CD Player Digitalk outputs and analogue conversion

[admin_exported]

I have a question:

If i use the digitalk output on my CD Player, either COAX or Optical and i pass this into my receiver, is it the Receivers DAC turning this into the audio analogue signal for application?

If so, what is the CD player actually doing?

And if this is the case would the sound i hear be the same regardless of CD Transport if i used the same DAC?

What is the nature of the signal passed between CD Player digital out and a DAC?

If it is 'raw' data wouldn't a expensive CD transport pass exactly the same signal as a cheap one?

I guess that is actually some questions. It may be a total noob question but it seems like an interesting topic and one for which i could not find an obvious answer.

 

[Craig M.]

dognarmit:I have a question:

If i use the digitalk output on my CD Player, either COAX or Optical and i pass this into my receiver, is it the Receivers DAC turning this into the audio analogue signal for application? yes

If so, what is the CD player actually doing? providing the digital data

And if this is the case would the sound i hear be the same regardless of CD Transport if i used the same DAC? maybe, depends on the dac

What is the nature of the signal passed between CD Player digital out and a DAC? digital bit stream

If it is 'raw' data wouldn't a expensive CD transport pass exactly the same signal as a cheap one? probably, but jitter could be an issue

I guess that is actually some questions. It may be a total noob question but it seems like an interesting topic and one for which i could not find an obvious answer.

 

[Anonymous]

I tried connecting my CD player (Linn Majik CD) digital output to the digital input on the amplifier (Linn Majik DSI), and compared the sound. It sounded worse with a digital connection than it did using the analogue. I then did the same thing with my Marantz CD Player and it sounded better via digital than it did with analogue, so I think it depends on the quality of the DAC in the CD player compared to the DAC in the amplifier.

Some hi-fi CD players just have a standard PC DVD-ROM drive inside them to provide the digital signal - they're only about £15 to buy, and much easier to replace when the laser fails.

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder how WhatHiFi test CD players. Using analogue interconnects or Digital?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

dognarmit:I wonder how WhatHiFi test CD players. Using analogue interconnects or Digital?

At a guess, 99% of the time with analogue. Reviewing using digital will be like looking at only part of the player.