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

lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Sony laser mechanisms were the basis of many players big surprise.
 
W

wag12

Enthusiast
There are many dac choices unless that unit has only analog ouput....
I just got the CDP-307ESD today. It is a lot lighter at 5.6 kg than my CDP-605ESD at 8.35kg but it looks and sounds similar, it just has a lot more plastic inside. They both have a coaxial digital output. I have tried using the digital coaxial output to feed the DAC in my Denon AVP-8000 which is suppose to have a very good 20-bit DAC but I didn't really notice any real difference between it and the built in 16-bit DACs in the Sonys. I don't need to go looking for an expensive stand alone DAC as I'm very happy with the sound from the built in TDA1541 and the one in my Denon AVP-8000; both sound very musical and warm and are not harsh or fatiguing which makes them pleasant for extended listening.
One reviewer of the Denon AVP-8000 at audioreview.com summed up it's sound pretty accurately saying:
"I just bought this Preamp and I can't seem to stop listening to it. I hear notes and voices from my CD's that I never knew were there. Audio reproduction using this machine is truely amazing. A nice warm tube like sound to it."
I concur with the above and whether I use the digital or the analog outputs from the Sony CD player to feed the Denon AVP-8000 which feeds an Onkyo M-504 amplifier which is connected to some NHT SB3 speakers, I couldn't be happier with the sound.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I just got the CDP-307ESD today. It is a lot lighter at 5.6 kg than my CDP-605ESD at 8.35kg but it looks and sounds similar, it just has a lot more plastic inside. They both have a coaxial digital output. I have tried using the digital coaxial output to feed the DAC in my Denon AVP-8000 which is suppose to have a very good 20-bit DAC but I didn't really notice any real difference between it and the built in 16-bit DACs in the Sonys. I don't need to go looking for an expensive stand alone DAC as I'm very happy with the sound from the built in TDA1541 and the one in my Denon AVP-8000; both sound very musical and warm and are not harsh or fatiguing which makes them pleasant for extended listening.
One reviewer of the Denon AVP-8000 at audioreview.com summed up it's sound pretty accurately saying:
"I just bought this Preamp and I can't seem to stop listening to it. I hear notes and voices from my CD's that I never knew were there. Audio reproduction using this machine is truely amazing. A nice warm tube like sound to it."
I concur with the above and whether I use the digital or the analog outputs from the Sony CD player to feed the Denon AVP-8000 which feeds an Onkyo M-504 amplifier which is connected to some NHT SB3 speakers, I couldn't be happier with the sound.
I meant more that there are many dacs that won't sound any different....
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
That is great news, those old Sony's seem to be very reliable; they don't make them like that anymore.
Sony does not make them like that anymore because there's not a mass market for products like that any more. The spiraling decline began with Apple's introduction of the iPod and iTunes; and, fact is, today with a laptop and a pair of active Bluetooth bookshelf speakers music can sound on par with what we enjoyed with a rack of components from the early 70's through the late 1990's but with much greater convenience and mobility. I'm a Sony fan as you can surmise from the picture I've attached of 10 ES components. I like them; yet, outside of small circle of fans like me there's not much interest in this stuff, since most of the chores this collection of components address can be handled with an iPhone. Once these phones can be loaded with Dolby Atmos multi-channel surround sound apps, the day's of the surround sound receiver will come to an end too. It's unbelievable progress only challenged by the vinyl renaissance.
42519946935_3bd366e347_z.jpg
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
The more I can simplify and reduce the population in the rack, the happier I am. I'm into listening to music, not equipment. Getting the digital music into a minimal, manageable form and not having to deal with jewel cases and players works for me. I keep one player around, but not sure I even need it in the rack.

OTOH, there's no way to reduce what is needed for LP playback and storage. That's kind of at a minimal level for me now and could still grow. ;)
 

TechHDS

Audioholic General
My first CD player was in 84 or 85 I believe paid 399.00 for it from RadioShack. There was no internet and No CD’s in this small town had to drive over 20 miles just to buy my first CD to play on it. As cool as it was back than to me it didn’t sound as good as my TT. There wasn’t any optical out or coaxial just RCA’s and of course my two channel stereo receiver I had was nothing Digital about it.

Mike
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
SPDIF was not thought of then. There were no digital outs.

My first CD player, bought 1984 for $1200.





Sounded absolutely wonderful.
 
mentorron

mentorron

Enthusiast
Don't know if you still are active here but I came across your 10 year old post here after buying a CDP-307ESD for $120 on Ebay recently. I have a Sony CDP-605ESD which I still use to play my CDs as I haven't found any other CD player that sounds as good. Although it still works fine, I was getting a little worried about it because of it's age. So I was looking for a good back up player that uses similar chips to my CDP-605ESD. I found the 307ESD uses the TDA1541A and CDX1088A while the 605ESD uses the TDA 1541 and CDX1088 so I thought they should sound quite similar. The main difference between the two is the 307ESD uses the KSS-150A laser and the 605ESD uses the BU-1E. Even though they say the quality of the Chinese made laser replacements isn't very good and it is sort of a hit a miss if you are going to get a good one, at least there is one for the KSS-150A available for $25. There are no Chinese replacements for the BU-1E and the original Sony ones sell for around $300 on Ebay. But I agree with you about the sound quality of these old Sony CD players being the best I have heard; I have to admit I haven't listened to any new CD players that cost more than $500. Since the 307ESD uses the TDA1541A chip, perhaps it may sound even better than my 605ESD but I doubt if the difference will be enough to be noticeable. The 307ESD should be arriving tomorrow; I just wanted to get some input from others as to whether they were able to notice any differences in the sound quality between the TDA1541A and the TDA1541.
Here are shots of my two CD players, inside and out. The 950 is in my main system with Martin-Logan Aerius speakers and I now have a Sony CDP-490 with the dual mono Burr-Brown PCM56P DACs in my Man-Cave system with Mission 760i bookshelf speakers and a ProLinear PLSUB8MKII 8" sub. The BB DACs seem to be about the same quality as the TDA1543 DACs (2 stereo DACs) in my Philips CD614 that is now the backup in the Man-Cave. I keep the Philips because I want to keep a CDM4 somewhere. It was always my favourite laser assembly, because it plays discs that cause other assemblies problems (warps/scratches/etc.). Relative photos below.
P.S.: I should explain that I am now almost 77 years old and my hearing now only goes up to about 12kHz, so I am not exactly the best judge of a player's sound. However, for the range I can still enjoy (minus a lot of upper harmonics) I find no reason to upgrade the players I now use. I was thinking of auditioning a Cambridge Audio Topaz CD10, but I don't think spending another $400 will make an appreciable difference in my case. I actually spend much more time with the Man-Cave system as I like being isolated from the world while I listen. Was even thinking about moving the 950 there, but I hate to break up systems I carefully assembled over a long period of time.
P.P.S.: I H-A-T-E Sony's single bit converters, labelled as "High Density Linear Converter" on the drawers. Tried 3 different models: same conclusion. Quite un-musical. I have an older Sony changer in storage that used a Sanyo 16 bit DAC which sounded better (CDP-C70). Bought it to play Christmas background music continuously with 5 CDs, but never implemented it.
sony_cdp-490_11.jpg
 

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sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
SPDIF was not thought of then. There were no digital outs.

My first CD player, bought 1984 for $1200. That's a player I recall wanting but could not afford. Do you still have it? Does it still work?





Sounded absolutely wonderful.
 

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