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CDP as source, or transport? - Page 2

post #16 of 25
3/5/08 at 2:53am
Thread Starter 
I Actually just purchased a Music Hall MMF CD25 from a member here. I can't wait to try it out.
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post #17 of 25
3/8/08 at 4:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lazarus Short View Post
If you spend a lot of money on a CDP, and it dies, you're up the creek w/o a paddle, unless the CDP has both digital inputs and outputs. I'm sure that's rare. I once took the route of an expensive CDP, and it died, and I took the loss on the chin.

My current strategy is to find a DAC I like [I think a DAC, like a preamp, will last a long time] and use any CD or DVD player for a transport [viewing the transport as a disposable, like brake shoes on a car]. My current transport is a Toshiba DVDP which will not longer play DVD's. I'm sure I will have an endless supply of such units, and in fact, I have three in my possession.

The cost:
DAC/about $70 on eBay - some luck there [Sony ES]
transport/$15 at a flea market

The sound:
wonderful!

Joe, if you want to get together and compare CDP's/DAC's/Transports, drop me a PM.

Laz
Makes a lot of sense, Laz. I'm with you.

Don't forget Goodwills and flea markets. Just picked up a Harman Kardon FL 8380 for $25. I originally got it because it looks good and the headphone jack looks serious. Even has a small volume knob. I wasn't too impressed with the headphone out. OK, but not great. I've been listening to it for the last 6 hours or so in this config: CDP > LD2++ > Cardas > HD650. The DAC is dual 18-bit and sports a Burr-Brown PCM1732. The remote's missing and it has trouble reading my
home-brewed CDs, but it rocks.
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post #18 of 25
3/8/08 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgonino View Post
The whole point of this thread is to find out this:

Is is a better deal to get a CDP with a built in DAC, or use a cheap CDP as a transport to a DAC.

do a search yourself. not that i wouldn't your question. is just that i couldn't answer your question. i was asking/thinking just the same question before and i did a search and i found out there are two groups of people. one is cd player people and the other is dac people.
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post #19 of 25
3/8/08 at 4:39pm
Even better yet use a cheap computer. A computer with a good digital out playing cds ripped well (using something like EAC) and set up to be bit perfect will beat the hell out of almost anything.
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post #20 of 25
3/8/08 at 8:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarkovsky View Post
Even better yet use a cheap computer. A computer with a good digital out playing cds ripped well (using something like EAC) and set up to be bit perfect will beat the hell out of almost anything.
I agree. EAC or Audiograbber, Foobar2000, USB out to a good DAC/amp, good headphones -- tough to beat. Bypasses all the CDP issues.

But I still enjoy the CDP-amp lineup, too. There's a difference, but I can't put my finger on it.
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post #21 of 25
3/8/08 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
I ended up getting a new CDP. I am trying it out right now powering my computer speakers built in amp (Klipsch 2.1). It sounds really good, better than my old DVD player to Zhalou combo.
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post #22 of 25
3/11/08 at 4:19am
How about Oppo? How is the quality of the build in DAC for Oppo 980/981 when compare to player like Marantz 5001?
If have a quality deck, will Oppo's digital output better than a no name dvd player?
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post #23 of 25
3/11/08 at 10:17am
One concern that I have is that every DVD or multi-format player I've used doesn't allow the same rapid seeking as any CD-only player I've owned.

I like to use certain parts of classical cuts as references when comparing headphones or amps, and both my Pioneer multiformat player and Marantz SA8001 take a lot longer to "fast forward" through a long movement (getting 10 minutes into a 23 minute cut, for instance, takes almost 3 minutes of holding the fast forward button.)

Do others have that same experience, or are some newer CD players suffering from that same problem due to use of DVD transports?
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post #24 of 25
3/11/08 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sejarzo View Post
I like to use certain parts of classical cuts as references when comparing headphones or amps, and both my Pioneer multiformat player and Marantz SA8001 take a lot longer to "fast forward" through a long movement (getting 10 minutes into a 23 minute cut, for instance, takes almost 3 minutes of holding the fast forward button.)

Do others have that same experience, or are some newer CD players suffering from that same problem due to use of DVD transports?
When I went out last year to a store to test some stereo thingies I burned a CD with some particular test tones on it , you could burn a CD of music excerpts to do the same function.
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post #25 of 25
3/11/08 at 1:13pm
I've been thinking about making my personal test CD for some time, and you're absolutely right--I should convert a few of the FLAC's back to .wavs, edit them, and burn the disc with only the parts I want (generally, those with greater dynamic range than the rest of the cut.)
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