Given that the OP has inherited this system and likely has not explored all possibilities, and noting no mention of how many CDs they own, I can’t see why alternatives can’t be mentioned. You tone is rather aggressive and unnecessary. Perhaps reflect on that.
I’ll leave others to reflect on whether my responses were aggressive or unnecessary, thanks.
I thought you were done here?
last year my wife’s CD3.5 was in dock for repair. she therefore appropriated my CDX.
So I plugged a vintage Meridian 200 CDT into my nDAC-XPS.
Thirty (?) years old, worked very nicely!
I thought so too, but as you were persisting…
The guy is asking for CD player recommendations. End of.
He is not asking for other low cost options.
But then he did reply to me to ask about CD ripping. So maybe re read this thread?
Anyway, why choose to jump on me? Have I previously offended you? Please note I wasn’t the only one suggesting alternatives. Perhaps your next response will be more positive?
Thanks for the ideas so far.
I just had a quick look on the usual auction site and saw a meridian 506 and really liked the way it looked but its the 20bit version and after reading a few sites the 24bit version might be better for me.
The audiolabs also look like good options.
I am not sure about the marantz, i had to bin both my marantz av amp and ud player at xmas when they died, and the 6007 looks just like them. No real substance to that thought lol.
With regards to cd ripping, i am not against it, just didnt have a good experience of the process/results when i did it 10 years ago.
Streaming: I use Spotify all the time in the car on the iphone and with my sonos. Its great and i will use it with the naim nd5xs2. I am also going to trial tidal and see how it goes.
But i have a lot of cds, some of which are not on Spotify. My music tastes are quite varied but i have a lot of 90s dance, drum and bass and other electronic music that isnt on Spotify. The 80s music and rock/indie music does seem to be duplicated online.
But there was something quite nice about persuing the cd collection, pulling out a disc and placing it in the drawer. Its similar to why people like to use vinyl.
Plus as i elluded to earlier when i ripped my cds i preferred the cd version over the flac copy. It just felt better on cd.
Marantz CD players are awesome (I’ve owned three) and have won countless awards. They are built like tanks. I bought a CD6004 back in 2011 and gave it to my brother when I switched to an Oppo 205 (I wanted a UDP) . He still has it and it’s still going strong.
You were the one to initially derail the thread - the third post of the thread !
That’s why people jump on you. No offence taken, but no advice given regarding the OP’s request.
Perhaps your next response will be more positive.
You have a valid input from what I can see.
The OP wants CDP suggestions they have inherited the streamer along with some other rather nice pieces, so let’s stick to what is requested. If they want suggestions on an alternative solution then fine we can all chip in.
An Audiolab 6000CDT would fit the bill nicely, under budget and new.
Interestingly, I have a Meridian 506.24 that I bought new around 2000. However, the laser is a bit dodgy and fails to recognise many CDs. I’ve had a quote of £350 to fix it, but I chose to rip 500 CDs to my NAS instead! I’m happy with my decision but I get the desire for physical media. I still have my CDs!
Physical media is always nice, tactile and involving.
Hardly a derail, simply an alternative view. This is a forum after all.
The Meridians work really well with the Naim kit. A 200 cd transport into an Ndac 555 was superb. I do have a Rega Isis which I use as a transport into a Chord Mscaler TT2 but for the cost of the Meridian v the Rega these make a great buy
A 31year old CD player with the CDM4/19 mech working reliably says how well these were built
I was quite surprised how good my old Marantz CD 67 SE sounded into the Chord M scaler.
The OP could perhaps pick up a relatively cheap old 1990s CDP and it could do the job.
.sjb
Other manufacturers take note!!
Supporting the Audiolab suggestion. My 8000 player just failed to work one day, power supply failure appeared to a known problem, Audiolab repaired it and replaced the drive. Accepting that audio memory is fallible, I would swear it sounds better.
Before that, I had two Marantz players, possibly 52se, both failed in the same way, the gear that drives the CD tray turned to dust. I didn’t even get a response enquiring about repair, a shame because they sounded great. Great for the hifi business because seeking out the Audiolab started me on upgrading again.
A vote for Audiolab.