I'm doing some remedial work on an AV system for a local church. Over time their needs have changed and, also in part due to deterioration, the AV system is no longer fit for purpose. Mostly, the congregation plays hymn backing tracks from a large CD collection they purchased. The CDs were not cheap however the reproduction equipment is appalling. Currently they're using something like this with the headphone output jury rigged into the fixed installation (think gaffer tape and xlrs):
So, as part of me sorting the thing out, I'm going to spec a new cd player for permanent installation. Normally I deal with mid to high end and customers with deeper pockets than the church so not something I have an immediate answer for. I'm looking for something robust and simple. A remote would be nice. Output doesn't need to be balanced particularly. The cable runs are short and the location and nature of the installation means that the cabling should be subject to negligible noise.
Oh, and here's the hard part - sub £100! Tricky.
Comments
Given the abilities of some of the people who do church sound, CDs may be safer.
We have 4 who do sound in our church with a range of abilities. One of them has done it professionally in the past and is very good. There is another one at the other end of the scale. She's doing it on a voluntary basis and she means well, but it's hard work when she is doing sound. Maybe I'm doing her a disservice but I'd feel happier asking her to press play on a CD player rather than use an MP3 player.
@guitartango That’s a good idea and I did consider it. However, most of the church congregation are in their 70s and don’t come from a technical background so navigating an MP3 player (small screens and small controls) maybe a little tricky for some of them. Being able to look through a box of cds for “CD 12” and put in in and press play is probably easier. Part of the project is to make it easier for them so best to stick with what they know.
I also use Apple TV 3 (has digital audio out) into a Toppings D30 DAC to stream audio from my phone (Apple Music subscription) directly into my hifi. No TV connection needed. Sounds astonishingly good. I also connect the audio from the DVD player to the DAC. The DVD audio is decent, but sounds epic through the Toppings DAC. Truth be told, 95% of my listening is via Apple Music, sounds great, and millions of albums at my fingertips...
That Topping DAC is the best £90 I’ve ever spent. Incredible value for money. A friend has a Chord DAC costing ten times as much, and he admits it doesn’t sound as good.
You will be relying on the display on the front of the device to know which track you are selecting. Make sure it has an adequate one (one of my Sony Blu-ray players relies entirely on the on-screen interface).
A CD player is usually responsive. Put the disc in, select track, play. I've used DVD players in the past that are frustratingly slow to acknowledge discs and navigate.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Through a lot of church PA systems, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
In fact, through most live PA systems you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
I'm not entirely convinced that you would be able to tell apart a 320MBps and a CD in a blind test through an expensive HiFi. Even if you could, 99% of the population wouldn't be bothered.
Yes, in a building... Not a sound room with top end headphones/speakers and PA.