Just stumbled on a Philips cd650 (TDA1541) this morning at my local thrift shop ,took a chance and paid 20$ for it not getting my hopes up too high.Got home and plugged in my headphones , ... Wow ! The sound was so clear and very analog ,instrument separation was incredible ,listened to 2 cds one after the other . Best 20$ investement this year !
Been using my CDB 473 since I bought it new in 1988. Very good sounding player, and can play the most messed up CDs without skipping. Plays CR-Rs and CR-RWs fine too.
Not only have you hit gold with the TDA1541 DAC, Mike, but your Magnavox also features the Philips swing-arm laser assembly, known for excellent tracking and stability. The reason it looks sparse inside is that the same parts would also fit into a midi-width casing, by the way. My Marantz CD-56, which I bought in 1984 for £250 (about $1125 in today's money), uses the same DAC and CDM4 transport, still sounds as sweet as when it was new and has never needed servicing. It'll probably outlast me! For comparison, I recently bought a Ferguson CD02 - a rare 1985 UK model based on Sony's Japanese-market CDP-33. It looks and feels much better-made than the Marantz. The mids are a little more prominent, but it can match the Marantz for detail and soundstage. It sucks at tracking dirty or damaged CDs, though. It has an unusual architecture - a single DAC for both channels and an analogue low-pass filter (Sony were behind Philips in developing a digital filter). My final 80s player is a humble Panasonic SL-PJ325A, which to my surprise uses the same Philips CDM4/19 transport as my Marantz, married to a twin DAC made by NEC. It doesn't quite have the detail retrieval of the Marantz, but otherwise it shares the same tonal characteristics and excellent tracking. I'm also a fan of the warm amber glow of its display! The Panasonic SL-PJs were marketed at buyers of midi stereo systems, so collectors wrongly assume they're low-quality. That translates to absolute bargain prices, so a hearty thumbs-up from me!
So, I heard the rumors, and picked up a couple of these. One, made in Mexico, with the TDA1543, and a Belgian one with the TDA1541. The 1543 is a sweet sounding, bullet proof unit. Plays CDRs with no problems. The TDA 1541, on the other hand, is mind blowing . What I've heard is true.
Hi, I own the Magnavox CDB-650. I was lucky enough to buy it from it's first owner. It came with the remote and manual. I don't use it much, I'm afraid at its age something will wear out. But you are right about the sound. I love it.
Don't worry about wearing it out - these old Philips-built units are bulletproof. My Marantz has been heavily used since 1984, never needed a service - just keeps chugging along!
@@thisisnev Thanks, it also occurred to me that not using it could be bad for it as well. I'm listening to it now, and it didn't recognize the CD at first. Had to cycle the tray once. I think I'll use it more often to exercise it.
Yeah! That's a good unit. I have one that an ex-girlfriend bought for me as a Christmas gift in 1988. Only player I've ever heard that I liked better was a Carver SDA/490t that used vacuum tubes in the output stage.
Yes indeed. I may be wrong on some counts, but, older Magnavox players were made by Philips in Belgium. For a number of years, the famous TDA1541 (later, the slightly better TDA1541A) was the DAC chip of choice. Many people still feel this was one of the best DAC chips ever made - and Magnavox implemented it very well too (which is just as important). The earliest units used the 1540 (in pairs as it was a mono chip). They sound pretty good, but not on par with the 1541. A few of the cheaper units used the 1543. I have the CDB-472 and still use it nearly every day, although I bought a Denon DCD-800ne recently and like to play FLAC and DSD files via its USB input. Good video!
As the owner of more than a half dozen 1980s CD players I can testify that the loading trays are noisy when opening and closing. I don't think they had perfected the motors yet. I can also confirm the DACs have much better sound quality than most comparable players from the 1990s onward.
Yeah, the CD160, CD471 and NAD 501 machines I have (all using Philips cdm2 or cdm4 drawer loading mechs) have loud drawers. Mind you, my 1984 Denon DCD1100 squeaks as the drawer closes as well! They all play fine though lol
I purchased my Magnavox CDB 473 new and can tell you it has a wonderful sound. When purchased, it was because I didn’t have much to spend on sound equipment. I read what was available (and that always focused on high end equipment) but did find a couple articles that pointed me in this direction. I’ve always been extremely surprised by its performance. Thirty-five years later, I’ve built a different collection of sound equipment and will be reluctantly selling this unit due to lack of storage space. It was a great 35+ years with a product that works as well as it did when purchased.
I still have and use my Denon DCD 3300 which I bought new in 1988. it was top of line Denon at that time. It's only been in the shop a few times all for the same problem, which is the CD door occasionally sticks and it needs maintenance. It sounds incredible, works perfectly and is like new. Solid steel case, about 30 pounds.
This was the first CD that I bought back in 1987, when I was 15 :) I had to travel to London to buy it from Tottenham Court Road, which was at the time the main street in London for consumer electronics :) It was a great player, the tray noise never bothered me at all, it just felt quite solid. By the way, the remote control uses Philips standard RC-5 code set, so any CD remote controls from Philips, Magnavox, Marantz, Revox, B&O, Grundig, and many more, will operate it for sure. Also after market one for all remotes will have code sets for it. Super machines, lovely TDA1541 indeed and excellent CDM2 or 4 transport mech. You might be able to quieten it a little with some new lube, might be the drive gear too, they can become dry.
It is great to see and read all the comments here - obviously there's still a lot of interest in these fine old CD players. I recently came across an ad on eBay placed by a man in Lviv, Ukraine, who was selling a rare 1991 Marantz Compact Disc Player CD-94MK2 (looks like 'CD94 II' on the machine; it's their Mark - Roman Numeral 2 edition). When I received it, it was in amazingly "mint" condition for a player of that age - it had apparently always been taken very good care of - it looks literally brand-new, it is that nice! I had to buy a 115-volt-to-220-volt converter to operate it, because it was built for the 220/230-volt 50 Hz E.U. market, and its power cord has an E.U.-style two-prong plug which won't fit US wall sockets. It works great. (Considering Ukraine is at war with Russia, I was amazed to see that anyone is selling and/or shipping ANYTHING from there right now!) The seller serviced it, cleaned the laser, lubricated the CD mechanism, which is a massive cast-aluminium block of metal, their CDM-1. The Digital converter consists of 2 x TDA1541A-S1, 16 bit linear Single Crown R-2-R ladder-dac chips. Before shipping it, he replaced the two tray-drive belts. What a find - this vintage, very hard-to-find vintage Marantz CD player sounds amazingly good when played through its coax digital output into my Holo Audio 'MAY KTE (Kitsune Tuned Edition)' DAC. Even via its own DAC's RCA analog outputs, it still sounds remarkably good by today's standards. This CD player weighs a ton by comparison to today's featherweight electronics.
Is it just me, or did the gear of the 70's and 80's sound better than the digital, hyper dynamic and revealing gear we get today? Not to mention so many crap recordings that we are now plagued with, which anyone that watches Mike, can surely agree and attest too. I have been so disappointed in more than a few purchases, some in the thousand dollar plus range in recent years. The gear sounded great at first, but then the reality set in, along with the ear fatigue and disillusionment. Not to be a Denafrips fanboy, but their Ares II, and now a complete Denafrips system, Iris DDC, Hades pre and Thallo amp, along with the old school KLH Model 5's finally delivered the sound of my youth. I can see why folks are flocking back to vintage gear, especially those of us that grew up with it. You would think someone would pull the schematics to some of the more popular pieces and start building modern versions at reasonable prices. If someone did that, I think they would have a serious hit on their hands.
@mykandrew I just stumbled on this video today. I have a remote if you're still looking for one. My CDB473 died years ago, but I kept the remote. The batteries corroded, but I'm sure the contacts can be cleaned up.
I have a Sony CDP 501 ES. It's a tank. The drawer is loud even after lubricant. No digital out doesn't need it. It sounds wonderful. Only issue I have is the CD has to be perfect to play.
This is actually a Philips CD 473, an entry level player at the time. I have a Philips CD 960 (I also had a Philips CD880 at the same time), top models of Philips production. Even today, few players of the same price range can compare to those two players (except Marantz from the same period).
Hi, what you have there is a rebadged Philips CD 473, made in Belgium, and which I own. Mine, which has the TDA1541A variant, is also a bit noisy. Any old Philips (and perhaps Magnavox) remote works with this, as do Logitech Harmony remotes and the generic remotes for 90s Marantz/Philips players sold on eBay. It's a great player. I paid €15.
I just bought a vintage CD player a couple weeks ago. It seemed to be in great condition everything was fine, but now the door won't open. Oh well. That's the way it goes with vintage items I guess.
I had a Denon Dcm-380 5 disc with HDCD. GREAT sound, but after a few years developed problems with the door. Not wanting to lose a CD in it, I helped the door to open, emptied it and boxed it up. Then I bought the Yamaha cds-303. :)
@@audioarkitekts In many of these old machines, a belt-drive mechanism opens / closes the tray - so it may come down to finding a correct replacement belt and going through the rigmarole of getting at and removing the old one..
The space inside to the right is presumably because the innards are also designed to be used in the smaller case of the 'midi sized' Philips CD373 (or Magnavox equivalent), which is basically the same player.
My friend i own this machine in phillips form , now you MUST try a Rotel RCD 855 from 1990 it features the upgraded TDA1541A chip in fact two of them one for each channel and a better transport, and they sound astonishingly good sometimes i prefer it to my audiolab 8200! I own 5 yes 5 of them! Im taking no chances with spares, they presently sell on ebay for about £90 over here in UK , it must be RCD855 and not 865 as that one features phillips bitstrem dac and simply is not nearly as good, build quality is much better than 471 as well. Buy one, i promise you won't regret it.
I’ve got a couple of older Sonys. A CDP-70 and CDP-302es. Also have a Realistic CD-1600 for my garage player. It actually works and sounds great! All of them are from the 80s I believe.
Just picked up the Sony CDP-70. Need to clean the headphone volume knob and smooth out a few skips but am really enjoying the sound and overall design. Marked 1985 on back panel.
@@briancaine9130 make sure to inspect the plastic gears for the disc tray. I had to find someone to 3D print one of the gears that cracked and fell apart into pieces.
There really is no other vintage DAC that is as good as a TDA 1541. The A versions are better and there are also the single and double crown versions of the TDA 1541A which are even better. I've got two CD players with TDA 1541s. One is a Philips CD-80 which has the TDA1541A Single Crown. It, of course, sounds absolutely amazing. And just a few days ago I picked up an NEC CD-630 which has a regular TDA1541A in it. Same thing. Just absolutely beautiful, warm, smooth sound. I have no idea what black magic Philips had when they designed these chips. But whatever it was, it must have been good. :)
My 30yr old pioneer pd91 sounded better than rega Saturn r the pioneers own dac sounded better than adding a rega dac the pioneer weights a ton solidly made its a keeper
I have a 30+ year old pioneer pd-f908 101 disk changer, dirty as hell and never had a single thing done to it and it still works great. Even plays cd-rws.
My vintage Marantz { mid 80's } SACD player started scratching my CD's. I replaced it with my Phillips CDI Interactive gamer witch I purchased in the early 90's new . My kids spent many hours playing games on it. It only has analog out , so you have to use the onboard DAC.I don't know what DAC chip is in it, but sounds great. The tray makes the same sound as yours when opening or closing.
Oh yeah! I own two Philips 473 units, one in my bedroom and another at a shared holyday house. Basically the same model as presented, except the brand was changed to Magnavox in US. I heard that's because Philips corporation could not obtanin the trademark Philips in US. Anyway, both sound good, not precise but musical and sweet and they lure you into listening mood. Also own a Philips CD 210, linked to another system, it's made with the lesser TDA 1543 DAC but that unit also sounds sweet. And because here in Europe you can buy vintage CD players made with Philips chips cheaply, I've also bought a Grundig CD 35 mk1 with 2xTDA 1540 14 bit DAC and it also sounds excelent. Not overdetailed but musical and immersive sound, hard to stop listening. Just for testing, I've bought also a Yamaha CDX 410 with PCM 56 DAC, another famous vintage DAC that also sounds sweet and convincing, but unfortunately most PCM DAC units have lesser SONY laser units that don't like CD-Rs that much. Some slow speed burned CDs work all right but overall Philips laser units are the best for written CDs, like the CDM 1. 2 and 4 laser units that can be found on TDA 1541, 1543 and 1540 DAC players. For you US guys, better look for a Marantz with CDM 1,2,4 and TDA 1541, 1540 or even the lesser 1543. Overall, definitely worth buying a good looking sweet sounding vintage CD player featuring Philips CDMs and DACs, especially if you're on a budget and you can find a perfectly working unit cheaply, for about $50-$100.
I recently acquired a Sony 507 ESD from an audiophile's estate sale for $50. It has 2 of the 1541 DACs inside, 8x oversampling, 18 bit filter, and was in like new condition, absolutely clean inside and out, very quiet tray movement, plus the operator manual and remote. I'm using the digital out to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 which houses the Wolfson DAC. I honestly don't know which sounds better, the external dac or the 1541.
I was reading about that chip. I would like to recommend to you a little Denon player that in my opinion is incredibly good, unlike anything I've ever heard actually..the model is dcd-f101. I actually got it for free when I got my vintage Cornwalls. i recently bought a flagship arcam CD/sacd player, the cd37 for 500 dollars and I can tell you that the tiny Denon blew it out of the water. The mystery is the chips it uses: PCM1735E and LC78625E. I made some research and there is only another Denon and a nakamichi using chip pcm1735e. It would be awesome if you could help me solve the mistery!.
So funny - years ago I knew about these and would buy them all day for 30 bucks - Dude named Scott Nixon would pull out the 1541 and make tube dacs out of them
I found my Magnavox CD8880 boombox manufactured in April 1988. Holy crap it sounds great as I remember, 5 band equalizer, cassette deck am & FM. Not sure what CD player number it is but it says 4 laser. Was like $200+ back then.
Very cool. I’ll be looking for this chip. ACDelco actually made some powerful chips that can be repurposed for today’s needs. Hard chasing down DataSheets though, unless you have a parts catalog.
Hi everyone, congrats for your purchase. I own a Sony CDP-710 since new and, not sure why, mine has the same DAC, it is really a mind blower, you just described the sound of this DAC correctly, natural and musical all the way! Above I said why Sony used this Philips DAC changed their mind afterwards using a Burr Brown DAC. Anyways is a must this DAC in any unit now, a vintage one. Regards all.
Sounds like a PRETTY good way to get good value for the money, BUT, one thing that makes me weary of buying a vintage CD player would be that eventually, the laser will die, and where would you find a replacement for a particular machine?
This reminds me of the heartache I suffered when my Meridian 508.24 failed due to the drawer mechanism. It was a special unit eirhnesxeprionally good sound,kkNo replacements available. :( :(
A good number of Vintage players can be quite good and hold their own, sonically with most current High-End players. Especially the ES line from Sony from the late 80s to early 90s. With that said, and I'm by no means a High-End Audio snob, even entry level cd players from NAD and Denon will likely sound better than vintage in terms of lack of "digital glare", pace and separation of instruments. Not to mention, it's impossible to find repair parts for many 80s Vintage players. Just some thoughts and as always, if YOU like the sound, that's all that matters. ☮️
I recently bought a Philips CD492 for 20 bucks at a thrift store. It's not on your list. It apparently has the TDA 1543 DAC and I don't know if that's a good one but it sounds good to me.
I recently asked a friend if they had and old CD players laying around they might be willing to part with and they gave me one of these! Sounds great! I'm running it through some Bellari gear into Focal monitors. The CD tray gets a bit stuck sometimes when opening but its no big deal.
It sure sounds that way, especially to my ears... Not impressed with most gear produced today, which is why I can see folks flocking to the vintage gear. It only makes sense to me.
("Sgt.J.") I'm glad you, folks found a decent thing to play cds on." It was 86... 87. When i, 1st looked in to those. Sounded like crap. Especially computer installed. Finally. We got something good. Here's Dolby 5.1. 100 years to get music to sound like your at a concert. Now I, have sit next to the center spkr to kinda understand what the singer is singing. The "techs." Need their hearing tested. I, heard a "Hot for teacher." Mix. Left bass drum right rear to low. Outta tune. Right bass drum, not too bad. I've been in a studio. 27 into 16 into 4 tracks for standard stereo. But... Front to rear fade. And, dual pan. Ever hear Led Zeppelin 2? On a older inexpensive stereo. 😁 Its difficult to recreate that. Yeah... I, like Mackie. &, Elises boards. They sound good. Don't really need 6 speakers in my house. "Old or, new." Find something good. Get it i, guess. Lol. This could get long winded. "I'm a former working musician." Normally, I, hate 5.1. but, Ozzy concerts i, went to in my city. Pulled off a live system very well. It was after "No rest for the wicked." Tour. Have a great day 😃
I found a Philips CD60 with this DAC at the thrift for eleven bucks. Why buy a vintage CD player? Sounds fine, works fine and it cost about as much as the last new CD I bought. Why buy anything else?
People buying vintage CD players do need to be aware that many of them are designed to play Redbook standard CDs and ones that came along later, longer than 74 minutes, might not play. On average that isn't a big deal, just something to watch out for and not be concerned about.
The first CDs I encountered that were longer than 74 minutes appeared way back in 1987. Played fine on my 1984 Marantz, though, and subsequent extra-length CDs have never presented a problem.
@@thisisnev good for you. Maybe Marantz were a bit forward thinking back then. The Magnavox CDB-472 I have balks at anything over 74 minutes. But a younger Sony (circa 1987) plays longer ones fine and of course the recent Denon plays everything.
I had a Philips CD473, and I "upgraded" to a Rega Planet, to be honest, the Rega only had a slight edge in a direct AB comparison, that was in the top end. I stream now, my CD collection has long gone..... :(
Awesome find! I know it's not vintage but I bought a Pioneer BDP-51 blu-ray player a yr ago. It has a Wolfson DAC in it and I love it! It's my dedication cd player, big bulky and kinda sucks as a blu-ray player. but the sound quality is outstanding. To upgrade or even compete buying new I'd have to spend $400-600.
I tried your link for a list of other cd players with the tda1541 DAC and it’s not working for some reason. Do you have another link I could access? Thanks! Im looking to purchase a cd player with that specific DAC!
Great Video as always on your suggestion I just bought a Sony DVP-S9000ES it’s in great shape built in 2000 and weighs 30+ lbs do you think is it worth to upgrade to Emotiva Cd transport you think Emotiva could be better?
Great job i like the back lighting just lube the moving parts you see with cover off thats all Thanks for the video love spining the silver disk digital 👑 😆
Mike, you inspired me to try and look out for one of the infamous Magnavoxes. Tonight I was fortunate enough to come across a CDB650 for $11.99 at my local thrift store. Had no idea if it worked but figured it was worth taking a chance on… and hot damn, it works! Popped the top, and all I can say is Wow. The internals are ridiculous and look more like a receiver. It even has a heat sink mounted on the back. It sounds great. The only issue is the loading door sometimes hangs up. Hoping some component grease will help. What did you end up doing to lubricate your mechanism? Thanks again, without your video I wouldn’t have been looking.
@@audioarkitekts I got it for 90 bucks. It sounds great. Reminds me of the 80's, when a friend of mine bought it for himself. We were listening to various types of music without getting fatigue. Nice but often underrated machine. Definitely worth buying it.
If memory serves (I was 19 yo when CDs launched worldwide) all the early players had clunky sounding trays unless they were the $1000 pro models. That's $3k in 2023 money!
The 80s cd players sounded good but unfortunately if you get one that was made in the 90s by that time they had the transport and D.A. converters down to a science of higher quality. I think you’re better off trying to get a CD player from the 90s than the 80s. IMO
I have a Pioneer ELITE VSX-03TXH, if I find an old cd player with optical out and take advantage of the DAC on the Pioneer would that give me good sound?
I have the Philips 471, a variant of this without the remote. I must be the only person in the world unimpressed with the thing. It sounds distorted to my ears - and no it's not just my unit. I was never all that impressed with the AK601 I had back in the day either (TDA1543).
Why you should not, the prices are what a refurbished one should be and isn't. The plastic inside is very brittle and the parts are unattainable The power to the lasers get very weak the laser focus is out of wack You need the repair manual and an oscilloscope to set it correctly and know what you are doing. Capacitors are bad or going bad. Then you spent sky high on it then it skips or dont read and you still have to buy a new one. If you can get it and fix all of that and get the belts otherwise you should pass.
That's not loud lol A Sony cdp101 would sound like a Terminator. Reason was simple , each action has its own servo/motor...not sure but could be the case here too Later CD players (new) usually 1 to do all the actions
Philips not Sony made the first CD player and they over-engineered the heck out of it with this dac, Sony just gets all the credit and their player actually wasn't all that good..
Actually its was sony first with the CDP101 in late 1982, phillips followed up in spring of 1983 with CD100 the sony was ahead on technology too as it was 16 bit compared to phillips 14 bit
Your absolutely right for some strange reason Americans seem to think Sony were the best Sure they were good . But Philips were just as good if not better at the time .
What about the transport part of vintage players? I most likely have much better dac than all vintage CD players (not sure, I just believe so), can somebody on this planet please focus on the transport part of vintage CD players vs today's CD transpots? There's not much material about this, I think.
The Magnavox player was and is an excellent CD player. I believe they are made by the North American Phillips Corporation. Norelco. Very much sought after.
Yes that's a rare beasty these days only a few players have them and they are very smooth and detailed. Phillips CD751/3, Marantz cd5000. Do a search on lampizator and 753 he really rates it.
Everything was better, I have Grundig midi-hifi 5000 system, amplifier,tuner,cd-player and cassette deck, it is midi in 90th, but for today standards its HighEnd, inside are parts from Sony, Philips, Sharp... all made in Europe or Japan, built to last and sound good. Now when all components came from Asia... Japan is in Asia but Japan is Japan.
Just stumbled on a Philips cd650 (TDA1541) this morning at my local thrift shop ,took a chance and paid 20$ for it not getting my hopes up too high.Got home and plugged in my headphones , ... Wow ! The sound was so clear and very analog ,instrument separation was incredible ,listened to 2 cds one after the other . Best 20$ investement this year !
will choose vintage CD players because of the aesthetics, they look so much better than modern ones
Just dug out my Magnovox that is mentioned in the list and it sounds great! I bought this thing new in the late 1980s. Glad I spotted this video!
Been using my CDB 473 since I bought it new in 1988. Very good sounding player, and can play the most messed up CDs without skipping. Plays CR-Rs and CR-RWs fine too.
Not only have you hit gold with the TDA1541 DAC, Mike, but your Magnavox also features the Philips swing-arm laser assembly, known for excellent tracking and stability. The reason it looks sparse inside is that the same parts would also fit into a midi-width casing, by the way.
My Marantz CD-56, which I bought in 1984 for £250 (about $1125 in today's money), uses the same DAC and CDM4 transport, still sounds as sweet as when it was new and has never needed servicing. It'll probably outlast me!
For comparison, I recently bought a Ferguson CD02 - a rare 1985 UK model based on Sony's Japanese-market CDP-33. It looks and feels much better-made than the Marantz. The mids are a little more prominent, but it can match the Marantz for detail and soundstage. It sucks at tracking dirty or damaged CDs, though. It has an unusual architecture - a single DAC for both channels and an analogue low-pass filter (Sony were behind Philips in developing a digital filter).
My final 80s player is a humble Panasonic SL-PJ325A, which to my surprise uses the same Philips CDM4/19 transport as my Marantz, married to a twin DAC made by NEC. It doesn't quite have the detail retrieval of the Marantz, but otherwise it shares the same tonal characteristics and excellent tracking. I'm also a fan of the warm amber glow of its display! The Panasonic SL-PJs were marketed at buyers of midi stereo systems, so collectors wrongly assume they're low-quality. That translates to absolute bargain prices, so a hearty thumbs-up from me!
So True those swing Arm mechanisms are so reliable .
Those are some incredible players. I am very happy with the used vintage market. The sound is so sweet to the ears.
The Philips 472 and some Marantz CD56 use the older CDM2 transport
So, I heard the rumors, and picked up a couple of these. One, made in Mexico, with the TDA1543, and a Belgian one with the TDA1541. The 1543 is a sweet sounding, bullet proof unit. Plays CDRs with no problems. The TDA 1541, on the other hand, is mind blowing . What I've heard is true.
Welcome to the secret society 😉
My Philips Cd950 has the TDA 1547 sounds incredible. Very sharp hi def sound.
Nice!
Hi, I own the Magnavox CDB-650. I was lucky enough to buy it from it's first owner. It came with the remote and manual. I don't use it much, I'm afraid at its age something will wear out. But you are right about the sound. I love it.
Don't worry about wearing it out - these old Philips-built units are bulletproof. My Marantz has been heavily used since 1984, never needed a service - just keeps chugging along!
@@thisisnev Thanks, it also occurred to me that not using it could be bad for it as well. I'm listening to it now, and it didn't recognize the CD at first. Had to cycle the tray once. I think I'll use it more often to exercise it.
I would blow it out with some air in case there's some dust bunnies in there from sitting. Enjoy your music!
@@audioarkitekts Good idea.
Yeah! That's a good unit. I have one that an ex-girlfriend bought for me as a Christmas gift in 1988. Only player I've ever heard that I liked better was a Carver SDA/490t that used vacuum tubes in the output stage.
Yes indeed. I may be wrong on some counts, but, older Magnavox players were made by Philips in Belgium. For a number of years, the famous TDA1541 (later, the slightly better TDA1541A) was the DAC chip of choice. Many people still feel this was one of the best DAC chips ever made - and Magnavox implemented it very well too (which is just as important). The earliest units used the 1540 (in pairs as it was a mono chip). They sound pretty good, but not on par with the 1541. A few of the cheaper units used the 1543. I have the CDB-472 and still use it nearly every day, although I bought a Denon DCD-800ne recently and like to play FLAC and DSD files via its USB input. Good video!
As the owner of more than a half dozen 1980s CD players I can testify that the loading trays are noisy when opening and closing. I don't think they had perfected the motors yet. I can also confirm the DACs have much better sound quality than most comparable players from the 1990s onward.
Yep, they're clunky - but that's part of the charm of a vintage player!
That's what I discovered about the DACs in more recent CD players.
Yeah, the CD160, CD471 and NAD 501 machines I have (all using Philips cdm2 or cdm4 drawer loading mechs) have loud drawers. Mind you, my 1984 Denon DCD1100 squeaks as the drawer closes as well! They all play fine though lol
My Yamaha CDX-1060 FROM 1993 WITH A 1-BIT DAC AND CLASS A OUTPUT STILL PLAYS GOOD AGAINST MY MODERN PLAYERS.
I purchased my Magnavox CDB 473 new and can tell you it has a wonderful sound. When purchased, it was because I didn’t have much to spend on sound equipment. I read what was available (and that always focused on high end equipment) but did find a couple articles that pointed me in this direction. I’ve always been extremely surprised by its performance. Thirty-five years later, I’ve built a different collection of sound equipment and will be reluctantly selling this unit due to lack of storage space. It was a great 35+ years with a product that works as well as it did when purchased.
I still have and use my Denon DCD 3300 which I bought new in 1988. it was top of line Denon at that time. It's only been in the shop a few times all for the same problem, which is the CD door occasionally sticks and it needs maintenance. It sounds incredible, works perfectly and is like new. Solid steel case, about 30 pounds.
This was the first CD that I bought back in 1987, when I was 15 :) I had to travel to London to buy it from Tottenham Court Road, which was at the time the main street in London for consumer electronics :) It was a great player, the tray noise never bothered me at all, it just felt quite solid. By the way, the remote control uses Philips standard RC-5 code set, so any CD remote controls from Philips, Magnavox, Marantz, Revox, B&O, Grundig, and many more, will operate it for sure. Also after market one for all remotes will have code sets for it. Super machines, lovely TDA1541 indeed and excellent CDM2 or 4 transport mech. You might be able to quieten it a little with some new lube, might be the drive gear too, they can become dry.
It is great to see and read all the comments here - obviously there's still a lot of interest in these fine old CD players.
I recently came across an ad on eBay placed by a man in Lviv, Ukraine, who was selling a rare 1991 Marantz Compact Disc Player CD-94MK2 (looks like 'CD94 II' on the machine; it's their Mark - Roman Numeral 2 edition). When I received it, it was in amazingly "mint" condition for a player of that age - it had apparently always been taken very good care of - it looks literally brand-new, it is that nice! I had to buy a 115-volt-to-220-volt converter to operate it, because it was built for the 220/230-volt 50 Hz E.U. market, and its power cord has an E.U.-style two-prong plug which won't fit US wall sockets. It works great. (Considering Ukraine is at war with Russia, I was amazed to see that anyone is selling and/or shipping ANYTHING from there right now!)
The seller serviced it, cleaned the laser, lubricated the CD mechanism, which is a massive cast-aluminium block of metal, their CDM-1. The Digital converter consists of 2 x TDA1541A-S1, 16 bit linear Single Crown R-2-R ladder-dac chips. Before shipping it, he replaced the two tray-drive belts.
What a find - this vintage, very hard-to-find vintage Marantz CD player sounds amazingly good when played through its coax digital output into my Holo Audio 'MAY KTE (Kitsune Tuned Edition)' DAC. Even via its own DAC's RCA analog outputs, it still sounds remarkably good by today's standards. This CD player weighs a ton by comparison to today's featherweight electronics.
I bet that sounds fantastic.
Is it just me, or did the gear of the 70's and 80's sound better than the digital, hyper dynamic and revealing gear we get today? Not to mention so many crap recordings that we are now plagued with, which anyone that watches Mike, can surely agree and attest too.
I have been so disappointed in more than a few purchases, some in the thousand dollar plus range in recent years. The gear sounded great at first, but then the reality set in, along with the ear fatigue and disillusionment.
Not to be a Denafrips fanboy, but their Ares II, and now a complete Denafrips system, Iris DDC, Hades pre and Thallo amp, along with the old school KLH Model 5's finally delivered the sound of my youth.
I can see why folks are flocking back to vintage gear, especially those of us that grew up with it. You would think someone would pull the schematics to some of the more popular pieces and start building modern versions at reasonable prices. If someone did that, I think they would have a serious hit on their hands.
@mykandrew I just stumbled on this video today. I have a remote if you're still looking for one. My CDB473 died years ago, but I kept the remote. The batteries corroded, but I'm sure the contacts can be cleaned up.
I bought a Sony CDP-591 off Yahoo Auctions in Japan. Thing is in mint condition and sounds awesome. Really cool.
I have a Sony CDP 501 ES. It's a tank. The drawer is loud even after lubricant. No digital out doesn't need it. It sounds wonderful. Only issue I have is the CD has to be perfect to play.
This is actually a Philips CD 473, an entry level player at the time.
I have a Philips CD 960 (I also had a Philips CD880 at the same time), top models of Philips production. Even today, few players of the same price range can compare to those two players (except Marantz from the same period).
Hi, what you have there is a rebadged Philips CD 473, made in Belgium, and which I own. Mine, which has the TDA1541A variant, is also a bit noisy.
Any old Philips (and perhaps Magnavox) remote works with this, as do Logitech Harmony remotes and the generic remotes for 90s Marantz/Philips players sold on eBay.
It's a great player. I paid €15.
Nice! I'll have to try a variant remote then.
@@audioarkitekts RC-63CD. Great player. Worth keeping.
I just bought a vintage CD player a couple weeks ago. It seemed to be in great condition everything was fine, but now the door won't open. Oh well. That's the way it goes with vintage items I guess.
Sometimes it does go that way. I've had so many vintage items go wrong. I would open it up and see if it's something obvious and easy to fix
I had a Denon Dcm-380 5 disc with HDCD. GREAT sound, but after a few years developed problems with the door. Not wanting to lose a CD in it, I helped the door to open, emptied it and boxed it up. Then I bought the Yamaha cds-303. :)
@@audioarkitekts In many of these old machines, a belt-drive mechanism opens / closes the tray - so it may come down to finding a correct replacement belt and going through the rigmarole of getting at and removing the old one..
Hell, let me go look in the attic.
Lol! We need to chat about some stuff, I'll email you later! 👍
@@audioarkitekts Anytime buddy!!
The space inside to the right is presumably because the innards are also designed to be used in the smaller case of the 'midi sized' Philips CD373 (or Magnavox equivalent), which is basically the same player.
My friend i own this machine in phillips form , now you MUST try a Rotel RCD 855 from 1990 it features the upgraded TDA1541A chip in fact two of them one for each channel and a better transport, and they sound astonishingly good sometimes i prefer it to my audiolab 8200! I own 5 yes 5 of them! Im taking no chances with spares, they presently sell on ebay for about £90 over here in UK , it must be RCD855 and not 865 as that one features phillips bitstrem dac and simply is not nearly as good, build quality is much better than 471 as well. Buy one, i promise you won't regret it.
The Rcd855 contains 6 black gate capacitors 25v 100uf which can sell for ~£18 each.
Don't worry about the tray noise. My first SONY CD player's tray was noisy like that new. Lots of older CD players that I've used were like that.
Hey I'm in my 30s and ache and squeak a lot more than the disc door!
Lol
I have a philips cd471 from 1988 recapped it recently wow ! What quality of audio now.
I’ve got a couple of older Sonys. A CDP-70 and CDP-302es. Also have a Realistic CD-1600 for my garage player. It actually works and sounds great! All of them are from the 80s I believe.
Just picked up the Sony CDP-70. Need to clean the headphone volume knob and smooth out a few skips but am really enjoying the sound and overall design. Marked 1985 on back panel.
@@briancaine9130 make sure to inspect the plastic gears for the disc tray. I had to find someone to 3D print one of the gears that cracked and fell apart into pieces.
There really is no other vintage DAC that is as good as a TDA 1541. The A versions are better and there are also the single and double crown versions of the TDA 1541A which are even better. I've got two CD players with TDA 1541s. One is a Philips CD-80 which has the TDA1541A Single Crown. It, of course, sounds absolutely amazing. And just a few days ago I picked up an NEC CD-630 which has a regular TDA1541A in it. Same thing. Just absolutely beautiful, warm, smooth sound. I have no idea what black magic Philips had when they designed these chips. But whatever it was, it must have been good. :)
Have a B&O CD 7000 with the tda1541a - beats a lot of modern DAC and players.
My 30yr old pioneer pd91 sounded better than rega Saturn r the pioneers own dac sounded better than adding a rega dac the pioneer weights a ton solidly made its a keeper
I think this is what Ken Ishiwata's goal was when designing CD Players. Keeping it simple with the same type of engineering as they did in the 80's
Because they are relatively affordable and sound good plus it is better for the environment.
I have one of those units! My father purchased it brand new. That CD tray has been that loud since day one by the way lol 😂
Lol so I guess we could call it a feature? 😄
I have a 30+ year old pioneer pd-f908 101 disk changer, dirty as hell and never had a single thing done to it and it still works great. Even plays cd-rws.
My vintage Marantz { mid 80's } SACD player started scratching my CD's. I replaced it with my Phillips CDI Interactive gamer witch I purchased in the early 90's new . My kids spent many hours playing games on it. It only has analog out , so you have to use the onboard DAC.I don't know what DAC chip is in it, but sounds great. The tray makes the same sound as yours when opening or closing.
Oh yeah!
I own two Philips 473 units, one in my bedroom and another at a shared holyday house. Basically the same model as presented, except the brand was changed to Magnavox in US. I heard that's because Philips corporation could not obtanin the trademark Philips in US.
Anyway, both sound good, not precise but musical and sweet and they lure you into listening mood.
Also own a Philips CD 210, linked to another system, it's made with the lesser TDA 1543 DAC but that unit also sounds sweet.
And because here in Europe you can buy vintage CD players made with Philips chips cheaply, I've also bought a Grundig CD 35 mk1 with 2xTDA 1540 14 bit DAC and it also sounds excelent. Not overdetailed but musical and immersive sound, hard to stop listening.
Just for testing, I've bought also a Yamaha CDX 410 with PCM 56 DAC, another famous vintage DAC that also sounds sweet and convincing, but unfortunately most PCM DAC units have lesser SONY laser units that don't like CD-Rs that much. Some slow speed burned CDs work all right but overall Philips laser units are the best for written CDs, like the CDM 1. 2 and 4 laser units that can be found on TDA 1541, 1543 and 1540 DAC players.
For you US guys, better look for a Marantz with CDM 1,2,4 and TDA 1541, 1540 or even the lesser 1543.
Overall, definitely worth buying a good looking sweet sounding vintage CD player featuring Philips CDMs and DACs, especially if you're on a budget and you can find a perfectly working unit cheaply, for about $50-$100.
I recently acquired a Sony 507 ESD from an audiophile's estate sale for $50. It has 2 of the 1541 DACs inside, 8x oversampling, 18 bit filter, and was in like new condition, absolutely clean inside and out, very quiet tray movement, plus the operator manual and remote. I'm using the digital out to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 which houses the Wolfson DAC. I honestly don't know which sounds better, the external dac or the 1541.
I have a Pioneer blu-ray player with a Wolfson DAC and I love it!
I’ve got a pioneer CD player that’s still going strong after 34 years 😊
I like vintage it because the electronics of the device is pure original and the sound is fantastic
They dont make them like they used to!
I was reading about that chip. I would like to recommend to you a little Denon player that in my opinion is incredibly good, unlike anything I've ever heard actually..the model is dcd-f101. I actually got it for free when I got my vintage Cornwalls. i recently bought a flagship arcam CD/sacd player, the cd37 for 500 dollars and I can tell you that the tiny Denon blew it out of the water. The mystery is the chips it uses: PCM1735E and LC78625E. I made some research and there is only another Denon and a nakamichi using chip pcm1735e. It would be awesome if you could help me solve the mistery!.
So funny - years ago I knew about these and would buy them all day for 30 bucks - Dude named Scott Nixon would pull out the 1541 and make tube dacs out of them
I found my Magnavox CD8880 boombox manufactured in April 1988. Holy crap it sounds great as I remember, 5 band equalizer, cassette deck am & FM. Not sure what CD player number it is but it says 4 laser. Was like $200+ back then.
Very cool. I’ll be looking for this chip. ACDelco actually made some powerful chips that can be repurposed for today’s needs. Hard chasing down DataSheets though, unless you have a parts catalog.
Hi everyone, congrats for your purchase. I own a Sony CDP-710 since new and, not sure why, mine has the same DAC, it is really a mind blower, you just described the sound of this DAC correctly, natural and musical all the way! Above I said why Sony used this Philips DAC changed their mind afterwards using a Burr Brown DAC. Anyways is a must this DAC in any unit now, a vintage one. Regards all.
There were alot of different manufacturers that used this DAC during these times. Thank you for the support!
Sounds like a PRETTY good way to get good value for the money, BUT, one thing that makes me weary of buying a vintage CD player would be that eventually, the laser will die, and where would you find a replacement for a particular machine?
They are hard to come by. That's the caveat with buying older like these.
This reminds me of the heartache I suffered when my Meridian 508.24 failed due to the drawer mechanism. It was a special unit eirhnesxeprionally good sound,kkNo replacements available. :( :(
Wow, those are $100 now. I paid $10 for mine 15 years ago. Also have the CDB472 which is the same DAC just without some of the extra features.
The Kenwood DP 1100 Sg is a player to be reckoned with
This ist the future of storing data.
A good number of Vintage players can be quite good and hold their own, sonically with most current High-End players. Especially the ES line from Sony from the late 80s to early 90s. With that said, and I'm by no means a High-End Audio snob, even entry level cd players from NAD and Denon will likely sound better than vintage in terms of lack of "digital glare", pace and separation of instruments. Not to mention, it's impossible to find repair parts for many 80s Vintage players. Just some thoughts and as always, if YOU like the sound, that's all that matters. ☮️
I recently bought a Philips CD492 for 20 bucks at a thrift store. It's not on your list. It apparently has the TDA 1543 DAC and I don't know if that's a good one but it sounds good to me.
As long as it sounds good to you and allows you to enjoy your music that honestly all that matters.
I recently asked a friend if they had and old CD players laying around they might be willing to part with and they gave me one of these!
Sounds great! I'm running it through some Bellari gear into Focal monitors. The CD tray gets a bit stuck sometimes when opening but its no big deal.
Old devices are better than the new ones, thats a fact mu friend
It sure sounds that way, especially to my ears... Not impressed with most gear produced today, which is why I can see folks flocking to the vintage gear. It only makes sense to me.
It's really good stuff
@@audioarkitekts It reallly is
@@michaelwright1602 Glad to hear that my friend
("Sgt.J.") I'm glad you, folks found a decent thing to play cds on." It was 86... 87. When i, 1st looked in to those. Sounded like crap. Especially computer installed. Finally. We got something good. Here's Dolby 5.1. 100 years to get music to sound like your at a concert. Now I, have sit next to the center spkr to kinda understand what the singer is singing. The "techs." Need their hearing tested. I, heard a "Hot for teacher." Mix. Left bass drum right rear to low. Outta tune. Right bass drum, not too bad. I've been in a studio. 27 into 16 into 4 tracks for standard stereo. But... Front to rear fade. And, dual pan. Ever hear Led Zeppelin 2? On a older inexpensive stereo. 😁 Its difficult to recreate that. Yeah... I, like Mackie. &, Elises boards. They sound good. Don't really need 6 speakers in my house. "Old or, new." Find something good. Get it i, guess. Lol. This could get long winded. "I'm a former working musician." Normally, I, hate 5.1. but, Ozzy concerts i, went to in my city. Pulled off a live system very well. It was after "No rest for the wicked." Tour. Have a great day 😃
I found a Philips CD60 with this DAC at the thrift for eleven bucks. Why buy a vintage CD player? Sounds fine, works fine and it cost about as much as the last new CD I bought. Why buy anything else?
People buying vintage CD players do need to be aware that many of them are designed to play Redbook standard CDs and ones that came along later, longer than 74 minutes, might not play. On average that isn't a big deal, just something to watch out for and not be concerned about.
The first CDs I encountered that were longer than 74 minutes appeared way back in 1987. Played fine on my 1984 Marantz, though, and subsequent extra-length CDs have never presented a problem.
@@thisisnev good for you. Maybe Marantz were a bit forward thinking back then. The Magnavox CDB-472 I have balks at anything over 74 minutes. But a younger Sony (circa 1987) plays longer ones fine and of course the recent Denon plays everything.
It would be awesome if you could provide a list of units with the TDA1541A DAC, I have heard it sounds slightly better?
It's in the description
eBay has a number of factory remotes currently as well as a Chinese supplier offering adequate reproductions.
I had a Philips CD473, and I "upgraded" to a Rega Planet, to be honest, the Rega only had a slight edge in a direct AB comparison, that was in the top end. I stream now, my CD collection has long gone..... :(
Awesome find! I know it's not vintage but I bought a Pioneer BDP-51 blu-ray player a yr ago. It has a Wolfson DAC in it and I love it! It's my dedication cd player, big bulky and kinda sucks as a blu-ray player. but the sound quality is outstanding. To upgrade or even compete buying new I'd have to spend $400-600.
I still got it's original brother : Philips CDP 473, but I prefer the CDP 160 (also TDA1541)
I tried your link for a list of other cd players with the tda1541 DAC and it’s not working for some reason. Do you have another link I could access? Thanks! Im looking to purchase a cd player with that specific DAC!
Great Video as always on your suggestion I just bought a Sony DVP-S9000ES it’s in great shape built in 2000 and weighs 30+ lbs do you think is it worth to upgrade to Emotiva Cd transport you think Emotiva could be better?
I have 2 Audio Alchemy dde3s with upgraded power supplies. They sound sweet.
I'll have to check that out!
They are DACs. Think they have TDA1541, sweet sound
Maramtz cd remote is compatible with Philips (Magnawox)
Really? I'll have to get one then.
Marantz Cd-40 sounds good but has always had drawer issues. Opens extremely slowly and loudly 😢.
pretty much all philips chips sound like that right? tda1540 to 1549, 1305 etc
Great job i like the back lighting
just lube the moving parts you see with cover off thats all Thanks for the video
love spining the silver disk digital 👑 😆
Thanks for the tips! I am going to try it.
@@audioarkitekts you got it !! No try 😆 players can be tricky thanks again your doing a great job !
@@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120 thank you 😊
Mike, you inspired me to try and look out for one of the infamous Magnavoxes. Tonight I was fortunate enough to come across a CDB650 for $11.99 at my local thrift store. Had no idea if it worked but figured it was worth taking a chance on… and hot damn, it works! Popped the top, and all I can say is Wow. The internals are ridiculous and look more like a receiver. It even has a heat sink mounted on the back. It sounds great. The only issue is the loading door sometimes hangs up. Hoping some component grease will help. What did you end up doing to lubricate your mechanism? Thanks again, without your video I wouldn’t have been looking.
Bro, you realize the 650's can easily go for $200. You just scored on such a high level its insane! Amazing! Enjoy it! 😉
I found one in a okay condition with a remote 😊
Buy it!
@@audioarkitekts I got it for 90 bucks. It sounds great. Reminds me of the 80's, when a friend of mine bought it for himself. We were listening to various types of music without getting fatigue. Nice but often underrated machine. Definitely worth buying it.
If memory serves (I was 19 yo when CDs launched worldwide) all the early players had clunky sounding trays unless they were the $1000 pro models. That's $3k in 2023 money!
Your link to the list of other players using the 1541 doesn’t seem to work?
The 80s cd players sounded good but unfortunately if you get one that was made in the 90s by that time they had the transport and D.A. converters down to a science of higher quality. I think you’re better off trying to get a CD player from the 90s than the 80s. IMO
got a remote, along with the player. The remote is not labeled well, so if one is found, you wont know what company it is for!!
Maybe a Phillips SACD1000 remote would work. They are on ebay.
Just wish I could find a power cord.
have you aready did something with the lubracation of this player i have the same player ??
I have a Pioneer ELITE VSX-03TXH, if I find an old cd player with optical out and take advantage of the DAC on the Pioneer would that give me good sound?
Your link for the 1541A CD players is not working.
I have the Philips 471, a variant of this without the remote. I must be the only person in the world unimpressed with the thing. It sounds distorted to my ears - and no it's not just my unit. I was never all that impressed with the AK601 I had back in the day either (TDA1543).
this player is one of the best !
I want to try out the 650 and 950 some day as well!
Is Pioneer PD-T310 CD player are good ? Have a good DAC chip. ?
I had a 565 for many years.
I remember buy a Yamaha cdx900. It was very bad in sound
Why you should not, the prices are what a refurbished one should be and isn't. The plastic inside is very brittle and the parts are unattainable
The power to the lasers get very weak the laser focus is out of wack
You need the repair manual and an oscilloscope to set it correctly and know what you are doing.
Capacitors are bad or going bad.
Then you spent sky high on it then it skips or dont read and you still have to buy a new one. If you can get it and fix all of that and get the belts otherwise you should pass.
Have you ever listened to this model?
That's not loud lol A Sony cdp101 would sound like a Terminator. Reason was simple , each action has its own servo/motor...not sure but could be the case here too
Later CD players (new) usually 1 to do all the actions
You won't find any *new* dedicated CD player for 100 smackers anymore. Regardless of DAC.
Just spent $500 on a new Denon. I still have a couple vintage players too. Hoping that will be the last one I have to buy.
Philips not Sony made the first CD player and they over-engineered the heck out of it with this dac, Sony just gets all the credit and their player actually wasn't all that good..
Actually its was sony first with the CDP101 in late 1982, phillips followed up in spring of 1983 with CD100 the sony was ahead on technology too as it was 16 bit compared to phillips 14 bit
Your absolutely right for some strange reason Americans seem to think Sony were the best Sure they were good . But Philips were just as good if not better at the time .
What about the transport part of vintage players? I most likely have much better dac than all vintage CD players (not sure, I just believe so), can somebody on this planet please focus on the transport part of vintage CD players vs today's CD transpots? There's not much material about this, I think.
You should get it serviced
I'm definitely planning on it, still deciding whether to pick up a CDB-650.
The Magnavox player was and is an excellent CD player. I believe they are made by the North American Phillips Corporation. Norelco. Very much sought after.
Alright I bought one 😊
What about Philips TDA 1549T?
Yes that's a rare beasty these days only a few players have them and they are very smooth and detailed. Phillips CD751/3, Marantz cd5000. Do a search on lampizator and 753 he really rates it.
I resent you calling that "vintage". I bought one brand new!
It's crazy to think the 80's were 40 years ago 😢
I heard radio stations calling songs from the early 2000's classic rock lol
Everything was better, I have Grundig midi-hifi 5000 system, amplifier,tuner,cd-player and cassette deck, it is midi in 90th, but for today standards its HighEnd, inside are parts from Sony, Philips, Sharp... all made in Europe or Japan, built to last and sound good. Now when all components came from Asia... Japan is in Asia but Japan is Japan.
So, anyone interested in aquiring the cdb 473: if you are embarassed by the click click of the tray opening and closing? Too much champagne and caviar
List of CD players with this DAC doesn't work.
I have a Sony model
dcd 620 sub 20€. müy best pläyer ever xD , mr cd 63 -.-??
Nice
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