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Recommendations for CDP < $300

I'm new to hifi. Not really an audiophile yet. Inherited a nice older system but the Arcam CD92 player just died. 

I'm currently using an old low end Sony but it really belongs to a basic low end system down at my cabin. I have a couple of books on top of it and sorbothane pads under the feet and I'm okay with the SQ. But, it needs to go back down to my cabin.

Looking at used CD players on eBay, prices are all over the place and I'm a little leery of buying a used low end player which may have been mishandled etc. And even some with low prices have shipping rates that make even the cheap ones not worth the bother.

So now I'm looking at a new one. Prefer sub $300. There are three I'm looking at: Onkyo C-7030 for $200. NAD C538 for $300. It sounds like these two have the same Wolfson DAC. Not sure why the NAD is $100. I've pretty much ruled out a Cambridge CD-10 at $300 because it does not have gap-less play back. I don't listen to a ton of classical but I do some and pauses between classical arrangements would be a deal breaker.

I have noticed that some reviews are claiming newer CDPs sound much better than older CDPs due to improved technology. Not sure if this is true or not. Any reason to prefer new to historically good older models?

Anyway, besides the Onkyo and the NAD are there other sub $300 units I should look at? Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks,
George
n80
n80 OP
2,117 posts
 
I searched the CD players available here and they are beyond my price point. I have never heard of usaudiomart.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,593 posts
 
Google Tascam CD200.  

It's well thought of/reviewed and the basic 200 model is <$250.

Note that it does have a "rack mount" faceplate, which may or may not be a problem in regard to placement/appearance.

DeKay 

               
1graber2's avatar
1graber2
303 posts
 
US AudioMart is a popular buy/sell site that many of us use when we dont see what we want on Audiogon. Reverb is another website may be useful.

but you pose a tough question: 
A used CD player under $300 is one of the most difficult buys .... ever.

It is b/c one of the first things that go wrong with an economic CD player is the laser and disc drive. I had an Arcam cd player as well, bought it used, and the drive went belly up in a few months. 

In other words, most of us would never buy a used cd player under $300. We would buy a DEMO unit from a local AV dealer, or from a trusted friend. But that is it. 

I would then recommend a NeW or Demo unit under $300 or a unit priced at $500 but on sale for $300. 

my last suggestion: there are some great DVD players, high end, that make great CD Players. But they are old. That is not a problem in this case, b/c these players are built like tanks with reliable disc drives and lasers. Eg. I have a Toshiba DS 9200 that I got for $30 at Goodwill, but they sold for $2000 in 2002. it weighs 30 lbs- like I said- build like a tank. And  the CD reader is 24/96 DAC.

then I found another old Sony DVD player, DVD H1000 model, from the same time period, 2005 or so, for $40 at Goodwill. It was priced at $3000 in 2003! all the internals are high end, circuits, and transformer, the DAC is 24/96. 

These DVD players are considered obsolete b/c of the advances in Video technology, but the CD DAC section is NOT obsolete. 
Although I found these at Goodwill, they are available for $50-400 bucks on eBay. 

All that said, of the above choices you mentioned, the NADs have always been the most reliable in their price class.
Post removed 
n80 OP
2,117 posts
 
Thanks for that explanation. Now I'm wondering if I should see how much it would take to repair the Arcam. I have found a high end audio repair shop in my area. It might be worth the $40 service charge to see what it would take to fix it. (Nothing comes out via the RCA outputs but it does have output through the optical port.).
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