I found a deal on a CD player and since I just grabbed a box set that includes CDs, I figured it was time...
Denon Professional - Professional-grade Audio/Video Recording, Playback and Signal Distribution
Denon Professional - Professional-grade Audio/Video Recording, Playback and Signal Distribution
Bought some bits and bobs from our good friends at Sphere Research Corporation. Just a bunch of cool stuff.
Then, bought a calibration kit for "N" connectors and "BNC" as well. Cheap and cheerful, made by Mini Circuits.
Hi kodabmx,
Well, Denon made some of the better home machines. Normally you would go for the upper models. I'm not sure how the DJ models would sound.
-Chris
Then, bought a calibration kit for "N" connectors and "BNC" as well. Cheap and cheerful, made by Mini Circuits.
Hi kodabmx,
Well, Denon made some of the better home machines. Normally you would go for the upper models. I'm not sure how the DJ models would sound.
-Chris
I assume professional > consumer. Plus it has the digital outputs anyway so I could use it with my DAC if I wanted to.
I usually would go with TASCAM, but this was a 1/2 price demo, and the specs look good enough - the only thing missing is support for FOSS audio formats like FLAC, Vorbis, and OPUS.
I usually would go with TASCAM, but this was a 1/2 price demo, and the specs look good enough - the only thing missing is support for FOSS audio formats like FLAC, Vorbis, and OPUS.
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Hi kodabmx,
I used to do warranty on both these brands when I had my shop. Tascam was more oriented to good sound, being intended for the studio. Still, not as good as the high end home product under the Teac brand. The Tascam brand brought you XLR and AES/EBU outputs and faster response mechanically. Denon Pro was aimed at the DJ where the best sound quality wasn't an issue. Again, XLR outputs but more focused on DJ features. The high end Denon machines for consumer were better and included XLR outputs, but the standard SPDIF output. Much better transports as a rule too.
I recently acquired a DCD-1630G. Not a bad machine, but an idiot had decided to improve it. It took hours to undo his damage, then upgrade it properly. He even used uncompensated Harris op amps hanging about 3/4" in the air on home made SIP adapters. He increased supply caps from 2200uF to 6800 uF!!!! Never mind the output capacitors, huge axial things, that didn't fit on the PCB.
To top it all off, the laser head was still a KSS-150A, not the KSS-210A factory replacement. All that when the head was weak (but still functioning). Some "upgrade".
You just never know what lurks inside an innocent looking CD player. Anyway, it sounds pretty good now. Clearly in the same DAC family (PCM1701) as the DCD-S10 I have (PCB1702). The DCD-S10 / DCD-3000 is a much better sounding machine.
-Chris
I used to do warranty on both these brands when I had my shop. Tascam was more oriented to good sound, being intended for the studio. Still, not as good as the high end home product under the Teac brand. The Tascam brand brought you XLR and AES/EBU outputs and faster response mechanically. Denon Pro was aimed at the DJ where the best sound quality wasn't an issue. Again, XLR outputs but more focused on DJ features. The high end Denon machines for consumer were better and included XLR outputs, but the standard SPDIF output. Much better transports as a rule too.
I recently acquired a DCD-1630G. Not a bad machine, but an idiot had decided to improve it. It took hours to undo his damage, then upgrade it properly. He even used uncompensated Harris op amps hanging about 3/4" in the air on home made SIP adapters. He increased supply caps from 2200uF to 6800 uF!!!! Never mind the output capacitors, huge axial things, that didn't fit on the PCB.
To top it all off, the laser head was still a KSS-150A, not the KSS-210A factory replacement. All that when the head was weak (but still functioning). Some "upgrade".
You just never know what lurks inside an innocent looking CD player. Anyway, it sounds pretty good now. Clearly in the same DAC family (PCM1701) as the DCD-S10 I have (PCB1702). The DCD-S10 / DCD-3000 is a much better sounding machine.
-Chris
I dunno.... CD players have never been my thing but the last one I had was a JVC that was good for it's time. It was a 262 but this is the closest link I found.
JVC XL-V252 Stereo Compact Disc Player Manual | HiFi Engine
99 percent of the time, I just rip the CD to the computer anyway but I no longer have an optical drive. The Denon will rip on it's own so that's ok, and it has pitch/tempo so I can mix from it if I want (although I'd probably just rip to files and mix with control vinyl).
Side note: whoever makes Denon Pro also makes Marantz Pro but the Denon has better specs.
JVC XL-V252 Stereo Compact Disc Player Manual | HiFi Engine
99 percent of the time, I just rip the CD to the computer anyway but I no longer have an optical drive. The Denon will rip on it's own so that's ok, and it has pitch/tempo so I can mix from it if I want (although I'd probably just rip to files and mix with control vinyl).
Side note: whoever makes Denon Pro also makes Marantz Pro but the Denon has better specs.
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Hi kodabmx,
Nippon Columbia (Denon) has about the best CD players out there in my humble opinion. Other specialty machines might be better for specific purposes, like a Tascam in a studio where it would compete with an old Studer maybe.
Marantz has always had others make their players and struggled with them since the CD-73. I was trained on that thing. Philips dragged everyone down, including Marantz, with their junk transports. Everyone suffered including Studer and Revox as they were not really repairable. Philips didn't keep spares either, unlike Sony. I hate Sony as a company, but they handled their CD mech production much better than Philips did. Other OEMs also were a lot more business-like in their approach, Sanyo being one of the bigger ones.
For consumer machines, you really can't go wrong with the higher end Denon CD players (or DVD players).
Nippon Columbia (Denon) has about the best CD players out there in my humble opinion. Other specialty machines might be better for specific purposes, like a Tascam in a studio where it would compete with an old Studer maybe.
Marantz has always had others make their players and struggled with them since the CD-73. I was trained on that thing. Philips dragged everyone down, including Marantz, with their junk transports. Everyone suffered including Studer and Revox as they were not really repairable. Philips didn't keep spares either, unlike Sony. I hate Sony as a company, but they handled their CD mech production much better than Philips did. Other OEMs also were a lot more business-like in their approach, Sanyo being one of the bigger ones.
For consumer machines, you really can't go wrong with the higher end Denon CD players (or DVD players).
however mid range new denons are a serious disappointment. After running one of their DM series all in ones for 20 years with no issues we upgraded to their seperates assuming a £400 CD player would be good. Nope. It won't play 20% of my CDs, which all work in the kids bedroom boombox fine. I almost want to get my Marantz CD80 back from my ex if it wasn't so heavy.
I'd still recommend the DM41 micro system for kitchens and bedrooms though.
I'd still recommend the DM41 micro system for kitchens and bedrooms though.
Funny, an audiophile friend I once knew (died years ago, he worked with my dad, I was in my early teens) swore by phillips for their ability to play extremely damaged discs. He'd use an external DAC of course, but he liked the transport.
He was actually someone who Bay Bloor Radio would call when they got something new for his opinion on it. Bill Robinson was his name. He had the Aragon amp with the DC loudspeaker/headspeaker system in the 90's... Three wires to the speakers, signal, ground, 600VDC. I wonder why it never caught on? LMAO 28 grand for the amp, another 8 grand for speakers.
I used to test cd players in the stores by taking a CD, and making radial gouges in it with a knife... The one that played it was the one I'd recommend that day.
Now that I know you can lap light scratches out with toothpaste, it's not as much of an issue.
He was actually someone who Bay Bloor Radio would call when they got something new for his opinion on it. Bill Robinson was his name. He had the Aragon amp with the DC loudspeaker/headspeaker system in the 90's... Three wires to the speakers, signal, ground, 600VDC. I wonder why it never caught on? LMAO 28 grand for the amp, another 8 grand for speakers.
I used to test cd players in the stores by taking a CD, and making radial gouges in it with a knife... The one that played it was the one I'd recommend that day.
Now that I know you can lap light scratches out with toothpaste, it's not as much of an issue.
Certain servo systems can handle different defects well. Just because one can deal with a radial scratch (the worst!!), doesn't mean it is the best one overall.
I have experience with BBR from an industry point of view. Not a nice store at all. One of the worst service departments too. Reps tend to be overjoyed when they are allowed to pull a line from them.
Most audio stores these days are not good players in the dealer network. A few are. BBR is really bad.
I have experience with BBR from an industry point of view. Not a nice store at all. One of the worst service departments too. Reps tend to be overjoyed when they are allowed to pull a line from them.
Most audio stores these days are not good players in the dealer network. A few are. BBR is really bad.
Hi Bill,
I agree, but they are no worse than other, similar machines. Often they aren't set up properly from the factory.
When I serviced a CD player, I always aligned it properly. Almost every customer noticed the difference, and often that was what the problem was. They also sound better when they are aligned (no shock there) as there are fewer digital errors.
-Chris
I agree, but they are no worse than other, similar machines. Often they aren't set up properly from the factory.
When I serviced a CD player, I always aligned it properly. Almost every customer noticed the difference, and often that was what the problem was. They also sound better when they are aligned (no shock there) as there are fewer digital errors.
-Chris
Well I sent the first machine back to denon for service. They 'lost' it. The new machine is slightly better but would have preferred a correctly aligned machine. I suspect the mech is not adjustable on these.
Oh and these are all good condition CDs, not the ones that have been sliding around under my seat in the car.
Oh and these are all good condition CDs, not the ones that have been sliding around under my seat in the car.
Hi kodabmx,
Well, never have them service anything!
They might be fine from a customer perspective, and that's okay. I don't know about their installations except that to the first order they appear to be okay. Don't expect technical perfection. I would seriously doubt any information I get from them as it will be either tainted by politics between brands / stores and heavily weighted for whatever is best for them. They concentrate on being the great and wonderful "BBR". Ever wonder why an entire floor is devoted to lifestyle (Bose)?
If you are ever after something high end audio or theater, many other dealers will serve you much better. About all you might ever get from them is a good price on something. It's worth paying extra to get solid technical backup and more honesty.
I'm not ripping them down. For a customer after something basic, they are probably a good dealer. But their long history is not that great or filled with technical expertise. Their ads make me ill talking about Saul Marantz, trying to equate their founder with him. They basically kill the distributor for exclusives or discounts deeper than other dealers get, then kill the price on that item. They move boxes and that's all.
Whatever you do, do not allow them to service anything. I have seen them write-off products while doing warranty service. Just buy from them if you must.
Well, never have them service anything!
They might be fine from a customer perspective, and that's okay. I don't know about their installations except that to the first order they appear to be okay. Don't expect technical perfection. I would seriously doubt any information I get from them as it will be either tainted by politics between brands / stores and heavily weighted for whatever is best for them. They concentrate on being the great and wonderful "BBR". Ever wonder why an entire floor is devoted to lifestyle (Bose)?
If you are ever after something high end audio or theater, many other dealers will serve you much better. About all you might ever get from them is a good price on something. It's worth paying extra to get solid technical backup and more honesty.
I'm not ripping them down. For a customer after something basic, they are probably a good dealer. But their long history is not that great or filled with technical expertise. Their ads make me ill talking about Saul Marantz, trying to equate their founder with him. They basically kill the distributor for exclusives or discounts deeper than other dealers get, then kill the price on that item. They move boxes and that's all.
Whatever you do, do not allow them to service anything. I have seen them write-off products while doing warranty service. Just buy from them if you must.
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I got a couple of Philmore vernier dials. I have been collecting bits n pieces for awhile. It seems tubes and transistors are not just fun for audio, there’s a whole universe of radio out there, ready to provide new excuses to fire up the soldering iron.
