Shaggy and Scooby Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 I have a question about cd players and I'm sure this will stir some debate. I have some old school NAD Cd Players and recently a Marantz in my line up. I also have had some very good Yamaha changers over the years and also a Sony. The question is why are the Cd Players that are from the 80's era better sounding. You would think that the newer ones would have a much smoother sound. Is it because the new ones have tried to shrink everything to the point of sacrificed sound quality. Or is it all in the profit margin. The chassis is alot heavier on the older ones and to get the build quality of a older one you have to spend a arm and a leg. Is this all just me or is there something to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonman Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 You are right I notice that some of the older cd players are built much better and sound better than a lot of the gear today. My current cd player is a 13 year old Sherwood cd player and it still sounds pretty good imo. Not 'digital' like a lot of players and pretty smooth overall. Not to mention that older cd players can be had for peanuts off ebay or thrift shops/garage sales (we're talking in the $10-$20 range here!). They just don't make them like they used to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy and Scooby Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 Yeah you are right about the peanuts part. I have a NAD cd player that I bought at a garage sale for a whopping $1.00. The problem it needed a new belt. I got the belt for free after the place I work threw out a vcr. What luck. I also bought a NAD nd changer for a whopping $5.00 at a pawn shop. The problem needed the spindle speed adjusted. 5 minutes and it works great. Now the Marantz was a thrift shop $10.00 piece. So the peanuts part is right. Yeah I agree the term I was looking for was more analog. The stuff now and days is so digital and processed. I am not to fond of the whole digital revolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 I do agree, I cannot stand a CD played on a DVD player unless it was a real high end model like the Denon 5900, 3910 or equivalent and even then I do not prefer the sound via the optical link when listening to redbook CD's. My three mid to late 80's favorites are in this order: Nakamichi OMS-7AII, DBX DX5, Yamaha CDX-1110U. These are big heavy solidly built machines that sold for some serious bucks back then. I still use the DBX DX5 as my main player, it has no trouble reading CD-R's which amazes me since it was built in '87. While the DAC's may be old school there is something smooth sounding to them not harsh or edgey to me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 It is true the old players are built like Tanks. I have a 1990 vintage Yamaha CDX-2020 and it weighs in at just almost 35lbs! Between this and my Brothers Nakamichi OMS-5 (1985 vintage) they are very analog sounding compared to most newer cd/dvd players. Gotta give some credit to my Toshiba SD-3950 though...it is very nice sounding,especially for the $19.99 I paid for it after the Amazon & factory rebate offers.It keeps the wear and tear off the Yamaha too. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletcherkane Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 I have a 1991 Magnavox CDB 502. It was the first CD Player I ever owned. It too is built like a tank, and sounds better than all the other CD Players I own. Won't play CDR's though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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