How To Convert a CD-ROM into a CD Player

[@thenatedog]

If you can find one of the old computer CD-ROM drives that has an actual big play button on the front and a headphone jack all it needs is power and you just hit the play button and you can skip forward and it actually plays audio out the headphone jack without anything else.

[@SoundBlab]

That is what I tried in the beginning just to see if it works. However, the sound quality from the headphone jack is not very good. Taking the digital signal from the back coaxial outputs into an external DAC gives you much better sound quality. But for a quick solution where sound is not a priority, it can make a decent headphone CD player.

[@thenatedog]

@@SoundBlab yeah I remember several years back in IT we would have one of those and just some PC speakers plugged into it on our workbench to listen to music in the shop

[@mahanichannel1509]

Need navigate system to play all type of format

[@Auberge79]

@@mahanichannel1509 nope. The controller only sends commands via ATAPI interface and the CD-ROM drive plays Audio-CD only by itself. No other formats possible.

[@KevinDC5]

This is incredible, I had actually been researching such a build myself to no avail. I will definitely be giving this a go. Can’t wait to see your future build video!

[@SoundBlab]

Yeah, I also had this on my list for some time now and finally got down to testing it out. So far it looks promising and I am also keen to get the new power supply and build this into an enclosure.

[@TheUniversalid]

I suggest using a CD drive that has dual output (both headphone jack and rear stereo pinouts) and integrated face controls. Just add psu and rear jacks

[@thedouble1269]

please get back to this project man. its sick, and ive been looking for something like this and cant find much. i really want to see the finished product and stuff

[@iantyler4045]

An interesting idea. The DAC will be the defining link as to how good or bad it sounds.

[@SoundBlab]

Thanks. yes, the DAC will be an important factor.

[@SSStroger]

I was strategizing making my own cd player YESTERDAY and now this is in my feed. OK!

[@SoundBlab]

Cool

[@TheUniversalid]

The plextor px 40tsi 40x as well as many others has cd controls an audio output jack on the front as well as stereo pinouts in the back. All it needs is 5v and 12v without any additional controls.

[@BlixemBlixem]

Cool idea, and awesome CD collection!

[@SoundBlab]

Thanks man!

[@slicksport2000]

Looking forward to the final build! I still own a bunch of cd's, but could not build my own player.

[@hurtabdul]

can you please tell me how you powered the CD/DVD-ROM Controller and what you did to connect it elsewhere?

[@JuanManuel123ify]

Dear Friend: a great video. But I would like to know where you get the audio sound from? ..... Waiting for your news, receive a cordial greeting from the Canary Islands (Spain) ....

[@michaukasiak2657]

I am not an author but I have simillar device and you have both digital spdif and analog audio outputs on the back of cd rom. Regards from Poland

[@SoundBlab]

I took the audio output form the SPDIF (coaxial) output on the back of the unit into a DAC. Not all CD-ROM drives have a digital output, but most should.

[@Auberge79]

I was dreaming of a controller like this since a MS-DOS CD-Player program. It did exactly same thing - sending ATAPI commands to CD-ROM drive to play CDs. It was a small .exe file and I was sure it didn't contain too much so some small device for sending ATAPI commends was expected. The price on Aliexpress is unexpected though :-) You can actually buy a couple of CD or DVD players for the price and they would have remocon and some optical SPDIF onboard :-)

[@Auberge79]

Furthermore you can buy some PI micro-PC for the price and connect it to SATA DVD-rom building much more complicated device to play not only audio-CD but any other format :-) But that's a very different story.

[@lawrencejelsma8118]

I wonder where all the automotive CD players went? I still have one in my latest truck I own (drive 😂). I'd rather go to an auto salvage yard or someone extracting for auctions the CD players once installed for car stereo in once brand new cars since the late 1990s when CDs were the craze over casette player car radio systems.

[@georgeanastasopoulos5865]

A wonderful, amazing demonstration video. A detailed, comprehensive lecture, and fine demonstration. Thank you for this technical video. For myself I want to possibly make a CD Transport, not too interested in a complete CD Player; since I have up to four connected to my Sony AV DH520 85W Receiver! Although I listen to vinyl records on 1 of my 2 turntables, I listen to playback after the early 1990s music on a Compact Disc. I should have bought a CD Transport, most likely the Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport! I'm a bit of a miser, so I bought at least 2 different CD Players that I can connect as a CD TRANSPORT. I'm very impressed; and that this Audiolab 6000CDT has a Toroidal Transformer. Instead I bought at least another CD Player that I could use as another CD Transport; I have collected up to 4 different CD Players, 3 brands for now, and up to three different interconnect connections. I did so for experimentation, tests, and obviously for musical playback. Sony CDP-CE215 bought at the end of 1998, connected with RCA L, R interconnect. Marantz SACD/DVD Player DV6400 (of Dec. 2003) connected with Coax RCA Cable. Sony CDP-970 (manufacture date April 1989) to be connected to digital optical output with a Toslink Cable. I got stuck with a Denon DN-600F (1998) at auction on ebay; it is also connected with traditional RCA L, R Cable. All four CD Players are connected to my Sony AV Receiver DH520 85W (bought in 2012) that I only use for hi fi audio. However, the CD Tray of an AMC CD-6 (1992) won't open. I was to connect at least one CD Player as a CD Transport by way of digital cable. I may get a DVD drive even though I have a DVD, and RW drives in my Sony VAIO desktop PC. I also have 2 power supplies that I have not installed as I was going to construct a PC. Again thanks for the information, and guidance.🔉🎵🎶

[@glaurung666]

If CD-player's tray doesn't open, it means a small belt of opening mechanism is worn out and can't overcome the force of magnet which lifts disc after it is loaded in tray. You can either replace the belt or attach several pieces of duct tape to magnet, this will increase the space between magnet and disc platter, so far you'll reduce magnetic force.

[@mesterak]

This was pretty novel thank you for sharing.

[@firenado4295]

if you look around CREATIVE made some cd drives that just have eject, ff, rw and play buttons integrated on the front. some even have a built in IR reciever as they came with a remote designed for use in media center pcs. Even drives with just a ff button are able to function with no connections other than power and headphones. still this is really cool that some one makes a "head unit" of sorts for these old drives.

[@hemantmehra.-ss8wc]

Very good job 👍👌

[@SoundBlab]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@Lando00100]

Kids today well never get to hear the supersonic power of the CD drive spin up.

[@mariopadiglione3797]

does the remote control turn on/off the controller board or need for a switch?

[@SoundBlab]

I know you emailed me as well, but will also answer here for the sake of others. It does not, I will put a mains switch at the back that will turn off the PSU, otherwise the remote only puts the controller board in standby mode.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Why did you need another power supply board, you have all the voltages you need coming from the computer power supply?

[@SoundBlab]

The PC power supply is too big. I wanted something much more compact that will fit into an average size enclosure for a typical CD player.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

@@SoundBlab Ah, ok, now I know why you did it that way, but I think I would have tried removing everything from the power supply to see if it would fit in the case, but if you were that tight for space it might not have been an option for you. :-)

[@andrewm6179]

Will you be doing a follow up to this video?

[@SoundBlab]

Yes, but I don't have a specific date yet.

[@albertotilaro1112]

how do you connect the cd rom to an external DAC?

[@SoundBlab]

Mine has two pins on the back as a digital output. Its essentially just a coaxial digital output to which I can solder a rca socket.

[@RusRus72]

a laptop style cd drive would be more useful imo

[@d.i.n.g.u.s]

Does this used RCA audio cables?

[@SoundBlab]

It will be a coaxial cable to a DAC.

[@alexmag5735]

It is only for IDE. They extinct. But there are a lot of SATA drives. How to convert SATA DVD-ROM into a CD player?

[@SoundBlab]

I do not know of any SATA capable controller at the moment. But there are still IDE drives on the secondhand market that is worth while if you select carefully.

[@alexmag5735]

@@SoundBlab It's not a problem. I have IDE and SATA as well. Thx.

[@JoeGP]

the old DVD drives weren't all that good either, specially a used one 5:10 that would have been a great time to recycle an old PSU

[@willgordge6003]

South Africans do everything best

[@SoundBlab]

👊😉

[@Valdivia-db9el]

Wow man u get it run, i couldnt , an ask teacher, what is watts enougth to make run cdrom drivev? Cause i'd tryed with conmutated source to6 laptop since 5v ,12v...24v what is 60watts more and less... So why it couldnt to run for me ?😢

[@SoundBlab]

I am using a power supply with 5V x 8A, and 12V x 4A output.

[@t0mmy44h]

How is this project coming along? I'm keen to do this myself!

[@SoundBlab]

It has been on the shelf for a while, however I have been working on the design of the enclosure. I am trying to turn it into a top loading system. Hopefully I can get to it in the new year.

[@TheCenturyPleyades]

If you put a Ide2sata conversor, it will work with a cd/dvd-rom drive?

[@SoundBlab]

I have not tried that.

[@MykeHawke-r9r]

Tytyty

[@richardmarkham8369]

Wonder why not do away with the transport all together? Just copy the CD to SD card as raw data, no compression and then feed the DAC from the SD card. No more transport issues to worry about! I know, where's the fun in that...

[@SoundBlab]

Yup, no fun in that, but I get the point.

[@richardmarkham8369]

@@SoundBlab Plus you could upsample the data at the same time! Still not as much fun as rooting around in the loft for old CD drives though...

[@Auberge79]

@@richardmarkham8369 this way you can just use some Spotify and no need for SD card even. The purpose of this project is to use REAL CDs in a CD-ROM.

[@MustangBoss1973]

Takes forever to read TOC doesn't look worth the effort.

[@Cabeza492]

Can you list the themes that you have used to the test please? Thanks!

[@bandai1983]

Maybe you can use an ultra slim slot loading drive. Excellent project.

[@SoundBlab]

A slim drive would've been very nice I agree, but they tend to only have a SATA interface, I need IDE for compatibility with the controller. Thanks, I need to get back to this project sometime soon, have put it on the back burner for a while...

[@kovboj3000]

the price of the CD ROM controller and power supply is higher than the price of the complete CD player. There is no point in doing.

[@SoundBlab]

It is not always about the cost. I enjoy exploring ideas and projects like this. If this is not your thing, well that is also OK.

[@Soundbrigade]

Got a box of CD drives and a controller I bought from a great guy in Thailand 10-12 years ago. Built a chassis and a wooden front, but I haven’t really gotten anyway with this one ….

[@SoundBlab]

Maybe you are inspired to look at it again 😉. I am thinking of perhaps doing a too load chassis instead of the front loading.

[@Soundbrigade]

@@SoundBlab I really should do. I can't leave a truck load of unfinished projects to my kids when I pass away in the future. Besides I even gpt a DAC for this one.

[@sirenyanmar1266]

Good project. Is the disk rotating slowly?

[@Auberge79]

depends on CD-ROM drive you have. Some of them play audio-CDs at 1x speed, others spin at full 48x. Which is terrible for many audio-CDs of course. Most audio-CDs you bought long ago were not meant to be spinning that fast and could just explode.

[@litoboy5]

Amazing

[@SoundBlab]

Thanks

[@ghostdog_samurai6700]

Maybe you should buy an unnecessary $10 DVD player for TV or DVD player for home theater? It's easier

[@CyclingNeko]

That's not the point.

[@bandai1983]

Need a dvd vcd blu ray uhd board, playing mp3 files be wild. And other formats too.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

This is nice. Did your Sony CD drive have TOSLink output?

[@SoundBlab]

Thanks. No, it actually has two audio outputs - One is the normal analogue out and the other is a digital output. I am using this digital coaxial output and going straight into the coaxial input of my DAC.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

@@SoundBlab Aah yes, I seem to remember the digital audio output. Is it just PCM or SPDIF?

[@kepler_200]

Great idea , unbelievable por mi hears.

[@jdmccorful]

I like it. Interesting idea. Thanks for the look.

[@SoundBlab]

Glad you like it!