WTD: Pioneer DV717 or similar cheap CD transport

[Lawrence001]

As in the title, any ideas considered. Local collection preferred (London & a bit north of, or occasionally Durham).

[struth]

good transports these. Ive got 2 somewhere. used to use a lot. the 737 is very similar

[agk]

Hasn't Bev of this parish got one of these that's probably not in use?

[Lawrence001]

I've had a PM, just to be clear from looking at ebay sold prices I'm thinking about £20, or £30 mint with box and remote. (Well I'll need a remote regardless.)

[Puffin]

There is this one on ebay that you might have seen. I have two of these, one the PS died and being a switch mode I can't be arsed to try to get it fixed and you can't get them anywhere. The one that works is a bit sniffy about some CDs and does what this ebay one does and spins up and then ejects the disc. It is often CDR's that it does this with. I find that if you leave it on standby all the time it only does it rarely. The one thing that you don't often get is the remote control with them, and these are hard to source on their own.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-DV-717-DVD-CD-Player-Hi-End-Bit-Legato-Link-Champagne-Gold-w-Remote/182842085687?epid=83096336&hash=item2a923cd137:g:JTQAAOSwRUhY-jCM

[Lawrence001]

Thanks yes I saw that but it's broken, I've seen ones in excellent condition go for £10-£20 plus postage which is the main attraction to me of trying this unit.

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[Macca]

I have one of these, it doesn't work 100%. They look good from a distance but up close they are pretty nasty, plastic-fantastic things. I'd look for something else if I were you.

[Lawrence001]

Oh I thought they were universally regarded as pretty hefty and chunky, and made great transports, is this a myth?

Also, didn't know it was a switch mode PS inside, can't have been that great as a CDP as all the reviews (well hifiworld et al) said.

[Macca]

No, they are a budget model and sound a bit 'processed' if used as a CD player, although it isn't the first Legato Link job I've thought that about.

Some do say they make good transports but I think this is purely subjective, there is nothing technically 'special' about them, and the actual transport mech itself is nothing to write home about. But...transports do sound different and it isn't always easy to pinpoint why. If you like it, then you like it.

However if you want something with good build quality, the 717 definitely isn't it.

[struth]

wouldnt call them budget, or plasticy, but each to their own. The black ones look the best. Remotes are good and interchangable with the fancier 737.

[Yomanze]

For me, the DV-717 is a 'cheap and cheerful' way to get a decent sounding CD transport. Shouldn't really pay more than £30 for one.

[struth]

i paid 40+ for all of mine. reasonable price imo. dont get much for 40 notes now. Sure, you can get better but they are pretty good for money and fairly reliable. most end up with a drawer problem which is an easy fix. Had one the psu went so took the whole transport mech out which is easy and ditched the rest. other 2 are still working well although not using at moment. Handy to have as backup though

[walpurgis]

You can pick up a Pioneer PD-S505 Precision for not much over £100 if you search carefully. They make a better sounding transport than the DV-717 and also sound very nice as a stand alone player. I like the Legato Link in these, they are certainly very musical devices. I own both units by the way.

[Lawrence001]

Much of my thinking was based on this thread where you said it buffers the data like much more expensive transports, do you still think this is correct?

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheartofsound%2Enet%2Ff orum%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D23209&share_tid=23209&share_fid=4177&share_type=t




For me, the DV-717 is a 'cheap and cheerful' way to get a decent sounding CD transport. Shouldn't really pay more than £30 for one.

[jandl100]

I'd take a 717/737 over a 505 as a CDT.

I've had all 3 (and all 3 are good imo) and I currently use a 737.

It's a bit brightly lit compared to a 505 (or the 505 is duller, depending on your baseline). I like its openness and detail.

[struth]

I had a couple of stable platters, and they were fine. quite nifty with the turntable. Some of the big Denon disc players were good too, although they sometimes suffer from laser issues. Im on my second and can be picked up for £60 in decent nick. a minter will be a bit more tho. Lasers are still available

[Macca]

You can pick up a Pioneer PD-S505 Precision for not much over £100 if you search carefully. They make a better sounding transport than the DV-717 and also sound very nice as a stand alone player. I like the Legato Link in these, they are certainly very musical devices. I own both units by the way.

Worth noting that the Legato Link won't make any difference if using the deck as a transport only since it's part of the DAC circuitry.

[Yomanze]

Much of my thinking was based on this thread where you said it buffers the data like much more expensive transports, do you still think this is correct?

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheartofsound%2Enet%2Ff orum%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D23209&share_tid=23209&share_fid=4177&share_type=t

Yes, this is correct. PS Audio charge a hell of a lot for a 'memory player', which is a fancy way of saying that the CD data is buffered into memory with multiple re-reads instead of applying error correction. I really don't know why error correction should sound different, in theory it should sound identical until drop outs occur, but some people think it does make a difference, perhaps due to power supply demands & busy servos rather than the code itself.

[Lawrence001]

Is the memory buffer thing a feature of all dvd players working as CD transports or only some?

[Macca]

I suspect only some. But it really isn't worth worrying about. CD portables used memory buffers to make them 'jog resistant' but you don't see anyone chasing after them for their sound quality. In a player designed to sit on a shelf it is just included for marketing purposes.

[Lawrence001]

Good point I hadn't thought of that. Although could some better players have resampling software built in that improves the buffered data?

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[Macca]

Good point I hadn't thought of that. Although could some better players have resampling software built in that improves the buffered data?

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No. If you can't hear any drop-outs or those nasty squawking sounds then the data is already as good as it gets. If you want a player with a DAC that upsamples that's a different ballgame entirely.

[jandl100]

Well, something makes different transports sound different.
T'would be madness to make assumptions about what features are good and what are not based on idle musings.
I'm more inclined to the philosophy that pretty much everything makes a difference.

[jandl100]

CD portables used memory buffers to make them 'jog resistant' but you don't see anyone chasing after them for their sound quality. .

:doh: I think other factors may also come into play re: the desirability of CD portables for audiophiles. :lol:

[Lawrence001]

No. If you can't hear any drop-outs or those nasty squawking sounds then the data is already as good as it gets. If you want a player with a DAC that upsamples that's a different ballgame entirely.

Missing data will not necessarily sound like a skipping/clicking/squawking but just an imperfect (or even less perfect) reproduction of the audio signal. l'm sure that a computer will reread a disc until it has all the data it wants, and I think some players have the same ability, although I don't know about "vintage" DVD players.

[Macca]

Missing data will not necessarily sound like a skipping/clicking/squawking but just an imperfect (or even less perfect) reproduction of the audio signal. .

That is a commonly held belief but it isn't actually how it works.

As Jerry says, something makes transports sound different - and I agree that they do; whatever that may be, and there are several possibilities, the data read is not one of them.

[Yomanze]

Regardless of tech I just found the ‘717 to be good sounding, less muddy than average, and also less gritty or harsh (digititis) than the average. One could easily spend £100s more and end up with an inferior transport.

[smithie]

look for a pioneer universal player of old..575a or 675a or something like that.
buffered output as a transport,plays anything and probably one of the best transports for peanuts going(sounded half decent as a player to) in my humble opinion,and ive heard alot through out the years.
biscuit tin build unfortunately,but you can do what goldmund did and take the innards and put it in a more expensive case.....then charge £5000+:lol:

[Macca]

look for a pioneer universal player of old..575a or 675a or something like that.
buffered output as a transport,plays anything and probably one of the best transports for peanuts going(sounded half decent as a player to) in my humble opinion,and ive heard alot through out the years.
biscuit tin build unfortunately,but you can do what goldmund did and take the innards and put it in a more expensive case.....then charge £5000+:lol:

Yes, I have a 575 universal, very good bit of kit for the money. Would still be using it for DVD but it has no HDMI outputs. It spent a long time as my main cd player and confounded a few people who heard it. (One saw it before listening and asked 'Wtf is that supposed to be? Is that your source?' and was then shocked by the quality; another did not see it until after listening and had to check that is what we had been listening to as he didn't believe it. Good as a transport, too.

[Ninanina]

Hasn't Bev of this parish got one of these that's probably not in use?

Yes I have two of them and they are very good as a transport however neither is being used at the moment

The trouble is as they are worth so little it's not worth the hassle to sell them and parcel them up for shipping

I would consider the 717 as very well built

[Lawrence001]

Yes I have two of them and they are very good as a transport however neither is being used at the moment

The trouble is as they are worth so little it's not worth the hassle to sell them and parcel them up for shipping

I would consider the 717 as very well built

Yes I appreciate it's a hassle, I was hoping there might be someone relatively local, near a tube station or something.