Vintage CD Players - What do you have?

[UV101]

Not stupid because I'm guessing that you've looked on the back of the player!
You could try emailing Meridian the S/N and asking them, other than that I guess you'll need to look inside.

I know I've sent you this but for the benifit of others interested

MERIDIAN 206 TDA1541A-S1 (Single Crown)??? CDM-4/21
MERIDIAN 206 B TDA1547 (DAC7) CDM-4/19
MERIDIAN 206 BS 2 x SAA7321 – SAA7350 CDM-4/19
MERIDIAN 206 DS CS4328 CDM-4/19
(Info from marantzphilips.nl)

Is it a 2 box player like the 207 (with a multicore interconnect) or a single box? Not that that helps with identifiction just if you wanted me to talk you through opening it up to have a look!

[twelvebears]

Not stupid because I'm guessing that you've looked on the back of the player!
You could try emailing Meridian the S/N and asking them, other than that I guess you'll need to look inside.

I know I've sent you this but for the benifit of others interested

MERIDIAN 206 TDA1541A-S1 (Single Crown)??? CDM-4/21
MERIDIAN 206 B TDA1547 (DAC7) CDM-4/19
MERIDIAN 206 BS 2 x SAA7321 – SAA7350 CDM-4/19
MERIDIAN 206 DS CS4328 CDM-4/19
(Info from marantzphilips.nl)

Is it a 2 box player like the 207 (with a multicore interconnect) or a single box? Not that that helps with identifiction just if you wanted me to talk you through opening it up to have a look!

It's two boxes connected with a plate across the back.

[The Black Adder]

As far as my reaserch has got so far, the only way to find out Ian is to open it up. I can't find any serial number catalogue, I guess Meridian themselves would be able to tell you.

Cheers!

[jusbe]

I have a Cambridge Audio CD3 (and another spare). I also have an Arcam Alpha 5. Currently listening to the CD3 and like it a lot.

jus.

[UV101]

I have a Cambridge Audio CD3 (and another spare). I also have an Arcam Alpha 5. Currently listening to the CD3 and like it a lot.

jus.

Awesome!

That Cambridge audio has 4 TDA1541's in it! You should get a low noise reg on the filter chip before the TDA's, it will lift it 10 fold!

Do you fancy parting with your spare???? I could make it worth your while adding a few carefully chosen components?

[Scorchin34]

I have/had several.

Sherwood CDP300R (Philips drive with TDA 1540 chipset

Realistic CD-1000 with Burr Brown dac, the first ever cd player released by Radio Shack on our side of the pond, still works but it distorts sometimes.

Technics SL-P150 with dual Dacs, not sure what the dacs are.

Teac PD-555, not sure what the dacs are.

Used to own:

Quad 66
Marantz CD63SE MK II
Philips CD 104

I like cd players always buy them when I see them in thrift stores and such.

Peace,

[UV101]

You are absolutely correct Stanley.

It is almost identical to the MKI but there are indeed several differences in the MKII.

My player is virtually internally the same as THIS MKI CD94 which to be honest is much better looking than my CD960!

I think there are a few very slight layout changes in the CD94 + there is a psu cap change on the 5v rail (94 uses 2 caps where the 960 uses 1)(*edit the one in the picture on the link has the same layout as mine).I think there may also be a cap type change on 2 or 3 other components too. I'm not personally aware of an other differences but I would love to know of any others.

The MKII is HERE. The MKII is very similar in servo, PSU's Decoder and filter section. The final I/V and output section is also very similar with the addition of a summing section. The main difference is the MKII uses twin TDA1541A S1 Single crowns on a sub board just above where the single S2 Double crown resides in my player.

Given a choice on the 2, I'd love a MKII but then I'd be forced to try and find another S2 chip!!

Just remembered! The CD960 also uses a non-a TDA1541 and an SAA7220P/A as opposed to the Marantz CD94 MKI which uses TDA1541A and SAA7220P/B

Just to correct!!!

[DSJR]

ok.. my quest still going on. Keeping the options open.

B&O - I've looked at a Beogram 6500 but I'm not sure if it has the TDA1541 DAC. The 5500 has and its said that this next model only had a few changes but nothing in the DAC department.

Have you any experience with B&O?

Cheers!

Late reply, but don't bother with the B&O unless it's an original CD-X and even then, only for the wonderful mech and styling...

[DSJR]

P.S. I was told by two different designers that the crown dac made little to no difference - it was the digital filters that came afterwards that really mattered...

OK, I'm banging on about AVI again, but the DAC they made was superbly well sorted and got better with the system it was played into (rather than spicing up a less able one as many 5 star products did). The first AVI CD player used the 1541 IIRC and if the CD-M9 mech (engine) ever needed attention I wonder if les at Avondale could help as he's an expert with other versions of this wonderful little mech..

[UV101]

P.S. I was told by two different designers that the crown dac made little to no difference - it was the digital filters that came afterwards that really mattered...

mmm really! Thats a massive statement!

I have to say, thats not what I've found! The problem was that back in the day, no one bothered (or didn't know how) to implement this chip and its family to utilise its full potential. If you study the list of players that use the single crown version, you will find some commercial versions (which I agree, sticking the S1 in doesn;t really just make it better) and some awesome smaller companies like Sugden and Lector that would have attempted to release some of the potential. By Digital filter are you refering to the SAA7220P/B digital filter that is before the TDA1541? If so then yes i'd agree that the better you deal with this chip the better the sound will be. This is one of the reasons people do the NOS modification as it removes the filter chip and therefore the noise that the filter chip puts everywhere (clock, 5v rail). However a properly implemented filter, with its own low noise reg will be the biggest single improvement you will make to a std tda1541A,S1,S2 player! In respect of the output stage, I've tried various output stage types (transformer, passive I/V, opamp I/V, Burson I/V, Fully descrete I/V) and again there are massive differences.

All that said, I've yet to see a commercial implementation of any TDA1541 that lets out more than about 15% of its capability! (inc S1 types - I've not stumbled accross an S2 in a std player yet)

All IMHO of course!