How old is your CD player? (1 Viewer)

[Michael Colby]

Just wondering how old everyone's CD player is. Mine's a Sony CDP-X707ES that's about 11 years old. It's running just fine. Just how long can a player keep going? Does anyone have an older unit?

-Mike

 

[PaulDA]

My Denon CD player dates back to 1990 and it works pretty well (it has some trouble reading the table of contents of some recently manufactured discs--especially those with enhanced CD-ROM features--but it plays the vast majority quite well). It is in my secondary system, however, as it lacks a digital output and I have a home deck MD recorder with digital input in my primary system. My original Kenwood CD player is still running strong at my friend's house (1986 vintage).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have a 16+ year old Technics CD player that still works fine, although it's currently not hooked up. I also have a 12+ year old Sony 5-disc carousel player that works fine and is connected to the system in our basement rec room.

 

[mark alan]

I sold my 1984 hitachi cd player last year and it worked fine when I sold it.

 

[Michael Colby]

That's cool your player was so reliable. But who would buy one that's almost 20 years old?

 

[NickSo]

My dad has a denon thats from mid-late 1980's. I have a Luxman in my bedroom from 1991 (bought at a garage sale for $5)

 

[Tony Kwong]

I have a very old Philips player. Not hooked up or anything but I bring it out ever once in a while bacause I have a couple of CD's that cannot be read by any other player, including on a computer. Must have a better reading laser.

 

[mark alan]

People will buy anything at a garage sale. they also bought my 20 year old akai receiver and 20 year old Bose 301's. The cd player and receiver were amazingly heavy, sturdy and reliable and are probably good for another 20 years.

 

[Michael Colby]

Yes. I think some of those older players were built to a higher standard than the new models. My old Sony weighs 40+ pounds. The thing is a tank!

On another forum, people were suggesting that the capacitors in CD players degrade over time and make the sound quality worse. Does anyone have any informaiton about this?

 

[Robert*S]

I have an JVC XLV-222 CD player that I got around 1987.
I have used it consistenly since I got it (never in storage) and it works like a charm.

 

[Jim Rakowiecki]

I have a Denon changer I bought in August of 1991 and it has had pretty much constant use since then and is still going strong. It is still in my primary system but has been relegated to back up duty.
I'm thinking about replacing it with another 5 disc changer. The Denon DCM 380 is a strong candidate but I'm looking for suggestions if anyone has some thoughts I'd appreciate some help.

 

[Jim Mcc]

I've got a Technics CD player that's about 25 years old. My son uses it now in his room. Still working fine, never been repaired.

 

[mark alan]

Save that baby!!! It's older than the invention of the compact disc.

 

[Jurgen Dutch]

My Marantz CD-80 dates from around 1990. I replaced it by a Audionet Art V2 just a few days ago.
The Marantz played very well all the time. I have put it away for further use, somewhere in the house.

 

[ChrisHeflen]

I have a Technics SL-PD807 changer from the early '90's. Has worked flawlessly. I love the sound. It plays everything I've thrown at it.
That was back when they came out with there MASH stuff and was pretty good for mass market stuff. I remember looking through a way old Stereo Review "buyer's guide", and saw that they made a transport for $4500.00 and a seperate DAC for the same amount too. I always wondered what that would have sounded like.

What the heck ever happened to Technics?

 

[Chip E]

I have a Pioneer M-510 CD magazine changer i bought in 1986 that still works perfectly in my garage setup. My current CD player in my main system is a three year old Sony SCD-C555ES changer..works great.

 

[MikeMeehan]

I have a Pioneer PD-M40 magazine changer purchased in 1984 for about $400. It still works fine.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

I don't know what year the Carver SD/A-360 was released, but I've had mine since 1992, IIRC.

 

[Dan A]

I started with a Hitachi at the dawn of CDs, then a Pioneer 5 or 6 disc magazine, which was a pain to use so I switched to a Harmon Kardon FL 8400, a five disc carousel. I'm not sure if there is a real difference in how $200 CD players sound but I think the HK sounded better than other I demo'd at the time, mellower than the rest.
Now the motor on the HK died, after being on pause for a few hours, and I'm in the market for another corousel.

I see a lot of DVD CD players, but I don't really want my DVD player to be used with the frequency of my CD player. My DVD is a Panasonic RP91.


In reading this thread and seeing so people using older CD players, I'm starting to think I don't have to be too picky in choosing a new player. So I'm interested in hearing if others agree.

 

[Michael Colby]

I agree. There's nothing magical about them. Also, it seems that most companies are putting their R&D resources into DVD and multichannel sound. So, as far as two-channel CD playback, there haven't been any technological revolutions recently. Personally, I think the mid-90s players reached sort of a peak which we won't see again with the aging format.