I both agree, and disagree with the above: whilst I'd like to have music on a solid state memory thing, with spdif out, I still think that a JVC xl-vl, or JVC Ca-fssd 550r, or Acousticplan Vardi, or any CD player by Bang and Olfson are really cool. I'm currently tempted by " wall mounted CD player " on amazon.
I propose building a device on the basis of the B&O CD player, or any other player where the disc is visible, the device buttons are also sending data to a Raspberry Pi, together with the CD info. The RasPi has access to all your CDs on a SSD and, upon receiving the "Play" command and the CD information, starts playing the same tracks thru a modern, high quality DAC. The CD mechanism is purely decorative at that point
Best of both worlds: nostalgia and high quality music.
I can see how some people might appreciate the nostalgic aspect of CD players, but that's not a market big enough to justify a device like the one that started this thread. Any used CD player will better address the nostalgic needs of those people.
Hi Salar,
I have read all 34 pages, it has been a bumpy ride but very thought provoking.
I don't have anything to contribute technically, this stuff is way beyond me mostly and I applaud you for wanting to build something of quality that could solve the problem of how we are all going to play our CD's when most of the original mechanisms wear out. I for one would be interested in buying into that.
So, it seems that you are looking for somebody with specialist knowledge of Optics and specifically Laser-Optics ??. I think the problem here is that this forum is popular amongst hobbyists (although having said that the knowledge here is astounding to me, but of course there are also some professional repair technicians in here too) so it is kind of unlikely that the person you are looking for reads this forum.
I suspect you already have access to a lot of literature on the subject so is it possible that the person you seek is mentioned in there ? e.g. maybe somebody working at Philips or Sony who was in on the original development of CD drives and who might be interested in passing on some of their knowledge. Heck they may even have substantial notes they are willing to give you access to, it might be worth asking at least.
Just trying to keep this going, it would be a crying shame to have to give up a great idea for the want of that little bit of help you need. I'm happy to to help you in the search if that is any real help.
Cheers
Mike
X800M2 has no front panel display, needs to be connected to an HDMI display. Last year picked up an X800M2 on black friday sale to compare the s/pdif RCA output against an old DVP-NS500V, both into an external DAC; unfortunately, the NS500V (with about 1600 hrs accumulated CD playback time) sounded better.
perhaps the X800M2's (and other universal player's) optics are compromised with respect to CD playback at 780nm IR wavelengths, with the universal blu-ray using 405nm.
Pure CD (IR 780nm only) or CD/DVD (780/650nm) optical assemblies might be a better starting point for lowest error rates (both C1 and C2)
I currently use a Sony blu-ray player as a CD transport, but it doesn't read some discs ( notably led zep and RUSH ) properly ( you can just here the music above a load of mush ), I have no idea if it's some copyright thing on the Sony, or I've just got the settings wrong. I bought the Sony ( £133.00p ) because it has comparable jitter values to a £ 8,000.00p Esoteric transport.