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CD Player/DAC Question

post #1 of 5
1/12/12 at 2:00am
Thread Starter 

I know my question is kind of subjective here but was hoping someone could chime in on this a little. My headphone setup has consisted of the same CD player source now for close to 10 years which is a Music Hall MMF CD-25. When I first got into head fi it was highly recommended as a great bang for your buck CD player. I've been thinking of all kinds of different upgrades tho and right now I'm trying to decide which route to go. So right now my question is whether or not the DAC in this particular player is as good as a stand alone DAC such as the Bifrost. I know that question is subjective but hoping for some ideas. I'm considering a CD player upgrade also but if there is any benefit to be had by purchasing a stand alone DAC I would rather go that route before plopping down the cash for a new CD player at this time. 

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post #2 of 5
1/12/12 at 1:47pm

I first suggest looking up the DAC chip within your CD-25 and finding the specs.  The current CD 25.2 uses the nice burr-brown PCM 1738 24bit/192kHz DAC.

 

I think the Cirrus Logic CS4398 does a slightly better job, but in the end the amp and headphone may be the thing to change.

 

Answer the following questions for us:

1.)  What do you NOT like about the sound you are currently receiving from your CD-25?

2.)  What headphones / speakers do you listen to the most?

3.)  Take your favorite tracks and make low loss mp3's out of them.  Listen to the those on your mp3 player and go back and forth to between it and your CD-25.  Do you hear a difference?  If not the DAC is probably not something you need to replace.

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post #3 of 5
1/12/12 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 

I don't know the exact model number for it but I do know it's a burr brown of some type 24 bit 96K DAC. To answer the first question I'm not really sure there is anything I dislike about the sound but wondering if it can be improved in any way. I only listen through my headphones right now which are HD600s. To answer your last question it seems pretty clear that replaying the DAC is probably not the route to go. Was curious none the less. But that leads to some new questions which I've yet to get any answers from anyone on. I know in the not to distant future I will be upgrading to some better headphones. I worry tho that if I upgrade my headphones that my CD player could be a bottle neck but if I get a new player to prepare for better headphones will my HD600s scale up good enough until I am able to upgrade the phones? Maybe I'm overthinking this but not sure what route to go. 

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post #4 of 5
1/13/12 at 3:10pm

For me the biggest difference in sound was to first change the headphone.  The HD-600 and 650 are tricky headphones with many positives, but ultimately for me were to laid back for my taste.  It took me several years to admit this as I was sure that my expensive headphones had to be great.  I ended up selling my HD-650 for a pair of Denon AH-D2000 and Beyer DT990 which I really like.  If you are like me and like the HD-600, but are looking for something else perhaps simply changing the headphone would do the trick.

 

I think the DAC within your CD player is probably pretty good.  Perhaps a different amp may help.  If you want to try a combo, keeping in mind that you can return it, try the AH-D2000 with the Ultra Desktop amp from headroom.  The combo is simply amazing.  You can even feed the Ultra Desktop amp the signal from your CD player so you can hear all the greatness without worrying about your DAC limiting your enjoyment.

 

If you do not like it and wish to return it I believe headroom still has their 90-day return policy.  If you do not want to take the amp for a test listen then I highly suggest the AH-D2000.  Perhaps it is as simple as changing you headphones.  It was for me in the end...that and upgrading my amp to something that could handle feeding my headphones a cleaner and more controlled flow of current.

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post #5 of 5
1/14/12 at 12:18am
Thread Starter 

I've been through 4-5 amps already since I got into headfi and have settled on the lyr for the foreseeable future. Obviously there are better sounding amps out there but for the price it's a fine amp and will pretty much be able to handle anything I throw at it. It looks like the future for me will be deciding on some different headphones to try.  

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