Do I need a CD player?

[admin_exported]

Dear all,

I'm trying to pan out what I need to comprise a decent music system for myself.

I'm looking at a CD based system , spending no more than £1500. I am hoping, that within this budget to gain the speakers and perhaps power amp as second hand units, to try and maximaise bang for buck.

Reading up, it seems that my minimum requirement is a minimum of CD player, DAC, Power amp and Speakers. Obviously the DAC seems to be non essential, but from what I read, gives a good return in qulaity sound, to cover its expense.

Now, what i've also read, is that I can use my laptop, effectively as a music streamer.Similar in principle, I suppose to the like the Brennan, Olive, etc.

Digging around, I see that one (at least) of the Cambridge Dacs, has a USB socket,seemingly, for just this purpose.

So assuming it to be the case that I can do this...(I'm sure somebody will say if I cannot) what sort of sound quality can I expect from such a rig? What sort of cost level of CD player would it potentially equal/surpass?

On another tilt, I get the impression that when saving music to a Hard disk , it needs tobe in a lossless format. Is there any software which would manage this and ensure best possible signal from ripped CD for playback?

Anyway, sorry to go on...and if I've got things wrapped arounbd my neck...Any comments welcome ! 🙂

 

[Clare Newsome]

Welcome to the Forums 🙂

It's a great time to be investing in a new sound system, because there are so many more options than the traditional CD/amp/speakers set-up - though you can still build a great trad set-up in that way, too, especially if (as mentioned) you add second-hand options into the equation.

But computer-based audio does give you a lot of flexibilty (eg you can also use the files on portable devices; opens up possibilities for multiroom music), and the potential for even higher sound quality than CD, thanks to the emergence of higher-resolution music files. However, i'm getting ahead of myself...

You mention playing from a laptop.. what have you got (Mac? PC?) and what outputs (USB? Optical? both/other?) does it have. That will affect recommendations on that front...

And how many CDs are you thinking of ripping? Lossless rips can take up a lot of space, and if you're going down the computer audio route then you may also need to budget for a networked storage drive (NAS) on top of DAC/amplification/speakers.

Also, what size of room do you have? Would be good to understand the space you need to fill!

Sorry for all the questions, but answers will give all of us a better idea of systems to suggest you check out.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Claire, thanks for the welcome and your input

To try and answer some of your questions.

The laptop is an Asus of quite recent pedigree. Connectivity is HDMI and USB2 .

My CD collection is fairly small , no more than 200 . Although of course such things do grow!

Capacity is no real problem , whilst my Laptop drive is approx 300 gig , I was not thinking of
placing the majority of the music on that drive. I have 2 external HD's , both powered USB which
total approx 500 gig so these were going to be brought in to play. I also may have acess to a third , capacity of 750 gig, so we are well covered in that apect.

As for multi room, thats not of import...cannot see that being an issue at all. Room size is small domestic . So no real need for very high system output. (I assume that why you asked)

I'd best add, that in future I may well want to put the output from the TV/DVD player through the system, when watching DVD's , but I assume the HDMI conection may deal with that? I'm digressing though, initial system setup remains the priority.

Many thanks 🙂

 

[CnoEvil]

My suggestion would be to check out a Linn Sneaky, which has a 20W amp built in, and imo matches CDPs up to about £2k (and surpasses them on 24 bit). All you need is then are suitable speakers and possibly a NAS.

At a later date, you can get a better amp/speakers and use the Sneaky as a source.

Another option would be to check out the Peachtree (Decco 2; iDecco; Nova) + speakers. This amp has a good built in Dac.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that, now this Linn sneaky does sound very interesting.

I assume though, that with its 20 w per channel output its going to be fussy speaker wise, in those it can drive well, and those that need a higher output amp.? I'm thinking perhaps that should it be a cert purchase it may be an idea to source suitable S/H speakers first, prior to purchase.

Think i need to find somewhere for a demo.

The other option seems interesting s well...I see Sevenoaks stock them, so perhaps a demo may be possible for that as well. Interesting!

Cheers!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd echo comment on Peachtree (mainly because I've got one!). Got mine from Home Cinema Centre in Edinburgh who did a bundled deal with a Sonos multiroom system but not sure if that offer is still on. Nice amp with good DAC, 40 watts per channel into 6 ohms, so thats probably nearer 35 into 8 ohms. They are around £800, which leaves plenty money for CD and speakers.

Its a minimalist amp, no tone controls etc but works a treat and I stream music via a NAS hard drive to it with Sonos. NAS drive means you don't need your PC on if its hard wired to the Sonos. You can control Sonos via its own dedicated remote or through an ipod/android app for free. Also subscribe to Spotify which works well with Sonos, great fun.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks for that, now this Linn sneaky does sound very interesting.

I assume though, that with its 20 w per channel output its going to be fussy speaker wise, in those it can drive well, and those that need a higher output amp.? I'm thinking perhaps that should it be a cert purchase it may be an idea to source suitable S/H speakers first, prior to purchase.

Think i need to find somewhere for a demo.

The other option seems interesting s well...I see Sevenoaks stock them, so perhaps a demo may be possible for that as well. Interesting!

Cheers!

The Linn Sneaky has quite a good amp, and provided you use reasonably sensitive speakers at sensible volumes, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Any good Linn dealer should give advice and let you hear it.

You can find out more on the Linn Forum in th DS section.

If you want more power from the Peachtree, the Nova has 80W.

Please report back on how you get on.

Cno

 

[Overdose]

ADM 9.1 active speakers and an ASRock Vision Blu-Ray HTPC will set you back around £1500.

This will allow you to play all, but SACD discs and this includes Blu-Ray movies, meaning that you can do away with all/any current disc players.

The 500GB HDD as standard will allow storage for around 1300 CDs ripped as FLAC, many more if you consider 256Kbps to be adequate.

It also has a very low power profile and can be configured for remote control, meaning that you do not have to have a TV switched on.

Food for thought.

I have a similar setup myself and love it.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again folks...even more food for thought.

I'm in south Lincs , so will be seeking out my nearest Linn dealer to see if a sneaky demo s on the cards.....

Meanwhile I'll be looking up these active speakers...always like that genre, fond memories of Acoustats. 🙂