Thrift Store CD Players for Red Book Aficionados

Multi-bit CD players

When I started using and hacking Dynakit tube equipment, they were about 25 years old on average. During that same time frame, I bought my first CD player which was fitted with the Philips cutting-edge TDA1541 16-bit DAC chip. 

Fast forward some 30 years later, SACD and DVD-A have been commercial failures, CD sales have been on steady decline and took a recent nose dive in sales. Except for cool LP lovers and bandwagoners, most people nowadays are either downloading or streaming their music.

So I'm buying cheap CDs unloaded by downloaders and streamers. Stuff I couldn't afford or justify in the 80s and 90s, while hunting for unloved CD players whose lasers may die any time soon...

Yep, I don't go with the flow, I never did... 😉

Sony DVP NS900V

After rediscovering the 16-bit Magnavox CDB 473, I wasn't too keen on acquiring another sigma-delta chip'd multi-player. However, for 1% of its original selling price, this Sony DVP NS900V was an irresistible deal! The fit and finish on this unit exudes quality.

Red Book Mastered CDs decoded by this machine sound polite but lack the excitement delivered by the better multi-bit players below.😒 That's why I didn't bother to take under the hood pics.😜 Maybe the SACD performance is slightly better than the Denon DVD-2910? Even if this is a slower handling machine for CDs, I can use it as a transport when my Philips lasers die. 😉

Shure SV40

Very robust build! The all-metal construction makes this Shure SV40 seem as hefty as the NS900V above. Not sure who OEM'd this unit. I read references to NEC and see traces of Sony in the transport. 

SV40

This Burr-Brown PCM54HP chip'd unit is very audiophile-oriented. The midrange has depth and detail, with a tight and deep bass + extended highs. Even if I'm yearning for more warmth in the midrange, I understand why Burr-Brown multi-bit DAC chips have an avid following. It is well deserved! 

Scott DA952

I didn't want to pay the $7 tag for something that looked chintzy, but then it was a $1 red tag sale day and it had a red tag, so I relented.

YM3020 DAC

The YM3020 is a 16-bit Yamaha chip. A buck got me a dark, mechanical and 2-dimensional sounding player. 😞 Mediocre at best. I should have spent the dollar on a CD instead. 😔

Fisher AD-870

Fisher was acquired by Sanyo in 1975, so I took a chance on this '86 Studio-Standard CD player hoping that it might have a Sanyo LC788X chip which are supposed to sound decent. No dice, it was fitted with a Yamaha Y3015 chip.

Y3015 DAC

Another mediocre CD player. 😞 It sounded bright, mechanical and flat. I don't know what's going on with these Yamaha chips.😖 At least my six bucks went to charity.😊

Magnavox CD2000

This Magnavox CD2000 and its CDB492 twin are entry level models from the late 80s to early 90s. They were manufactured in Mexico, equipped with the CDM-4 transport and the economy Philips TDA1543 16-bit chip, which has found its way in a few high end DACs like the Border Patrol, amongst others. 

Instead of the  "16, 18 or 20 bit, dual or quadruple DAC, 4, 8 or 16 X oversampling" emblazoned on the front panel, this was an understated "16-bit dual D/A converter + Digital Sound Processing" print. I didn't find a Philips SAA7220 oversampling/digital filter chip inside so it's safe to assume that this is a non-oversampling circuit. Based on my internet research, the output stage has a brick wall type analog filter(?). Here's a video of the CDB260 which looks very similar under the hood.

CD2000/CDB492

These machines don't have the ability to resolve detail like the Burr-Brown'd Shure SV40 above or the two TDA1541 players below. However, the midrange is seductive and a fine aperitif to Non-OverSampling (NOS). If you are squeamish about not being in the in crowd, skip this broken/defective design. This is strictly for music lovers!

Magnavox CDB610

I've made it my mission to rescue any 16-bit Magnavox/Philips CD player I find in the wild.😄 This CDB610 was made in Belgium in the early 90s. It has a more upmarket feel compared to the Mexican-made CDB492/CD2000.

CDB610

Even with the SAA7220P/A oversampling/digital filter chip added to the TDA1543 DAC, this machine couldn't sonically equal its TDA1540 or TDA1541 siblings below. Based on sheer musicality alone, the NOS Mexicans above and Sony CDP190 below have the upper hand over this Belgian. However, I'd rather listen to my Red Book CDs via this Belgian than through a time slicing DVD/multi-player. 

Sony CDP190

I found this '89 model Sony CD player along with a pair of Rat Shack Minimus 8s at a thrift store I've frequented for years but never found anything interesting. It doesn't look too promising under the hood. Well, there's nothing there....except behind the front panel.

CDP190

I was surprised to learn that somewhere behind the SMD and SOIC laden circuit board of this early '90s entry level Sony is a Philips TDA1543A DAC chip. The "A" version was exclusively designed for the Japanese input format which is not I2S compatible, unlike a regular TDA1543. Sony did a good job using its in-house chips for oversampling and digital filtering because this machine sounds cleaner than the similar spec'd CDB610.

The midrange of the NOS CD2000/CDB492 + slightly more bottom and top end extension = CDP190!

Sony CDP505ESD aka CDP222ESD

This model belongs to the Sony ES (Elevated Standard) series. In spite of the deluxe parts - Nichicon and Elna caps, discrete bypass capacitors surrounding the TDA1541 chip (instead of SMDs in most Magnavox/Philips) - I don't think this was truly a top of the line model since it was also sold as a mid-range CDP910. Besides, the real Sony ES models I've seen were all metal. Even if this has slightly more heft than the CDB650 above, the chassis is also a plastic + metal composite. It is safe to say that both models were designed to compete head on. Sony used its own CXD1088 digital filter instead of the Philips SAA7220P/A, B or C found in Magnavox/Philips CDPs.

CDP505ESD

Compared to the Belgian made CDB650 below and the CDB473, the TDA1541 + CXD1088 combination renders a clean and clear midrange, tighter and deeper low end response + more extended and airier highs. The net result is a slightly recessed midrange tonal balance. Perhaps this sounds closer to the truth, but I prefer a bit of sugar coating. 😉

Magnavox CDB650

The CDB650 player received a highly favorable review in the March 1987 issue of Audio. A couple of months later, in the June 1987 issue, Walt Jung wrote an article on how to make it sound even better. This spawned a cottage industry of modifications to Philips based CD players. The build quality was a notch better than the later CDB47X series, which did away with heat-sink fins for the power supply.

CDB650

IMHO, the "filtered output" was a useless expense. It causes a very audible high frequency roll off. (Did the Philips executives in Eindhoven really think Red Book CDs sounded that harsh then?) The money saved from that filtered circuit could have gone into better quality parts like Sony did above. Used via normal output jacks, this model sounds as good as the later CDB473. The midrange has a three-dimensional spatial rendition the TD1541 DAC chip has become known for + very good extension throughout the audio bandwidth. 

I am preserving the Magnavox CDB650 and Sony CDP505ESD in their original form for posterity since TDA1541-equipped machines have become a rare sight in thrift stores lately!

Magnavox FD1041

First generation 14-bit, 4 x oversampling Philips/Magnavox CD players with all-metal transport and chassis have achieved collectible status. I had to settle for this entry-level, mid-sized player with a plastic CDM-2 transport and a plastic + metal chassis to sample the sound of the first generation Philips DAC chip. 

FD1041

Philips employed 2 x TDA1540 14-bit DAC chips + the SAA7030 digital filter to yield (close to) 16-bit resolution in their first generation machines. The frequency extremes is probably at par with the economy TDA1543 equipped players above, if not better. But definitely not as extended in the frequency extremes nor does it have the ability to resolve detail like the CDB650, CDP505ESD and some of the better TDA1543 chip'd CDPs. Instead, one is rewarded with a glorious 3-D midrange. A certified classic!

TDA1541 + TDA1543

Aside from having produced musical sounding DAC chips, the Philips swing arm laser/transport design was very stable (least prone to mis-tracking) and reliable. As the saying goes in technology, always buy from the original inventors. Philips and Sony invented the CD format and based on this informal survey, the best sound came from these two manufacturers.

Philips Swing-Arm CD Transport

 Unlike classic tube equipment which can be repaired, restored and/or modified, the lasers in these 30-year-old CD players have a finite life. AFAIK, replacements are either very expensive or unobtainium. Be wise and don't gamble too much $$s. 

As enthusiastic as I may seem about Red Book CDs, I believe that this technology never quite equalled the LP in terms of musical satisfaction. I only enjoy it now since the software is practically being given away.