I was in the same boat, and was astounded at the price of new CD players. $300, $400, $500. Insane. I looked on my local Craigslist and bought one for $50.
How does one shop for a CD player nowadays?
- Thread starter Mr Perch
- Start date
backporchmusic
Poster Extraordinaire
Cheap 'home' CD players these days have cheap components. So I bought a Marantz unit from Guitar Center. It's made for live sound/dj use (for playing music between live sets), but it is very familiar in operation. It has CD, USB, and Bluetooth, so it is a great addition to my living room setup, especially since I get all those functions with only one RCA input on my amp/receiver.
This is the one I bought ($205 on sale):
Marantz Professional PMD-526C CD/Media/Bluetooth Player with Remote
This is the one I bought ($205 on sale):
Marantz Professional PMD-526C CD/Media/Bluetooth Player with Remote
Mr Perch
Tele-Afflicted
I am seeing DVD players with RCA stereo outputs on Amazon for about $35. That's pretty appealing if they sound comparable to my old unit. I do have relatively high-end speakers and I listen almost exclusively to classical music (although I play jazz and R&B professionally.)
PJ55
Poster Extraordinaire
Check eBay from time to time. I have an old Pioneer 25 disc changer and I see multi-disc changers up there all time. Believe it or not, some are still made.
Engine Swap
Friend of Leo's
The Toshiba 3950/60 was a favorite as a cheap platform for modding. It's a DVD player, but works fine for audio. Cheap and plentiful - I paid $4.99 for the last one I picked up.
That’s always been the starting range for decent CD players. It’s just that there is no market for the dirt cheap bottom end anymore. You can get Blu-ray players to fill that niche.
notmyusualuserid
Friend of Leo's
The US retail price was $499 a week ago.
Cosmic Cowboy
Tele-Afflicted
Pawn Shop
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memorex
Poster Extraordinaire
I still have a 1993 JVC single disc player I bought new for $98, and a 1996 JVC 5-disc carousel I bought new for $119. They're both ancient, and they both still work great. The other two are in my cars, and they both work, but I seldom use them. Today, when I want to play music at home, I usually play mp3's through my computer, or through my Samsung TV, which is hooked up to my stereo.
you can buy a decent quality blu ray player for around $60 and connect it to your receiver through optical audio or rca stereo out.
if your stereo setup isn't near your tv, that's no problem.
a blu ray player won't need to be hooked into a tv. even a 'smart' player with streaming apps are made to be user friendly for old folks. so if you pop the disc in and press play, it will bypass any on-screen menus and simply play the disc.
I have a panasonic same as the flagship player, minus some software I would never use. only $45.
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bottlenecker
Poster Extraordinaire
Nah. I don't care about or look at specs on a cd player. Or amp or speakers, for that matter. I like how it sounds, or I don't.
Just before I bought my CD player, I expressed a similar notion that there didn't seem to be a point in anything more than a $100 sony, without buying something crazy expensive. The shop owner convinced me I was wrong, and I bought a $400 marantz single disc that sounded much better than what I was used to, in a way that was immediately noticeable. I'm still using it more than 15 years later with no issues, which is a lot longer than any of the three or four $100 sony players lasted me.
monkeybanana
Tele-Afflicted
How about Goodwill? I've also had luck on Craigslist. Got a nice Teac bookshelf Areceiver in champagne on Craigslist!
bgmacaw
Poster Extraordinaire
My wife is considering getting rid of her 100 disc changer since she streams everything these days.
421JAM
Tele-Afflicted
Imo, this is why I’m doubtful that CDs will have a comeback the way vinyl has.
I have a Denon 5-disc player in a box somewhere. I also have a video player with a VHS bay. Good thing I didn't chuck 'em ...
There's a place in our town where people donate old and "obsolete" electronica. And there are always the pawnshops.
There's a place in our town where people donate old and "obsolete" electronica. And there are always the pawnshops.
JL_LI
Poster Extraordinaire
In my neighborhood, folks have a "garage sale" when they're getting ready to move to warmer climes. I remember walking my dog seeing a sign advertising such a sale stapled to a telephone pole. I misread it, twice, as GARBAGE SALE. Anyway, if I were looking for a CD player, or a VHS tape player for that matter, that's where I'd look. Shouldn't cost more than $5 and if the price tag reads five, offer two and get it for three.
