Show off Your CD Player!

Most welcome Manu. Wow you sure are full of surprises. Which are these speakers & how do they compare with your existing PMC.

Hi nitin :)

These are custom speakers being built by @Hari Iyer sir, of our forum for my specific tastes . We are waiting for the mundorf capacitors to arrive from Germany for the cross over. So should be completed soon I guess . The PMC speakers will be shifting to my HT once these arrive. The idea was to have some very emotional sounding speakers in the mid range and treble, and still have a transmission line for my bass kicks on my EDM tracks.
 
Hi nitin :)

These are custom speakers being built by @Hari Iyer sir, of our forum for my specific tastes . We are waiting for the mundorf capacitors to arrive from Germany for the cross over. So should be completed soon I guess . The PMC speakers will be shifting to my HT once these arrive. The idea was to have some very emotional sounding speakers in the mid range and treble, and still have a transmission line for my bass kicks on my EDM tracks.


Hi Manu,

Those speakers by Hari sir look & will sound great. I am sure you will enjoy your sufi tracks. Pls do let us know once they are set up. Apologising to Greenhorn for drifting from the CD thread.

Regards,

Nitin
 
Might not match the rest in vintage. But I love it all the same :).

Apart from being a CD/ Sacd player. It is also my main dac and preamp. Feeding my power amps directly. Probably the singular best purchase of my life.
What player is it?
 
I owns Kenwood DP8020 Audio CD Player. It sounds quite good in Vocals only and have quite muddy bass and rolled off upper high frequencies i.e above 6-8khz. I am using it since 4 years. It have PCM1701P DAC inside which are one of best vintage category DAC's which are still been sold as NOS-DACs in USA. Overall i got bored by same sound in 4 years. I previously used Marantz CD63SE which was quite fluid and balanced but lacks the Vocals. I also used Yamaha CDX630E having Philips TDA1541A DAC inside but it was made cheap by Yamaha/Philips and needed to upgrade capacitors to audio grade but unavailable in India and thats why i forwarded it to another aufiophile member of our forum. These days finding a no-problem cd player with proper functional lens mechanism is rare and fortunate only.
 
I owns Kenwood DP8020 Audio CD Player. It sounds quite good in Vocals only and have quite muddy bass and rolled off upper high frequencies i.e above 6-8khz. I am using it since 4 years. It have PCM1701P DAC inside which are one of best vintage category DAC's which are still been sold as NOS-DACs in USA. Overall i got bored by same sound in 4 years. I previously used Marantz CD63SE which was quite fluid and balanced but lacks the Vocals. I also used Yamaha CDX630E having Philips TDA1541A DAC inside but it was made cheap by Yamaha/Philips and needed to upgrade capacitors to audio grade but unavailable in India and thats why i forwarded it to another aufiophile member of our forum. These days finding a no-problem cd player with proper functional lens mechanism is rare and fortunate only.
The Yamaha uses a KSS150a which though cheap, is easily available. Not sure why you had a hard time getting it,Modern CD players mechanism is not as good as the original philips etc, but you get them very cheaply. the KSS150a, or a modern Sanyo SF P101N is available for $10! stock up on them, and replace !
similarly good quality (audiophile) electrolytics are available from kitsnspares, theaudiocrafts,diyaudiocart etc in india itself
 
The Yamaha uses a KSS150a which though cheap, is easily available. Not sure why you had a hard time getting it,Modern CD players mechanism is not as good as the original philips etc, but you get them very cheaply. the KSS150a, or a modern Sanyo SF P101N is available for $10! stock up on them, and replace !
similarly good quality (audiophile) electrolytics are available from kitsnspares, theaudiocrafts,diyaudiocart etc in india itself

I have heard that kitsnspare, theaudiocraft, diyaudiocart website owners are selli g fake capacitors in the name if international brands like nichicon, elna etc and thats why i stayed away from such websites. Also i was quite happy with no-tension yamaha cdp630 but it have very cheap electrolytics which made sound not so audiophile i.e rolling off of high end frequencies and not so pronounced vocals..
 
I bought the Marantz SA-10 recently. It has proved to be a boon. I am discovering new layers to my humble Accuphase E 450 which I never thought existed. For IC I used Radio Shack RCA and was quite happy, until I discovered Audioquest Diamond XLR, which is performing beautifully, and another experiment with VDH The Second XLR was even better, so I am thinking of settling down with The Second.
 
Why listed as a DAC?

Haha...Iam presently using it mostly as a dac sir , as I don't own a single audio CD so far. Been borrowing good quality CD's from my friends though.

Apart from a dac, it is also my present preamp. As Iam finding digital volume control to be more quiet and silent than analogue volume control, both via tube preamps and SS preamps. This was important for me, as I already use tube amps, which have a audible noise floor with my ear placed next to the drivers. So all in all, this is working as a great, all in one digital source, cum dac, cum preamp for me. Couldn't have been happier :)
 
View attachment 43126
Bought online from Japan. Working flawlessly. Sound quality is very good in my opinion. No harshness at all. All metal construction.
@madman29

Does it show up poor recordings sharply ?

Normally top of the line products are merciless in this regard.

I use a CD960 and I find it overall on the neutral side. Music doesn't sound warm and lush but it plays great recordings with gusto.
 
@madman29

Does it show up poor recordings sharply ?

Normally top of the line products are merciless in this regard.

I use a CD960 and I find it overall on the neutral side. Music doesn't sound warm and lush but it plays great recordings with gusto.
No it does not. Everything sort of sounds good. I'll say its forgiving in that sense. But the sound has good bass punch compared to my Pioneer BDP 450 playing with an Arcam DAC
 
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How do you think Sony X5000
Looks hi-end to me. But always check the transport its using. Some of the vintage gears' transport are out of market, hence will cause heart burn if the unit stops working.
My Sony uses a KSS 190A which is an absolute unobtanium. But only learnt about it after I bought the player.
 
Looks hi-end to me. But always check the transport its using. Some of the vintage gears' transport are out of market, hence will cause heart burn if the unit stops working.
My Sony uses a KSS 190A which is an absolute unobtanium. But only learnt about it after I bought the player.
Fixed pick up part no KSS 274A
 
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