Can anyone recommend a good cd player?

mattjax05

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My system comprises of the following:

Monitor Audio BR5 floorstanders

Denon DVD1930 dvd player

Denon AVR 1707 receiver

I was wondering whether my music will sound better with a proper cd player and I have been looking at the Cambridge Audio Azur range. Would anyone know if the sound would be a great deal better i.e would it be worth buying a seperate cd player and also would my receiver play a part.

I do watch upscaled PAL DVDs a lot of the time so the dvd player and receiver are necessary but I also love music ahhh what a dilema, can anybody give some advice please. Dont get me wrong, music at the moment on the above system is very good but could it be better within a price range of £500?

Look forward to any replies,

Matt
 
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Anonymous

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If you are only using this as a 2 channel system as it sounds like, I would recommend a dac, you will get the best out of both cd and dvd (and set top / freeview too). I'd recommend the Russ Andrews dac but that's £600, otherwise a Musical Fidelity x-dac. There's a lot of second hand stuff available too.
 
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Anonymous

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i have heard the BR5's recently and they are belters. i think a decent cd player and an amp ,not a receiver ,would make a big big difference. You could get a cambridge audio azur 640 amp and the matching 640c cd player for £550. They would sound superb with the mon audio speakers.
 
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Anonymous

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Another approach would be to get a good 2 channel power amp (Roksan Kandy?) to use for your main speakers using the pre-out from the receiver, then the rest of the 5.1 (when you get it) can go thru the receiver's speaker out. Alternatively, if you're not wanting surround, ditch the receiver as that is probably the weakest element.
 

mattjax05

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Thank you Fraziel that was very much what I wanted to hear, I am very interested in the Cambridge Audio pairing (cd/amp) - get crimbo out the way and I will pop into my local hi-fi specialist (richersounds seems a decent company to purchase from)

From my point of view I prefer decent sounding music and a cracking picture and I can get that from my dvd player and soon from a new cd player but do you think I could get an amplifier capable of very good 2 channel sound and also 2 channel surround sound in the form of dolby and dts - I know this may be a big ask given my budget but I do need to choose only one amp.

Thanks

Matt
 
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Anonymous

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I am not sure i am afraid. Generally surround receivers just dont cut it compared to stand alone amps, with a few exceptions such as Arcam. Arcam amps are not everyones cup of tea though and can be quite pricey.Sorry i cant help you further but i am not as up to date on surround amps as i should be.
 

nads

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i have to ask this. What is the DVD like at playing CD's?
OK if i get it right it has been implied to use the DVd via a DAC and .........

But what about just getting a new amp, and maybe a pair of good speakers and have the DVD connected to both?
Sorry but i like to keep the HiFi and the AV separate except for the DVD (well disc player as it will play all formats other than 12" ;) and HDDVD and Blueray)

hope that gives you something else to think about.
 
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Anonymous

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I'd second Pete Allen's advice. Buy a DAC and a power amp.

Use DVD player as a transport. Take the digital out and feed that to a stand alone DAC (your money goes way further) and send that to the AVR. Then use AVR as a pre and send that to power amp. Connect your power amp to stereo speakers.
 

Thaiman

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[quote user="ranjeetrain"]Buy a DAC and a power amp[/quote]

!!!! I had a high-end DAC and a few average one. The problem is when I found out that Transport does made a different to the sound I kept wondering about "what if I use a different transports?"

The problem is many one box players have a very good build in DAC anyway so to better them you have to spend mega money for 2 boxes path. and if you are a purist audio geezer you then will have to buy a extra main cable (not me btw) + 75ohms digital cables with all the gold trim! They all add up you know?
 

mattjax05

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Hi PetAllen sorry I didnt acknowledge your comments earlier, thank you also. You have provided me with alternative ways of upgrading my system and now I can have a good think before deciding what way to go (its good to have choices). All the advise has been very good and im glad I now know more on this topic

Thank you again
 

kungula

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[quote user="Thaiman"][quote user="ranjeetrain"]Buy a DAC and a power amp[/quote]

!!!! I had a high-end DAC and a few average one. The problem is when I found out that Transport does made a different to the sound I kept wondering about "what if I use a different transports?"

The problem is many one box players have a very good build in DAC anyway so to better them you have to spend mega money for 2 boxes path. They all add up you know?[/quote]

that is certainly true.
Good coax cables which really make a difference cost a lot of money indeed.
But if you are ready to invest some money, a good CDP like the C.E.C. TL51 XR plays even on the same level as a DP 500 from Accuphase.
 
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Anonymous

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It's true, dacs (especially if they include a decent preamp) and power amps can be very cost effective. In fact I do this in both my hifis:

sony hd/dvd/freeview > Resolution Audio (all in one CD player + dac + preamp) > sugden power amp > B&W 805s

yamaha cd recorder > benchmark dac-1 > primare power amp > MA GR10s

This works extremely well, and I save on a preamp in each, as well as having tv/dvd in awesome sound quality. E.g. the Primare A30.2 power amp costs the same as the award winning I30, but it's even better. I noticed a significant improvement when i upgraded from the A30.1.
 

Thaiman

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Slightly off topic here...Pete, on your Opus should have a input for DAC - What it sound like when feed a signal from, let say, run of the mill DVD player? (comparing to the analog output from opus when play cd)

thx
 

Thaiman

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[quote user="kungula"]But if you are ready to invest some money, a good CDP like the C.E.C. TL51 XR
plays even on the same level as a DP 500 from Accuphase.[/quote]
Sawad dee krup!

Yeb, I agree and I love your Linn by the way....great player indeed.
 

kungula

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?????????? ??????
well the Unidisc is quite simple to use and the sound is very good with sacd. But I might go for something new in 2008.
Take care
 
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Anonymous

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Thaiman, that's a good question, I actually haven't tried that, I'll have to try a CD on my sony 1065 this weekend. I probably never tried it because the Sony takes forever to load things, and ejecting can take literally 30 secs :( Certainly music on telly sounds remarkably smooth and dynamic, but sadly DAB sounds pants.
With the Benchmark DAC it varies quite a bit with different transports, but not necessarily proportional to cost!
 
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Anonymous

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I tried a cd in the dvd player, going thru the Resolution Audio dac, and it sounds fragile and recessed, however, after a few minutes my ears adjusted and it wasn't too bad really.
 

Thaiman

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Yeb that is what I thought and that is why I always recomended a very good one box spinner rather than two good alternative boxes.

You have a nicely balanced system btw (thump up icon here)
 
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Anonymous

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Actually Thaiman, I realised I was using very different power cables on the dvd and resolution audio: Russ Andrews SIgnature on the dvd and Nordost Vishnu on the Resolution Audio. So I replaced the Russ Andrews cord with a Nordost Shiva. Now there is little difference between the sound of either transport, it's quite subtle really. So the Resolution Audio DAC makes the most difference. I'm going to keep it all Nordost now, it definitely works better if everything is Nordost as i remember reading in some review.
 
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Anonymous

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Oh dear, that's a shame. You've got a great system, maybe you should try out a Valhalla if you can borrow one, you'll have an epiphany
 

Thaiman

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I done Shiva and beyond when I used to have Krell 400Xi - Classe cdp-10 - Sonus Faber Cremona auditor and my jaw didn't need any cushion underneath it! I done some ABX too and no way I could pick them out!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="kungula"]?????????? ??????
well the Unidisc is quite simple to use and the sound is very good with sacd. But I might go for something new in 2008.
Take care[/quote]

DVD players assume audio streams to be at 48K. Audio players at 44.1K. My recommendation about the DAC was due to the fact that average class DVD players tend to upsample Audio DCs to 48K before sending it to DAC, resulting in digital artifacts. By using a DVD player as a transport, you should be able to avoid that upsampling, which, at least I think, adds noise to your audio.
Good luck for your purchase.
 

kungula

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tku ranjeetrain,
it is always easier to buy something new than selling your old stuff at a reasonable price.
Therefore I like to buy premium products and to keep them on average for at leat 5 years.

Regards
 

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