# Good rackmount CD player



## djnik26 (May 13, 2011)

Hey guys, looking to get a new rackmount CD player here for the college theatre. I'd like MP3 as well as WAV playback, and possibly balanced outputs. I know DENON is usually top of the line. Does anyone have any specific model recommendations from experience?


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## Fatcatpro (May 13, 2011)

Everyone from where I'm at uses the tascam a500. Ive never had any problems with them.


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## DaveySimps (May 13, 2011)

I have always been real happy with my 3 Tascam CD-200's . If you are looking for a CD recorder / player I also recommend their CD-RW 900 and 901. I have one at work and one in my home studio. All of these units have served me well for years now under heavy use. Each of them support CD Text, WAV, and .MP3's, and have pitch control. 

~Dave


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## cprted (May 13, 2011)

I tour with 3 Tascam CD-01U Pros. The only complaint I have is the balanced outputs are hot: I mean melt your face off hot. Other than that, they're great.


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## NickVon (May 13, 2011)

cprted said:


> I tour with 3 Tascam CD-01U Pros. The only complaint I have is the balanced outputs are hot: I mean melt your face off hot. Other than that, they're great.


 
I have the Same Tascam and love it. that said The Balanced Outputs are HOT!


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## FMEng (May 13, 2011)

From what I hear in the broadcast world, avoid any of the 1 RU units without a drawer. The roller intake/eject tends to be less reliable and can scratch discs and spread dirt.

In our studios, we have had excellent service from Denon DNC635. On a budget, the Tascam CD200. Avoid anything from Marantz for strange controls and poor reliability.


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## sdauditorium (May 13, 2011)

NickVon said:


> I have the Same Tascam and love it. that said The Balanced Outputs are HOT!


 
I definitely 3rd the Tascam CD-01Us. We have 2 of them in our rack in a high school/community auditorium setting. Love them!


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## chausman (May 13, 2011)

FMEng said:


> Avoid anything from Marantz for strange controls and poor reliability.


 
My school got a bunch of Marantz recorders and CD players and they take forever and some times, don't even work. Most homemade CDs won't work at all and we have a CD that worked last year, and now won't fast forward or let you chose a track - on any of the 5 that we have throughout the school.


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## avkid (May 13, 2011)

My precious is a Numark CDN32S.
CDN32S
It lives in a shockmount 4 space Anvil case.

It reads anything and lets me cue easily.


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## jonliles (May 16, 2011)

avkid said:


> My precious is a Numark CDN32S.
> CDN32S


 
hijak/
Was it forged in the fires of Mount Doom?

/hijack


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## mbenonis (May 16, 2011)

I'm with FMeng, at the radio station I work at we use Denon DN-C635 CD decks. They see daily use and hold up for a number of years before needing service. In much lighter duty, I'd expect them to last at least 5-10 years if not abused. I'm not sure if they do MP3 CD, but I can tell you they do offer auto-stop after finishing a track--a must for theatrical and broadcast use.

I've also used the 01U before, and it's okay but I'm not a fan of the slot-load drive. Seems like something that could fail easily. At least you can get the CD's out of a DN-C635 (been there, done that)!


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## Grog12 (May 17, 2011)

Looking at the Denon DN-C635 CD deck can you shut off the "innovative autocue function that starts music where audio is detected as opposed to the begining of the track"? I've run into issues with this type of feature before especially in dance pieces where there's supposed to be a bit of silence before the music starts. I've also had it overstep actual music and make it seem like the cd was skipping.


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## mbenonis (May 18, 2011)

Grog12 said:


> Looking at the Denon DN-C635 CD deck can you shut off the "innovative autocue function that starts music where audio is detected as opposed to the begining of the track"? I've run into issues with this type of feature before especially in dance pieces where there's supposed to be a bit of silence before the music starts. I've also had it overstep actual music and make it seem like the cd was skipping.



I've never run into that "feature" before...though I didn't configure the decks myself. The way we use them on air, you use the knob to select the track you want, hit play and it starts from 00:00 and runs through the track. It stops at the end of the track and cues the next one at 00:00. (or plays on if you set the continuous button).

EDIT: Reading over the data sheet (here: http://www.d-mpro.com/users/getdownload.asp?DownloadID=61), it does say you can explicitly turn off AutoCue.


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## djyojoe (Dec 9, 2011)

The Denon DN-C635 & Tascam CD-200 are both great. Any Denon Pro or Tascam will do a great job.

What did you end up buying?

I personally own the Denon DN-C640, Tascam SS-CDR200 & Tascam CD-RW901SL. I'm actually going to be selling my RW901SL. Only because I don't have much of a use for it anymore. Anyone interested?
I never really had issues with my slot load players. I maintain them myself. I clean the rollers on the slot load. They collect a little dirt in a couple of years. Depends on how much you use it. I use them regularly. It's the same kind of dirt collection you would find on the old computer mouse ball or scroll wheels on the mouse. The Denon was my first purchase because I needed a single rack space cd player that would play mp3 DVD's along with Balanced XLR & Digital Outputs. After getting familiar with it more, I later recommend and used them for installs. I recently purchased the SS-CDR200 to replace the RW901SL. I liked that I can record on CD's or digital media cards / USB. But it's primary function is for playback of digital media cards / USB. It also has Balanced XLR input & output Digital Input & Output. Has allot of feature but also a big price tag.


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## museav (Dec 10, 2011)

FMEng said:


> In our studios, we have had excellent service from Denon DNC635. On a budget, the Tascam CD200. Avoid anything from Marantz for strange controls and poor reliability.


I had to chuckle at this since Marantz and Denon have the same ownership and both Denon Professional and Marantz Professional are part of D&M Professional, D&M Professional - Making Extraordinary Audiovisual Solutions Perfectly Clear.. Note that all four current CD player models listed for D&M Pro have the Denon brand name and even in the consumer world Marantz seems to have become more focused on the AV market (AV receivers, DVD and Blu-Ray players, etc.).

D&M Holdings, the parent company of Denon and Marantz, is also the parent company of Snell Acoustics, Boston Acoustics, McIntosh Labs and Allen & Heath, among others


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## venuetech (Dec 12, 2011)

I have had good luck with a Numark MP-103 
it looks like it has been updated with an added USB input likely to prove handy.
Very much like the full display information and it readability from various angles.
I also have a Tascam CD-200I that has a I-pod docking station and AUX 1/8" input jack
both features have been very handy. I find the display to be hard to read unless i have my head aligned with it.


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