Buying a second hand amp? Have I picked decent ones for the money?

wilson491845

Standard Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
27
Reaction score
4
Points
6
Age
43
Location
leamington spa
Hi folks,I'm looking to replace my little Denon M40DAB as it's skipping cds,I have used one of those cleaning discs but it hasn't helped.I'm annoyed as it was only used for an hour each night(for about 3 years) to help my mum get to sleep as she's in a hospital bed in the lounge with dementia and some nice soft music helps her to relax for bed,and I enjoy that too,as I'm her full time carer and it helps me relax.I was annoyed that it lasted such a short time.
I'm on a tight budget as I have to survive on carers allowance so I won't be buying anything new,I have decided to go the second hand path and buy a seperate amp and cd player.I have seen a couple of old amps today and would just like to know if anyone thinks they are ok and which one would be the best?,I will ask about cd players when I get to that point.The amps look in good condition...Many thanks


 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Welcome aboard!

Problem with vintage gear is it can go pop at anytime leaving you out of pocket.

What sort of budget are you working with? and what speakers do you have?
 
To be honest as little as possible at the very top £150 but a lot less if possible,the cheaper amp was probably more in my range.The £150 would be for the cd player and the amp
The speakers are Mission LX2.The thing is I was going to buy a second hand cd player and I could see that not ending well,I read about bluray players being able to play cds if it's possible to perhaps pick one of those up new at a good price as that would be even cheaper than a second hand cd player,but I would imagine they wouldn't be compatible to connect with an old amp due to wrong type of conncetions.
I have read a few people saying they had problems with the little Denons,I don't think stuff like that is made so well as hifis were in the past
 
How about an Arcam Solo Mini, or Arcam Solo? Sale price on Ebay range from £125-200 tops, but lower in this price range generally. It's older kit but built very well and sounds very decent.

My mum has my old Solo mini in her front room, connected to her B&W speakers which she's had for years and years now and has blasted on the regular without a hiccup. These also have CD built in and are originally designed as an audiophile one-box solution, so despite its age and now relative low price, will stamp on many other things in terms of sound quality.
 
How about an Arcam Solo Mini, or Arcam Solo? Sale price on Ebay range from £125-200 tops, but lower in this price range generally. It's older kit but built very well and sounds very decent.

My mum has my old Solo mini in her front room, connected to her B&W speakers which she's had for years and years now and has blasted on the regular without a hiccup. These also have CD built in and are originally designed as an audiophile one-box solution, so despite its age and now relative low price, will stamp on many other things in terms of sound quality.
I will keep an eye on them,thanks
I have subscribed on Ebay to that search
 
Last edited:
I
How about an Arcam Solo Mini, or Arcam Solo? Sale price on Ebay range from £125-200 tops, but lower in this price range generally. It's older kit but built very well and sounds very decent.

My mum has my old Solo mini in her front room, connected to her B&W speakers which she's had for years and years now and has blasted on the regular without a hiccup. These also have CD built in and are originally designed as an audiophile one-box solution, so despite its age and now relative low price, will stamp on many other things in terms of sound quality.
Are the solo and the mini much the same?
 
I

Are the solo and the mini much the same?


Both specs above. The mini, which mum has can go LOUD with her B&W's and sounds great. Especially considering how cheaply they can be picked up for. 25w I think is very conservative - it can hit uncomfortably loud levels, and she has a decent sized front room.

Arcam make good kit. Im biased, see my sig. I have had many Arcam products and am a notorious box-swapper, of Arcam and many other things. I've been buying/trying/selling amps for the past few years, not to make money, but for fun 😁

Caution though, in that this is older kit, but in my experience, and mums (who's had the Mini now for several years now with no probs), for the cash I'd be surprised if you can get much which sounds a great deal better, for the same money. Of course, if you go down this route, shop very carefully for a good example.

Equally, there are a thousand other routes you could pursue and I'm sure others will be along shortly to recommend other stuff and maybe totally disagree with me.
 


Both specs above. The mini, which mum has can go LOUD with her B&W's and sounds great. Especially considering how cheaply they can be picked up for. 25w I think is very conservative - it can hit uncomfortably loud levels, and she has a decent sized front room.

Arcam make good kit. Im biased, see my sig. I have had many Arcam products and am a notorious box-swapper, of Arcam and many other things. I've been buying/trying/selling amps for the past few years, not to make money, but for fun 😁

Caution though, in that this is older kit, but in my experience, and mums (who's had the Mini now for several years now with no probs), for the cash I'd be surprised if you can get much which sounds a great deal better, for the same money. Of course, if you go down this route, shop very carefully for a good example.

Equally, there are a thousand other routes you could pursue and I'm sure others will be along shortly to recommend other stuff and maybe totally disagree with me.
Thanks for that
 
The Arcam is an excellent suggestion, I've heard a couple of variations and they are very impressive.

Another good secondhand all-in-one solution could be a Marantz M-CR, plenty on Ebay ranging from the original M-CR603 through to 610,611,612 etc. I used to have a 603 many years ago and I couldn't fault it for the money, drove a pair of Epos M22i speakers with ease.
 
The Arcam is an excellent suggestion, I've heard a couple of variations and they are very impressive.

Another good secondhand all-in-one solution could be a Marantz M-CR, plenty on Ebay ranging from the original M-CR603 through to 610,611,612 etc. I used to have a 603 many years ago and I couldn't fault it for the money, drove a pair of Epos M22i speakers with ease.
Thanks there is a nice and clean m-cr603 for £165 but taking offers,do you have any idea what I could offer for that?
 
Sale prices vary on ebay between 140-180ish with most on the higher end.

As a tip in case you didn't know. On ebay if you go into search settings you can change the search to view sold items and can see what they sold for. This is very useful for getting a flavour of value and what is and is not an good deal.
 
Sale prices vary on ebay between 140-180ish with most on the higher end.

As a tip in case you didn't know. On ebay if you go into search settings you can change the search to view sold items and can see what they sold for. This is very useful for getting a flavour of value and what is and is not an good deal.
Thanks for your help
 
Although you might have a downer on Denon right now, an older UD-M30 would only cost around £50.

This Panasonic DVD player would do CDs & has analogue outputs to connect to the existing Denon. Dow side is they tend to be low in operation & have no display unless connected to a TV. If you have an old DVD player tucked away in a cupboard that will likely do a job as well.

Amazon product ASIN B00FLPF4YG
Edit
No idea why that preview is showing prices all over the shop, it's £26 & the same price at Currys.
 
Last edited:
Although you might have a downer on Denon right now, an older UD-M30 would only cost around £50.

This Panasonic DVD player would do CDs & has analogue outputs to connect to the existing Denon. Dow side is they tend to be low in operation & have no display unless connected to a TV. If you have an old DVD player tucked away in a cupboard that will likely do a job as well.

Amazon product ASIN B00FLPF4YG
Edit
No idea why that preview is showing £54, it's £26 & the same price at Currys.
Thanks I wil have a look at that
 
Does the amp on the denon unit still work and does it have inputs.

if the only fault is the skipping cd and the rest of the unit works the you could buy an external cd player (or any source for that matter) and connect it to the dennon to play CDs.

how about an mp3 player or other media player if sound quality doesn't have to be too hi fi. no moving parts night last longer.
 
Does the amp on the denon unit still work and does it have inputs.

if the only fault is the skipping cd and the rest of the unit works the you could buy an external cd player (or any source for that matter) and connect it to the dennon to play CDs.

how about an mp3 player or other media player if sound quality doesn't have to be too hi fi. no moving parts night last longer.
Hi yes the amp works fine and it has optical and phono connections
 
I do t know how good the DAC is on the denon but you could connect anything to the optical in as a stop gap. have you got an old dvd player with optical out lying around..or pick one up for £5. its probably the cheapestt solution.
 
I do t know how good the DAC is on the denon but you could connect anything to the optical in as a stop gap. have you got an old dvd player with optical out lying around..or pick one up for £5. its probably the cheapestt solution.
I will have a look,I think I threw them out as they hadn't been used in years,they had been stored away
 
or any dvd player with phono out.. sound quality wont be amazing but it'll do the job for a bit of background ambient music.
 
Somebody said it just has an hdmi connections in one of the questions answered on the product,I haven't got hdmi on the Denon
You can see the analogue outputs in the manual:

And in this pic:

panasonic_dvd-s500eb-k_06_m_p.jpg


And in these answers.
 
Last edited:
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom