC v1. Currently are easily found under $400. Great transport. 

The CXC v1 is now $300. The v2 is only cosmetic differences. Agree it’s a great machine 

If you have a DAC you can get a CD transport. I got one on a budget that sounds great. Cambridge CXC CD transport. Sounds much better than anything you can get at Best Buy and it's only $600.00 (400.00 on sale). They say CD's are on the way out but they said that about vinyl. There are so many CD's out there, there will always be a market for a player. The Cambridge transport is a flat out steal. 

there are also some nice machines that do both streaming and play CD...

CD sounds great on the newer players and DACs, and CD's are very available online and prices often quite low...

I just started listening to vinyl about a year ago after finding my old vinyl at my moms house. I was torn about a CD player as I had a decent collection. Was going to sell them and just get a node 2i streamer. Ended up getting entry level NAD player which has it’s own DAC. I did also recently get the Node as well. Not ready to give up on CDs just yet. 

@river251 — The Zen Mini does it all so would take the place of using a computer along with all the other stuff. Hook it into your internet and plug its analog output to your pre or it’s digital out to a DAC and you’re off and running. I was thinking this would make it as easy as possible to make the switch to streaming rather than dealing with a buncha computer crap, which I personally abhor. The Zen Mini also has its own disk drive where you can take your remaining CDs (especially more obscure CDs that might not be available through streaming subscriptions) and just feed them into the unit and it automatically and fairly quickly downloads them to its internal storage so they’d then be as easy to access and play as music through your streaming service. Butt removal from chair no longer required.

I looked and the price of the Zen Mini Mklll it’s actually $1249, but adding the separate power supply would bring a meaningful performance boost down the road. If it fits in State Farm’s budget it would be a big step up to their Zen model at $2599. I’d recommend reading Darko’s reviews of both units not only to get a better idea of their performance level and functionality but also for some good general info on the ins and outs of streamers. Hope this helps, and glad to hear you’re open to the idea of streaming. I find the streaming experience kinda like EZPass — once you have it, the thought of having to wait in line and dig for change to pay a toll seems absolutely absurd and there’s no going back. If that makes any sense. Anyway...

CD players are a thing of the past.  I purchased a Bluesound Node 2i and I no longer play CD’s on my OPPO CD player.  I stream Tidal and I love hearing hi res recordings and MQA.

Don't connect your computer to your HiFi unless you care not about SQ.
Except for DSP setup.

NAD 546 is plenty good.
 OR
Buy a new Creek on eBay if insurance will compensate.

Any late model used Oppo. Not concerned about BB’s decision to dc CDs. 

Thank you all so much for bringing me into the present of the audio world.

Thanks for your sympathy too. I’ve learned that State Farm (I’ll never swtich) will replace everything I lost with new stuff...but I have to buy it then get reimbursed. If I choose to just take the money instead, say for my 35 year old Pinarello bike, they will accept the value of a new one (3K) as replacement value, then depreciate it 10% a year, up to 80% depreciation...I’d get $600. But if I buy a new one and show them the receipt, they will reimbursed me the full 3K. They will make you whole, IF you have the cash to replace things. Just for those who asked or commented about the process. State Farm came through incredibly on my damaged property. Fortunately the brush fire didn’t get the house significantly, just the storage building.

Anyway, Soix, your great post convinced me what to do. It made me recall that, even with a few hundred CDs, I often had trouble thinking of one I’d like to hear. The greater variety available with streaming will bring enjoyment that will more than make up for small differences in quality. But, I plan to buy a turntable too eventually.

Soix, when you say "Innuos Zen Mini Mklll, which at around $1500 could be your CD player, DAC, and streamer all in one" do you mean that it connects to the internet and does what my computer would otherwise do? Could I get just as good of sound quality if I simply buy a good DAC and hook it to my computer?

Thank you guys very much, now I’m going to have fun studying all the equipment you guys suggested. And they say it’s women who love to shop. :-)

I recently moved across country and left quite a bit of stuff behind.  I bought a Pro-ject Beatles turntable off Ebay. It should arrive shortly. I see lots of used Pro-ject and Rega turntables on Ebay for a decent spend. There seems to be quite a thriving market for vintage Technics as well. I see lots of vinyl records online via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Amoeba records.  There is more available on vinyl that first meets the eye for a  fan of 60s, 70s rock, jazz and blues.

For my Kpop, Jpop, Cantopop and Mandopop fetish, I have to look more at CDs.  I picked up an inexpensive Sony CD/SACD player on EBay, which will serve.

It's not the highest audiophile stuff, but as I am retired, I don't have the cash to throw at my hobbies like I used to.

I buy digital for my player/phone and stream music as well.  It's definitely more convenient when you are traveling.

IMO vinyl has not peaked in popularity yet. Been buying and playing records from 1959 on. Had a reel to reel or two. Switched to cd for convenience and I thought superior sound at the time, 1983. Did not play vinyl again until just a few years ago. Still have some imports and Mobile Fidelity. There are 3 places to buy vinyl where I live, Redding CA. But no better quality electronics than the local Best Buy provides. BB does not have a Magnolia in the store-but can order for you.
If you have the electronic gear to support it, SACD might be the way to go. SACDs are harder to find, ebay works for me. They sound better, to me, than regular CDs.
Sorry to hear of your loss, especially any pictures or family items. I am not in favor of Chinese products, however my Oppo BDP 95 was not much of a choice, especially used. If your insurance will allow, used gear from Audiogon or other places, lets your money go much further.
Back to vinyl, they were also called biscuits back in the 70s. My favorite electronic variety store Putos 96002, sells new 180 gram reissue records at 25 a pop, he also has used records for sale. He is surprised how fast they march out the door. At other forums the quality of the reissue mix on new records seems to be a bone of contention for purists. Used/new records are available on Discogs as well as ebay. You have so many good choices to make. When possible listen to the hardware with you ears, or in your listening space.   Don't forget the various vinyl tools, cartridge alignment in 3 dimensions, cleaners, bubble level and Zerostat.  Good luck and happy listening.

Schiit Audio is going to have a transport out this year. I might wait until then to make a decision

Sorry to hear about the fire. I actually love that streaming is taking over to a certain degree. I use a few shops on Ebay for cd's now and buy for really cheap (moviemars, getimportcds, to name a couple). Best Buy now has switched to a random bin of cds in their stores and it is near impossible to find anything. Their vinyl section is growing and can be found back by their home theater department. 

I too am sorry to hear about your unfortunate fire incident. Until recently I too was a streaming holdout, but I’ve converted and am very happy I did. I find the quality of streaming Qobuz comparable or better than spinning CDs, and although the convenience and flexibility is off-the-charts better than playing CDs, even better is the variety of music I now have at my fingertips. As a result I’ve got a whole new library of albums and tracks I probably would’ve never gotten exposed to otherwise. It’s like whole new musical worlds are being opened to me. So I’d highly recommend turning lemons into lemonade and take this opportunity to enter the streaming world. Very good DACs have never been so cheap, and you can buy a relatively cheap CD player as a transport and pair it with something like a Wired4Sound reclocker and get great results for spinning your CDs (although you may find yourself not spinning many anymore after entering the wonderful world of streaming — I don’t). Obviously going this route will also negate the need for you to repurchase most of your lost CDs as they’re probably already available for streaming. Or, alternatively, you might consider something like the Innuos Zen Mini Mklll, which at around $1500 could be your CD player, DAC, and streamer all in one. Upgrade the DAC later and you’d have a pretty killer front end.

Qobuz was recently offering a special $15/month for their hi-res streaming subscription to early subscribers, and I’d recommend taking advantage of that if it’s still available. I did, and it’s the best 15 bucks I spend every month. Sorry again for your loss, and best wishes for rebuilding better than ever.

Consider a DAC and digital - stream or download.  
You can get as good, or better fidelity and a CD player has a DAC anyway. 
There are many inexpensive DACs and you can try several.  You will need a source like a PC, or other streamer.  

The only CD player you need is the one in the computer you run your server software on.  Streaming uncompressed digital files to a DAC sounds the same as playing them from a CD player and is a lot more convenient.  

Audiolab CDT6000 transport and a musical fidelity v90 dac do it for me. Terrifically detailed sound with a touch of warmth. This is on top of both my Marantz sa8005 sacd player and Marantz compact hdcd1 redbook player I own. I am experimenting.....Marantz makes some really nice cd players, and uhm some nice amps too.....rest in peace ken ishiwata.
I'd highly recommend to the OP the Marantz cd5005, it's a really nice player with top notch sound for retail of $399, however I've seen it go as low as $299 occasionally on Amazon if you hit it right. 

Luxman D08u
I have Tidal from day one, I have aurender, I have vinyl. Still an ECM CD on my Luxman D08u outperformed everything.
Regards