Need a new cd player or .......

Help,Am, i think about to go out and buy the new Naim CD5i player but something keeps nagging away that i should'nt and I'm not sure why.I sold some years ago a LP12 which i loved but got despondent at the availability of vinyl and have been through some cd players since then the latest being a Cyrus dad 7 but the laser went and do not want the expense of replacing,also never got much pleasure from it and an opportunity to get a new source.When the LP12 went so did my vinyl collection of a couple of thousand albums and now just left with cd,s and again i feel hard done by with the quality of alot of the recordings(very tempting £5 albums)from Fopp etc but the re-mastering can be crap.Really what i think i want is a cheaper cd than the £875 Naim and leave me some scope for a turntable from ebay and the pleasure of going out and buying second hand vinyl again,although this will be to the horror of my wife.I would love some advice on this.thanks

 

Get yourself a Cambridge Audio 640 V2. great quality, low price.

 

There's a TEAC VRDS 10SE for sale in the classifieds for 200 notes. I've got a VRDS 7 and I really like it. They make excellent transports if you want to play around with dacs, and in fact mine sounds pretty good using its own onboard dac .

 

Change you wife?





Sorry only kidding!!


I fit was me I'd do just want I think you are alluding to......hit on some stuff coming onto e bay. With many people going down the squeeze box route there are many (well thought of) cd players coming on the market.

(IME Marantz work well..and arcam a5s when breathed on)

It sounds like you really liked vinyl?

So why not start again.....there are plenty of good TT around to play with.


Welcome btw




David

 

...CD You say?. It'll never catch on.

 

Thanks for the replies.
Have heard the cambridge and liked it.
Have not heard the Teac but will certainly try to hear one,How much new were they?
Marantz i know do great Cds and theres a new Signature out soon i believe.The problem i have with second hand Cds is the laser issue,my hifi dealer Billy vee say they are only made to last about 5 years and alot of companies do not keep replacements,Naim keep 2 in stock when a new Cd is bought,but as i said this is not the practice of alot of makers,so that worries me,it has happened already with a cyrus i bought of ebay £260 second hand and minimum repair of £200 was told by a dealer.Been out the loop of turntables for a long while,any good suggestions no need to sing the praises of the Lp12 though.Thanks again

 

Tenson, do you think a 640 would beat a meridian 206b?

 

That is shocking.

My first 'proper hifi' CDP was a Meridian 200/203 which I bought new back in 1992
When I traded up for a Naim CDX, I sold it to a friend of mine. It is still going strong. Has never had nor needed any maintenance.

It got a lot of use from me and I am sure it does from her also. Sounds like we got our monies worth already!

Excellent machine BTW. Took big spend to improve on it.

Oh - my CDP is considered 2nd source for me these days, vinyl is just too nice.

 

I don't think lasors are that much of an issue tbh.

I have a modded a5 here which runs pretty reliably.

Also a 63ki signature which goes well but is tending to skip tracks just at the moment.

Be careul with meridian stuff because hee parts CAN be tricky IIRC, I liken Teac very much in the meridian mould for sonics......thouigh someone can put me right?

N**m stuff is ok, I had it for a bit, its built like a rock....to last......but I think there is btter stuff out there (£ for £) sonically. IMO of course. I'm lead to beleive there is better kit for soundstageing.

(whoops sorry samantha....I think you are at a diffv level in the n**m line up! )

 

get yeself a meridian 206, and nott analogue spacedeck with a rb250-300. more bang for buck than you'll ever need!

 

Yes, but the lad HAS got a point about lazors here?

You can't get 'em for meridians??

 

be a bit of an unusual occurance if the 206 laser goes tits up, they should/would/probably will last nearly forever. anyways, if it does go belly up, drop the unit and claim on the house insurance, that'll sort your replacement (althought i do not condone such behaviour!) i've still yet to come accross a cd player with better build quality at anywhere near the new price. get a good un and it'll blow ye sox off

 

Not wise.

I considered doing that...then lost a load of gardenng power equipment with a break in.....and had to claim

It doesn't pay to cry wolf IME.

 

exactly, thats why i dont condone that behaviour

seriously tho, i dont think i know of anyone with a 206 meridian that has gone tits up, i've had 2 (sold both because i sold my other systems) a friend has one, i have the 200 transport and my bro had the 206b, none were/are duffers and still going strong. (mine will go tits up now after i've said that!!! )

just had to claim myself on the insurance after the ceiling came in on the kitchen due to a suspected leaky shower. ended up being a complete rebuild of the walls, joists and bathroom all because a shower pipe had a slight weep that the builder says has been leaking for years and we never knew. the walls and floor were like paper mache in the end, first time i've ever claimed. twas a pi55er having to go to the 'laws every night for a month for a shower tho,

 

I wouldn't worry too much about lasers going wrong. Anything under 10 years should be okay I think. How long are you going to keep it anyway? If you are like me, 2-3 years max before you fancy a change? I just bought this duff on eBay and fixed it up.

 

I wish

 

Hi Lp12

Some CD players do cause problems when the lazers die . As the manufacturing world shifted to DVD players a lot of mechanisms went scarce so it pays to check what mechanism any player uses.
Problem mechanisms i would avoid ,anything with a Philips CD M1(brilliant mechanism but very rare,used in most early Marantz and Philips CD players and any thing else Audiophile back then say 15 to 13 years ago;this includes Marantz cd 94 mk1 and mk2,cd12,cd85 etc,also early Micromega,s ) I can't remember what the meridians mentioned use but the mechanism is certainly very good, but i would take issue with anyone who says they go on for ever!!!!! I wish this was true but every lazer has a finite life ,much like the diamond stylus on a cartridge. You should also avoid anything that uses Sanyo lazers (some Krell,Audio mecha etc) present a problem as there are several types of configuration to how they are hooked up(plug in module,flying leads etc;these are now extremely rare). Some Sony mechanisms and some SACD mechanisms are now also a problem .However in saying all this an excellent engineer who cares and is motivated(a bit rare these days)can sometimes do modifications and fit new lazer's and mechanisms thus saving the day.

If you like an analogue sound from a CD player try the Consonance L 120 (linear version with no filter). It has a very musical sound for about £700 ,perhaps not the most open and detailed sounding player but it sounds like music. Not using a filter is very hotly debated but (Zanden and Audionote)do this with a lot of success . I would look at a current version and not second hand as early machines very briefly had a problem with static in the lazer which caused play back problems. The distributer Alium Audio sorted this out very quickly with Consonance and this brief issue a year and a half ago is now a thing of the past .It's good to know that excellent distributors do exist.

Hope this info is of help D Louth 77.