Cd player on a budget?

For 3 bills you could get a NAD C515 new.

B.

Any basic DVD player will do the job just as well.

Dedicated 2 channel? Good to know it's wholly committed. You may as well get something that will play other formats too. Original retail $449, now dirt cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-DVD-S17...9326319&sr=1-7

There are many deals to be had on discontinued universal players, if you shop around.

Many cheap DVD players have a very poor DAC. They have never ment to be used as stand-alone player, but a transport and work together with A/V receiver.

But that Yamaha William linked to isn't one of them.

I would go with a file based solution vs the clunky CD transport.

Audiophile myth.

I measured a couple of them myself, so I know what I am talking about.

So, please share.

If response time matters, many dedicated CD players offer faster start, skip, etc. IMO. Also, from my experience, CD players in general tend to have a longer lifetime as compared to multi-format players like DVD, etc.

B.

Frequently true, and a good reason to consider them.


Ah, but will a $300 CD player last longer than three $100 DVD players?

For a dedicated 2ch system I would go with a proper CDP, not a DVD player! You will be heavily relying upon the player's own DAC and analog output. A CDP will be more optimised for *music*.

One of these would make a good player for not much money. You may even be able to find one secondhand... http://www.stereophile.com/content/m...5004-cd-player

If you were using digital output from a player to a AVR or such, then yes a multi format DVD/BDP would have been a viable option.

Response time of my universal players is very fast, unless loading a DVD-A or SACD, which a CD player can't do at all. I also never realised that CD players last longer than a DVD player, unless you are talking about the $39 units from Walmart. And I have friends that have owned even those for many years now, no issues, but I'm sure it happens.

I love threads about which Model T Ford is the best...

I agree, but would love to know which music server you use to play DVD-A and SACD?

I don't do SACD for the main reason I don't participate in Encryption schemes that I can't bypass to exercise fair use (that is backing them up). I literally played Steve Morse's High Tension wires CD to failure (luckily I had a backup).

DVD-A isn't a problem since I can rip it. Also HDtracks.com and the Bowers & Wilkins music service.

AMD Brazos Mainboard and EMU 1212M PCIe audio card feeding a Crown XLS 402D (Fan Modded).