Dual CD players

[Matt Riley]

Just been reading this thread, and its amazing how many times it throws up the same stuff and the same debate CD or Computerised Playback. All I think that can be said is that both have their merits and both have their downfalls, and alot of it is personal opinion.

 

I would argue that perhaps it is more about choosing your battles. In this case, the OP needs to play back cds, and I can't think of any real sound engineer (who's still got a job) who, out of choice, would rather playback a CD by using a computer which doesn't have a real play button, takes up at least 7 times the amount of rack space including display, and gives one the pleasure of a 30 second break while the PC boots up.

 

Computerised playback does have a very important place in theatre sound, I just cannot for the life of me understand why it was being recommended to play CDs for this application. The K.I.S.S principle springs to mind.

 

YMMV,

 

Matt

[Ynot]

the OP needs to play back cds, and I can't think of any real sound engineer (who's still got a job) who, out of choice, would rather playback a CD by using a computer which doesn't have a real play button, takes up at least 7 times the amount of rack space including display, and gives one the pleasure of a 30 second break while the PC boots up.

 

Computerised playback does have a very important place in theatre sound, I just cannot for the life of me understand why it was being recommended to play CDs for this application. The K.I.S.S principle springs to mind.

Beat me to it!

Tools are just that - tools - the right tool for the right job.

I don't argue against PC's for some sound applications full stop - we have our own SFX program written for our main panto which works like a dream. But for music, we still use the CD/MD. Simpler. And it reacts faster to the button push on the whole! Instead of waiting a few seconds for Windoze to wake up after a short pause!!

 

And with a CD if it needs moving you just unplug it, pick it up, move it, plug it back in, and it works. Straightaway!

A PC? You stop/close the application, shut it down, turn the power off, unplug it, move it, plug it in, switch it on, log in, make a coffee while it boots up, start the application and then hit play. (pants for breath!).

[tumbler]

Thanks for all of you replies.

With regards to the venue it is The Circus Space in London.

It is a vast building that used to be Shoreditch Power Station and seven days a week it is used for training. Once a month on average, there is some sort of degree production or international cabaret.

For this reason a PC setup is impractical as the entire system has to be set up and got out.

It is vital that the players read CD-R and CD-RW as artists tend to collate and burn the CD's themselves. There is nothing worse than having an artist from abroad whose CD cannot be read on our player!

As I mentioned before the only reason for looking at a dual is for functionality. Some artists require us to swap between discs quickly (more and more cd's are copyright protected) and there needs to be swift music changes between scenes.

It looks like dual CD players are really of more benefit for the DJ market (we shall not be doing any live mixing or scratching), so it looks like two single options might be better.

What we do need though are units with the ability to cue up tracks and start very quickly.

Any more thoughts?

Stage Electrics are selling a DENON 2000 for £300. Can anyone recommend?

[TallMike]

Stage Electrics are selling a DENON 2000 for £300. Can anyone recommend?

 

I've owned a Denon DN2000F MkIII for the last couple of years - and it's NEVER missed a beat.

Previously I had a MKII which never failed either.

 

£300 new for a MKIII sounds reasonable!

 

Mike

[Ynot]

It is vital that the players read CD-R and CD-RW as artists tend to collate and burn the CD's themselves. There is nothing worse than having an artist from abroad whose CD cannot be read on our player!

As I mentioned before the only reason for looking at a dual is for functionality. Some artists require us to swap between discs quickly (more and more cd's are copyright protected) and there needs to be swift music changes between scenes.

It looks like dual CD players are really of more benefit for the DJ market (we shall not be doing any live mixing or scratching), so it looks like two single options might be better.

What we do need though are units with the ability to cue up tracks and start very quickly.

Hi again.

Glad you're taking on the 2-unit option, as it seems that will suit you better in the long run. Remember that if a dual CD player goes down, you're stuffed completely, but if one of two seperates dies, you at least have the other to fall back on!

 

Another useful facility is auto-pause - not sure if that's already been mentioned... Saves worrying about stopping the last CD when you're concentrating on cue-ing the next one!

 

Another downer on dual units is the difficulty in mixing twixt the two - I'd suspect that many, if not all, of the non-DJ type will probably have a single output, so you couldn't mix the outputs properly.

 

Can't comment on the Denon, but we've used Tascams supplied by SLX for a few years now and they seem fine.

[JimWebber]

Hi again.

Glad you're taking on the 2-unit option, as it seems that will suit you better in the long run. Remember that if a dual CD player goes down, you're stuffed completely, but if one of two seperates dies, you at least have the other to fall back on!

 

Another useful facility is auto-pause - not sure if that's already been mentioned... Saves worrying about stopping the last CD when you're concentrating on cue-ing the next one!

 

Another downer on dual units is the difficulty in mixing twixt the two - I'd suspect that many, if not all, of the non-DJ type will probably have a single output, so you couldn't mix the outputs properly.

 

Can't comment on the Denon, but we've used Tascams supplied by SLX for a few years now and they seem fine.

 

Yep, very good points Mr. Not

 

Just one other thing to bear in mind, is if you ever wish to use a remote control with two identical domestic type units, one control will operate both together...

 

Many years ago, I tried dubbing between two identical VCR's. I made the mistake of using the IR remote. I pressed "Record", and put BOTH decks into record.... Note to self "Remove record tab from tape next time"....

 

Admitedly this is not neccessarily a problem, but something to bear in mind...

 

Jim

[TallMike]

Another downer on dual units is the difficulty in mixing twixt the two - I'd suspect that many, if not all, of the non-DJ type will probably have a single output, so you couldn't mix the outputs properly.

 

Don't think I've ever seen a dual-CD unit with only one output!

 

Denon actually produce a single unit version of the DN2000F - think it's called the DN1000! I'd recommend it.

[Ynot]

Don't think I've ever seen a dual-CD unit with only one output!

How about this one?

 

Bear in mind I am NOT talking about DJ-style players, but the standard style player a-la hi-fi box.

As many of these, (including 'pro' range kit) will be hooked into a normal hi-fi, I would doubt that many will have separate outputs for each player.

 

Of course, I could be wrong.....

[J Pearce]

The one we had at sixth form was clever. It had menu options for output-per-deck, combined-output and deck-deck relay with a single output.

 

Unfortunately I haven't a clue what make it was...

[Shez]

I've owned a Denon DN2000F MkIII for the last couple of years - and it's NEVER missed a beat.

Previously I had a MKII which never failed either.

 

£300 new for a MKIII sounds reasonable!

 

I've had one for nearly 10 years now - still works perfectly. I paid £645 new for it then; £300 sounds like a good deal. It's certainly fine with CDRs; not sure I've ever tried it with CDRWs though.

 

On the subject of a player that will play any disc though, you'll be lucky. Some people burn discs that no player will ever play. Rubbish blank + rubbish burner + burnt at 52x speed + lots of scratches = no chance! It still amazes me that people use CDRWs for audio - it's not like CDRs are expensive and they're far more compatible.

[TallMike]

How about this one?

Of course, I could be wrong.....

You are...

 

That one's got a seperate output for each player! Even seperate digital outputs!!

 

Also, that's not really what I meant by 'dual CD player'... as one half of it is a recorder. I don't think a dual player actually exists in the hi-fi world as it would be largely pointless. The closest they come to is either your multi-disc players or the half-player/half-recorder which only has another player unit added to enable convenient (and higher speed) copying of CDs.

 

Mike

[niall]

Don't think I've ever seen a dual-CD unit with only one output!

How about this one?

 

Bear in mind I am NOT talking about DJ-style players, but the standard style player a-la hi-fi box.

As many of these, (including 'pro' range kit) will be hooked into a normal hi-fi, I would doubt that many will have separate outputs for each player.

 

Of course, I could be wrong.....

 

 

that does have two outputs, both CD decks have phono, coaxial digital and optical.

Input wise the recording side has Phono, Coaxial digital, optical and XLR.

 

edit: darn, beaten to it!

[Ynot]

How about this one?

Of course, I could be wrong.....

You are...

WHOOPS!!

That'll teach me to look more carefully!!

Apologies for that one!

 

I'm now going away for a lie down!

[TallMike]

How about this one?

Of course, I could be wrong.....

You are...

WHOOPS!!

That'll teach me to look more carefully!!

Apologies for that one!

 

I'm now going away for a lie down!

 

Does look like a handy unit to have though!

[J Pearce]

On closer inspection it seems the DN-C550R is the double deck we had at college. I would highly recommend it! Quality bit of kit, and having the recorder on board can be very helpful, and also makes the deck more versatile.