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Used CD player for 200-300

I want to purchase used cd player. I say used because I'm hoping I can get a better used player for this price than one could get new. For instance I have seen an Ultech cd player which is nearly ten years old for sale, and I have read good things about them. I thought I would ask for a few opinions. I have also toyed with the idea of using a Denon 2910 DVD player or something like it instead. A few opinions/suggestions would be nice. I'm quite tempted by the Ultech because I like simplicity, like the old phrase "less is more".
jdfelice
joeyboynj
621 posts
 
I second the NAD C542
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Just because an Oppo can play DVDs shouldn't be reason to rule it out. I have had several $500-1000 CD players and a $1000 Pioneer Elite DVD/CD player from Kenwood Basic (their high end line), Philips, CEC, Sony ES, and Audio Alchemy with Soundstream DAC (co-designed by Krell), and--purely for music-- my new little Oppo DV-980H trumps them all. It's sweet, smooth, and musical. One advantage I find in some of the universal machines is that because they're set up to decode 24/96 and possibly 24/192 DVD soundtracks, they upconvert regular CDs to good effect.

The Oppo goes even further. It can play SACD and DVD-A, and is one of the few players left that does HDCD. For the last year I've been playing vinyl almost exclusively, but the Oppo has enabled me to get back into playing my CDs and SACDs. It replaced a $600 Philips CD/DVD/SACD player and trumps it in every way. You can use it in a music-only system; you just have to hook it up to a TV screen once to configure it, and then it's set.

If you can go $100 over your stated budget, there's the new and even better Oppo DV-983H with cleaner and higher quality audio signal path. Both models allow you to defeat the video circuitry to drop the noise floor.
jdfelice OP
26 posts
 
Is there a difference between the Shanling S100 and the Music Hall 25.2 Players?

Who performs mods to the NAD c542's? I'm not really interested in modifying anything at this time, but it might be something I would like ot try in the future. The Music Hall seems popular to modify, but I haven't seen much on the NAD.
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