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CD Player: Vintage or modern ones?

I’ve been given a collection of classical and jazz CD’s, last time I had or played one was like 20 years ago with a humble Denon I bought saving for few months.

Now that I have a pretty good system, wondering if worth to get a good CD Player or find some “old glory”, but I’m totally lost.

The one that appeals to me is the Audis Flight FL Three S in black (must be black to match rest of my Italian system, ideally from that beautiful country), or the Goldnote CD-10, even some TEAC. Regarding more older units, I’m totally lost.

Any suggestion? Rest of the system is made by Diesis Audio (Speakers, Ampnand cables).

Thanks in Advance.

superelmar
v-fi
77 posts
 

Some capacitors start degrading from the moment they roll off the assembly line. They have a built in lifespan, which might be a decade or two, but eventually they will all fail. So even if a CD player has never been used it could still be at end of life. There are a lot of players from the 90s and 2000s that still sound great but I'd be worried about them no matter how little use they have had. 

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,412 posts
 

A vote for modern CD transports. Using Jay's cdt2-mk3 with Snake River boomslang AES cable to Gustard A26 dac with outstanding results. However it will set you back a few $. Gone the way of Marantz 6005 CD player, Cambridge CXC transport and PS Audio transport, and none of these satisfied my tastes.

jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,040 posts
 

New cd player is the way to go. 

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,501 posts
 

I have a spare Cambridge 640C, and a Pioneer Elite stashed away while I'm using my OPPO player. Not sure what I'm going to do when they burn out. Probably get a transport and run it through a DAC.

rzado
174 posts
 

Given you are asking about "old glory" CD players, I am assuming this means you are open to used?  If so I agree there are not many "old" players I would recommend, and they would generally need upgrades / modifications (e.g., the Sony CDP x777es)  But if you are willing to consider "recent" units, there are many, many good options. I would also NEVER recommend buying a new CD player - such plyers decline in value so quickly you really should go used.

With that said, your price range seems to be about $2500-4k based on the units you referenced.  Just looking on the 'gon (with the limitation that it has to be black, which I will never understand either aesthetically or sonically), you can pick up a Mark Levinson No, 512, which was $15k not all that long ago, for $3k, and it would give you perfectly fine sound.  Or on US audio mart, there is an MBL 1531 for under $3k - a very musical CD player. 

Maybe if you give more specifics on what you are looking for, you price range, sound preferences, etc, you can get more tailored advice.  

 

 

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