The History Kid Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Usually when I read about 2 channel setups, they're using single disc music CD players or transports. I already understand the difference between a player and a transport and the benefits that might come from using a transport over a player in the right configuration... ...but is there a particular reason that people tend to lean towards single disc players over changes in 2 channel setups? Does it have to do with the guts/gears inside? Noise off of the tray? I'm debating on selling the last of the disc changers in the house and just using my BD player for CD's, and I'm just trying to see if there's a reason that single disc players are used. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 My best CD players have been Sony ES 5 CD carousel and yes i have had a few singles including a fine sounding Sony ES CDP XA1ES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Usually when I read about 2 channel setups, they're using single disc music CD players or transports. I already understand the difference between a player and a transport and the benefits that might come from using a transport over a player in the right configuration... ...but is there a particular reason that people tend to lean towards single disc players over changes in 2 channel setups? Does it have to do with the guts/gears inside? Noise off of the tray? I'm debating on selling the last of the disc changers in the house and just using my BD player for CD's, and I'm just trying to see if there's a reason that single disc players are used. Thanks guys! I am certain that most multi disc players do not have the guts(quality parts, build quality) that a fine single disc player/transport has. Very few "high end" carousel players have been produced with a few exceptions of course. With that said, I did own a mid level Adcom GCD-700 changer that sounded about as good as any player I have ever owned. The carousel did have a bit of mechanical noise when changing discs but overall it was built pretty well and as mentioned sounded great. This photo of my(sold recently) 40+ lbs Denon DCD-3520 might give an indication of why most "good" transports are single disc. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Yeah there's a reason .... the multi-disc players I've owned have generally been poor quality and didn't hold up. Maybe I should have aimed for better quality, read more reviews, etc., but I just don't trust them now. I'm sure others may have had a different experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I own the (single transport) Sony DVP-S7700 & it was engineered to be a beast. The workhorse is still performing duty 15-16 years later. Never owned (or wanted to own a multi-transport player). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I was always told it had a better laser set up in a single. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Speed and strict red book compliance was also a major factor. The older single-tray loaders could go from power off to playing music / passing a signal in under 4 seconds, even with a totally thrashed disc. ...A snail's pace compared to R2R and cassette. Instant power on/off otherwise it wouldn't sell, and the tray moved faster than you could pull your finger away from the eject button. "Loading.." and "Booting.." didn't show up until disc-changers and DVD hit the scene respectively....still a major annoyance for those that care(d) about performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Looks like I was somewhat on the right track with my thought process here then. Would you guys say the reason that there are few high-end changers is because of the complexity of keeping quality with the change components? I'd surmise that such a creature would be larger in size too, based off of the size of that Denon! My best CD players have been Sony ES 5 CD carousel and yes i have had a few singles including a fine sounding Sony ES CDP XA1ES. I have an 85ES that might have your name on it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) It's because you played one lp at a time on your turn table. CD changers brought on a guilt complex of the old stacking spindles. But really it is an expression of the KISS principle. (note for some reason multiple disc players are more desired in automobiles with no perception of a loss of quality) Edited November 11, 2015 by oldtimer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Looks like I was somewhat on the right track with my thought process here then. Would you guys say the reason that there are few high-end changers is because of the complexity of keeping quality with the change components? I'd surmise that such a creature would be larger in size too, based off of the size of that Denon! My best CD players have been Sony ES 5 CD carousel and yes i have had a few singles including a fine sounding Sony ES CDP XA1ES. I have an 85ES that might have your name on it then. Thank you but i don't really need it. I like to load up some CD's and relax, getting up to change CD's every 20-30 minutes is not my idea of relaxing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I always use my DBX DX5 or Nakamichi OMS-7AII for redbook CD playback. The multi-players (DVD, Blu-Ray, Xbox, PS4, etc.) sound like crap to me. Even the Denon 2900 that I had could not best the DBX DX5. I did have the Nakamichi MB-10 that I enjoyed that was a multi-disc player but the compression and expansion ability of the DX5 easily bested it as well. Modern CD's are waaaayyy oversaturated and need to be tamed a bit to be listenable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) The carousel is only there to hold your ready to play CD's, it does not affect the sound in any way. Its not a turntable. I have heard lousy single players, lousy multi players, good singles and good multi's. Don't judge a player by how many CD's it holds, its really not a good way to judge performance. Edited November 11, 2015 by jason str 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Looks like I was somewhat on the right track with my thought process here then. Would you guys say the reason that there are few high-end changers is because of the complexity of keeping quality with the change components? I'd surmise that such a creature would be larger in size too, based off of the size of that Denon! My best CD players have been Sony ES 5 CD carousel and yes i have had a few singles including a fine sounding Sony ES CDP XA1ES. I have an 85ES that might have your name on it then. I compare it to the purists. Purists don't like complexity and are not looking for convenience, rather pride on simplistic, no remote controls and stuff that "might" affect the sound. I think a similar mindset is in place for changers and computers. Too complex, - no good. Now computers have grabbed hold including music servers because they can sound very good. Carousels, not.... was always all about convenience where computers will do many other things that are significant to many users. That's why they are now becoming accepted. They had to get over the hump of complexity to some breakthrough point for adoption. Oh, now it is a good idea. Like Class D also though that may actually be the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krispy Kirk Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I've used single-disc CD players (Sony, Sherwood, Rotel, Philips, Onkyo) and various carousel (Panasonic, Technics) and cartridge (Pioneer) CD changers (anyone remember those?) over the past 30 years. Some were good and a few were pretty great, but they all got the job done. If convenience is important to you and you feel that staying seated between discs enhances your listening sessions, then why not just get a couple of those gigantic 250-disc "CD jukebox" style players and never, ever touch a CD again? Better yet, why not just rip all your CDs to a digital music server and control the whole collection from your iPad? You see, there is really no practical limit to convenience. First you find yourself not wanting to handle the software because it keeps you from "relaxing", and soon after you find that you'd rather the hardware make all your decisions for you (i.e. shuffle play), finally you just surrender to a streaming service like Pandora. I've watched this happen to a few friends and it's disturbing. Yes, they are listening to more music in many cases but overall they are less involved with the act of listening. To me, CD changers are the first slide down that slippery slope. Today, I use a single-disc CD player for the same reason I use a single-disc manual turntable: I have to do things when I use it. This doing of stuff when you listen to your music is part of mindfulness. If listening to music is your end goal when you power on your system, you are being "autotelic" when you sit and just listen. If music is merely a mood-setter or a pleasant background sound that you like to create while you do other things like cook, eat, read, or text on your phone, then you're not really listening to music and a CD changer (or an iPod on shuffle, or Pandora) might be a perfect fit. This is not meant to imply that everyone who listens to a CD changer is incapable of mindfulness while listening to music! But mindfulness means being present and centered in the moment and listening to one thing at a time - one note, one bar, one song, one album. Besides, who here hasn't changed their mind and not wanted to listen to discs 3, 4, and 5 after loading five CDs into a carousel player? Most times, I get halfway through a loaded changer only to discover that I suddenly feel like listening to something totally different and I end up having to reload the danged thing with five new discs that I think I want to hear now but might not want to two hours from now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 I started this thread expecting a bunch of technical replies and reasons for one or the other and Kirk comes out of nowhere with an argument on mindfulness and critical listening process. I like it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Klipsch Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Still have an old Sony CD player from back in the 80's and it still play's fine. I decided to put all of my CD's on my PS3 and was done. Although I do comparisons when I do buy a new CD and see how it sounds from the PS3 to CD. I use the analog outputs and optical. No difference in sound to these old ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I have both types of players. I use the changer (Marantz) for background music or when I want to listen to several CDs of the same artist without having to swap discs. My single play model (OPPO) gets the most use, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I have owned 4 Sony ES multi cdp's over the years & thought the sound quality was very good. Better in fact than my Sony PS3. I mainly use Rotel 1072 single players now, being 20 years newer they are superior to 80's players. I also have a Rotel 1055 multi disc player that has sound equal to the single cdp. The only objection being a somewhat clunky tray. Helpful for parties and hanging out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 With the trends in audio, there is little need for a multi disc player. Digital is is the wave of the future. I have BDP in four rooms and have not played a cd in any of them in over 5 years. I have them for their streaming function. This suits my laziness of of not having to get up to change cd's. It also suits my multimedia obsession. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Funny you mention that Derrick. I'm contemplating replacing my CDC-585 in the living room with a better network-streaming BDP. My mom is the one who would normally use it, and I think if we could get her music ripped to a Hard Drive, she could just stream what she wants from the hard drive to the player. I'd like to get a nice turn table out there eventually too over the Pioneer PL-990 we currently have. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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