CD player with quiet transport?

Given your budget I would suggest you scope out the market for current players. The best bet is to go to a chain store (Tweeters, Circuit City, etc) and listen to the various units they sell, chances are you'll come across a DVD or CD player that is quiet enough that you won't be distracted. Once you've done your homework at the store do some due diligence, check out audioreview.com to see what people think about the model(s) you're interested in, then run a google search and see what the best prices are. Good luck!

Describe the noise. Is it while the disk is spinning or more mechanical? The player more than likely has a nylon wheel that guides the disk from the top. It has metal edges and spins on more plastic. If this is the case, go to Radio Shack and buy a tube of silicon LUBE GEL. Use it very sparingly and apply it with a toothpick. Do not get it anywhere other than inside the grooves of the wheel. If you get it on the laser, say good buy to the machine. You can also deaden all the plastic around the transport with mortite (speling) or similar putty.

We have a $189 Panasonic DC/DVD player in the basement for a second video system. It does not sound bad at all for Red Book CDs. As mentioned, go and listen.

Good Luck.

If you are a music lover, I would recommend getting a high-quality used DVD/CD machine like the Sony 7000 I just got for a second system that I have. It was a quantum leap in sound quality over the modest DVD player I had (Panasonic 320). This was a reference quality machine from several years ago and can be purchased for about $200-$300 used. I use it with an inexpensive NAD Doly pro-logic integrated amp and it sounds terrific and I've never noticed any noise.

Thanks for all the input. The noise sounds like it stems from the disk spinning. I find it to be quite pronounced, and it really stands out in the quiet passages you often have in classical music. I might try to quiet the SD 4800 like Cellorover suggested. Other than this noise I am actually pretty happy with this machine, and I bought it because it has a built in DD/DTS decoder that I need for my Nak AV-500. If that doesn't work I might have to go and do some test listening. What are other CD players that were top of the line in their day, are still good performers by today's standards, but sell for a reasonable price second hand? I am partion to buying second hand stuff ;-)

OK, I opened up the SD 4800 and there is heaps of space all around the transport mechanism. No wonder that the thing is so loud - the whole box acts as a resonance chamber.

There is at least an inch of free space on 3 sides of the transport mechanism, and I filled this space with cut-to-shape sheets of a foam material that came as packaging material with some other appliance I bought recently. On top is just enought room to squeeze in some thin foam material. I used Foamies from the Walmart crafts department for this purpose. I didn't bother to take the transport mechanism out and put something at the bottom of the box. Closed the thing again, and BINGO! The noise has almost totally disappeared. In normal listening distance from my rig I can hardly make it out, and it certainly isn't distracting any more. I am happy :-)

BTW - I stayed away from the Silicon grease since the player is brand new - well, refurbished actually. With a second hand machine I might have given that a try as well.

Again, many thanks!

Look into a Sony Cdp-xa20es for a player or transport, one up on Agon right now for $265.00, or a Pioneer Pd-65 also on Agon right now also in your budget. Good luck

Music Direct sells 2"x6" 3M Viscoelastic Damping Sheets for $4.99. Apparently they work very well at dampening chassis vibrations. They seem to be a catalog only item (not on the website), so call Music Direct at 800-449-8333 and talk to a salesperson.