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I ain't throwing out any of my heritage formats (CD/MD/DVD/Cassette/MP3/Vinyl/Shellac 78s) just because some sales person tells me they're out of date or old hat and if anyone has any sense nor will they. Always love this sort of thing and if this helps young people starting out to show an interest in CD that's fabulous. They will learn that as they age the market will sell them perfectly good stuff then the market will tell them that their perfectly good stuff no longer is. Ignore them. Enjoy your music in whatever fomat and thank you Matt for bringing us enjoyment at an affordable price. 5 star liked.

Matt, I was curious if you had done a comparison between the PS200 (ESS) to the SU-1 (AKM)? I would be interested in your opinion between the two.

Damn it, you made me hungry, now i want pizza! 🤦🏻‍♂️🥲

Good work Matt , personally I feel cables do not contribute on quality , as you said we really don’t need 500$ or 2K$ cables , just a decent ones does the job.

The Op Amps that are on my radar are MUSES02 & Burson V7 Classic, Sparko's SS3602 & Burson V7 Vivid. I’ve noticed that for relaxing background music or watching movies I do prefer a more mellow sound, but when I’m only listening to music (paying attention) I prefer a more detailed / Hi-Fi sound

May I ask? You glued the boxes together without the front panel. Was there concern the front panel wouldn't have enough clearance to slip in afterwords? Thx.

Try onn 200 dollar 5.1.2 dolby atmos system

Great Video! To clarify, you hook the HDMI to the screen and optical or coaxial to the DAC? Both outputs work simultaneously? Also, why the PS200 of the SMSL SU-1?

Lol thank you

Buying a used commercial DVD player that has a display will negate some of the pros on the hi-end CD player. This is what I did. However, As a bonus, my commercial Pioneer DVD player just happens to have a really good DAC inside and cheaper DACs, such as the SMSL SU-1, sound inferior to it. I think I might have to go to the next level with a DAC, such as a Geshelli Labs J2 or a Denafrips Ares DAC.

I’ve been using the Sony upb x 800 as a cd transport since my Cyrus cd player went faulty, it was connected via the coax to a dac magic 100, but I’ve just recently bought a WiiM amp so I’m getting the sound through the hdmi earc from my Samsung 4K tv to the WiiM and it sounds great, I wouldn’t say it was cheap and plastic when you look at the build underneath, it’s got a well designed metal chassis and I can’t even hear it when it’s running.

10:00 are you sure that's not "S99", for sub-volume 99? EDIT: to explain: it's only a 7-segment LED display, it can't show every alphanumeric.

Great video Matt! I still use my original Sony 5-disc CDP-C725 from 1992 that had an optical output. -I bought it new in HS and remember for years after had absolutely no idea what “Optical” jack on the back was for. I think I thought you could ‘optically’ see the music on your TV with a special cable…anyway, I used the RCA and just ignored it. FF 30 years and I laugh at my ignorance as I ONLY use the SPDIF and put my nose up to the built-in DAC…

Im in the market right mow for a streamer, i dont really need ir would use a screen so would the pro+ be good enought, does the ultra really sound much better than the pro+ Cheers

Try the DSEE HX upscaling feature in the audio settings on the Sony. It will upscale and send out at 96khz if you want to send it out upscaled a lil' to DAC. It will turn SACDs into PCM so any DAC will play them as well. Great Blu-Ray player as well. I have a few streaming services but I really do love collecting physical movies.

Used CD prices & mailing costs are both trending up compared to ten years ago. When buying an expensive CD player (or transport), after considering the things you mentioned, a most important factor is how long the player manufacturer will support replacement CD drives. My experience is the Sony BDP-S1700/3700/6700 Blu-ray players have superior CD defect (scratches, blemishes) performance in comparison with all the Blu-ray/DVD/CD players I had at hand. They are inexpensive new but have no display, so a Rasp PI HDMI display, like the one you showed, is needed. Hint: once the display etc is working, glue the display to the stand (using 5 min epoxy) & then glue the stand to a heavy ceramic non-slip drinks coaster to stop the display from moving around unnecessarily. Cheers!

I am a big fan of using DVD or Bluray players as transports though I also think an excellent redbook only cd transport can't be beaten for true high fidelity in an otherwise revealing system. I use a Jay's Audio Cd2 mk 3 into a Denafrips Terminator Plus Dac and the results are excellent. However I also use an Oppo Bdp 83 with a box which strips the digital audio from HDMI and let's me play SACD, Bluray Audio and DVD Audio through my Denafrips. And in another system I have a lovely Denon DVD-2900. This was a flagship player, costing over £1000 in 2003, but can be had now for less than £100. It excels as a transport, but also has its own excellent DACs which still sound great today. So I would perhaps suggest stretching the budget a bit and getting a high end player from the early noughties. It won't be much more expensive, build quality will be outstanding, and I believe it will sound better and you may not need that external DAC.

Hi, what is the name of the screen please, the link for me opens in .fr and does not find anything?

No one knows because we are still waiting for the cheap Blu Ray player to boot the CD.

I have the audiolab and when I’ve compared it to cheaper dvd players the difference has been clear with my Schiit Bufrost DAC. The soundstage in particular is much wider.

put the heat shrink tube on incorrectly. the cable won't make any sound. wasted money.

Nice!

Saludos desde Perú

💯

Another great video with good information, I like the idea of the little mini monitor since I have quite a few Pioneer Elite super audio/DVD audio DVD players that you need to get into the on screen menu to make your adjustments if you want to use them for audio only and the mini screen would be perfect for that. Thanks again Matt for another great video.. PS…I’ve been integrating the modern into my vintage system for years now and I’m glad to see you demonstrate the vintage owners so they won’t give up an excellent receiver from the past for some cheap modern AVR one that’s got those convenience that will never sound as good..

Great video, thanks .....I use a Sony DVD player for CD's. I don't miss the missing display at all. I play my CD's start to finish like a vinyl record.

I’m perfectly happy with my Audiolab 6000cdt …feeding my Denafrips DAC 😎

Pardon the stupid question; but how do I turn my music down, if there is no volume knob?

Hello Mike Nice review but this has been covered many times. I am so happy you told people that the digital signal should sound the same on the dac because it does 😂 For me, i take the route of ripping bought cds to lossless at thrift shops using my cheap external dvd burner and using Plex on my nas to stream the music over my 10 euro Apple TV with optical out to my dac (smsl m8) (yes I do own an iPhone) but it just goes to show how cheap and good thinks can be! Love your channel!

Adding the $40 screen is a great idea!

Hi 😊

A Sony UBP-X800M2 is a incredible transport. Plays SACD stereo and mutlichannel. No machine you can buy today. Add some isolation feet to the Sony and it feels amazing. I think you have it all wrong with the Audiolab vs Sony. Sony is clearly superior. Love the little USB screen.

Outstanding as always Matt. I'm using a few cheap Sony Blu-Ray players as transports into a variety of DACs and they sound great. Thank you for the tip on the small display for those players! I was surprised by how many of my friends who have vintage gear don't utilize the DAC set up you showed. A couple of my players feed into vintage Adcom systems and they sound amazing. Thank you and keep up the great work.

The dac chip plays minor role comparing to dac circuit design, power supply, clock oscillator/jitter, data pre-processing (noise floor, jitter), I/U conversion and output analog buffer

I'm a simple Hi Fi guy. I am using 49 dollar Sony Blu Ray players in two of my systems with coax outputs and Schitt Modi DACs and I think they sound great. I love this concept Matt!

I paired a $50 Blu-ray player with an SMSL SU-1 and then ran it against my 1996 Marantz CD player that was $400 back in 96. No comparison. I don't know what DAC the Marantz is running but's no match for the modern DAC. Through watching some of the pros like Paul McGowan I've really come to the conclusion they were selling us expensive players with garbage DACs back in the day.

You don’t need a mini tv to display track info if you get an older dvd combo player that has a display on the front panel. There are plenty of those available on local used markets for practically free.

Sony, Panasonic, some Toshiba are good buys, some are sacd through RCA only, only one toshiba ever passed that format through coax and optical.. Denon 1600 cd player is a superb transport but average through RCA . I had the audiolab great transport but the Denon is another step up . But that's my price cap .

I started back listening to vintage Kenwood recievers. On the cd route I have a few Sony ES model cd players I use as transports. Moved on to an Onkyo DX-C390 6 disc player. I have the Integra CDC 3.4 as well and would suggest it over the Onkyo even though the are owned by the same company. The Integra is $400 versus the Onkyo at $350 yet the Onky has a 2 year warranty and the Integra has a 5 year warranty. Well worth the extra 50 bucks to me. Good video, keep em coming!

When Skynet takes over, humans can still rock out with hard media.

SMSL Su1 would have made the Sony sound even better

That's the way I listen to my cds that aren't available on Tidal, but my Blu-ray player has all the control buttons so no need for a screen, dac will be be the NODE or a dacmagic. Great video!

I run into quite a few late 90's/early aughts CD players when I'm thrifting. Many of this vintage have optical or digital coax out combined with an extremely readable VFD display. A personal favorite I still often see is the Technics SL-PD5 5 CD changer. It has an opti out, but even the onboard dac sounds pretty good to my ears.

charity/thrift shops turn up some great cd's for £ or a $ - yesterday I found a lovely Smokey Robinson 2009 recording which is marvellous. great days to buy cd's again

Sony blu-ray may well play sacd too. I use with SU-1 and 48V Fosi amp and elacs - sounds splendid. cost a few hundred £

I bought an old panasonic blu ray player on ebay for $18. It has a digital diplay on front to show track # playing. Hooked up to my geshelli j2s, sounds fine. Trying to rebuild a cd collection before investing in a nice transport. I too lost all my old cds from the 90's in a friends car lol.

Sony does not have screen, but cheaper (20$ for brand new one from store, without any problem with reading even very old disks - even 30 years old) and better (also smaller, better build, and more practical) blu ray players have :) external screen is not needed :) Sony is not good example here, but overall idea is very good and worthy popularization :) Perfect dac to pair is also for example great Topping E30 II lite - 100$ :) In case of wiim as a dac, additional d/d converter to toslink is needed as wiim does not have coax in when most of blu rays have coax out. But this is not big problem, converters are also cheap and shouldnt degrade quality. Wiim as a dac is also powerful dsp with parametric EQ or even bass management (ultra model) and room correction. Used properly will absolute destroy many audiophiles equipment without proper room correction or bass management. Also, as a dac can be used some fpga or r2r ones, for example new fiio r2r. These also would totally destroy audiophile transports but with simple delta sigma chips.