How about some suggestions for a new CD player

[MusicDirector]

Also, what about a used Oppo BDP-95? ...You can find one in excellent condition and for close to $700 or so. ...Now that's a CD player!

I don't want to go used on something like a CD player, that's asking for trouble. Electronics are a dice roll, it's true, but I'd rather have a warranty for a time and an attempt at making it last instead of having to come up with an additional $500 every year or worse. Again, why would I want an Oppo? I don't like blue ray anyway and I have no desire for SACDs and such. I feel an Oppo is a waste of money for me. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[MusicDirector]

Added Rotel and Arcam and Parasound to the list.

 

[Mike]

You have lots of good suggestions here for sure. Oppo 103, Rotel, Marantz, Cambridge, etc. I don't think you can really go wrong. The Music Hall cd15.2 is another option. NAD makes some really good stuff too. You could always go with the Emotiva and their trial/money back guarantee. Check their website for details.

If it was me...Oppo 103. . It's crazy good for the money.

Mike

 

[MrAcoustat]

Ok i have been PRO - CD since 1983 i have owned more than a dozen cd players most of them over 3k i now own a Chord One ( 8k ) value and a Oppo BDP-105 as a back up ( $1,250.00 ) all taxes included and shipped to your house, i STRONGLY suggest an Oppo BDP-103 for $499.00 it is a very very good universal cd player EVEN if you use it only for cd playback, that's what i do with my BDP-105 and i will be selling my Chord One YES the Chord is BETTER but not 7k better.

 

[MusicDirector]

You have lots of good suggestions here for sure. Oppo 103, Rotel, Marantz, Cambridge, etc. I don't think you can really go wrong. The Music Hall cd15.2 is another option. NAD makes some really good stuff too. You could always go with the Emotiva and their trial/money back guarantee. Check their website for details.

If it was me...Oppo 103. . It's crazy good for the money.

Mike

I couldn't agree more! I thought there would be precious few to none in my range! I've learned here that there is more out there than one might think. That Oppo keeps coming up again and again. Ok, I'll put it back on the list, but I still think a multi-player is a waste for me since I'll never go blue ray or SACD or etc. Am I missing something about the Oppos? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around something that does 100 different things and everyone saying how it does great. Perhaps I'm stuck in Mid-Fi world with my Onkyo Receiver. It does many things and it does perform well on many of them, but it also has Phono input, but the phono stage is digital and software driven or something because it sounds awful with playing records. I'm kind of thinking along the lines of "jack of all trades and master of none" with the Oppo. What I really need to do is go find some Oppos to demo if I can. Might be kind of hard as I only have one high-end shop in my area. Really nice guy and all, but I don't know if he carries Oppo. I'll ask him. What's good about him is that he will talk to me and show me stuff whenever I walk in there even though he knows full well I can't buy anything. He doesn't even show me to try to sell me, he shows me to educate me.

 

[NorthStar]

Here's only one review (from numerous ones) of the Oppo BDP-103 player.

* Go to page 2 (User Interface) and just read the first paragraph right under the front profile picture of the player, regarding ONLY its CD playback attribute. ... "On the audio front, ... "

=> Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray 3D Player | Home Theater

_________________

I have a Denon DVD-3930CI Universal DVD player, a Rotel RCD-991 and RCD-971 CD players, and also an Oppo BDP-103 Universal Blu-ray player.
Guess which one nowadays that's playing most of my 2-channel stereo CDs? ...That's right, the one I mentioned few times already.

BTW, they all have an HDCD decoder (the four players mentioned here), as I must have over 500 CDs that are encoded with HDCD.
But forget about that as you probably don't even know how many of those you have in your CD collection (not all of them are indicated as such on their back covers or inside their inserts, probably half of them are). ...But when decoded by such a player you can hear the improved dynamics, and the better impact from the bass frequencies. ...More clarity too in the highs.

The 103 for only $499 is good enough just as a stereo CD player! ...From its ANALOG output.
Just forget that it plays SACDs, DVD-Audios, Blu-rays, DVDs, and a bunch of hi-res files. Think strictly as a CD player, just like you want to.

* In case you don't know, the 103 is free to ship; or directly from Oppo, or from Amazon. ...Some Magnolia stores now carry it too.
And if you don't like it, you got 30 days to return it for a full refund.

BUT! If you like your audio habits to stay the way they are, by all means, do business with your local audio dealer and explore only what he provides.

But for me Audio is much more than that; its beyond the coffins of only your neighborhood, it's universal, all across the globe. No?

 

[NorthStar]

Alright, five hundred bucks here. ...Brand new in the box, with a two-year warranty.
That's only one of them, but a good one, even if you only use it strictly as a CD player and nothing else.

And you took notes too on Rotel, Marantz, Arcam, and Parasound CD players...

_________________

Eventually you'll buy one and try it; then you'd better let us know. ...You gotta be happy first, YOU, and nobody else.

_________________

Then, when all said and done, or even before, another member here will start another thread, also about CD playback only, but this time in the $1,000 to $3,000 price range.

Then, SACD will come into equation as well, and DAC capability too, and DSD files access, and hi-res audio files (FLAC, WAV, etc.), USB ports of course, and perhaps multichannel music. ...And prices will start at $1,199 and up to $33,000!
...dCS Scarlatti ($82,246 for the four-box system); forget it; we're all a bunch of poor sunnabagguns here!

 

[sharkmouth]

Bob, you left out CH Precision, it's the one on top that shitz on the rest....:fingers:

 

[MusicDirector]

Here's only one review (from numerous ones) of the Oppo BDP-103 player.

* Go to page 2 (User Interface) and just read the first paragraph right under the front profile picture of the player, regarding ONLY its CD playback attribute. ... "On the audio front, ... "

=> Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray 3D Player | Home Theater

_________________

I have a Denon DVD-3930CI Universal DVD player, a Rotel RCD-991 and RCD-971 CD players, and also an Oppo BDP-103 Universal Blu-ray player.
Guess which one nowadays that's playing most of my 2-channel stereo CDs? ...That's right, the one I mentioned few times already.

BTW, they all have an HDCD decoder (the four players mentioned here), as I must have over 500 CDs that are encoded with HDCD.
But forget about that as you probably don't even know how many of those you have in your CD collection (not all of them are indicated as such on their back covers or inside their inserts, probably half of them are). ...But when decoded by such a player you can hear the improved dynamics, and the better impact from the bass frequencies. ...More clarity too in the highs.

The 103 for only $499 is good enough just as a stereo CD player! ...From its ANALOG output.
Just forget that it plays SACDs, DVD-Audios, Blu-rays, DVDs, and a bunch of hi-res files. Think strictly as a CD player, just like you want to.

* In case you don't know, the 103 is free to ship; or directly from Oppo, or from Amazon. ...Some Magnolia stores now carry it too.
And if you don't like it, you got 30 days to return it for a full refund.

BUT! If you like your audio habits to stay the way they are, by all means, do business with your local audio dealer and explore only what he provides.

But for me Audio is much more than that; its beyond the coffins of only your neighborhood, it's universal, all across the globe. No?

What is all this stuff about my audio habits? I did not know where I could find Oppos to look at and test drive, that's all. I was only going to ask if my local audio dealer had any. Now I know they might be in Best Buy (not my favorite place to demo anything, but if that's it, then that's where I go). I'm not restricting myself to just what he has by any means! By the way, I usually don't read audio or HT magazines and the like because I do not trust them. However, I did read the one you provided and it turned me off to the Oppo. According to the article it is no different than using my Yamaha DVD player I amnow. It's a PITA having to turn on the TV, switch to one of the HDMI inputs, let the DVD player figure out what I just loaded and then turn off the TV so the DVD player can play the CD. I don't like having to do that all the time. According to the article it MUST be hooked up to a TV in order to even play only CDs because you have to choose from a menu that is only displayed on the TV. I'm not a TV type guy. I only watch occassionally which is one of the reasons why I got a Roku.
It's interesting that it does multi international coding of DVDs, but so does my Denon DVD player and my Yamaha (if you hack it, which is easy).
I'll guess which one your using for CD playback: The Rotel.
I'm not into shipping stuff back and forth on 30 day trials. It's not only a PITA, but costly. When I get something like this, it's after homework and research no matter how long it takes and then it either works or it doesn't and I better like it.
I'd be absolutely shocked to find any of my CDs being HDCD.
When it comes to audio and stuff like this, the more I'm pushed the more I resist. It's a defense that is automatic with me and serves me well keeping me out of trouble. Of course, I could end up being weened off CDs with all this, but let's hope not because I like to do serious listening at times and streaming, HDTracks, etc. just doesn't cut it for me for that activity.
I have lots of research to do now.

 

[Mike]

I have no idea what the reviewer is talking about. I have two Oppos (you buy Oppos from www.oppodigital.com) - you buy direct. You don't need a TV at all. I don't have a TV for my Oppo downstairs and it works like a charm. Pop in a CD and it plays. If you want to get into some of its other functions, the front screen works fine.

Anyway - good luck in your search.

Mike

 

[MusicDirector]

I have no idea what the reviewer is talking about. I have two Oppos (you buy Oppos from www.oppodigital.com) - you buy direct. You don't need a TV at all. I don't have a TV for my Oppo downstairs and it works like a charm. Pop in a CD and it plays. If you want to get into some of its other functions, the front screen works fine.

Anyway - good luck in your search.

Mike

See, this is precisely why I do not read audio/HT magazines and "professional" reviews. All they do is confuse people because they are mostly written by people who have never even used the product they wrote about, much less seen one beyond a picture on the internet.
I have lots to look at and it will probably be a good 2 to 3 months before I am done with the research and homework due the the volume of products for me to look at which is a good thing, believe it or not. It's also best for me if I do not post what I ended up getting, no matter what it ends up being. I've learned not to do that. I don't need a bunch of doubt and false buyer's remorse put in my head after all the work I put into getting a big ticket item like this. It's enough just on my own to deal with.

 

[Mike]

See, this is precisely why I do not read audio/HT magazines and "professional" reviews. All they do is confuse people because they are mostly written by people who have never even used the product they wrote about, much less seen one beyond a picture on the internet.
I have lots to look at and it will probably be a good 2 to 3 months before I am done with the research and homework due the the volume of products for me to look at which is a good thing, believe it or not. It's also best for me if I do not post what I ended up getting, no matter what it ends up being. I've learned not to do that. I don't need a bunch of doubt and false buyer's remorse put in my head after all the work I put into getting a big ticket item like this. It's enough just on my own to deal with.

I don't think you will get any negative nelly's here. It's all good. Buy what YOU like and play those CD's.

Mike

 

[joeinid]

I don't think you will get any negative nelly's here. It's all good. Buy what YOU like and play those CD's.

Mike

+1

I totally agree. Music should be fun. We are here to help.

 

[NorthStar]

Bob, you left out CH Precision, it's the one on top that shitz on the rest....:fingers:

Hey, how should I know that? ...Today people have all their music on hi-res audio files from their hard drives. :fingers:

What is all this stuff about my audio habits? I did not know where I could find Oppos to look at and test drive, that's all. I was only going to ask if my local audio dealer had any. Now I know they might be in Best Buy (not my favorite place to demo anything, but if that's it, then that's where I go). I'm not restricting myself to just what he has by any means!

Sorry, my bad, but I didn't mean to be so radical. Please forgive me.

By the way, I usually don't read audio or HT magazines and the like because I do not trust them. However, I did read the one you provided and it turned me off to the Oppo. According to the article it is no different than using my Yamaha DVD player I amnow. It's a PITA having to turn on the TV, switch to one of the HDMI inputs, let the DVD player figure out what I just loaded and then turn off the TV so the DVD player can play the CD. I don't like having to do that all the time. According to the article it MUST be hooked up to a TV in order to even play only CDs because you have to choose from a menu that is only displayed on the TV. I'm not a TV type guy. I only watch occassionally which is one of the reasons why I got a Roku.

That Oppo player has a DIAG. (composite video out) especially for people like you; just to set up its audio once and that's it, no more need ever after that.

It's interesting that it does multi international coding of DVDs, but so does my Denon DVD player and my Yamaha (if you hack it, which is easy).
I'll guess which one your using for CD playback: The Rotel. ...More my Oppo BDP-103 CD player.
I'm not into shipping stuff back and forth on 30 day trials. It's not only a PITA, but costly. When I get something like this, it's after homework and research no matter how long it takes and then it either works or it doesn't and I better like it.
I'd be absolutely shocked to find any of my CDs being HDCD.
When it comes to audio and stuff like this, the more I'm pushed the more I resist. It's a defense that is automatic with me and serves me well keeping me out of trouble. Of course, I could end up being weened off CDs with all this, but let's hope not because I like to do serious listening at times and streaming, HDTracks, etc. just doesn't cut it for me for that activity.
I have lots of research to do now.

I luv it! ...We are all so unique in our life's choices.

 

[NorthStar]

Yes, whichever CD player you buy we are all encouraging and congratulating here. ...After all, no matter if it cost $10 or $10,000,000 they all play music CDs.

* Mike, your new avatar is so 'inviting' that it is almost scary!

** Joe, luv your new 'toaster'!

 

[MusicDirector]

Your using the Oppo more? I thought you prefered the Rotel for it's natural undoctored sound? I'm guessing the Oppo offers the same?
I'll take a look at the Oppos even if just for comparison reference points. However, I'm so sick of my Yamaha DVD player that just the idea of hooking up the video cable once to set it and then never again just rubs me wrong. That, plus all the waste. By the way, what is DIAG? Diagram?
Yeah, HD Tracks and streaming files from my PC are not my cup of tea either.

 

[highEndguy]

I have an ARC CD2 , if interested
Sounds very nice.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[NorthStar]

I'll be perfectly honest with you; my Rotel CD players are older, and are sensitive to dust. Each time I fire one of them I have to clean the laser lens first, or the music will skip here and there.
No such thing with my Oppo. ...I'm a lazy person sometimes. ...But rest reassured; I still have great CD music listening satisfaction from my 103.

But true, for CD playback only, I prefer my 991.

____________

* DIAG. stands for Diagnosis; for people without a TV and who wants to see the menu settings.
It's a Composite video Out just for seeing the menus, so you can make the proper settings, if required.
-> Just connect a B&W small portable TV there, or a portable DVD player with a 7" screen or so ($30).
...Or, directly to your iPad, with the right adaptor.

But like Mike just said before; for CD only playback you need no adjustment at all, just play your CDs.
{It's more for SACDs, like DSD direct or PCM, and DVD-Audios of course.}

 

[NorthStar]

I have an ARC CD2 , if interested
Sounds very nice.

=> Audio Research CD2 CD player | Stereophile.com

 

[MusicDirector]

This ought to tell ya something: I just found out that half of the suggestions made here are going to be at The SHOW thing including OPPO! So I am going to brave it....I think (provided nothing happens at work to make me not feel like going), and go see and talk to them directly! How's that for homework?!:eyebrow: