Then, by way of the CXC’s digital outputs (Coax or Toslink), that data is sent to a digital to analog converter to turn bits into. . These 2 units are roughly. good point. Compared to the 7000CDT that sells for around half its price, it sports a high-end tray-loading mechanism, upgraded laser and servo decoder circuitry, plus an enhanced power supply with uprated transformer. Edit. 8-channel, 32-bit PCM/DSD DAC in a quad balanced mode. Jun 29, 2023. I would also recommend avoiding used transports. CD transports differ as they don’t have any analogue or digital to analogue components in them or any filters. The $1200 D-105u, the top of Luxman's CD-player line, is novel in its twin-triode vacuum-tube amplification in the analog output stage. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS. You’ll need to use the front panel USB Type A socket to get the files into the player, as there are no other digital inputs here. 861 Power Amplifier. They are flexible in their own unique way but owners of CD transport and CD player may not see it that way. A good aesthetic match for your CX60. As in, put in a CD, get digital out via AES and coax. The digital out of the DVD player I picked up for $35 sounds absolutely fantastic as a CD transport, so I'm sticking with that. Not through the CD disc drive, of course. Featuring the highly advanced Cyrus SE ‘CD Engine’, the CD Transport is the perfect partner with an integrated amplifier or preamplifier. 5 features Philips' new CDM 12 2x-speed industrial CD-ROM mechanism with a linear-tracking pickup and a. I’ve been looking for a compact CD transport to hook up. The painstakingly engineered circuit layout extracts the best possible performance from audiophile-grade component parts for. 681 Network Player / DAC. 04. 30 to recognize that it is. A CD player's transport is the tray you put the CD into and the mechanism that spins it and reads the information on the disc. Models like Sony BDP-S370 offers SACD compatibility and has both output. . No SACD, but focus on best possible CD replay. 1Pro-Ject RS2 CD BOX Transport. The Audio Lab 6000CDT is extremely robust and reliable using a read-ahead digital buffer to reduce disc-reading failures able to play scratched and damaged CDs that are unreadable by conventional mechanisms. The Commanders secondary is among the worst in the league, allowing an average of 297 passing yards per game to. Certainly, vinyl surpassed it for a few years, but of late the CD is coming back and sales are, if not robust, good. For testing, I connected the unbalanced outputs using ERC-3 using Monster Cable ULT I600-8 THX Ultra Cables. Audiolab 6000CDT has better remote, is larger, is slot loader and provides no upsampling options. Stereo RCA analogue outputs are also included and the CD has a built in Burr-Brown. the advantage of a cd player, especially if it is tube-based is the possibility of finding applications for non-6 volt tubes. Hey Nonoise, I have the SPL Director in-house for review. 1 inches. in many ways, standalone adds incurable interference that cd players bypass. Don’t consider regular CDP players as transport ! they are lousy as transport because their inner DAC adding jitter and noise. The 272 wiped the floor with it. The advantage of using a CD player as a transport gives you the flexibility to experiment with different external DAC's to tailor the sound to your preference. I noticed after that a few reviewers also preferred the CXC to the 103. McIntosh MCD600 SACD/CD Player. NEW Philips CD Pro 2. Dimensions: 16. S. A CD player - physical transport, streamer, DAC A CD transport - physical transport, streamer and separate DAC. The new SACD player that never made it past the prototype stage, which is a pity because it would feature the new 9 series design and if the picture is anything to go by it was going to have a “proper” optical transport. Wanted to get opinions on the Denon DCD 1600NE and Yamaha CD-S1000 versus other higher end transports. It's decent but certainly not a high end transport. Connections. The Philips Pro2 just for the mechanism is $500. Audiolab says of its transport: “the transport uses read-ahead digital buffering to reduce disc reading failures and deliver the highest level of digital signal extraction from a wide range of CDs, even capable of reading scratched and damaged CDs that are unreadable by conventional mechanisms. The arrival of these new components shows just how diversified the Box Design range has become. 30 to recognize that it is. There are a lot of threads here that debate this, but most people are comparing a $300 CD player vs a 5 K streamer, or vice versa. As turntable sales were replaced by CD-player sales, C. 1 Khz. The Wadia 861 cd player has several outputs, inputs and a clocklink to link the dac-clock to that of the transport. Music Geek, Jan 11, 2012. Message User. CD Transport VS Computer Transport here. Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 5 receiving yards (-115) Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports. 2MHz. 01-24-2021 at 07:35am. It took 1min to disconnect all the dac stages from it. It lost detail, the bass was muddied and the highs lacked resolution and air. In fact, if the external DAC is really good, always bypass the CD player's DAC. Those can be used as a CD. The CDP-R1 Transport. The Best CD Player For Home Theaters: Audiolab 6000CDT Dedicated CD Transport with Remote (Black) The Best All-In-One CD Player: Yamaha CD. 5 m. Our high end MOON 260D with optional 32-bit DAC combines high-performance, USB input and CD playback all into one chassis. The Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T are designed to work in tandem to deliver the best sound quality from CD’s. Yes, this is where we are in high end audio today. Trade-in. The Best Digital Players: Transports and SACD Players. This means FLAC, WAV, ALAC, and more, including hi-res PCM up to 24-bit/192kHz as well as DSD64/DSD128. The link also allows the No. 8 kilograms doesn’t look like a big product but the heft is there. #11. Yes. Location. 3 lbs and measuring 16. Assuming you have a good external DAC, it is likely better than the internal DAC of the CD player. With the CD60, Marantz releases a CD player that wants to pick up on the recent revival of the music CD. No two ways about it, the Audiolab 6000CDT is a CD transport bargain – a true quality item at a price that often doesn’t buy you very much of anything. It also handles music from flash drives inserted into its front-panel USB socket, which allows for significantly more storage space than optical discs. 31's remote includes a function unique for a transport: a polarity inversion switch. . The rear of the Exposure XM CD. Also known as S/N ratio. A Sony PS1 will compete with a £300 CD player, so I doubt the 7030 will let you down. 3. I purchased four CD players (Marantz SA8005 and CD6006, Tascam CD-200, and Yamaha CD-N500) and a Cambridge CXC transport. B. But influence of the CD quality (clean and new vs. A lot of older CDPs will develop problems over time. Rotel CD14 CD. The C 516BEE gets the full measure of NAD engineering experience with enhanced audio circuitry to maximize performance, resulting in better stereo imaging, tighter bass, and clean, accurate, distortion-free sound. 219,253. shug4476, May 21, 2022. So a CD player has a. wav -> compared to ref. The actual discs (and there weren’t many of them out at the time but they were very sought after) cost a hefty $25-plus per album, which is over $60. And that’s a problem. Secondly, their first players with slot entry (e. With Red Book discs the slot-drive transport gets a slight nod for its more intimate and lush perspective; however, with 24-bit/96kHz material the asynchronous USB wins hands. Like the two Nodes before it at their time of arrival in 2014 and 2018 respectively, the newest Node – introduced in the summer of 2021 – enters the. Obvious the bandwidth of coax is higher but in practice modern Toslink can perform better (I can do 176 kHz over Toslink) However as a CD player is 2 channel, 16 bit, 44. About a week ago, I wrote a blog on PS Audio’s somewhat unorthodox, DSD-centric DirectStream DAC. S. In case of a mediocre source, take the optical/coaxial output to a good DAC. 31. This 71-pound, $17,200 device takes the task of recovering data from a CD quite seriously, employing what is unquestionably the best built and most elaborate mechanism yet devised for CD playback (save for the mechanism in Esoteric’s $25k P-01 transport). any esoteric. This is 99. Even the player's feet had extensive plating. But to move up to the next CD Player, which is the Marantz ND8006 Network CD Player, the price jumps to £1000 or a bit more - Marantz ND8006 Under £700, the Rotel CD14 at £550 is certainly a good choice. Considering another CD player / transport, need 2 within my business. 6000CDT is also cheaper. While a lot of audiophiles still enjoy large CD collections, most of those folks use CD, DVD, Blu-ray players or computers to play CDs. At the very least, most likely a more substantial transport (drawer/ loading mechanism). It is very good. #5. Anyway, the difference between the ARC as a DAC and the Berkeley was simply so small to be noticed by anyone but a very experienced. At the time I was in the market for a new CD player. Reply. It is drop-in, backward compatible with CDM-12 Industrial, CD Pro 1 and CD Pro 2, 2M and 2LF. The CDi, by all accounts, is even better. Nevertheless, here we are in 2018 with the Cambridge Audio CXC, seemingly a unicorn in the audio world of under $500 components. I have a high end, newer DAC, capable of SACD (Denon DVD-3910). So you have an old-ish CD player and a Schiit Modi. The real evolution was the 24-bit upgrade. $698. At $349, this is one of the most affordable and appealing CD players here. Marantz CD6007 (17. I currently use an older generation P. CD transports differ as they don’t have any analogue or digital to analogue components in them or any filters to improve the analogue sound. Sony's $5000 SCD-1 is a two-channel Super Audio CD player. Remote Controlled 6 Disc Carousel CD Player. Equipment List. I was wondering if any of you folks could steer. This was a three-box set connecting a CD player used as a transport, a power supply, and a digital / analog unit. It is on that irrefutable logic that I have established my new baseline for reviewing CD players: Let's you and I find the best player we can for $10,000—and let's start with Audio Note's combination of CDT. It can also connect with most streaming services and it also has Bluetooth connectivity. Yamaha CD-NT670D. You can always check the warranty before buying. The $1200 D-105u, the top of Luxman's CD-player line, is novel in its twin-triode vacuum-tube amplification in the analog output stage. sennj, BrentB, Front 242 Addict and 6 others like this. Denon has also used a premium transport mechanism to reduce vibrations adversely affecting the sound quality. i know of one dac which takes a 12 volt tube, namely the exemplar dac. Rotel CD14. The player unit contains the laser-optical player mechanism, servo system, signal processing and error-correction circuitry, and a dedicated power supply. 3dBA) but also to its optical digital output. To accurately synchronize all the digital circuits in the CD player, the DCD. I gather the difference is the CD Transport has digital outs only and the AXC35 has a DAC so it also has analog line outs. As a transport, the BCD-3 will do full justice to any future DAC with which you mate it. 3) Wadia 361 - just as a player, it was a beauty and a fine performer. Best looking CD player — LEAK CDT. 03-30-2021 at 07:20am. That Was Then… Marantz CD-63 MkII KI Signature; Naim CDS3/XPS2 (2003)Try using the CD5 as a transport and the TL5 buries it, offering greater detail, transparency, dynamic range, and a superior sense of musical flow… the whole point of owning a dedicated transport in the first place. Right out of the box, it impressed me with its hewn-of-a-piece construction. Have just about given up on my dreams of the Lector Digidrive TL cdp transport or the CDP-7T-MKIII tube cd player because of budget. Best CD player shelf system — Denon D-M41. Its latest CD disc spinner handles SACD too, and joins the 1700 series amplifier. Neither of these can be used to "rip" CDs. This starts with the improvements made to Cyrus’ recent Anniversary System CD player, which includes the latest version of the Servo Evolution firmware that controls the way the laser tracks the disc, to optimise the accuracy with which it does it. Unfortunately the modified Music Hall CD 25. Marantz BD8006, Bluesound Node 2021, Marantz Pearl Lite, Revel Concerta2 M16, Sony XZ Premium, LGV30. It's not about SNR or bit levels, to me it sounds like is a temporal smearing of the high frequency end. My sony sacd cheap DVD player sound ugly for cd when connected to my dac. The CD player is a Cambridge Azur 851 with upgraded blue fuses and a Synchro-mesh reclocker which has been OK but I think I may. Both are old models, so you may be able to find one NOS or slightly used. The Arcam Alpha 9 CD player is a mid-priced player at the top of the Arcam line. In that regard, this Bryston CD player differs from its predecessor, the BCD-1, which had only one DAC chip per channel (and which also had a plastic disc transport). This configuration is said to provide high linearity with low distortion and that hard-to-quantify musicality found in tubed products. It's best to consider these hook-ups as no more than a 'get started' measure. What's the difference here? johnnm. remote control. Reason being either way you still need a DAC for both solution. Price £1750. In that mode, it delivers perfect pace, pinpoint attacks, high detail resolution, and, well, just about everything else you could wish for. 05. antlestxp. When he hooked up an AN CDP 6 transport, the sound was dramatically better, but, that transport costs as much as a house and the Sony, for all I know, could be exceptionally crappy. Old ideas die. The player will recognise a CD and output in stereo. Continue Reading ». The Avatar is a Redbook CD transport only. 981i. Those can last over 10,000 hours. The VRDS is as reassuringly mechanical sounding as we remember from older TEAC products and the player responds swiftly to commands. It's in the mid price category yet very well-built. My specific needs are 1) AES / EBU out and also 2) as a preferred option balanced XLR out. With this output, a CD player can become a dedicated transport bypassing the player’s internal DAC. Hi, wondered if anyone had good experience of using a DVD player as a CD transport- and whether there are benefits over using a reasonable CD player. Blu Ray players only contain the bar minimum to play cds;you would get better sound from a cd player which has the better circuitry to give you better sound. High-end CD players like the brand new Luxman D-07X offer a state-of-the-art playback platform and DAC that can be connected to other digital devices. The streamer sounds exactly the same as red book CDs on the CD transport on the ARC CD9SE… but better when Qobuz streams higher resolution files (btw, equal to my really good vinyl playback). A CD transport, rather than a CD player, this unit does the vital work of reading the information held on a compact disc, but doesn’t waste its effort in turning that digital signal into an analogue output. Priced at $4000, it represents the top of the Esoteric line that includes the $2000 D-10 and $1000 D-500 CD transports. The mechanical mechanisms in a few of the CD players I've owned have failed, one just weeks after the two year warranty expired, probably the part that is replaced most on CD players and transports. #9. A couple of caveats. Tinman. Cyrus CDi-XR tech specs. If the players you want them for support data CD then just stick with that. laptop to DAC. the cd player is a system that have both the transport and the DAC, a standalone DAC in only a DAC. Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital. This configuration is said to. Some folks' bias seems to be that the best 1990s CD players can barely compete with 2000s entry-level players. Above the bookcase hung the mounted head of a wild poi dog, killed in self-defense in Sri Lanka with only a Phillips-head screwdriver. Hellishly expensive, I seem to remember. Not all CD players sound alike; ergo all DAC's will not sound the same. Audio Perfect Wave CD/SACD Transport. The aluminum finish on the front of the player is a great choice for this price range, ensuring the player doesn’t have a cheap look. ” More MechanismsFor most of its 20-year existence, C. Best transport-only player — Cambridge Audio CXC v2. You’ll hear incredible detail from your discs, possibly for the first time. The BCD-3 turns out to be a fantastic CD transport. nope not good enough. A local deal used a Sony CD player as a transport to feed various DACs, including a DAC 5. On top of that, it has a USB port on the front and the ability to play a range of files, including WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, and DSD files. Aug 5, 2023. With ET3 we continue to build our line of compact top-loading CD players. Two years ago, Simaudio introduced the Moon Evolution 750D CD transport/DAC ($11,999), billed as "the world's first true 32-bit asynchronous DAC. Transport and DAC Where am I going to get the best Digital playback? Going with a high end CD player or a transport and DAC? Also, what's the difference between a transport and a cd player. I also like the raised feet that elevate the player to help resist vibrations that might interfere with the sound playback. There are many cases of the laser assembly on this Onkyo C-7030 CD player failing. Let’s look at which format has more advantages, CDs or streaming. 2 Jay's Audio Lab CD T2 MK 3 3 P. In the BCD-3's analog output. jameswei. Best option is to go for a older BD player which has both Analogue as well as digital or HDMI output. ” for engaging/disengaging the internal 4x upsampler. Ever wonder what's the difference between a CD transport and a CD player and more importantly - why's it matter? Audio Advisor is here to help explain and gi. A CD player is a much higher precision machine than your pickup truck. (Image credit: Future) Music streamers are, of course, much newer tech than CD players. To rip a CD you would need an internal or external optical data drive for your PC/laptop/Mac. Option 1: different playback chain gives you slightly different results. RSVP. To answer specifically, burning as an Audio CD will convert the files to the red book standard that most CD players rely on. When it's used as a player, all data. DD15 is a compact CD transport providing high end digital transport capabitlites to virtually any system as a result of its dedicated low resonance slot load CD drive and low noise digital output, while its compact cabinet makes it the perfect partner for SC15 Prisma preamplifier and network player and I15 Prisma integrated. The robust chassis and electronics around this drive, carry the perfect signal jitter-free to its high variety of outputs. CD Transport. JAY'S AUDIO, founded by Jay Ho, focused on designing and manufacturing Redbook CD transport, CD Player using the Philips CDPRO2 LF, and CDM4 mechanisms for nearly two decades. I had made up my mind that I was going to purchase a Music Hall CD 25. In the case of the CD player, it is the transport whose speed is adapting to the DAC's (effective) requests for data. Seems like you have decided on getting a standalone CD transport then. This is no longer true. This is a serious high-end device, and built accordingly. After writing my very favorable review of Marantz's PM5003 integrated amplifier ($449. Wadia’s third player (after the WT2000 and WT3200) and based on the Teac P-2S, the Wadia 7 is a legendary transport using the VRDS CMK-2 with KSS-151A laser, still sought after and fetching high prices, even if some critics say that it is outdated and not better than any Teac VRDS. Here. Best CD player/streamer — Marantz SACD 30n. Proponents of the expensive CD transports will tell you all sorts of things about how crucial the clock timing or the vibration damping or what form of ancient sorcery was used in the creation of their $1,000 product. Just about every CD player will come with a pair of analogue cables in the box. Instead they pass on the digital audio signal straight on to a DAC or an amplifier with a DAC via digital outputs like coaxial or optical outputs. Change Up to 5 Discs During Play, 40 Track Programming. The DACs on the Oppo are also both well designed and well implemented. $5,599. Onkyo DX-C390 6 Disc Carousel CD Player. Today Yamaha sells a CD player that comes in any $7,000. Even this survey of Primare 15 options is incomplete, because alongside the DD15 CD transport, there is a CD15 CD player. . Yes. Otherwise, it had the same connections, motorised transport and almost tablet-sized remote. Outputs Twin analogue, optical and coaxial. AX C3 5. . The CD is making its return, and in doing so, the people who are going to invest in a CD Player or CD Transport need to know which one they should buy and why. Within . My main juxtaposition is whether a CD transport (direct. 99) for the January 2010 issue, I began to fantasize about how it might be packaged with other components to create a dynamite entry-level system for about $1000 (excluding cables). Yamaha CD-NT670D. Subtotal. You'll need a standalone DAC to handle all the digital-to-analogue conversion. Best CD player shelf system — Denon D-M41. It plays standard Red Book audio CDs, the Red Book layer of Hybrid SACDs, and MP3 digital audio files from both CD-R and DVD-R media. Connecting the well-regarded Arcam irDAC 2 to a 90s era award-winning Sony CDP-561E budget CD player via optical-out (TOSlink) has not made any substantial improvement to the sound to warrant using a good quality external DAC with the CD player - it sounds pretty much the same with or without the DAC! So my only way to improve on. made low-end turntables for the Japanese audio giants. "I guess if I want to make an upgrade from my old Krell Kav 300 cd ( which I am using now as transport), and not to spend a fortune, I should look at used transports of the nineties. When it's used as a player, all data. 4 x 3. It may have been the best CD transport (no SACD though like SCD-1) I ever had. The supplied remote handset has a neat metal finish on the top plate and is pleasant to use. 00 CX C. S. Rotel RCD-955AX and RCD-965BX CD players. Joined: Oct 31 2005 - 6:02pm. Urd also has two USB inputs that you can connect to other USB sources, and switch between them. Claiming that one digital source sounds different from another is bogus. The daddy of all transports is the Esoteric . Joined: Apr 1 2021 - 6:06pm. vid that inspired this messthis one I take a very in depth look at the. ”. 00. You are simply using the Denon in that situation as a transport. 16-15/16"W x 3-1/4"H x 14-1/4"D. streaming has improved radically…. What is the difference of a CD Player vs. In that mode, it delivers perfect pace, pinpoint attacks, high detail resolution, and, well, just about everything else you could wish for. #4. 5101. However, whereas the No. The two systems, Teac VRDS-701 CD Player and Teac VRDS-701T CD Transport, will be offered in a choice of black or silver, with the proven emphasis on the particularly elegant design line that evokes the charm of the long-gone heyday of hi-fi in the 1960s and 1970s. . Transport mechanism: not specified D/A conversion: Wolfson WM8742 Sample rate USB type B in: max 192kHz/24-bit Maximum dimensions. Unlike your average CD player most of the CEC’s machines, including the TL5, don’t even have a DAC built in. NAD seems to have followed the same style notes for decades, and the C 538 bears many similarities to its forebears. 5,339 posts. Look for something that uses the Philips professional transport mechanism, like the kind used in commercial jukeboxes. After I got a music server and ripped my CDs to the HD I did a live A/B comparison of the. The Transport. Dvd blue ray player are ugly for listening cd via spif. The Teac CD-P650 has a DAC to connect iPhones via USB as does the Yamaha CD-S300. While I was researching about CD transport, (I just want one. Yamaha CD-S303. A dedicated CD player will have better parts in comparison to a cheap Blu-Ray player. Unison USB Hub. The player I owned (McIntosh MCD201) had required two factory repairs for a faulty. Teac PD-301DAB-X. I looked up the Teac CD P650 specs and reviews and think you have found a winner for $180. 10 (along with Esoteric's two other converters). So it seems very reasonable to conclude that the Denon DCD-755AR CD player not only applies its Alpha Processing to its analogue outputs (measured noise: -113. So either the UB9000 ain’t a good CD player or it is and that’s as good as it’s going to get with a cd which is unfortunate and I was told nonsense. Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter. Cambridge Audio makes several disc spinners including a Blu-ray player that will also play CD and other. Again, the CEC TL-5 is surprisingly affordable for the quality of sound, starting out at $3,095. This is a review and detailed measurements of the Cayin Mini-CD MKII CD transport and stereo player. The robust chassis and electronics around this drive, carry the perfect signal jitter-free to its high variety of outputs. As a £895 CD transport, it can’t really be described as a budget player – it’s a premium player but it’s not uber premium that it will be a bank account shocker. 7" wide by 3. 2 Channel Ultra HD AV Receiver (2020 Model) – Wi-Fi. London. The CD player can also be used as a transport, allowing you to bypass the internal DAC to output to external gear, using digital coaxial S/PDIF output or the I²S HDMI interface. A 100USD DVD player is only that expensive because it's made in China in huge numbers. As RCA plugs don’t have a 75 Ohm impedance, you have a mismatch anyway. Partly that's because both the £1299 DCD-1700NE and £1699. I would just make sure it's a 75 ohm coaxial cable, and not longer than 1. The small percentage of Mac's does not invite the malicious interest that PC's do. As does the Audio Mirror DAC (same as PS Audio). dirty and old surface) will be higher than influence of transport. The Wadia 861 cd player has several outputs,. 1kHz CDs as well. Jaded1. With something like an old philips based player, im not sure the lines will ever cross. Even a budget player will sound better with some good interconnects, so arrange a demo and budget from around £30 ($50, AU$60) for a better pair. 25" (110mm) high by 14" (360mm) deep and, at 17. Technics SL-P1200 was a good top-loader. 1 coaxial digital audio output. C. So I will sure opt for Highend Computer Transport. Don't go thurther. No DVD or Blu-Ray will last much more than 10% of that. Again, the CEC TL-5 is surprisingly affordable for the quality of sound, starting out at $3,095. Still, like the Marantz pair, the Bluesound Node (2021) is some iterations down the line now. Superb DSD play-back in direct mode. To date, after 31 years of the CD format, it is only via computer that I’ve heard the audio from a CD disc sound indistinguishable from the master used to create that CD. There's also some relevant information on CD recorders and multi-disc CD changers near the end of the article. Connect via RCA from the front left and right outputs. Best Convenient: Cambridge Audio AXC35 Single-Disc CD Player with High Performance Wolfson. I did not have another SACD transport in house for a more accurate comparison. The CD player is a Marantz SA-8004 digital out to a Denefrips Ares II DAC. Best Overall: Audiolab 6000CDT Dedicated CD Transport with Remote - Black. Both CD player and transport have their pros and cons, ultimately to decide the winner it will be depended on the users which is you. The CD-7 was capable of real speed and impact. having played with various transport, ime they can make or break a DAC. The Emotiva ERC-4 is not a CD/SACD player as it doesn't have SACD capability. Priced at just $100 more than the original Apollo, the new player employs a similar means of loading CDs—you raise a hinged lid to expose a top-mounted, manual-load disc bay—but, at 8. Onkyo 6-Disc CD Player. Ever heard of heavy use cases. This feature is made possible by a communication link between the No. 31 and other Mark Levinson digital processors (the No. It plays standard Red Book audio CDs, the Red Book layer of Hybrid SACDs, and MP3 digital audio files from both CD-R and DVD-R media. You explain it better than I just did. One could argue that the 'C555ES and '2900 are compromised when it comes to CD. Best value for the money — Rotel CD14 MkII.