Philips CD931: good or not?

[Andypairo]

I am keeping my eye on Ebay to find a good CD player for cheap, and I have seen that some brands (Philips , Sony, Technics) are not so considered, so it's quite easy to buy some of their top-line products (a few years old) for little money...

I currently own a Arcam Alpha One CD that I like, but next year I'm getting married and I'll have to get something else.

I am still going to build a non-OS dac, so all I need is a player with a good transport and a digital output or a "tweakable" one.

I was scared by negative comments I found here about crazy groundings on the Philips CD931, which has a CDM9 transport, (very good from what I can see), so now I am doubtful on what to do.

Can it still be a good deal or are there better players to look for (not too old nor too expensive)?
Should instead I go with a cheap (but new) player like the CD723 or the alike and tweak it or use it as a transport?

Any reply appreciated..

Cheers

Andrea

[Bricolo]

I own one, also bought it on ebay.


I wanted it for the same reasons as you, good mechanism, not too old (must be one of the last players that used the CDM-9 mechanism), good looking, and plenty of space inside the players (good for mods )


But I prefer my Marantz CD62, sounds a little better.
-The philips looks nicer on pictures that in real life, the marantz has a better looking chassis.
-you need a torx screwdriver to open it, and has many screws (a dozen)
-it's such a pain to dismount the transport! You have to unscrew near everything before (even the front pannel and the big pcb) being able to put the transport out


And mine has a little problem, the transport makes noise (this is a problem specific to mine)



I don't know if you're looking on ebay.it or ebay.de, but on the second one, there are 2 good deals, one for a marantz CD62 (the same as mine), and one for a marantz CD50 (looks like a CD62 with a TDA1541A DAC, better deal it it's in a good state)
Both are very cheap

[Bricolo]

here are the links:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...category=27784

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...category=27784

[Andypairo]

I don't know if you're looking on ebay.it or ebay.de

.de, of course. Much more choice.

Thank you for the links, do you know approximately how old can they be ?

Cheers

Andrea

[Bricolo]

Originally posted by Andypairo

.de, of course. Much more choice.

Thank you for the links, do you know approximately how old can they be ?

Cheers

Andrea

You can go to www.marantz.com, you'll have to click on some links before getting on the audio products page
then, on the left menu, look for "old products archive" or something like this, then, select compact disc players, and select nothing for the year

you'll have the complate list of the old cd players; with the year it beginned to be selled (and only this)

[Andypairo]

So they started selling these units in 1991.. aren't they a bit old?

Cheers

Andrea

[Bricolo]

I think the CD931 is from 1993...

[Andypairo]

The question remains the same.... when old becomes too old?

Are there some other models (or brands) that can be suggested for my purpose or I'd better stick with the newest products?

Cheers

Andrea

[Bricolo]

MY CD62 has approx. 10 years, and is in a perfect state.
Not even a scratch on it.

It reads CDs without problems, the same for CDRs and CDRWs
According to Jean-Paul, that means that the laser is OK

[Elso Kwak]

Hi Andypairo,
First congratulations with your engagement to be married!.
I own a Philips CD931 that is very similar to the CD930.
I find the sound better then the Philips CD650.(same clock). And muchos better than a Sony CDPX33ES. (And also much better than the Philips CD380. Do you read this Rudolf?)
For topnotch performance take out the three I2S signals and feed them directly to the TDA1543. Stunning performance,. I never heard the sweet shimmering overtones of a clavicord better!
The digital output is bulls***. Distorted waveform and cinch (not 75 Ohm).

Bricolo, you can take out the main PCB TOGETHER with the transport!. Just remove all screws holding the the main PCB and to screws behind the tray at the front, holding the stationary tray to the frontpanel. The front of the tray can be easily removed by lifting. Also remove the screw at the center of the transport at the rear. For this one you need a long torxbit.

A groundloop seems to be built in as the main PCB is connected at two or more places to the chassis. Jean-Paul seems to know all about this issue.