Old CD players 80's to early 90's Thread.

[walter duque]

The Nakamichi music bank CD players are very popular in certain crowds. I almost got one for a song but I think the guy realized it was more valuable once I expressed interest in it (the downfall of doing too many transactions with the same person).

Given the design nature of the 7 disc changers (fitting all that in to a compact space) I often wonder if Nakamichi had any hand in the design of my TEAC Reference PD-H570 7 disc changer. The Teac is the most compact unit I've ever seen to hold so many discs. It is probably slightly taller than the MB-3, but is significantly more narrow in comparison. The TEAC is also not quite as deep as the MB-3. The operation is smooth for a changer. I'm extremely impressed with it. Also, like the MB-3, the magazine is internal, not ejectable like many Pioneer designs of the 80's and 90's.

My last DVD Players where the Nakamichi 10 S (single player) and the DVD 15 (5 disc changer) both excellent units. Like an idiot I sold both for $200.00.

 

[walter duque]

Nakamichi DVD 15 (5 disc changer)

 

[Seth=L]

I can't imagine why one would need a Nakamichi 5 disc DVD changer.

 

[3db]

My first CD player was a Carver, I would say mid 80's pictured on top of Pioneer Reel to Reel. At that time I would say it was tops. This is a picture of an old picture. A few goodies on there are a few SAE Power amps, VSP Gold Edition Streight Wire Preamp and 2 VSP Gold Edition La b Series Power Amps, DBX Dynamic Range expander, Thorens Turntable and a few moore goodies. I know you see the Bose 901's but I was running 4 of them plus 2 Fouriers and 2 Quinns, does it make sense to you, maybe not but this system canked for its time. Don't foreget that was early to mid 80's. Sorry of the picture quality.

Are you still using your DBX?

 

[walter duque]

Are you still using your DBX?

That system is long gone. That's 26 years ago. It was a great system and I did enjoy it a lot.

 

[3db]

That system is long gone. That's 26 years ago. It was a great system and I did enjoy it a lot.

Dam!! I really want to get my hands on a DBX compander. I've heard one in use from a vinyl perspective and at the time, I thought it really livened up the music from a dynamics point of view.

 

[walter duque]

Dam!! I really want to get my hands on a DBX compander. I've heard one in use from a vinyl perspective and at the time, I thought it really livened up the music from a dynamics point of view.

They where expensive, I think that one was around 1k, but well worth it. Like you say with vinyl. Between the Sonic Hologram Generator (from CD Player) and the DBX, what a sound, I must have been bouncing off the walls. All that stuff was pricy those days.

 

[zumbo]

Yamaha cdc-645

This was the bottom-of-the-line 5-disc model Yamaha offered in my high-end retail store in the very early 90's. Like some other members, this is the oldest component in my HT system. I love it. It is one of the main reasons I trust Yamaha products. The SQ is better than either of my high-end dvd players for cd playback. On paper, that should not be so.

The main feature I like about my player is a gain control. No receiver or pre-amp needed. At some point, I plan on making a dedicated 2-channel rig with it.

 

[Seth=L]

This was the bottom-of-the-line 5-disc model Yamaha offered in my high-end retail store in the very early 90's. Like some other members, this is the oldest component in my HT system. I love it. It is one of the main reasons I trust Yamaha products. The SQ is better than either of my high-end dvd players for cd playback. On paper, that should not be so.

The main feature I like about my player is a gain control. No receiver or pre-amp needed. At some point, I plan on making a dedicated 2-channel rig with it.

My dad had an Adcom CD player with it's own gain control. It was very nice because it was digital and controllable by remote. In operation that CD changer was a dream. After more than 10 years of service it finally failed.

 

[zumbo]

My unit has a remote, and the gain function is on it.

Good ole Yammie is almost 20 years old. If it dies, I will pay for it to be repaired for sure.

 

[TapeMaster]

My CD Player of choice is a Teac PD-80 with a 16 Bit Linear D/A Converter.

 

[Kraft]

@mentorron, do you still have your Sony 950? I got one last month, I was searching for some info and found this old thread. I got it almost for free from someone who didn't know what to do with it. I didn't really need it but I was afraid it will end up in the dumpster and kind of liked the look of it.
As I already own some players, namely a Marantz cd6005, a sacd Pioneer PD-D9 and a Naim dac, after I got it I left it unused for a few days as I was sure it could not compete with my newer players. Then I decided I give it a shot and it turned out to be a real shock. At first I didn't know what the hell is going on, I wasn't ready for it, everything sounded so alive, so present, kind of scary. After almost a week of listening to the Sony I tried to listen back to the other players and that was a shock again as I found them to sound somehow tiny, plasticky, brightly almost to unbearable. The Naim dac did a little better, but I couldn't shake a kind of cheapo sounding feeling compared to the Sony.
The thing works great, it reads everything instantly, its like it reads cds even before the tray closes completely. I'm trying to find some explanations...could it be the transport in it, the tda1541, maybe the servo system? I don't know, but this player amazes me with each day.

 

[Seth=L]

@Kraft, It looks like the 950 uses dual TDA1541 chips (standards, not crown or double crown), but the most important thing with DACs in CD players is their integration. It doesn't surprise me much that a CD player from the 80's sounds different from a modern one because almost everything sounds the same now. Back then CD players actually sounded different from one another to a large enough degree that it was often immediately noticeable on a reasonable quality sound system.

 

[Robert94]

It doesn't surprise me much that a CD player from the 80's sounds different from a modern one because almost everything sounds the same now. Back then CD players actually sounded different from one another to a large enough degree that it was often immediately noticeable on a reasonable quality sound system.

Disclaimer: I know very little about CD players (next to nothing).

Is this because now there is a modern consensus on how a 'well designed' CD player should sound so that it is easy to produce a CD player that plays a CD how it should sound. Or perhaps I'm being ignorant/naive? Nowadays what would the difference be from a $70 and a $400 player?

 

[Seth=L]

A CD player should be completely linear throughout the entire audible spectrum. Most of them are. The difference between a modern $70 CD player and a $400 isn't so much in sound, but build quality, possibly features (or lack of features because some audiophiles subscribe to the "less is more" philosophy), brand name (which may or may not mean anything), and other erroneous things.

A couple things for a CD player are important to me.

• Speed - How fast a player tracks, starts, general operation. If it takes a long time to load up a CD it raises red flags for me. If button presses don't lead to near immediate action I take note as well.
• Noise - This applies to both electronic and mechanical noise. If the player makes a racket when playing the disc it is an immediate turn off for me. Same goes if I can hear tracking feedback through my speakers, or a significant hiss caused by the player, but this problem is not very common on proper CD players. The mechanical noise is still prominent in budget oriented CD players, so it's best to get one of good build quality.

 

[Kraft]

My opinion on the fact that this CDP-950 sounds so great is this:
- one of the key features is the TDA1541 dac, no doubt about it
- secondly, I guess it was expertly implemented, and you can clearly see this studying the PCB layout, which is a work of art, with all those Japanese caps and power regulators
- thirdly, I also think that the transport is a very good one - this is of extreme importance
And finally, it is my opinion that Sony had the best engineers on task in those days when the competition was very high in cd players field. I dont think that the engineers of today dealing with mid level gear are at that level anymore.

 

[TLS Guy]

This was my first CD player, and it had lots of use. I bought it new in 1984. It was a Revox B225.

I used it for many years. I restored it and sold it to a member here five or so years ago. I could not see that I would use it again as it only had analog outs. It was made before SPDIF.

The motor that operated the draw had failed, but I did manage to find another one.

Here is an old Denon, I had though my hands briefly, restored and sold. The older Revox was the much better machine.

In the picture below you will see a professional Marantz CD machine, that also records. It is rack mounted. It is the unit above the audio workstation tower and the blue REME DAC.

I still use this as an extra drive to the workstation. This unit is about 20 years old.

 

[Irvrobinson]

My opinion on the fact that this CDP-950 sounds so great is this:
- one of the key features is the TDA1541 dac, no doubt about it
- secondly, I guess it was expertly implemented, and you can clearly see this studying the PCB layout, which is a work of art, with all those Japanese caps and power regulators
- thirdly, I also think that the transport is a very good one - this is of extreme importance
And finally, it is my opinion that Sony had the best engineers on task in those days when the competition was very high in cd players field. I dont think that the engineers of today dealing with mid level gear are at that level anymore.

The Phillips DAC is primitive compared to more modern ASICs. The transport is irrelevant to sound quality.

 

[TLS Guy]

The Phillips DAC is primitive compared to more modern ASICs. The transport is irrelevant to sound quality.

Primitive or not, Roger Lagadec was the technical director of Sony from 1986 to 1994. He was head digital engineer of Studer Revox before that. He is an audio giant and is a past governor of AES.

He did the lions share of the work in the development of the CD. He designed the Revox player I posted above. For some reason anything this guy touched always sounded magnificent, including that CD player. Sony head hunted him from Studer in 1986.

Since 1999 he has been in charge of future product development for this outfit.

His focus now is improving digital streaming over the Internet.

 

[Kraft]

Primitive or not, Roger Lagadec was the technical director of Sony from 1986 to 1994. He was head digital engineer of Studer Revox before that. .

I didnt know this, it was a good thing to find it out. Thanks. Maybe its not coincidence that the best players Sony made were during the exact same period.
Did some search and found some nice article about him and Sony on google books (unfortunately it seems that I cannot post the link here)