Quote:
Thanks so much for the info! I normally use an aux cable connected to a computer to the receiver but sometimes a $350 CD Player.(Another regretful buy of mine as I can't really tell the difference between it and the computer's aux input.) The receiver is a Cambridge Audio SR10 and the CD player, a CA CD10.
If you can't tell the difference between your computer and a decent* CDP, there are a lot of factors. First, your music could be too compressed (what format are you using?), or the music you listen has less detail, less (acoustic) instruments, less spatial information in the manner that it is recorded. Detail and the number of instruments in the recording can sound very muddy on some systems, basically when you listen to it the presentation can be overwhelming and confusing (on the flipside, some instruments can be unduly emphasized and others not enough) usually because the DAC isn't very good at laying it all out evenly** or the speaker/headphone can't resolve detail well enough.*** Spatial information depends on the microphone configuration during the recording process to simulate their position on the stage. It can be basic stereo recording where one quitar is on the left, the other is on the right, bass and vocals dead center and drums panning left to right depending on which one is struck, or for the most complex spatial info (barring action movies on surround sound), orchestras where playback should allow you to hear where each section is.
My first exposure to decent reproduction was actually in a friend's car. That //////Alpine CDA-9833 playing through Steg amps and Focal speakers was really different enough, tonally as well as with the details that I haven't heard in my music before, got me into all this. Going back to my music on relatively less hi-fi equipment, I realized those details are somewhat there - except when I didn't know they were they were so subtle in the background that
really critical listening (ie I'm looking specifically for detail I wasn't aware of, instead of focusing on listening to music and then I just hear them there along with the midrange) was necessary.
*not to say I actually think it's good value at $350, considering the entry-level, regular chassis size larger Cambridge CDP (350C? Not sure) sounded really weird on my HD600 and Meier Cantate - it's putting the percussions in front of all the other instruments.
**be aware many equipment, including cheap ones, can measure "flat" on a test bench with a test tone like a sine sweep, but many can sound profoundly different with real music; not that test tones are useless, because if your gear measures badly at that point, you shouldn't trust its output on real music
***in some cases the amp cannot drive the speaker/headphone properly - for example when fast, solid bass distorts into what sounds more like mudslide
****if you can, try to borrow CDs from friends into car audio. Look for IASCA or EMMA test CDs - they test for this on car audio competitions
---------------------
Quote:
The biggest problem for me is that I don't have the audiophile ears. I have no idea what really good gear sounds like so I have nothing to compare my gear to. If I can't tell the difference between a $350 CD Player and an aux input to a computer, then maybe audiophile equipment isn't meant for me or there is a problem with what I'm listening with.
I just love listening to music and want the best gear to do justice to the music and help me enjoy it even more.
Well, "audiophile ears" can be summed up as three things: healthy ears (because heck if you're hearing things really wrong to start with), love of music, and knowing your music. You love your music enough you'd know what's in it, and if you listen on a better system, you can hear how it changed. Sometimes that's psychological more than physiological - you might be paying attention to some aspects of the music and ignore the ones that change, for example PRAT (search for it in the audio glossary here), which is something that, among my friends, only my old bandmates were able to notice when they use my equipment. At the same time the flipside on the psychological aspect is that some people will claim that putting some rare-earth magnet on top of a CDPlayer manages to improve the sound worth the thousands of dollars they spent on some suspect crystals.
---------------------
Quote:
I will definitely look into Schiit's return policy though!
If you're using the computer, might as well get the Modi if you're getting the Magni, see how it stacks up against your Cambridge CDP. You can always return it if it doesn't do well enough.
----------------------
Quote:
I'm not sure what you mean by 'audible distortion', but I am going to need a portable closed headphone anyway so I guess that could be my headphones that I use for college. So far, the Sennheiser Momentums look like the best portable closed headphones for the price.
I think they'll be driven easily enough even by a smartphone. Another option is to look into replacing the HD600 with something like the K550, or K551 (this is just the more portable version with a mic on the cable). Lots of detail on these, designed originally as a home audio headphone (perhaps for those who have other people in the house who complain about sound leak?) that can be driven by portable devices, and with a few modifications they came up with an even more portable headphone (shorter cable, mic, etc).
