Early CD Player Recommendations?

[sisore]

So I am gonna try to bring some answers to the questions that were asked in the previous posts.

[sisore]

So then Stan,
Can you tell us what the atttraction for these things is for you?

I think that the first and second generations of players were the best ever made considering the CD mechanisms.
I avoid (in my website) talking about the quality of sound they produce. This isn't interesting, for me.
None of these old machines can equal today's players. It was like a challenge, at first: gathering all the early players, and trying to fix them up.
As a HIFI technician, I mostly enjoyed disassembling the players, and finding out a different mecha assembly in each player.

This work allowed to see which were the best technical solutions applied, knowing that most of the players have now diappeared, and that old magazines couldn't give interesting and objective opinions, because the CD format was new. It's now time for a complete comparison, in retrospect.

My conclusions (subjective conclusions however), are the content of my website. That's why I would really like to translate this content, and then share opinions with people so as to modify this sort of data base.

Hope you can read me

[The Grand Wazoo]

OK, so you were purely interested in comparing the mechanical engineering employed by several different groups of engineers who were all trying to solve the same (new) problems simultaneously but independantly?

[sisore]

I'm actually going to comment again, that really is very very impresive! Kudos on commitment to your cause!
What's the least and what's the most you have spent on a cd player? Does this corrolate with the best and worst quality? What would you say is the best value player in your collection, and what's your favorite?
I really hope you find someone to help you translate your site into English for you I can imagine it would make very interesting Reading!

Come on everyone, someone must know someone who could help this chap translate.. And all you old fuggys with your mag collections - get scanning those old reviews, this chap is obviously commited to this cause and I recon he desurves all the help he can get!

Dint we have some people on this forum who are involved with magazines, could you get old reviews to him? How about getting readers to dig out old reviews?

I bought the players from so many countries. Prices are very different from one to another. For exemple, you can buy a very rare Pioneer P-D90 or NEC CD803, for little money in Japan, whereas a Philips or Marantz player is exorbitantly priced, there.
Anyway, I had to pay 500€ for a Technics SL-P50 (faulty), while I paid 1€ for a AIWA DX-1200, rather similar to very rare DX-1000 (same mecha). I recently bet on a Aiwa DX-1000, which I haven't got, that sold for 1213€, on Ebay!!!!

It's difficult to say which is the best quality. I would say that the players that are still playing CD's are the best! of course. So we can admit that Philips family were the best players, but it's not a scoop!

Toshiba XR-Z90 and clones are quite reliable players while Kyocera DA-01 family, which use the same laser unit are faulty most of the time.

My favourite is probably Luxman D-03, very very rare, which I bought as a faulty player from swiss...and which is in good working order now.

I also love the pioneer P-D1...and many others.

[sisore]

OK, so you were purely interested in comparing the mechanical engineering employed by several different groups of engineers who were all trying to solve the same (new) problems simultaneously but independantly?

That' exactly what I mean!

I am very puzzled, when I compare the so simple and easy door mechanism used for a Philips CD100 with the complexity of some Japanese equivalents, incuding a hundred parts, using belts and motors. These assemblies resulted in so many failures...

[Kris]

My favourite Luxman player is the D-500X http://www.thevintageknob.org/LUXMAN/D500XS/D500XS.html

Which makes me ask another question if I may Sisore. Is your collection mostly limited to first generation (except for the Technics console players)? Do you collect anything from the late 80's early 90's?

[sisore]

My favourite Luxman player is the D-500X http://www.thevintageknob.org/LUXMAN/D500XS/D500XS.html

Which makes me ask another question if I may Sisore. Is your collection mostly limited to first generation (except for the Technics console players)? Do you collect anything from the late 80's early 90's?

Except some players such as Technics SL-P's, as you said, I don't want to buy later generations. It's too many players...and too much money, and I am not really interested in these youger machines.
As for the luxman D500, I think that it' not as well built as first players, and you may not be ok with me, but I think a SL-P1300 is a better machine...
Any way, this luxman is very nice, and I hesitated buying once several years ago from Japan, but I didn't, because I had decided to collect only first and second generations.

Besides, whatever brand may be considered, third generation players are often very simplified and "cheap". Here is the frontier for me.

[Rare Bird]

I remember one player i used to lust after, it was a Micro Seiki CDM-100, was a beautiful looking player, the woodwork was to die for...simular finish/styling to Marco's spinner.This picture don't do it justice..

http://www.thevintageknob.org/THEVAU...00/CDM100.html

[Beechwoods]

I remember one player i used to lust after, it was a Micro Seiki CDM-100, was a beautiful looking player, the woodwork was to die for...simular finish/styling to Marco's spinner.This picture don't do it justice.

Yum yum!

[DSJR]

My favourite Luxman player is the D-500X http://www.thevintageknob.org/LUXMAN/D500XS/D500XS.html

Which makes me ask another question if I may Sisore. Is your collection mostly limited to first generation (except for the Technics console players)? Do you collect anything from the late 80's early 90's?

Was it really twenty years or so ago when I first saw this player? I nearly wet meself over it and it was almost affordable too, as I was still living at home and still had aome disposeable income. Fat chance now though

Luxman in the UK went throughj the roof pricewise after this. Why buy a £3,000 Lux integrated of quality when you could buy a Naim 72/HiCap and 250 for much the same money, or a Linn Kairn/Klout. Who cares if the Lux integrated may whell have blown them away.........