This time, I’m looking for opinions (good or bad) on studio-quality CD players.
For various reasons, we’d prefer players which cannot play MP3 files from CDs. (Yes I know, that sounds weird. And may not be avoidable.) We are looking for simple players—not ones with controls like the starship Enterprise :D—which:
play single tracks (obviously)
have fader start (also obviously)
won’t fall apart after 6 months of studio use :
Note that we don’t need ‘extras’ like pitch control, multiple cue memory, ‘scratch’ turntable controls, or any other ‘club DJ’ features. Again, I accept that these might not be avoidable.
Table-top models would be OK, but standard deck or rack-mount would again be preferable, though I’m open to any/all suggestions. Also, single decks would be preferable to dual ones, because if one fails, we can leave one usable while we replace/repair the failed one.
I don’t think we can stretch to Denon DN-C635 players (though they would be our ideal, and yes I do know they can play MP3s).
At present we have Numark dual decks, which have not exactly been trouble-free, so we’d prefer to avoid Numark players.
I like the look of the IMG Stageline CD-164DJ from Monacor. Does anyone have any experience of these—good or bad? The track select buttons look a bit small and flimsy, and unfortunately the nice rotary control seems not to be a track selector (it’s for fine selection of position).
Any other suggestions? I look forward to all your views.
The 615’s remote control circuit is a bit of a nightmare.
Plus, the 615 uses tiny buttons to choose tracks whereas the 635 has that nice jog wheel, AND it has balanced outputs. ;D
Well, the 160-II is now obsolete. The 200 doesn’t have any remote control capability other than its infra-red, unfortunately. OTOH, the CD-01U Pro looks quite a tasty box; if slightly more expensive than the Denon 635. :-\
You’re right in saying that all of these can play MP3s. But we don’t need to tell our presenters that. They have got used to that not being possible on the Numarks we have currently.
So, anyone know about the IMG Stageline/Monacor players?
Alec: You mean the C402, I assume? I just had a look at it online, and while it’s ‘OK,’ the manual had zero information about the remote start function. It didn’t even say what the connector was, or how to wire it.
Also, the stated Stanton warranty for only 10,000 presses on their switches has me nervous. :o
Though again, the Stanton is about half the price of the Tascam CD-01U I now have my heart set on. :-*
May I suggest you the Pioneer CDJ series decks.
We still have the first series CDJ-500 players in use (since >12 years) These units are rock solid. Only had to replace the open switch on one of the units.
“Master Tempo” function is one great feature of these players besides the precise cue possibilities and built-in fader start port.
You might want to have a look at the CDJ-100S player
I’d stay WELL clear of any IMG Stageline CD players, they are generally useless (they make great DI boxes and isolating transformers though), we had some CD-164DJs delivered (not to our spec) with our studio 1 kit and both of the decks refused to read most of the CDs we put in them. We had them replaced with a set of Tascam players which have been brilliant, I use Tascam a lot in my other job and their stuff is generally really reliable. Denon are also recommended by me but can occasionally have problems (we have Denons in studio 2 and they have had a couple of issues over the past few years, but they are nearly 8 years old!).
Although this thread’s very old - did you come to a conclusion? If not, my next question was: do the players need to be new? If not, I’d look around for some Denon DN-951FA players or their DN-961FA brothers . the difference between the two is that you need carts for the 951 to put the CD in, the 961 comes with a standard tray. My personal preference is the 951 (I have 3 of them (plus one of the predecessors, the 950)) and they have been the work horses in many broadcast stations - some are still in use today. If you can find one in good condition, they usually sell between €100 and €200 (per unit ;-)) on the usual suspects. The 951 has balanced output, AES/EBU (the 950 lacks it), and remote control, I’d assume the 961 is the same as the 951 in everything except for the tray. The Players can be used table-top although they are slim enough to fit 3 of them in a 19" Rack (note that is true for the 951 and 961 only, the 950 is slightly wider, making it impossible to fit 3 units in 19" width)
Actually, we did pick up a (non-working, sadly) DN-950FA (yup, the original!) which we’re still hoping to resurrect at some point. I did pluck up the courage to open it and take a quick look inside, but it’s a scary place unless you’ve worked with them before. :o
When we get the cash, we’ll purchase a pair of Denon DN-620 players, the natural descendants of the 95x series. Smaller, nicer display, does MP3s if you want to (we’d prefer not to though!), and is slot fed rather than tray fed, so no knucklehead can snap off the tray by leaning on it, or dropping anything on it. 8)
They have got used to that not being possible on the Numarks we have currently.