Packing up my CD player...bittersweet

[tboooe]

Today I received my new DAC and will be packing up my Luxman D-06 cdp. This will be the first time in over 25 years that I have not had some sort of cdp in my system. But I am now 100% digital music. Even though I still buy lots of CDs regularly I use my PC to rip them into my library before listening. I've been using my current cdp as a DAC for the past few years mainly for sentimental reasons even though it was lacking in the features required for digital playback (no usb/AES/I2s input, limited to 176 sample rate, no DSD, etc). With a heavy heart I finally made the switch to using a DAC only device in my system.

 

Over the years I've had the pleasure of owning some very cool cdp. Here is a list of some memorable ones:

 

Magnavox D8880 boombox (1988) - my very first cdp I got for Xmas. I remember going out that day and buying two cds...Sting "Nothing Like the Sun" and The Primitives "Lovely".

 

Sony Discman D-25 Portable cdp (1989) - what??? A portable cdp??? Who cares if it skipped when you looked at it the wrong way? This was portable!

 

Sony MHC-RX90 (1996) - the first stereo I bought with my own money after getting a real job after college. This system had a carousel cd changer!!!

 

Cary 303/300 tube hybrid (2005) - my first audiophile cdp after feeling like I made it in my career. This was the beginning of a long slippery slope of spending ridiculous amounts of money into this hobby.

 

Esoteric P3/D3 transport and dac (2007) - from a technical point of view my favorite cdp. The Esoteric VRDS transport was/is a marvel of engineering. The sound was the best I have ever heard up to that point.

[kelly200269]

No doubt about it. Physical media is on the way out.

I use my Lumin D1 much more than my Denon SACD player, even though I have a large SACD collection.

I used to lust-after an Esoteric K-01. Since I started using my Lumin, I don't anymore.

A shame. A bit of gratuitous lust is no bad thing... ;-)

 

Sent from my E6653 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[Apesbrain]

My CD transport is still in the system -- behind a cabinet door -- but I can't remember the last time I used it.

[jhwalker]

We rip our CDs as soon as we receive them, so only external CD drives attached to Mac laptops are needed.

 

I can count on one finger the number of times I've used my CD "player" in the last several years.

[kelly200269]

Unfortunately ripping SACD's isn't as easy, so I hang on to my CDP for SACD.

 

Sent from my E6653 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[vmartell22]

Today I received my new DAC and will be packing up my Luxman D-06 cdp. This will be the first time in over 25 years that I have not had some sort of cdp in my system. But I am now 100% digital music. Even though I still buy lots of CDs regularly I use my PC to rip them into my library before listening. I've been using my current cdp as a DAC for the past few years mainly for sentimental reasons even though it was lacking in the features required for digital playback (no usb/AES/I2s input, limited to 176 sample rate, no DSD, etc). With a heavy heart I finally made the switch to using a DAC only device in my system.

 

Over the years I've had the pleasure of owning some very cool cdp. Here is a list of some memorable ones:

 

Magnavox D8880 boombox (1988) - my very first cdp I got for Xmas. I remember going out that day and buying two cds...Sting "Nothing Like the Sun" and The Primitives "Lovely".

 

 

Sony Discman D-25 Portable cdp (1989) - what??? A portable cdp??? Who cares if it skipped when you looked at it the wrong way? This was portable!

 

Sony MHC-RX90 (1996) - the first stereo I bought with my own money after getting a real job after college. This system had a carousel cd changer!!!

 

 

Cary 303/300 tube hybrid (2005) - my first audiophile cdp after feeling like I made it in my career. This was the beginning of a long slippery slope of spending ridiculous amounts of money into this hobby.

 

 

Esoteric P3/D3 transport and dac (2007) - from a technical point of view my favorite cdp. The Esoteric VRDS transport was/is a marvel of engineering. The sound was the best I have ever heard up to that point.

 

 

 

1) Those last two CD players are beautiful!

 

 

2) Funny that this post comes up - I recently bought a CD player, after not owning one since about 2005. Basically, since the start of the CD era I have amassed so many CDs, it would take me a lifetime to rip them and properly tag them...

 

So far it has been great - I mean just before, from that huge collection I only listened to what I could rip - now, it's like I got 5000 or so new recordings at once!

 

I wrote about it here

 

Still love records... but having a digital dalliance - the journey | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

 

 

v

[blownsi]

So jealous of that D25, still a great portable player today.

[tboooe]

1) Those last two CD players are beautiful!

 

 

2) Funny that this post comes up - I recently bought a CD player, after not owning one since about 2005. Basically, since the start of the CD era I have amassed so many CDs, it would take me a lifetime to rip them and properly tag them...

 

So far it has been great - I mean just before, from that huge collection I only listened to what I could rip - now, it's like I got 5000 or so new recordings at once!

 

I wrote about it here

 

Still love records... but having a digital dalliance - the journey | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

 

 

v

Thank you. I had the pleasure of owning several Cary and Esoteric players. I also had the Cary 306T and the Esoteric X-03. Both outstanding.

 

Its funny but I am totally the opposite of you, getting rid of my cdp has actually allowed me to enjoy more of my entire library. When I had cdp, I was always too lazy to look through the 3k+ I had to find something new to listen to. I actually ended up with a stash of about 20 cds or so I kept by my listening chair and that was all I would listen to. Making the commitment to rip everything to FLAC has been without a doubt the best thing I have ever done to increase my enjoyment of music. I actually just spent the past year re-ripping my entire collection because when I first ripped them years ago, I saved everything to MP3. I just did about 10 a day. It was actually a fun experience re-discovering lost gems I forgot I had. I even found cds that were still in their plastic wrapping!

 

So jealous of that D25, still a great portable player today.

yeah that D-25 was built like I tank. I remember it being really heavy. I ended up keeping it all through college and used it connected to a receiver. It always worked and never failed. I wish I kept it but I think a college roommate stole it.