Teac VRDS-20 CD Player
John
Does anyone own the Teac VRDS-20 CD player? It has a good transport,
seems to be solidly built, therefore long lasting and reliable, but
what about the sound? A quick listen at an audio shop with components
am not too familar with doesn't reaveal much. Am now using a Pioneer
PD-91 that dates back to 1989, it was one of the first of their elite
series. Some say that the Teac would not be much of an upgrade sound
wise, but I feel like changing before the Pioneer dies out on me.
Hans-Christian Hurlimann
John <jcha...@colba.net> wrote:
>Does anyone own the Teac VRDS-20 CD player? It has a good transport,
>seems to be solidly built, therefore long lasting and reliable, but
>what about the sound? A quick listen at an audio shop with components
>am not too familar with doesn't reaveal much. Am now using a Pioneer
>PD-91 that dates back to 1989, it was one of the first of their elite
>series.
I own a Teac VRDS-20 since almost two years. I would describe its
sound characteristics as reserved, neutral and heavy. Voices seem very
natural and realistic, musicians are a bit more in the distance. Lower
frequencies are a bit fewer emphasized than at a Marantz CD 16, for
example. The sound quality is comparable to a Sony CDP X 707 ES, an
Arcam Alpha 6, a Meridian 508, a Marantz CD 17 or a Pioneer PD 77 to
name a few. I'm not familiar with your Pioneer PD-91 but I hope you
know one of the mentioned in the short list of comparables.
Other aspects of the Teac VRDS 20 are:
- Very solid construction (long lifetime)
- Good concept against vibrations
- Sophisticated transport mechanism (Wadia likes it, too :-) )
- Complete ouputs (RCA, balanced XLR / ST, TOS, coaxial)
- Four bitstream converters (Philips TDA 1547)
- No headphone output
>Some say that the Teac would not be much of an upgrade sound
>wise, but I feel like changing before the Pioneer dies out on me.
There are certainly more spectacular players than the VRDS 20 around
regarding to sound. But to me this is also a matter of taste. As I
don't know the PD-91, I can't say if it would be a sound upgrade for
you or not. But as I look at the the date of the PD-91 the probability
is high.
--
Hans-Christian Hurlimann