Big source improvement using CD player


I borrowed a friend's esoteric dv50s CD player.  I could not believe the difference between it and streaming Spotify premium.  I am now in the market for a CD player.  One thing, the esoteric does not play DVD-R.  Can anyone recommend a comparable CD player in the used market that does? I'm looking in the $800 - $1500 range.  
puffbojie
If there is buffering and reclocking after the mechanism, then a $20 mechanism is going to do just fine. Uncorrectable bit error rate is very low to 0 on CDs without substantial scratches, even with a cheap transport.
georgehifi7,194 posts06-05-2020 5:00pm
Bryston BOT-1
Sorry, but that thing just uses a cheap $20 slot load media disk spinner, like this.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TS-632A-GATEWAY-M-SERIES-SLOT-LOAD-DVD-RAM-DVDRW-DRIVE-TS-632A-GRADE-A-/264547058626?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

Try going back to a real CD transport, with some cred.

Cheers George


Really! your saying there’s not much difference between this in a box.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TS-632A-GATEWAY-M-SERIES-SLOT-LOAD-DVD-RAM-DVDRW-DRIVE-TS-632A-GRADE-A-/...

And this, which I’ve just installed a new laser in for a customer, and listening to as I type. I’ve got news for you.
https://kahlaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSC01087-1024x276.jpg

You need to get out a lot more.

The difference in sound quality between a good CD player and a really expensive CD player is not the mechanism. I will state again, that unless it has significant scratches, error corrected CDs are bit accurate representations of what is put on them with the odd unrecoverable error. That is true with cheap mechanisms and has been for a very long time. Quite easy to rip a CD at single or 2x speed and see what the different error rates are, and that CD in your computer was even cheaper.

If you buffer and reclock, (assuming you have good power supplies), then you have isolated any impact of the mechanism on the output. It comes down to a good DAC and mixed signal design at that point.

That Bryston has a low(er) cost mechanism does not have to have any impact on the resultant sound if they design the rest of it properly. 
@roberttdid,
Yeah the BOT is a very simple device, not a single button on it. It buffers the read into memory, then error correction is done before sending it on to the BDP, as I understand it. I don’t know that much about Bryston but their support so far has been first class. It would surprise me if they manufactured something that would undermine their credentials.

@geoffkait, LOL
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpopcornographyblog.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F08%2F30.png&f=1&nofb=1http://