Thanks for the videos, this was a great trip down memory lane. A current CD player I’d mention is the Rega Apollo. I’ve had 2 separate hour long demos and on both occasions the player has become unresponsive and needed to be powered off and back on again to fix. It is a great sounding player, but the reliability of it set alarm bells ringing. I still bought the Brio amplifier and Neat speakers but went to a different brand for the player.
I had a Teac VRDS 10SE which was faultless, fantastic digital player. Also had a Stage 6 Micromega CD player which was also excellent and I had no problems with it
Micromega still exists today and its engineer Daniel Schar also works for other brands such as Focal or Elipson, and he focuses a lot today on small "all-in-one" systems. I must say that I am the owner of a micromega solo (a model that loads from the top like the model presented) which dates from the 90s and it still runs without ever having been serviced and serves as a drive for an external DAC recent for a few months (but its internal converter is still perfectly functional. Personally I find that there are worse in terms of reliability! In particular a more recent English turntable that I also have and which has problems reading tracks.
I had a stage 2 Micromega, the range went from lower to higher numbers, they brought out a 4 to 6 range as well, however, they used the wrong type of silicon grease that dried out then locked up the transport and the laser, I managed to fix mine after finding out what was causing the issue. I think the Micromega transport with the perspex lid was the Micromega Duo. The Micromega was Phillips based and had a very natural sound, like all the original Philips 154x TDA based multibit DACS.
I have Stan Curtis designed Cambridge pre/power amps (dual mono designs - 2 transformers in the power amp!) also notoriously unreliable but have survived thanks to careful overhauling/servicing and still sound wonderful.
Thank you for a great video - a trip down memory lane. I have a Marantz SA 15 S1 which is fine except for sometimes refusing to read CDs (so lots of cleaning needed) and also its coaxial digital output does not work into my Parasound amp's DAC while the optical output does! Everything else I have tried works into the Parasound's coaxial input. Strange! Thanks again.
I have an Arcam 6 which had the same problem as the one you described on the 5. Got a replacement part from Arcam (£17.50) and opened the unit up to find disintegrated teeth in the unit. Since replacement (extraction?) it has worked fine - and the sound is awesome.
Thank You for this insightful video. Back in the mid 90’s I invested in the Micromanage stage 1, too many issues to mention but most memorable was the skip / jump, not reading the disc and issues with the drawer loading n mechanism. It was a real shame as the player actually sounded superb when we’ll but even after numerous returns back to France it would simply present more issues. I purchased a Roksan Kandy KD MkIII early naughties and again great sounding player but this too has presented with quite a few issues over the years mainly that of draw loading issues and laser reading trouble. I am now wanting an Audiolab CDT to partner with my Entech Number Cruncher 205.2 DAC. All of my system is English with the exception of the DAC and do enjoy the sound of my Audiolab, Roksan and Rega set up. Thanks for sharing!👍🏼🍻
The problem is that current manufacturers, unlike in the 80s, no longer invest as before in the design and development of proprietary mechanics (apart from very high-end brands like Accuphase or Esoteric). They fish in the remaining manufacturers: Teac (Atoll), Sanyo (Rega) or Philips. The Philips CD Pro are the best but very expensive (Project CD Box). It is not uncommon to see serious manufacturers selling a several thousand euros CD player with a 30 euros TEAC mechanism inside.
I'm still using my Marantz CD42 mk2 bought circa 1993. The only things that have ever gone wrong with it were a broken output stage caused by too-tight cables, and the drawer mechanism. I fixed the latter myself. It was just the plastic gear cog which had worn out. I believe the internals of all the Marantz CDs were near identical back then.
My Arcam Alpha also still works and only needed a replacement drawer belt. My memory still serves me well enough to recall that:, in comparison with say the Rotel 965 was way more ‘musical’ whilst also being detailed. BUT! It was a step down from a Naim CDi which portrayed music in the way the Linn Sondek did - it seemed to slow the music down slightly and open up the real intent of the artist. The analogue comparison I can draw from comparison is the Rega Planar 2 vs Linn Sondek circa 1984. So: Arcam Alpha vs Naim cdi. A later owned Arcam cd3.5 was detailed and ‘mature’ in sound but didn’t capture the attention in the way the cdi did.
I had a Phillips Cd104 which was great but after a couple of years became hit and miss if the cd would load. It would eventually spin up and play but it could take 4 or 5 attempts. Very odd nice sound though
Micromega Stages still bring me out in cold sweats. The amount of advanced replacements could’ve kept Parcelforce Preston in business at one point. Still not as flaky as Cyrus CD players in the 90s used to be though….
great subject my friend as ive been playing cds since 84 85 i had a marantz .cd 63 .built like a tank .many thanks for the discussion on early cd players .🙂🙂
Difficult to understand ( spoke fast) tho undoubtedly the gentleman is well-versed on the topic. I hoped for the merits of 3-4 cd radio bluetooth players & their minuses. Especially the Hammacher Schlemmer system.
Back in 1988 I had a NAD Monitor Series 5300 CD player which developed a disc drawer mechanical fault after 6 months - think the mechanical parts used a Sanyo mechanism. Fortunately the NAD S500 Silverline player I now use is much more reliable, but there is still the odd disc that won't read it's TOC, usually discs with playing times that exceed the original Phillips/Sony spec, so mostly longer than 73 minutes. Before the 5300 I had a Phillips CD104B - built like a tank but only 14 bit technology, and a very slow drawer mech.
Ciao, I am a member of yours from Venice Italy I would be happy if you put the subtitles because your columns are very interesting thank you and Merry Christmas
I had a Cambridge CD2 and really liked it, in terms of sound quality. Unfortunately, after 2 total display failures and spongy unresponsive buttons, it had to go.
I remember auditioning an Arcam Alpha CD and it was an earlier version. I thought the sound was not very dynamic, no get up and go, too polite. That’s when I bought the Pioneer that had the turntable that you placed the cd label side down. Went well with my Sugden A48B which I have had for nearly 30yrs,
Hi Steve, I do enjoy your presentations, at least you know what your talking about. Unlike some who must spend 24/7 reviewing and talking complete CRAP.
Had a Naim CD5I that lasted ten years and sold it for parts on e bay for £100. Still have a player I bought when I lived in France called YBA Lecture Special. Still works but the drawer is a bit dodgy. That is about 23 years old.
Like another viewer, I had an Arcam Alpha 6 that had the disintegrating gear. Seems that it was very common. BTW, only just discovered your channel, and an enjoying it.
I heard the Micromega DAC and transport you mentioned over 30 years ago at a Hifi show in Edinburgh. It was playing "Song Of Bernadette" from Jennifer Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat" album. I remember being routed to the spot with the beauty of the sound, it brought me to tears. It was a defining moment for me in the elusive pursuit of great sound quality, which is never bloody ending! Never have I wanted to spend £3k that I didn't have! A few years later I bought the Micromega Stage 2 CD player you mentioned also. It was brilliant but the build was shite! The drawer came out faster than a bullet and (of course) was knackered pretty quickly. It could also be picky about which discs it would play. All great memories :)
I worked in a HiFi shop and we had the rep in from Micromega. He played a MicroDAC and MicroDrive and it blew out everything we had in the shop. Every MicroDrive we ever sold came back so often we gave in. I still have them and a later TDAC and TDrive. Amazing sounding.
Reference upgradeable CD players:- The Arcam Alpha 7, 8/8SE, and 9 were an upgrade series. I know as I went from An Alpha 7, through an 8SE, to a 9. All excellent and reliable players, and I still have the Alpha 9 now, up and working fine!
I had a Micromega CD and it used to skip a lot. I was told that it was due to lubricant problems. It spent more time in the repair shop than in my lounge. I was very disappointed with it.
Fascinating. Your previous video on unreliable amplifiers seem to indicate that amplifiers fail because of under-speced components (eg heat sinking, power supply circuitry). This video on unreliable CD players seem to indicate that CD players fail because of mechanical defects. Can you do a video on unreliable analogue components and why they fail?
Rega Apollo (2005). Great sounding unit however the sanyo optical drives were not all that (rubbish). Replaced two drives in 15 years. The unit also was "klunky and buggy" sometimes locking up; lift the lid and wait 20 seconds then it would restart and be ok. Other times it would lock on FF requiring a stop command. And further it might have problems finding the next track using forward track button. Requiring noting what track your at, hitting stop and manually forward button to the track and then play. I think of it like this, Sony like Honda works perfect and is ....boring. Rega like Jag is fun, leaks oil and digital bits but is fun and sounds great. Sometimes the cat purrs..sometimes it's claws, and you love them.
I got the Cyrus CDT player the sound perfect and clear. But the problem I been having once I insert the cd sometimes never read of table of contents on the disc and ejected out from the machine but however cd disc is spotless. So within next I will take it to Cyrus to have it service and hopefully that fixing a problem. Meanwhile I did bought the ex demonstration from the audio t.
Marantz DR 6000 CD recorder, slow, remote control unhandy, and dead, laser or whatever, such a hated and expensive machine as I did not want to copy Cd’s in a computer because of sound quality. Rotel RCD-971 built like a tank and just makes noise after closing, at the beginning for 3 seconds, every 30 CD’s approximatively. That’s what I call personnality. Love it.
I have a Rotel RCD1070 that I jinxed by noting how solid the mechanism opened and closed right before the belt? failed and it stopped opening and closing altogether. Probably not an expensive fix? Anyway I much prefer the Rega top load mechanism but tbh have been burning cds on the harman/kardon CDR20 that had a bad rep but what a great unit. The DAC in it is pretty darn good sounding and hard to beat 80 mins of music for like 50 cents.
I still own a Cambridge CD2. It's unreliable, the power supply is prone to overheating, the display has the usual failure, and sometimes it sounds dreadful. When it works, it's great, but I want to listen to music, not HiFi. One day I will fix all the issues, just for fun.
Cyrus , cd transport. I had 2 of them both have huge trouble in loading and reading as well skipping ,mots a night mare with Cyrus and when I checked many of Cyrus orders have the same troubles very much unreliable .
I've got two very unreliable Cyrus units, the slot type, one of them is quite an expensive transport, but totally unreliable. I spent more time waiting on the music to start skipping than actually enjoying the music, the replacement Cambridge transport blows both of them away in both sonic terms and reliability.
Ive got a technics Cd player that uses a drive belt, its the one with the 4 dacs. I changed the fuse inside for a new one and seem to get issues, the fuse keeps blowing quite frequently.
@@cheshireaudio and the customer service was dire. Every time i sent then back it was never there product.. well since then ive never had problems with other companies.
@@davidluff8838 Wow, you're one of the lucky ones. Good for you. It's a great sounding CD player. Don't think there are a lot of 24+ year old Planets around.
I've got a Naim player (2nd from bottom? c£1600 ex display, 2014), which is quite Noisy when reading discs, then plays distorted for the first 5 or so seconds then sounds fine. Any idea what to do?
@@cheshireaudio I think I need a new puck and the simiarly sized plastic part that sits underneath the cd in the same place. Where can I buy spare parts?
I owned all three of the Naim CDS players...the original had the most engaging yet the most colored sound...the CDS1 mech was also teetering on the edge of failure, and when it started to fail the sound quality took a huge nosedive . The CDS3 was mechanically the mist reliable but in the stock form sounded the most sterile . Until major tweaks were done
