Migrating CD system to Spotify...

[SteveR750]

What would I need to to do to get a similar quality to my current CD based system, and the other constraint being that I cannot spend any more than the 2nd hand value of a Cyrus CD6SE.

I don't have my own PC or laptop so this needs to be figured into the budget! A used Mac would be something I might consider, as a new one is rather expensive, that said I assume that a streaming based source can run off a PC just as well? Can it be done for the £600-£700 budget?

 

[John Duncan]

Do you need the amp and speakers as well or do you have them already?

 

[bluebrazil]

keep the cd6se

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I sold my Lector CDP (£2400) after hooking up my rubbish laptop via USB to a Beresford Caiman (£210) To my ears just as good. Bought a second hand Sonneteer Byron for £300 for CD duties. Very happy

 

[SteveR750]

The only thing I was thinking of changing just the source: CD -> Computer/Spotify. Everything else stays the same in theory per signature.

 

[ESP2009]

Ooooh, oooh, bagsy the CDP!

 

[John Duncan]

SteveR750:The only thing I was thinking of changing just the source: CD -> Computer/Spotify. Everything else stays the same in theory per signature.

Sorry, just seen the signature!

£300-£400 laptop or desktop, £80 airport express, $25 Airfoil, £150-£250 DAC (DACMagic, something by Firestone, V-DAC, Beresford etc), £150 iPod touch as a remote control if you've got any left over. Sorted...

 

[SteveR750]

JohnDuncan:SteveR750:The only thing I was thinking of changing just the source: CD -> Computer/Spotify. Everything else stays the same in theory per signature.Sorry, just seen the signature!£300-£400 laptop or desktop, £80 airport express, $25 Airfoil, £150-£250 DAC (DACMagic, something by Firestone, V-DAC, Beresford etc), £150 iPod touch as a remote control if you've got any left over. Sorted...

Comparable sound quality to the Cyrus??

 

[Messiah]

I would say it is very close.

I used to have the Cyrus CD6s and sold this in favour of a PC based system.

 

[John Duncan]

And I did the same with a Primare CD player, ditching it in favour of Airport Express and DACMagic. There are degrees of 'comparable' of course, but I'd expect a system like the one described above to be up there with the Cyrus, yes.

 

[John Duncan]

Note however that this comparison was (originally) done using apple lossless files from the Mac to the DAC, whereas Spotify is of course limited to 320k in 'premium' mode. Note also, however, that it's what I listen to almost exclusively...

 

[SteveR750]

Had forgotten about the rate limit of 320k. I'd ultimately want lossless but that's no problem with a decent CD ripper and a large hard drive - I can rip off CD and replay via a PC at possibly lower error than the transport from the Cyrus. The unknown is the quality of a "budget" DAC vs the Cyrus..?

 

[John Duncan]

Well I pitted my DACMagic against the DAC in my Primare and found...absolutely no difference. Whilst I don't subscribe to the 'all DAC boards sound the same' theory espoused by some, I do think that any reasonably good one (and all the DACs mentioned have high quality ones) will give that in the Cyrus a run for its money, and it then becomes a matter of how much better (or worse, YMMV) streaming is as a transport.

There are differing views in the office about that last point...