2. digital
  3. 1195328923

What am I missing using a 20 year old CD player??

I have the Sonographe SD-1 CD player which I purchased in 1988. Sonographe was a subsidiary company of Conrad Johnson. They modified a Magnavox 2610 CD player to produce the Sonographe SD-1. The unit has operated flawlessly for 20 years. Overall, its sound is clean textured and dynamic, but also can sound hard and somewhat sterile or digital. This "characteristic" has been consistent through several speaker systems I have owned over 20 years. It was formerly mated to Aragon and CJ electronics until recently. My current system is a Creek Classic SE5350 integrated amp; a pair of new(recent) Silverline Preludes and Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cable, and a Audio Magic Spellcaster II interconnect. Therefore, I am curious how much better have CD players gotten in the last 20 years. What might I be missing sound-wise that would offer noticeable improvement??? I ask because I am considering the Rega Apollo player. Finally, I was told by a high end audio specialist that I might need to spend to $1500-2000 to better the Sonographe. I question that because it only received above average reviews. I think, though not sure, Stereophile put it in their "C" equipment category..... Any and all advice welcomed. Thanks, Jimbo
sunnyjim
argyro
438 posts
 
Technology on cd players changes every year imagine what can happen in 20!
knownothing
1,703 posts
 
Here's my point. I have no idea how good the Sonographe player is in question, or after 19 years if it is still operating up to spec. I do know that there have been clear improvements in clocks, filters and DACs used in CDPs since 1988 that all have the potential to improve sound quality, and that these developments have trickled down to less than state of the art machines. There are also corners cut in terms of other components inside electronics equipment that tend to offset the improvements in digital components of lower end machines compared with 20 years ago.

So, now we have machines available in and around $1000 with modern DACs, low jitter, and either upsampling (Cambridge 840C) or use other tricks (Rega Apollo) to get the most out of digitally recorded material. Worth a try to see if you can do better than what you currently have within your budget. If not, then be satisfied in the knowledge that what you have is still pretty darn good.
psacanli
535 posts
 
Jimbo, do you think you'll try some power conditioners before changing anything else?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,913 posts
 
Good point psacanli.

No point in investing in really good equipment without first assuring good power conditioning!
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
a better question might be:

"what am i missing using a current cd player" ?

both questions are rather ambiguous, or at best could be answered positively or negatively.

the idea is to audition cd players, comparing them to the sonographe. if a player is preferred over the sonographe and is deemed a good value, it would make sense to replace the sonographe.
More to discover