good CD choice

I use this thing... Brennan Helix.
Brennan is a british company that makes CD transports targeting Sonos environments and this Helix batch is being sold off cheap due to a manufacturing error making 3.5mm output mono only. Optical works fine and for 209 bucks it's pretty cheap for a transport. No frills, just plays CD's.
 
In case you decide to go for an older (90s-00s) cd player with an optical output, you can even get a defective one (people tend to give those away for free). CD players don't really break unless you actually throw them on the ground. Pretty much the only problems you can encounter are that the belt that makes the tray open and close has worn out (takes 5 minutes and a rubber band to fix), that the grease on a gear or rail has dried out (takes 5 minutes and a bit of grease to fix), that the lens is dirty (takes a few seconds to wipe off the dirt), or that a capacitor or transistor has worn out (takes 10 minutes, a new capacitor/transistor and a bit of solder to replace). The laser itself is virtually never the culprit.

If someone's giving away a CD player because "it won't open/close" or "it keeps skipping", that's basically a free perfectly functional CD player.
 
Interestingly my older cd player has a sub code out as welll no idea what this for!
 
es6rd6z said:
In case you decide to go for an older (90s-00s) cd player with an optical output, you can even get a defective one (people tend to give those away for free). CD players don't really break unless you actually throw them on the ground. Pretty much the only problems you can encounter are that the belt that makes the tray open and close has worn out (takes 5 minutes and a rubber band to fix), that the grease on a gear or rail has dried out (takes 5 minutes and a bit of grease to fix), that the lens is dirty (takes a few seconds to wipe off the dirt), or that a capacitor or transistor has worn out (takes 10 minutes, a new capacitor/transistor and a bit of solder to replace). The laser itself is virtually never the culprit.

If someone's giving away a CD player because "it won't open/close" or "it keeps skipping", that's basically a free perfectly functional CD player.
Click to expand...
Unless the laser died.
 
D1N0 said:
Unless the laser died.
Click to expand...
I have 4 cd players in my vintage collection 3 technics (see my other posts with regard to the meme that is my ever expanding technics collection).

I've never had a laser die on me, even from 1982 player.

I appreciate this is a small sample size, and stuff goes wrong, but it just seems like a non-issue due to how miniscule the chance is.
 
The chances would dramatically increase when you start buying defective players
 
cooky560 said:
Can I ask why people are buying Blu-ray players when used cd players are available, I paid under $30 for my cd player, it reads the TOC in under 2 secs (faster than any blu-ray) offers optical and rca, and subcode output, and has neat features like dimming the display, and various edit modes.
Click to expand...
It can play BD CD DVD and my sony SACD as well as dsf, mka 5.1 files from usb
 
D1N0 said:
The chances would dramatically increase when you start buying defective players
Click to expand...
Again, if you'd actually read past the first sentence, you'd know that 99,9% of the time, the fault lies with an easy to replace component that costs perhaps € 1. Lasers almost never die. Curiously that's also the name of an album by Major Lazer, but I'm not sure if they were talking about the same lasers.

1716650436610.png
 
cooky560 said:
Can I ask why people are buying Blu-ray players when used cd players are available, I paid under $30 for my cd player, it reads the TOC in under 2 secs (faster than any blu-ray) offers optical and rca, and subcode output, and has neat features like dimming the display, and various edit modes.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately in some countries / regions these are not easy to find in good conditions, and if you do people are charging ungodly premium prices for them. :(. Its easier and cheaper to find a used Dvd player with Coax and get a cheap DAC for 15 bucks on Amazon.
 
Fernandodelae said:
Unfortunately in some countries / regions these are not easy to find in good conditions, and if you do people are charging ungodly premium prices for them. :(. Its easier and cheaper to find a used Dvd player with Coax and get a cheap DAC for 15 bucks on Amazon.
Click to expand...
Since the WiiM Amp already has a DAC, there's no need to buy an external one. Shaves off 15 bucks.
 
I dont use a cd player anymore..although i have hundreds of cd,s.

But i ask myself what is de difference between a expensive or cheaper cd player when using optical out. The dac of the cd player isn,t in use then.
Maybe its an difficult discussion but its understandable when asking such questions isn,t it?
Paying for quality i can understand very well but if you have to pay hundreds of Euro,s more than a cheaper one you expect a significant improvement to a cheaper cd player.
Question is then..is there such a significant difference? Again when using optical out.
 
Last edited:
wiimamp user said:
I dont use a cd player anymore..although i have hundreds of cd,s.

But i ask myself what is de difference between a expensive or cheaper cd player when using optical out. The dac of the cd player isn,t in use then.
Maybe its an difficult discussion but its understandable when asking such questions isn,t it?
Paying for quality i can understand very well but if you have to pay hundreds of Euro,s more than a cheaper one you expect a significant improvement to a cheaper cd player.
Question is then..is there such a significant difference? Again when using optical out.
Click to expand...
Here is your thread:

Why do CD Transports cost so much?

Shower thought: Since there's no DAC, no speakers (for boomboxes, etc) in CD transports, it seems like it'd be a cheap thing to put together. Literally just a laser, a disk drive, and digital out would be all that's needed. Being that 'audiophile' CD playback options start at $300, it seems like...
forum.wiimhome.com forum.wiimhome.com
 
wiimamp user said:
I dont use a cd player anymore..although i have hundreds of cd,s.

But i ask myself what is de difference between a expensive or cheaper cd player when using optical out. The dac of the cd player isn,t in use then.
Maybe its an difficult discussion but its understandable when asking such questions isn,t it?
Paying for quality i can understand very well but if you have to pay hundreds of Euro,s more than a cheaper one you expect a significant improvement to a cheaper cd player.
Question is then..is there such a significant difference? Again when using optical out.
Click to expand...
IMO no difference if you are using the same DAC in an amp
 
wiimamp user said:
@Doublej ..
Are you share a cd player is better then a blu ray player? Why?
Click to expand...
Only function for a CD player is to play audio CDs. DVD/Blu-ray players prioritize video playback. So the designs are slightly different. Some say CD player is better because CD player:

1. Load time for discs is faster,
2. Has display on the unit. DVD/Blu-ray players use the TV screen for the display.
3. Has more playback controls. repeat disc, random play, repeat track, repeat section of a track, possibly pick specific tracks to play, repeat or random play.
4. Historically has optical and coaxial digital output as well as RCA analog output. Current generation Blu-ray players have HDMI and sometimes coaxial output. Current generation DVD players have RCA analog and/or HDMI output only.
5. Press play on CD to start. DVD/Blu-ray sometimes requires multiple button presses to play a CD.
6. Sole focus on reproducing audio, so better sound. If you are using digital out you may/may not believe all digital output sounds.

Big downside of CD is that the only new players available are for the 'audiophile' market. Prices start at about $250 in the US for a brand name CD player. You can get a name brand (Sony or Panasonic) Blu-ray player for under $100. Brand name DVD players are under $50.
 
Project makes CD players with a small footprint… the Project CD Box E features a coaxial digital output…
Their products are simple, effective and they have a good support. Price in Germany is 279€ incl. VAT…
 
For sure the wrong place for my question.
Did anyone of the WiiM Amp owners connect an XBOX Series X via HDMI to use the XBOX as CD player?
 
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