CD player recommendations?

barnstorm

Has anyone bought a new CD player in the last couple of years and been particularly happy with their choice? Interested in current brand recommendations as much as particular models.

I had a Hitachi that was absolutely brilliant and lasted through very heavy use for the best part of 20 years, and everything I've had since then has broken in a hurry – a Denon the latest casualty.

Thanks in advance.

blobb

How much do you want to spend?

darthed1981

Sadly there seems to be only two kinds on sale today, the cheap and flawed (inserting gaps between tracks etc) and the obsurdly over priced.

Ironically, I found that a cheapo usb powered portable thing does the job for the odd quick cd listen when needed.

The average blu ray player for 50 quid should make a superb cd player, but sadly they all need to be plugged into a TV to work

more

I’m not a big fan of CD’s . But I bought a Marantz CD 5400 from Richer sounds years ago . That model has long been discontinued . If mine should pack up , I would buy another one. New Marantz are still highly rated, at a starting price of about £400 .

Boromedic

I bought one of these a year ago and I've been really happy with it tbh. Sounds very involved and lively, but with plenty of detail. You can take £75 off with a coupon.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225112588567?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ddoygYe4Q8u&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=CjM5xQvSQSS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

barnstorm

blobb said:

How much do you want to spend?

Won't be the only way I listen to music since I've ripped most stuff at this point, so not remotely interested in any of the stuff costing thousands of pounds, but doesn't have to be a cheapie – provided the odds are good that it will actually last like the Hitachi. I've no idea now exactly what I paid for that, but it worked out to be bloody good value over 20 years.

darthed1981 said:

Sadly there seems to be only two kinds on sale today, the cheap and flawed (inserting gaps between tracks etc) and the obsurdly over priced.

Ironically, I found that a cheapo usb powered portable thing does the job for the odd quick cd listen when needed.

The average blu ray player for 50 quid should make a superb cd player, but sadly they all need to be plugged into a TV to work

Yeah, the little Apple USB drive is fine in a pinch, but I do still like to put a CD in and sit down across the room to listen with remote in hand, and I also much prefer a tray or a top-loader to a slot.

more said:

I’m not a big fan of CD’s . But I bought a Marantz CD 5400 from Richer sounds years ago . That model has long been discontinued . If mine should pack up , I would buy another one. New Marantz are still highly rated, at a starting price of about £400 .

Haven't investigated enough to know whether there are big differences between Marantz and Denon but my experience with the latter has – perhaps unfairly – made me wary of the former, given that they're owned by the same lot. Good to know you've no complaints about yours.

DavidR

Bought 'USB 3.0 TOUCH DRIVE' and plug it into PC. Then Bluetooth it to HiFi. Works well. Probably not what you want. Cheap functional option though.

External CD DVD Drive, USB 3.0 and Type-C Portable CD DVD +/-Rw Drive Reader, DVD/CD ROM Burner Rewriter, Slim Optical DVD Drive for Laptop, Desktop, Mac, Macbook, OS/Windows/Linux : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

barnstorm

Boromedic said:

I bought one of these a year ago and I've been really happy with it tbh. Sounds very involved and lively, but with plenty of detail. You can take £75 off with a coupon.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225112588567?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ddoygYe4Q8u&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=CjM5xQvSQSS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thanks very much – new one on me. Will check it out this evening.

DavidR said:

Bought 'USB 3.0 TOUCH DRIVE' and plug it into PC. Then Bluetooth it to HiFi. Works well. Probably not what you want. Cheap functional option though.

External CD DVD Drive, USB 3.0 and Type-C Portable CD DVD +/-Rw Drive Reader, DVD/CD ROM Burner Rewriter, Slim Optical DVD Drive for Laptop, Desktop, Mac, Macbook, OS/Windows/Linux : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Thanks – yeah, looking for something independent of my computer and (hopefully!) more long-lived than the average USB drive.

Grumpyrocker

A blue ray player is a good option these days. As it will also cover you for br music formats.

Rocker

The Rotel is very likely to be good given the history of the company and the quality of their amplification. 

TheMarlin

I use a rebuilt and heavily modified PlayStation 1 in one system, and a Denon 3910 in the other. 

The Denon is a DVD/CD/SACD player, built like a tank. I use it as a transport with a very nice DAC. 

You can pick up the Denon for around £70. And a replacement belt (for CD tray) for about £10.  It’s good practice to replace the belt as they perish over tine. I’ve tried a few SACD/DVD players as transports, and fhis I’ve is vastly better than any other I have tried. 

New, I like Tempo EC1B. Highly regarded Chinese CD player/transport. 

All of the above do the job well

Reverend

I bought a rotel secondhand in 1992 and it's still going strong. That seems good to me 

blobb

barnstorm said:

blobb said:

How much do you want to spend?

Won't be the only way I listen to music since I've ripped most stuff at this point, so not remotely interested in any of the stuff costing thousands of pounds, but doesn't have to be a cheapie – provided the odds are good that it will actually last like the Hitachi. I've no idea now exactly what I paid for that, but it worked out to be bloody good value over 20 years.

Rega Planet Something like this?

barnstorm

Thanks very much, all – looks like I might get away without spending anything at all. My brother-in-law is here this morning and he's got an old but theoretically decent Yamaha player that's gathering dust. (He's long since abandoned CDs and has multi-room streaming gizmos at home.) Will give it a try, and will probably go for a new Rotel if it doesn't suit, since your impressions of them seem to be shared by most reviewers online.

@TheMarlin – is that PS1 beastie your work? What exactly was done to it?

TheMarlin said:

I use a rebuilt and heavily modified PlayStation 1 in one system, and a Denon 3910 in the other.