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Recommendations for CDP < $300

I'm new to hifi. Not really an audiophile yet. Inherited a nice older system but the Arcam CD92 player just died. 

I'm currently using an old low end Sony but it really belongs to a basic low end system down at my cabin. I have a couple of books on top of it and sorbothane pads under the feet and I'm okay with the SQ. But, it needs to go back down to my cabin.

Looking at used CD players on eBay, prices are all over the place and I'm a little leery of buying a used low end player which may have been mishandled etc. And even some with low prices have shipping rates that make even the cheap ones not worth the bother.

So now I'm looking at a new one. Prefer sub $300. There are three I'm looking at: Onkyo C-7030 for $200. NAD C538 for $300. It sounds like these two have the same Wolfson DAC. Not sure why the NAD is $100. I've pretty much ruled out a Cambridge CD-10 at $300 because it does not have gap-less play back. I don't listen to a ton of classical but I do some and pauses between classical arrangements would be a deal breaker.

I have noticed that some reviews are claiming newer CDPs sound much better than older CDPs due to improved technology. Not sure if this is true or not. Any reason to prefer new to historically good older models?

Anyway, besides the Onkyo and the NAD are there other sub $300 units I should look at? Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks,
George
n80
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
cscrutinizer, Amazon has the Onkyo CD 7030 for $150. I'm tempted. Reviews say sound quality is good for a unit this cheap but there are scores of reviews indicating what seems like serious reliability issues with many units failing within a year and a good many lemons right out of the box to boot. The latter is not a big deal since it would be a Prime purchase.

Maybe a year's worth of reliability is all you can expect from a $150 CDP these days?
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,645 posts
 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9396e-lexicon-rt-10-cd-sacd-players
djones51
617 posts
 
There is also a factory refurbished NAD C 516 bee with a 1 year warranty on A'gon for $225 including shipping.
timesheetboy's avatar
timesheetboy
6 posts
 
If you have the time and patience, you can find a nice CD/SACD at estate sales. I got my APL Denon DVD-3910 with remote for $45 just a couple of miles from my house. That was 2 years ago and it still works fine as a daily driver. I don't know why the locals didn't grab it first. They took almost every other piece of gear the guy had. 
cscrutinizer
15 posts
 
n80, There are some reports if reliability issues, but if you look you find that with many things. I had also considered the Marantz CD6006, but that's a $500. machine, and I'm not sure the SQ would be that different from the 7030. NADs are another possibility.

I just checked what I payed. I had been watching for the price to drop and bought the Onkyo at $160. Happy so far.
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