My old early 2000's DIY Modded Toshiba DVD player has started to sound harsh, tinny and generally tonally unbalanced.
Possibly due to continuing system upgrades or it's just timed out, regardless of why...it's sound failings are now too glaring to ignore further.
Thought of a New CD unit.. on reading in here 😱 Tascam cd200 seems as a likely choice.
Found one and ready to Buy it...
Then I noticed that my Toshiba does have a Coax (cheap RCA plug tho) labelled as "bitstream audio out".
Goofy Toslink thing as well. Bet that Dates it 🙂
Sooo does this mean that I could fit a standalone DAC gizmo??
Once I figure out one that would be worthwhile, that accepts a coax input .. And... that I can afford 😉
Newbie questions all.. but I haven't fiddled with the CD side of my system for well over 10 years, so my experiences are limited
Possibly due to continuing system upgrades or it's just timed out, regardless of why...it's sound failings are now too glaring to ignore further.
Thought of a New CD unit.. on reading in here 😱 Tascam cd200 seems as a likely choice.
Found one and ready to Buy it...
Then I noticed that my Toshiba does have a Coax (cheap RCA plug tho) labelled as "bitstream audio out".
Goofy Toslink thing as well. Bet that Dates it 🙂
Sooo does this mean that I could fit a standalone DAC gizmo??
Once I figure out one that would be worthwhile, that accepts a coax input .. And... that I can afford 😉
Newbie questions all.. but I haven't fiddled with the CD side of my system for well over 10 years, so my experiences are limited
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i was at the same milestone about a new cd player a few weeks ago and decided to give a pifi (Raspberry Pi and IQaudIO DAC+) a go and i can say i'm rather surprised at the capability of the pifi for such a low price, add to that the convenience and it was a no brainer.
dont think i will be buying a cd player ever again.
dont think i will be buying a cd player ever again.
I used to run a mobile disco using CD players and was often horrified when they would start to play up. CD'S skipping and not cueing up were common problems and that was with a new dual CD player.
I now use a laptop with a USB DAC and it sounds much better and is much more reliable.
I now use a laptop with a USB DAC and it sounds much better and is much more reliable.
Don't / didn't even know what a Raspberry Pi was 😱 beyond a berry growing on raspberry canes.
Big in Britain then? Like a Rep Rap... is it a Localized adventure?
Seems affordable at least ..so how does one use it?
Feed it bits from a Hard drive?
Big in Britain then? Like a Rep Rap... is it a Localized adventure?
Seems affordable at least ..so how does one use it?
Feed it bits from a Hard drive?
Raspberry Pi is pretty big on this side of the pond. Along with Beaglebone Black and others.
+1 for digital storage and a good sound card. I use a older Mac laptop with a Focusrite PRO24 sound card as my player + crossover. Works great. I use Apple Lossless format. FLAC would be another good format.
Tom
+1 for digital storage and a good sound card. I use a older Mac laptop with a Focusrite PRO24 sound card as my player + crossover. Works great. I use Apple Lossless format. FLAC would be another good format.
Tom
Things you need:
Raspberry Pi2
I2S DAC of your choosing (Hifiberry or IQaudIO)
Power.. wall wart with 1.2A output with a micro USB (samsung charger)
8GB Micro SD card for the OS
32> GB Micro SD for the music
A card reader (Kingston USB microSD reader)
Volumio, MoOde Player or RuneAudio OS
Win32DiscImiger
Router
Network Cable
WIFI dongle (Edimax EW-7811)
A computer/laptop to set things up, after that you can use a tablet to control the Pi or stick with the computer/laptop
A case to put the Pi in
Go to either RuneAudio, Volumio or MoOde Player website and look for instructions on how to ''get started''
once set up, sit back and me amazed
Simples 🙂
Raspberry Pi2
I2S DAC of your choosing (Hifiberry or IQaudIO)
Power.. wall wart with 1.2A output with a micro USB (samsung charger)
8GB Micro SD card for the OS
32> GB Micro SD for the music
A card reader (Kingston USB microSD reader)
Volumio, MoOde Player or RuneAudio OS
Win32DiscImiger
Router
Network Cable
WIFI dongle (Edimax EW-7811)
A computer/laptop to set things up, after that you can use a tablet to control the Pi or stick with the computer/laptop
A case to put the Pi in
Go to either RuneAudio, Volumio or MoOde Player website and look for instructions on how to ''get started''
once set up, sit back and me amazed
Simples 🙂
Sorry.. But NO clue what a Beagle is.. beyond the Cute but yappy dogs the neighbour's Girls have.
I 'returned' my I pad as Useless to MY needs.. as reference point.
Decidedly a practising Luddite
I house an ~ equal number of Lps and Cd's.
Enjoying music off my 'Puter is of No interest
I enjoy the ritual of listening to music.. the paraphernalia, the selecting/cueing of an LP... even a CD, settling into my chair with my preferred intoxicant.
Only wanting a slightly more capable CD reproduction Gizmo as I have continuously refined my Setup to the point where now.. Most all.. newly purchased cd/recordings are annoyingly bad sounding things.
On the other hand...New vinyl is proving equally Crap.
Perhaps it's not My gear then ?? Or perhaps it's uselessly above the low levels of the media currently sold /distributed ?
Now that is a disturbing thought
I 'returned' my I pad as Useless to MY needs.. as reference point.
Decidedly a practising Luddite
I house an ~ equal number of Lps and Cd's.
Enjoying music off my 'Puter is of No interest
I enjoy the ritual of listening to music.. the paraphernalia, the selecting/cueing of an LP... even a CD, settling into my chair with my preferred intoxicant.
Only wanting a slightly more capable CD reproduction Gizmo as I have continuously refined my Setup to the point where now.. Most all.. newly purchased cd/recordings are annoyingly bad sounding things.
On the other hand...New vinyl is proving equally Crap.
Perhaps it's not My gear then ?? Or perhaps it's uselessly above the low levels of the media currently sold /distributed ?
Now that is a disturbing thought
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i was exactly the same.. my Pink Triangle PT2/Audiomods/DL-304 and LPT/modded Rega RB300/Dl-110 sit gathering dust along with a fairly large record collection.
My CDs are in boxes. Still unpacked from my recent move. I'm rather content with selecting an album on my Remote app and leaning back with a microbrew.
Tom
Tom
OK clearly you guys are far more sophisticated in this than I.
Thank you for your patience at least..
I've been a closet Audio Weenie for 45 years, now viewing the incessant upgrade cycles as wearying 😉
That said;
How does one even start on this New adventure?
I have NO idea (yet) of where to even begin on this.
Yes... the Raspberry Pi etc. gizmo and it's pricings does appeal, you have my attentions.
Certainly more appealing than buying yet another CD player, praying it meets expectations ( imo unlikely) then, because it doesn't...having to hunt up a DAC for the thing, in hope of 'fixin' it.
For yet another cycle/variant of the: "buy it and hope it works" treadmill.
PS; Is there a simple /inexpensive dac that can (will 🙂 work off the Coax out (spdif?) on my collection of CD players.
Tom.. now there's a Diy project idea with Large appeal if it actually Works and the pricings are kept low/ affordable??
Never say die.
Thank you for your patience at least..
I've been a closet Audio Weenie for 45 years, now viewing the incessant upgrade cycles as wearying 😉
That said;
How does one even start on this New adventure?
I have NO idea (yet) of where to even begin on this.
Yes... the Raspberry Pi etc. gizmo and it's pricings does appeal, you have my attentions.
Certainly more appealing than buying yet another CD player, praying it meets expectations ( imo unlikely) then, because it doesn't...having to hunt up a DAC for the thing, in hope of 'fixin' it.
For yet another cycle/variant of the: "buy it and hope it works" treadmill.
PS; Is there a simple /inexpensive dac that can (will 🙂 work off the Coax out (spdif?) on my collection of CD players.
Tom.. now there's a Diy project idea with Large appeal if it actually Works and the pricings are kept low/ affordable??
Never say die.
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Further to above.. I've wasted my morning Surfing.. Is a Schiit Modi2 Uber?
Worthwhile to my needs?
Worthwhile to my needs?
There are also other inexpensive options. I had an old laptop lying around, and found enough free software so all I needed to buy as a $25 USB sound "card" to get me in business. Old? Yeah, Pentium III old.
I installed Ubuntu Linux (free), MPD (Music Player Daemon)(also free), and because I also use this system as crossover, Ecasound (free).
I have all my music on hard drive on another system, connected by wireless network. Control of my system is by remote laptop, tablet or phone.
If you don't need crossover, you could have this running in a couple hours. I use "auremo" on my other PCs to control the system. This is pretty much what you get on a rPi, just on a pc instead. Happy to help, ping me direct....
I installed Ubuntu Linux (free), MPD (Music Player Daemon)(also free), and because I also use this system as crossover, Ecasound (free).
I have all my music on hard drive on another system, connected by wireless network. Control of my system is by remote laptop, tablet or phone.
If you don't need crossover, you could have this running in a couple hours. I use "auremo" on my other PCs to control the system. This is pretty much what you get on a rPi, just on a pc instead. Happy to help, ping me direct....
I was looking at the same unit along with the much more expensive CD-6010 ($800 to $1,200).
I cannot find a review on it, it's pro-equipment.
Product: CD-6010 | TASCAM
I was attracted to Teac/Tascam because they make their own CD drives, apparently Phillips is out of the business.
As I understand CD's (standard Redbook) still offer the best sound including over that of any downloadable formats.
I just don't want to learn a new system, my life is complex enough and I'm set in my ways.
Tascam does seem as working gear though.. I'm having trouble getting past that.
Work equipment is intended for heavy usages by indifferent
employees.
Durability over finesse.
Accordingly the 'few' reviews of the admittedly lower cost CD200 focus entirely on the Transport aspect.. with little to NO mention of Audio performances.
Suggesting that a capable DAC is mandatory...
Yet another $$$ can o' worms to deal with.
The First 'transport' that died on me was an early Sony.. laughably later claimed as a Classic Bullet Proof transport .. NOT mine.
Oddly the transport on My Cheap (50$) Toshiba dvd/cd player is still rock solid ~12 years on. Hmmm... smoke 'n mirrors?
Today I'm looking at the Emotiva ERC Cd player.. More $$ than the CD200, less than the CD 500 😉 but the build quality.. From brochure viewings . Is Seriously impressive... reinforced by the 5 yr warranty.
Other possible is an Oppo, yet More $$ and as I'm NO Home theatre user/fan Too many expensive features I don't want.. But?
Choices are narrowing.. some.
Work equipment is intended for heavy usages by indifferent
employees.
Durability over finesse.
Accordingly the 'few' reviews of the admittedly lower cost CD200 focus entirely on the Transport aspect.. with little to NO mention of Audio performances.
Suggesting that a capable DAC is mandatory...
Yet another $$$ can o' worms to deal with.
The First 'transport' that died on me was an early Sony.. laughably later claimed as a Classic Bullet Proof transport .. NOT mine.
Oddly the transport on My Cheap (50$) Toshiba dvd/cd player is still rock solid ~12 years on. Hmmm... smoke 'n mirrors?
Today I'm looking at the Emotiva ERC Cd player.. More $$ than the CD200, less than the CD 500 😉 but the build quality.. From brochure viewings . Is Seriously impressive... reinforced by the 5 yr warranty.
Other possible is an Oppo, yet More $$ and as I'm NO Home theatre user/fan Too many expensive features I don't want.. But?
Choices are narrowing.. some.
Perhaps something else is going on in your system, if everything sounds bad perhaps something is wrong or further across the board improvements are still needed. I've been consistently pleased with recent vinyl releases and digital recordings. (I now use a Sony HAP-Z1ES to play most of my digital files.) I got tired of the paraphernalia hence the HAP, but definitely relate to the preferred intoxicant. I will say that abandoning the physical CD and ancient player has resulted in greater convenience and a pretty significant improvement in sound quality for most of those recordings. FWIW I have very good vinyl playback hardware if not exactly cutting edge. The ritual while fun is overrated, more interested in the music.
How about you get something like a DacMagic 100 ($299 in Amazon), which in my view has the following advantages:
- it might be a significant improvement (*) over whatever is in your old DVD player;
- if down the line said old DVD player starts acting up mechanically or dies, you can get a new one (which you probably would anyway) with a digital output (most, if not all, have them nowadays) and continue to enjoy the good audio quality of the DacMagic;
- it has a USB input where you can connect your computer and see how you like the "new ritual" before jumping head first into the whole shebang, which involves, among other things, extracting all your CDs to the new medium... But hey, you may find you like it anyway and the way I've been doing it is while I listen to them, much less daunting than the thought of getting a pile of CDs to extract, and then another one, and another one, and so on until I go through my 600+ collection, which I probably won't in my lifetime, but I've already gone through many of the ones I listen to (i.e. like) the most. And I like the new ritual just fine, by the way, I just go with one or the other depending on mood / convenience / etc.
(*) I say "might be" because I'm with kevinkr that suddenly the whole system sounding bad could be something other than the DVD player "getting old"...
- it might be a significant improvement (*) over whatever is in your old DVD player;
- if down the line said old DVD player starts acting up mechanically or dies, you can get a new one (which you probably would anyway) with a digital output (most, if not all, have them nowadays) and continue to enjoy the good audio quality of the DacMagic;
- it has a USB input where you can connect your computer and see how you like the "new ritual" before jumping head first into the whole shebang, which involves, among other things, extracting all your CDs to the new medium... But hey, you may find you like it anyway and the way I've been doing it is while I listen to them, much less daunting than the thought of getting a pile of CDs to extract, and then another one, and another one, and so on until I go through my 600+ collection, which I probably won't in my lifetime, but I've already gone through many of the ones I listen to (i.e. like) the most. And I like the new ritual just fine, by the way, I just go with one or the other depending on mood / convenience / etc.
(*) I say "might be" because I'm with kevinkr that suddenly the whole system sounding bad could be something other than the DVD player "getting old"...
Huh ?
It might surprise but new systems possibly offer more convenience and better sound quality... You are never too old to learn a new trick 😉
If red book is your thing you can play that material also on solid state players (old words, new meaning 🙂 ) without skipping and with lower jitter.
Maybe just maybe an Olive One is the device for you .... No programming or other software inconveniences, just playing music from a hard disk or SSD and its amplifier is OK too. Just one small device doing all the work. Good looking too.
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No the system does not sound bad.. far from it.
If anything it's Too revealing. The results of ~40 yrs of 'fooling' with.
I've heard few setups that even equal let alone surpass it..(outside of some Dealers' Showroom 😉. Irrelevant info tho.
Almost bought an Emotiva cd gizmo, but Cad$ is of too low an exchange rate to make that a sensible purchase.
Got a used NAD bee cdp..cheap and easy.
Works well, albeit a bit forward in the midrange and not too precise at the extremes.. but it's at least a pleasant sounding thing.
Non fatiguing, easy to live with for now.
Thinking of modding it.. not today though.
Yesss I will explore the 'alternates' (why Not ?)
Now that I have a useable/working setup ..once again.
If anything it's Too revealing. The results of ~40 yrs of 'fooling' with.
I've heard few setups that even equal let alone surpass it..(outside of some Dealers' Showroom 😉. Irrelevant info tho.
Almost bought an Emotiva cd gizmo, but Cad$ is of too low an exchange rate to make that a sensible purchase.
Got a used NAD bee cdp..cheap and easy.
Works well, albeit a bit forward in the midrange and not too precise at the extremes.. but it's at least a pleasant sounding thing.
Non fatiguing, easy to live with for now.
Thinking of modding it.. not today though.
Yesss I will explore the 'alternates' (why Not ?)
Now that I have a useable/working setup ..once again.
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The Olive one is a cool one but does the OP want to go with ripping ?
For a start & go I would just buy a Philips DVD in a second hand shop ! Less than 50 euros here ! Sound is often good.
As the OP seems to know about tweaking and soldering : one or two caps swapping et voilà !
What a mess than some brands like cambridge do not make CHEAP wifi network player/DAC ! Just putt the cd or the dvd in the laptop and stream towards the little box as the Olive can !
If you (OP) have already the amp and you don't want to swap it and have a local network with your provider Internet Box, there are also more or less some plug&play system like Synology : it's a server you can manage from your laptop other the local network (RJ45 network cable or wifi) ! via an usb output which is on this Synology box, just plug a Ifi nano (less 200 USD) : you have a nice dac with volume pot which can play all the format from Red book to the uppest 32 bits ! But here you need to "rip" your cd collection !
One advantage is as it can be a multimedia server, you can putt on the embeded plugable hard disk : movies, photographs, pdf, etc !
If a little money : an Opo dvd player will be a great improvement and can play movies too
For a start & go I would just buy a Philips DVD in a second hand shop ! Less than 50 euros here ! Sound is often good.
As the OP seems to know about tweaking and soldering : one or two caps swapping et voilà !
What a mess than some brands like cambridge do not make CHEAP wifi network player/DAC ! Just putt the cd or the dvd in the laptop and stream towards the little box as the Olive can !
If you (OP) have already the amp and you don't want to swap it and have a local network with your provider Internet Box, there are also more or less some plug&play system like Synology : it's a server you can manage from your laptop other the local network (RJ45 network cable or wifi) ! via an usb output which is on this Synology box, just plug a Ifi nano (less 200 USD) : you have a nice dac with volume pot which can play all the format from Red book to the uppest 32 bits ! But here you need to "rip" your cd collection !
One advantage is as it can be a multimedia server, you can putt on the embeded plugable hard disk : movies, photographs, pdf, etc !
If a little money : an Opo dvd player will be a great improvement and can play movies too
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Optical devices = yesterdays technology....
Any player that wears out mechanically is a risk itself and going on on that route ensures a vicious circle of having to buy new devices over and over...be it CD or DVD. And a larger and larger necessary cabinet for the media adds up to the story.
I have a One (and some other devices in the same league) but it sure is a serious opponent for CD/DVD drives with all the added extra possibilities like cover art on your tablet, streaming, no noisy hot laptop with wire clutter and batteries going bad etc. but .... a backup is not a luxury. Ah well, CD's and DVD's wear out too 😉 Did I mention "no hassle" ? Except for the ripping though but that is a one time only venture if a backup is made to a redundant NAS.
If I would have had the One 20 years ago I would never have even bothered to build stuff myself. At the moment I am gathering all my analog stuff to sell it but some of the gear is hard to say goodbye to.
Any player that wears out mechanically is a risk itself and going on on that route ensures a vicious circle of having to buy new devices over and over...be it CD or DVD. And a larger and larger necessary cabinet for the media adds up to the story.
I have a One (and some other devices in the same league) but it sure is a serious opponent for CD/DVD drives with all the added extra possibilities like cover art on your tablet, streaming, no noisy hot laptop with wire clutter and batteries going bad etc. but .... a backup is not a luxury. Ah well, CD's and DVD's wear out too 😉 Did I mention "no hassle" ? Except for the ripping though but that is a one time only venture if a backup is made to a redundant NAS.
If I would have had the One 20 years ago I would never have even bothered to build stuff myself. At the moment I am gathering all my analog stuff to sell it but some of the gear is hard to say goodbye to.
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