Why I have ended my love affair with CD.

admin_exported

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The compact disc. Mind-exploding technology in 1981...it's now twenty-seven years later and us hi-fi buffs are still using it as our main format for playing music. So isn't it time for us to rethink the format's position in our lives? I have, and I believe the computer is just as good a source for hi-fi. Does anyone else agree?
 
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Anonymous

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And so the question arrises: What is the best hi-fi stereo soundcard money can buy? And do I need to buy a DAC for it to get standards of audio quality that would supress a CD player of £2000 for under £1000?
 

JamesOK

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Hmm, this is an interesting question. Certainly seems that more and more people are moving towards home networking, windows media player etc. I went to the Bristol show a few months back and they demo'ed some really impressive kit using Windows media player and the apple equivalent (i forget the name). But do you really want to have a PC in your listening room with all the associated stuff? Isnt it much easier just to select the CD from your shelf, press eject, press play, sit back and listen?

Having said that, I have two stereos in my house, my arcam setup for me, and a cheap Mission 780/Cambridge Audio combo for downstairs. Downstairs my source for music is a jack to two phono cable which I plug my iPod into. I always rip my CDs at the highest bit rate possible on iTunes (320 Kbps) and this sounds good.
 
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Anonymous

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I found a good offering from PS Audio - the Digital Link III.

It seems to be a high-quality £800 DAC which features a USB input for the PC. Has anybody heard of it or tested it?
 

Thaiman

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[quote user="Hughes123"]do I need to buy a DAC for it to get standards of audio quality that would
supress a CD player of £2000 for under £1000?[/quote]

Stello DP200, 2nd hand = £1000....sound like £3K player upward! Amazing find by me :)
 

Charlie Jefferson

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[quote user="Hughes123"]I have, and I believe the computer is just as good a source for hi-fi[/quote]

And there was me thinking good, old cumbersome vinyl was the best medium for sound. Hardly portable, ritualistic, fetishistic. . .and don't get me started on it's good points. My iPod & 500GB hard drive are both rammed with music and I've got thousands of CDs littered around the place but it's still vinyl that makes me actually feel I'm listening to music.
 

survivor

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[quote user="Charlie Jefferson"][quote user="Hughes123"]I have, and I believe the computer is just as good a source for hi-fi[/quote] And there was me thinking good, old cumbersome vinyl was the best medium for sound. Hardly portable, ritualistic, fetishistic. . .and don't get me started on it's good points. My iPod & 500GB hard drive are both rammed with music and I've got thousands of CDs littered around the place but it's still vinyl that makes me actually feel I'm listening to music.[/quote]

Well said Charlie! I must admit initially I got caught up in the great CD buying frenzy some years back but after awhile I tired of them, started questioning the sound quality, the naff plastic cases which always break, the booklets which are sometimes impossible to read without a decent microscope and have often been creased whilst being inserted at the factory(that`s really annoying!), the ones that have `crystalized`!? and are now unplayable (the early 90`s seems to be the worst time for this) and the sheer inconsistency of the sound quality soon brought me back to my cherished vinyl collection. I now regret buying so many albums on cd when I could have got them on vinyl at the time. Oh, not to mention certain albums being re-mastered on cd twice or even sometimes three times! I also hate the way you can buy cds off a supermarket shelf like a can of beans. Doesn`t feel like a true record sale to me.

It`s very useful to have some music on the pc to listen to whilst doing computer based activities but I can`t see it ever becoming my main source.

So yep, my love affair with cds ended some years back.

Long live vinyl!
 
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Anonymous

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I'd love to agree with you, but all records I have heard on my Project Debut III have been lacking in dynamics and no soundstage to speak of. Is it the turntables fault, and would buying a second-hand LP12 for £700ish improve things?
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Hughes123"]I'd love to agree with you, but all records I have heard on my Project Debut III have been lacking in dynamics and no soundstage to speak of. Is it the turntables fault, and would buying a second-hand LP12 for £700ish improve things?[/quote]

..........or a brand new clear audio emotion. Fabulous turntable i've got my beady eyes on!!!
 

drummerman

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[quote user="Hughes123"]The compact disc. Mind-exploding technology in 1981...it's now twenty-seven years later and us hi-fi buffs are still using it as our main format for playing music. So isn't it time for us to rethink the format's position in our lives? I have, and I believe the computer is just as good a source for hi-fi. Does anyone else agree?[/quote]

I guess its inevitable but to me hifi or listening to music is still a tactile experience. I like to change a cd or record and I like to have something in my hand/possesion when I buy music even if its only a little plastic case/booklet and silver disc. Listening can be an intensive experience and personally I have radio/freeview on for background listening and reserve music I bought for times when I really want to chill (or get worked up before going out or to the gym). This is also the reason I dont have an mp3 player but a DAB portable. There are to many distractions about for me to enjoy music when outside plus it gives me ideas for new purchases when I hear something good on radio. I guess music servers/laptops are fine and the future of HD/Solid memory playback but a noisy pc with accompanying switch mode power supply is not to great.
 
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Anonymous

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I guess its inevitable but to me hifi or listening to music is still a tactile experience. I like to change a cd or record and I like to have something in my hand/possesion when I buy music even if its only a little plastic case/booklet and silver disc.

Hear that? It's the sound of the nail hitting the head' I couldn't agree more. Thing is now there's a generation that's skipped CD altogether (almost)!!!!!!!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="drummerman"]

I guess its inevitable but to me hifi or listening to music is still a tactile experience. I like to change a cd or record and I like to have something in my hand/possesion when I buy music even if its only a little plastic case/booklet and silver disc.
[/quote]

Hear that? It's the sound of the nail hitting the head' I couldn't agree more. Thing is now there's a generation that's skipped CD altogether (almost)!!!!!!!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="JAXON5"]hing is now there's a generation that's skipped CD altogether (almost)!!!!!!![/quote]

Ahemm...
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Hughes123"][quote user="JAXON5"]hing is now there's a generation that's skipped CD altogether (almost)!!!!!!![/quote]

Ahemm...
[/quote]

No need for that patronizing tone

This generation of teenagers have grown up on MP3 downloads/ itunes. This is a FACT. Buying Cds for a significant number of them is wasting money as they just download it (whether free or legally). So you can take back your 'ahemm' silly man.
 

drummerman

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[quote user="JAXON5"]
[quote user="Hughes123"][quote user="JAXON5"]hing is now there's a generation that's skipped CD altogether (almost)!!!!!!![/quote]
Ahemm...
[/quote] No need for that patronizing tone This generation of teenagers have grown up on MP3 downloads/ itunes. This is a FACT. Buying Cds for a significant number of them is wasting money as they just download it (whether free or legally). So you can take back your 'ahemm' silly man.

[/quote]

There's definitively something in the air today. Could become interesting
emotion-11.gif
.

On the subject of the this (young'er) generation, a mates three young girls, 5/9 and 13 have of course their MP3 players and download music but they still enjoy going to stores and choose cd's there. They love to sing and quite often the lyrics are accompanying the cd's.
 
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Anonymous

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Sure thing DM . My sister (who is 17) also occasionally buys cds too. My point is though whearas for my generation buying cds was the norm (or buying vinyl), for the majority nowadays buying cds supplements the downloading rather than the other way around which i can understand given the convenience/ accessibilty/ monetary advantages. Of course this is not a hard and fast rule but i'd say it is a significant trend. (lets face it this is not new news). What i do object too is misplaced authority and plain rudeness from certain people when they clearly have missed the point (not for the first time).
 

drummerman

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[quote user="JAXON5"]What i do object too is misplaced authority and plain rudeness from certain people when they clearly have missed the point (not for the first time).[/quote]

I can't speak for Hughes123 but he's usually an easy going chap so I'd bet his Arcam he did'nt mean anything by it. By the way, what amplifier are you using with your new proacs?
 
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Anonymous

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Ok no probs. Forgotten about it already! im using primare I21 primare a30.2 power ( pre 30 in the pipeline)
 
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Anonymous

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It wasn't patronising, it was mearly an effort to say "what about me". I don't download, havn't done it once and the only reason I'm switching to PC is because the quality is just as good for the price (if you do it right) and you have any song at the click of a mouse. I'm not making silly asumptions that miss the point, I'm afraid that's what you are doing, JAXON5.

But I should have made my point a little clearer, so I admit I was a little wrong...
 
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Anonymous

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It's fine listening to music via your computer and streaming it around the house but waht happens when the computer dies and you loose all your music...............they may be old hat but I prefer my cd's and LP's
 
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Anonymous

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These modern gadgets can't hold a candle to my wax cylinder collection and player, not that I'm a luddite or anything
emotion-4.gif
 

Alec

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[quote user="wannobear"]It's fine listening to music via your computer and streaming it around the house but waht happens when the computer dies and you loose all your music...............they may be old hat but I prefer my cd's and LP's[/quote]

You dont lose any music because you buy a cheap as chips external hdd, back your music up on it, and you're covered.
 
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Anonymous

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Now I have some time on
my hands (if not the money) I've been thinking of upgrading my
ancient hifi (rega planar 3/rotel ra820bx3/rotel rcd960bx /wharfedale
diamond 2).

But I don't think I'll
be buying another CD player in a hurry, my attention is firmly focused
on USB audio transports and DACs right now, and here's why:

[*]
Recent disability
means the convenience of computer based hifi is very attractive to
me.

[*]
I have always
found the marketing and pricing of hifi kit a bit of a minefield.
I'm not in the market for a >= £1000 CDP and wonder just
how many people do spend this kind of money as opposed to those who
think spending £1000 on an entire hifi system is pretty crazy.
I think computer based audio has the potential for comparable
performance (to my ears at least) to sub £500 CD players.

[*]
A very cheap
chaintech AV-710 sound card @ £20 with a wolfson DAC (WM8728)
on its rear 2-channel output has a stereo performance in my system
which is little different to my Rotel RCD965BX. This is when either
playing CDs from the computer's DVD drive, or using ripped lossless
files on hard drive. If a cheapo sound card can be this good, just
how much better would a trends audio UD-10.1 combined with a
beresford DAC be?

I might miss the demise
of the LP, but my rega is for the most part idle. If I want to
listen to modern recording artists in the Classical music world then
I have no choice but to purchase CDs and playing them from a computer
suits me just fine.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I have to admit that I always had a loathing of record players and really didn't build up my classical music collection till CD appeared.

What amazes me is how slow Hi Fi enthusiasts have been to cotton on to Apple Computers who provide a beautifully made and Integrated home Media system. PC's are for offices and geeks and Macs are lovely friendly machines that perfectly integrate Music, TV programs, Movies and Photographs in one machine.

We discovered that people were deserting hi fi a couple of years ago when CD players sales slowed and enquiries showed it was caused by a switch to Apple. I suppose it's not surprising when you consider that 141 million iPods have sold and that some of them sound better than separates if you buy decent headphones.

PC's always have dreadful sound quality from their analogue outputs but Macs don't, they aren't bad and we've got customers who swear that their Mac Mini's sound better than £1000 CD players highly recommended by this magazine.

However the real use for a Mac is it's vastly superior user interface to any hi fi, so the whole family can use it. From the hi fi perspective, they all have optical digital outputs and can play up to 24/96 files, so all you need is a DAC (or our ADM9's).

Interestingly a number of professionals don't like what Record Companies do to their work and would like 24 bit duplicates of the originals sold alongside the normal stuff, already some are available as downloads from companies like Gimmell but also on DVD whose audio only tracks are 24 bit too. If you can play them there's a Sam Philips Album available that is regarded as very well produced.

I'd say that CD players are almost a dead duck, that few if any mechs are still made for them and then only for Audiophile die hards. It's time to look to Computers as the centre of a really good hi fi system and www.apple.com/store is the best place to start.

Ashley
 

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