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Thread: first post, advice on CD players?

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    first post, advice on CD players?

    Hi everyone, how are you? fab here. this is my first post on the forum.
    I currently have an older Stanton double CD player (S 550). I know it's an older unit. it is a little slow I find in it's general operations and what I would really love is at least an MP3 compatible player, preferably double CD player or 2 separate units.
    What would you suggest? most units I've seen are around 3-350(can) used. I've seen denon 3500 players that look cool, but might be a little big. I've seen some Numarks, pioneer...all single units. I do have a mixer already.
    I also came across a Tascam cd-x1700 rack mount style unit (kinda like what I have). What would you suggest between these units in terms of speed, reliability and mp3 (and if possible usb stick reader) capability?
    thanks
    anxious to hear your replys
    fab

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    If you want good overall performance from an MP3 capable CD then you need something newer and more highend, to do effects with MP3 files the player has to buffer the tracks in memory which requires more memory and a faster processor so this tends to rule out lowend and early players. I have a Tascam CD-x1500 which isn't MP3 capable but was a very good performing player in it's day so chances are the 1700 would be similar... but I don't know never seen one. The Pioneer and Denon table top decks which were the club standard back in the day would also be good options.
    Paul O'Brien
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    Hey Conanski, thanks for the reply. The tascam cd-x1700, from what I gathered is like the 1500 you have but can play mp-3 and has "scratch" capability. I don't think it has Usb. I think I can do with mp3 cd's as I can load more songs on them. How do you like your tascam? from what little I found, it seems to be a solid, reliable unit. Is it quick to load up, after inserting cd? and switching between tracks? even though I don't have my Stanton in a flight case, it works well just laying flat on a table. have you ever had table-top decks? if so, do you prefer that over the rack-mount decks (in terms of use)? thanks
    fab

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    Most standard CD decks are very fast to load and the effects like scratch work very well, the CD-x1500 is no exception there. In my limited experience with MP3 capable versions they aren't quite as fast, I have a Numark CD mix3 which is an all-in-one CD/MP3 player-mixer and is a good example of the relatively poor performance of lowend decks.. it's doesn't do a very good job at scratching. Unfortunately I got out of DJing before MP3s hit the scene so I have never owned a decent MP3 capable deck, I'm back in the game now but as an equipment supplier and the DJs I work with all use software controllers with files on laptop computers. Have you considered going that route? If you are going to go through the trouble of converting all your music to digital files then you can skip transferring it back to CD completely and not lose any functionality, and with the advancements in computer processing and storage you don't even need to convert them to MP3s anymore you could save them as high quality wave files. I have a copy of Virtual DJ on a laptop that I have used on occasion for some light DJing without any other hardware, all the features are there and the EFX work well it just comes down to the processing power and memory available on the machine, but even then you don't need much.. the laptop I used for this is an old Dell. This isn't the most user friendly way to do this a control surface would help but it shows how compact a rig can be these days.. nothing but a laptop, small mixer and couple powered speakers.

    [IMG]IMG_20190125_201713 by paul, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Last edited by conanski; 04-13-2020 at 12:38 PM.
    Paul O'Brien
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    Hey, i thought of that route too. Would make it less cumbersome, but i still enjoy the physical aspect of cd's. I've seen
    Some controllers go for vety little. It is a possibility.
    Fab

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    The Pioneer MEP7000 was one of the last rack style CD systems and it could be used as a proper software controller as well, while the Pioneer xDJ-R1 is an all in one tabletop system with the same functionality.
    Paul O'Brien
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    Update.... was still looking around for CD players. I came across a numark imix 3 (all-in-one) unit for sale. How are these units in general? would it be okay for small house party events and occasional dj'ing? any info would be great. thanks
    fab

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    Quote Originally Posted by fabchef View Post
    Update.... was still looking around for CD players. I came across a numark imix 3 (all-in-one) unit for sale. How are these units
    That is the one I have, it plays CDs fine but is practically useless at producing effects.
    Paul O'Brien
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    Hey Again Conanski, how are you? thanks for writing back. In terms of effects, I'm ok if it doesn't have the effects. Already I saw that it plays mp3's, has seamless loop (does that feature work well?), and shops bpm. it's still ahead to what I have now.
    it seems like a decent unit? again, it's really to putz around the house, and possibly small family events. how do you find the faders and eq? does the jog wheel have "Scratch" function on this? if not, it's not the end of the world.
    I did also come across someone selling 2x denon dn-s1000 cdj's, for a bit more than what the icd is going for, but is farther away. The numark one is close by. I'm a little torn. I think, for what I want to do the numark will suffice, and will cost less. I will, however not be using the current mixer that I have (pioneer), but will keep it as a spare.
    Do you like your numark???
    fab

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    No I don't like the Numark, like I said it will play CDs but it does a terrible job at scratching or even pitch shifting, those Denon decks are far superior and if you can get them for a few hundred bucks that is far better investment.
    Paul O'Brien
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