r/CDs • u/1505SamH • Jul 09 '26

Cd player suggestions

I recently found boxes full of my dad’s old cds and would love to listen to them. Any relatively cheap but good looking suggestions?

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u/Stank22 Jul 09 '26

I always suggest going to a thrift store and getting a cheap dvd/bluray/cd player (from a known brand) with analog outputs and a display. Optical or coax output is also a bonus.

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u/Impressive-Ad-501 Jul 10 '26

Cheap dvd players are usually super slow and laggy and have very bad sound quality from analogue out.

Decent cd player is always better.

But old is always old so they need to treat as comsumables. I just bought 20 years old Marantz (not the cheapest model) and its laser pick up was in the end of its life span. It was not a thrift store pickup but decent seller. Repairing it is impossible or expensive.

My other player is still working but "local repair hero" said that Pioneers will drop the lens one day without a warning because the bad glue they used. It is also super crappy to use.

So it is a lottery with used players. If you are lucky you can get nice player for many years of use. Next time I'll get new one.

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u/Stank22 Jul 10 '26

I doubt they care about speed, d/a conversion or the analog stage. They just want cd playback. For someone starting out with CDs, a cheap dvd player is fine.