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AUDIO FORUMS >> Digital >> Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
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Message started by Donnie on 09/30/25 at 21:07:35

Title: Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
Post by Donnie on 09/30/25 at 21:07:35

I was just tearing up my house looking for a old textbook on Thermodynamics ( just to settle an argument that I had no intent to lose) and came upon my cabinet full of CD's that are usually shielded from view by doors.
Well there is a double crapload of them shoved in there, just waiting to return back to their base materials over the next 560,284 years.
It seems such a waste to store them, but also so wasteful to pitch them in the dumpster, so they sit in purgatory.

Then a idea sprang into my head, actually play them!
I'm betting that it is close to 15 years since I had played any of them. Usually I'll buy a CD, slap it in the disc drive in my computer and rip a FLAC copy and put the disc into the cabinet.

The only problem I have with playing any of the CD's now is that my last CD player went the way of the Dodo bird at least 10 years ago.

So what I am asking here is a idea of a good CD player or transport I can buy without getting way too serious (read $$$) about.
If I can pipe the digitals out of the back into my DAC would be pretty cool, so I guess that it wouldn't need to have a great onboard DAC.

So what is out there that wouldn't cost more than a pair of my wife's shoes?

Title: Re: Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
Post by MM on 10/01/25 at 02:04:45

I just used an eBay Denon for the last year or two before I swore off cd’s and went to only streaming. I think I paid $40 for it and it had a digital out to connect to my DAC.

Title: Re: Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
Post by JOMAN on 10/02/25 at 13:29:44

Quote:

So what I am asking here is a idea of a good CD player or transport I can buy without getting way too serious (read $$$) about.

I tried the S.M.S.L CDT transport on a whim, I mean for $500.00 how good can it be? It absolutely floored me. It may not be a giant killer but it's seriously good, so much so that I decided to add the Plixir balanced LPS.

I just took delivery of the Plixir dual output along with a Lumin mod kit yesterday. The LPS will be powering the CD transport and the Lumin U2 Mini. The Lumin is my reference point for the S.M.S.L CDT. I'll be posting the results later this week.

Quote:

It seems such a waste to store them, but also so wasteful to pitch them in the dumpster, so they sit in purgatory.

In case you are not successful in finding a suitable CD Player or transport... I'll be happy to help you find very good home for your CD's 😁.

Title: Re: Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
Post by CAJames on 10/02/25 at 15:28:59

Quote:

Posted by: Donnie Posted on: 09/30/25 at 13:07:35

...It seems such a waste to store them, but also so wasteful to pitch them in the dumpster, so they sit in purgatory...

Do you have a local Friends of the Library? I've donated a bunch of surplus CDs to ours.

Title: Re: Going retro:Thinking about a CD player
Post by Donnie on 10/02/25 at 20:34:00

There has been some forward motion in my quest to play CD's once again. My little brother told me to take his Blue-Ray player as he "Didn't have time to sit around on his butt during harvest season"!
So I'm heading out to his place to pick it up this evening, hopefully to not get suckered into a 12 hour shift in one of his combines!
Such is the life out here in the flatlands of Illinois!