CD player?
Sep 8, 2011 at 10:03 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 45
justie

justie

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ok, up until now ive been using my pc with usb out as a source but im curious about CD players. What i would like to know is if there is any big siginificant benefit to using a dedicated cd player as a source over using lossless audio from a pc. Assuming both are using an external dac and amp of course. If there is a great benefit to using cd players, are there any current production cd players that are good but also include disc changers? Thanks for any opinions guys :)
 
Sep 8, 2011 at 10:45 PM Post #3 of 45
For me I would stay away from the computer.  To me when using a computer I can do many different things and listen to the music.  When using a CD player I'm away from the computer so I can focus completely on the music.
 
Plus I like getting a CD, putting it in and out and etc.  
 
Sep 9, 2011 at 9:44 AM Post #5 of 45
I hear a more complete soundstage with my CD Player, and yes there are quite big differences in sound. Computer is quite...digital to me.
 
Sep 11, 2011 at 6:16 PM Post #7 of 45
thats what some people are telling me. Some are saying if its an external dac and ur using the exact same files ripped in lossless then they sound exactly the same while some people are claiming better soundstage and 'life' with a cd player. very confusing :/
 
Sep 11, 2011 at 9:32 PM Post #9 of 45
I run a dedicated CD player because they don't have several whirring fans inside, I don't need to have a monitor on to choose music and the CD player has a remote.

Yes, I know there are workarounds for these things. However, I also play many SACDs and those cannot be ripped to a server.
 
Sep 12, 2011 at 2:32 AM Post #10 of 45
I don't have any SACDs. I use lossless files from my laptop out to my Cary DAC. I've had it at meets and several have heard it. I've listened to CD players and with a good DAC I find it difficult to tell the difference. Perhaps with a higher end CDP there might be. Who's to say?
 
Sep 12, 2011 at 7:44 AM Post #11 of 45
I also found that if you connect your CD player to an DAC, you're more listening to the sound of your amp rather than the CD Player.
 
Sep 17, 2011 at 6:10 AM Post #12 of 45
Cd playback is a more mature technology than computer audio so you have to have a pretty serious computer based system to rival the sound of a decent CD player, even one from the 1980s.
Plus everyone is dumping CD players in preference for the convenience of a computer based system so you can get a lot of bargains in 2nd hand machines.
If you feel like checking out dedicated players it's a good time to buy.
The issue is more do you want to throw a lot of money at a technology which is rapidly declining and have to deal with possibly not being able to find anyone to service a cd player in 5 years time when it has a fault.
I think therefore if you are going to get into a dedicated source in a big way, vinyl makes more sense as the players will still be running in 50 years.
 
Sep 17, 2011 at 7:25 AM Post #13 of 45
justie said:
ok, up until now ive been using my pc with usb out as a source but im curious about CD players. What i would like to know is if there is any big siginificant benefit to using a dedicated cd player as a source over using lossless audio from a pc. Assuming both are using an external dac and amp of course. If there is a great benefit to using cd players, are there any current production cd players that are good but also include disc changers? Thanks for any opinions guys :)
Click to expand...


In theory there should be no difference. But of course: A good source/external DAC is going to sound better than a poor CD player, a good CD player is going to sound better than a poor source/external DAC. Obviously a CD player is easier to setup correctly but given two correctly setup systems and decent equipment there should be virtually zero difference.

The same is true if you are only using the CD as a source but any difference should be even lower than "virtually zero"!

G
 
Sep 17, 2011 at 7:53 AM Post #14 of 45
Thanks a bunch guys :) i think i probably wont get a cd player as a source. My dad does have an old cd/dvd player which he doesnt use anymore though. Will it make a difference if i use the player as a source connected to an externa dac say...a bifrost in a future as compared to my pc playing lossless connected to the bifrost. Will it have a difference?
 
Sep 17, 2011 at 8:00 AM Post #15 of 45
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