What`s the point in £1000 cd players!

[Messiah]

Well Chunky I hope you have your answer!

My fellow forum members seemed to have redeemed themselves with their posts

(Feel like a Moderator - Sorry!)

 

[Frank Harvey]

chunky70:When you can buy a dac and a £20 dvd player?The transport used to read and pas on the digital signal does have some bearing on how good the overall sound, as does the DAC. And as Joel mentions, there are many other parts that make a significant difference, as Naim have proven with areas like the power supply.

I understand about giving up chasing that 'nth degree' of sound quality, but sometimes it's that nth degree that can breathe life into a system. Once you have that nth degree, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the music, knowing just that

(I wrote that before seeing HCC's post! I was going through the posts one by one).

The fact is, the serious enthusiast will always go down the dedicated CDP route, whereas there are other not so serious people who will try and achieve the same on a budget. Whether or not they achieve this is of no significance to anyone other than those who are happy with it. Both sides will always be right.

Having said that, as I've said before in another thead, the serious competition to £1,000 CD players, and maybe above, is from the likes of Sonos. Personally, I'd still buy a CD5xs or similar to play the CD's I have, those I can't gain access to via Napster, which is fair amount due to my taste in music.

But even the likes of Sonos and other similar sources, aren't going to match the best players, so I think it'll be down to the individual's system as to which will suit them, and which systems show the greatest potential. I'm going to try the Naim DAC when it comes out just to see what it can do in my system, as over the years I've found DACs to be very hit and miss regarding their value for money.

 

[Anonymous]

matengawhat:

well that is a 3k dac! so should be amazing

did you try playing your old cdp through it?

Yes. Not much in it but Mac Mini won by the slimmest of margins on sound quality. Then of course the practicality of being able to access Spotify and use my iphone as a remote control sealed it (neither of my preamps have a remote).

Don't be fooled by the casework and lighting, the new Chord DAC is something else, and some may find this hard to believe - its great value for money!

Not sure I'd be willing to spend the same on a different transport though. I'm inclined to think that money could be better spent elsewhere (speakers, another power amp to go 'bridged' etc')

 

[IJ]

I must admit i am a bit sceptical on significant sound differences from medium to high end CD players. When i was auditioning some players to replace my transport i ended up buying a relatively cheap CD player to add to my Wadia DAC. To be certain, i listened back to back over and over again to a CD player more than 10 times the price of the one i choose and i was completely satisfied that additional money would not have improved the sound in any area.

Of course i could be stone deaf, but i enjoy to listen to the music and not analysing it.

 

[aliEnRIK]

IJ:

I must admit i am a bit sceptical on significant sound differences from medium to high end CD players. When i was auditioning some players to replace my transport i ended up buying a relatively cheap CD player to add to my Wadia DAC. To be certain, i listened back to back over and over again to a CD player more than 10 times the price of the one i choose and i was completely satisfied that additional money would not have improved the sound in any area.

Of course i could be stone deaf, but i enjoy to listen to the music and not analysing it.

The differences from the 3.5k musical fidelity to the 8.5k chord blu I auditioned were staggeringly different, the detail it dredges up is incredible. The 10k NAD whilst very good still couldnt hold a torch to the blu though (There was another but cant recall the name)

I can tell you for a FACT they most certainly sound differently (And by differently I most certainly mean 'better')

 

[Scissor_digits]

There is a saying that a cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. EOM

 

[Gerrardasnails]

crimsondonkey:
I think there is a point in the OP. To a growing audience there is less and less reason to buy an expensive high end CD player (although I second comments earlier about the Chord Blu etc') when you can use a suitable transport (you decide how suitable) with a good DAC and get very fine results.

Quite against my natural instincts I have junked my CD player in favour of a Mac Mini through a Chord QBD 76. I would never dream of spending the same amount of money on a CD player alone - why? Well firstly because I haven't heard a CD player that could compete sonically with the MM & 76 combo (not even close). Secondly, I found, once again contrary to instincts that I liked to listen via itunes and particularly Spotify which opens up a library of music a lot bigger than I could ever afford!

My initial motive was to find something that would make me want to listen to my 100's of CD's again! The Michell Gyrodec had made listening to CD's almost painful so they became obselete and literally gathered dust, however the Chord 76 has evened up the score, even if it can't match the Gyrodec for absolute listening pleasure.

I haven't tried high end cd players but I do believe that the best transport is streamed lossless files - unless I'm missing something? For me, I will upgrade my DAC only - I would love the Chord one day. I don't think that a £20 dvd player and a £200 DAC will match a £1k cd player but I reckon lossless files streamed to a £200 DAC is mighty close.

 

[Craig M.]

i think it depends on how good the 1k cd player is, they're not all the same....

also, it depends on the definition of close. i haven't really been happy since i went to hdd+dac, purely on sound quality terms (i love the convenience).

personally, i'm starting to think the technology needs a little longer to mature.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Craig M.:
i think it depends on how good the 1k cd player is, they're not all the same....

also, it depends on the definition of close. i haven't really been happy since i went to hdd+dac, purely on sound quality terms (i love the convenience).

personally, i'm starting to think the technology needs a little longer to mature.

do you stream though, or is it straight from mac to dac?

 

[Craig M.]

straight from mac to dac. i might be being a bit slow here, but how would it make a difference? have you tried both with your kit? i would be very happy if i could get my mac to sound as good as a dedicated transport. has anyone else compared a mac's optical output with an airport express?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Craig M.:straight from mac to dac. i might be being a bit slow here, but how would it make a difference? have you tried both with your kit? i would be very happy if i could get my mac to sound as good as a dedicated transport. has anyone else compared a mac's optical output with an airport express?

I haven't. I just think that with streaming the inards of the computer are taken out of the equation to add anything bad to the digital transportation. I might be completely wrong, I don't know, I just assumed that streaming, in my case to a media center extender, which doesn't have a lot going on in it, instead of sending the digital files from a noisy computer via a cable, would be better.

 

[John Duncan]

Craig M.:straight from mac to dac. i might be being a bit slow here, but how would it make a difference? have you tried both with your kit? i would be very happy if i could get my mac to sound as good as a dedicated transport. has anyone else compared a mac's optical output with an airport express?

No. But have you tried USB, out of interest?

 

[Craig M.]

only into the dacmagic, i don't think i could hear any difference from optical. nothing to get too steamed up about anyway.

i'm gonna wait to hear the naim dac to see if the buffer improves things, but really the xtse was a very noticeable improvement. sigh. i need to stop getting stuff on home dem, ignorance was bliss.

 

[idc]

Craig M.:

....... sigh. i need to stop getting stuff on home dem, ignorance was bliss.

A reason why chasing the nth degree is not necessarily a good thing

 

[manicm]

A snappy answer to a long thread:

CA continue to make CDPs far, far more expensive than their own (admittedly one and only DAC).

And Naim would love you to connect their new DAC to one of their CDPs.

A lot of marketing yes, but also some truth...

 

[Gerrardasnails]

manicm:
A snappy answer to a long thread:

CA continue to make CDPs far, far more expensive than their own (admittedly one and only DAC).

And Naim would love you to connect their new DAC to one of their CDPs.

A lot of marketing yes, but also some truth...

The 7 and 8 series Cambridge cd players have digital ins, so effectively you are getting a cd player and an external DAC - hence the big difference in price.

 

[jaxwired]

I totally agree with everyone that has posted that CD players sound different and the difference can be more than subtle. There's no doubt in my mind either. However, I don't agree that more money necessarily buys a better product. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not.

High end CDPs design is as much art as it is science. Nobody knows the secret formula to a perfect CDP. All the manufacturers design them differently in hopes of producing better sound. It's very possible for a £1000 CDP to out peform a £3000 CDP.

Secondly, I would say that a good transport and a good DAC is a better investment than a good CDP because the former can do everything the latter can do, but not vice-versa.

Thridly, I think we are going to start seeing more and more mainstream hi-res recordings available via the internet. So while the data density of a redbook CD is fixed, a DAC will be able to take advantage of these alternative hi-res sources which exceed CD quality.

 

[idc]

Since the component parts of a decent DAC are not that expensive, more and more amps and CDPs will make themselves more usable and marketable by adding in a DAC so that you can connect a PC as well. £1000 CDPs would be able to compete by allowing their presumably high quality DAC to be used independently of the transport. A £1000 stand alone CDP will continue to lose its 'point' in the market place.

 

[manicm]

idc:Since the component parts of a decent DAC are not that expensive, more and more amps and CDPs will make themselves more usable and marketable by adding in a DAC so that you can connect a PC as well. £1000 CDPs would be able to compete by allowing their presumably high quality DAC to be used independently of the transport. A £1000 stand alone CDP will continue to lose its 'point' in the market place.

Not to take away anything from a standalone DAC, but using your same logic a Linn DS component (conceptually the same as it has its own built-in non-exposed DAC) would also 'lose its point in the market place' - and many would beg to differ here.

There'll always be a point and place for the CDP, standalone DAC and players like Linn DS just as there will always be for the humble turntable.

Let's not get carried away.

 

[chunky70]

I started this thread 6 years ago (where has that went). How do people think about this subject now especially since dac technology has improved so much.
Or is disc based sound now in decline?

 

[chunky70]

I started this thread 6 years ago (where has that went). How do people think about this subject now especially since dac technology has improved so much.
Or is disc based sound now in decline?

 

[Native_bon]

If you got a streamer, for example blue ray players, you can tailor sound to your taste. Having said that blue ray players sound so good these days you may not even need a dac. I would never buy a dedicated cd player again, dnt see need for it.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

I started this thread 6 years ago (where has that went). How do people think about this subject now especially since dac technology has improved so much.
Or is disc based sound now in decline?

Nice one... Good question.

Considering cd quality is still the 'target' of this soft era - you can't really argue dedicated disc based sound is in decline.

In fact judging on my last few purchases (I still use CD) it's still improving.

What has changed is the cost to play them - you'll pay less for more with players today.

A stand alone DAC, hard drive, subscription fee's (if you use a soft service) and time it takes to rip a cd is 'expensive'. I see a con actually.

I think the earlier replys still stand - you get what you pay for. A quality CD player offers better vfm.

A stand alone DAC won't turn pigs ears into silk purses.

 

[chebby]

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[chebby]

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