[classicalguy]

The convenience of being able to switch between tagged tracks can't be beat. I NEVER use my CD player anymore, and it was the most expensive piece of equipment I own. Kind of a sad purchase. It's very inconvenient to physically switch disks. If you enjoy the inconvenience, have at it. I want to listen to music as conveniently as possible. And the SQ is as good as whatever audio equipment you have.

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhuang /img/forum/go_quote.gif because it cost more than a cd player? a decent/good computer with let say over 500gb cost at least 2000 dollars us(or 15000 hk dollars) of course unless you build it your own one but still that will cost you close to 1500(or 10000). for 1500 dollars, you can get a pretty damn good cd player. plus i haven't bought/build a pc for the past five, seven years. a laptop doesn't have that much space. most cd players look better

this is simply not true
mac mini $599
500g HD $169
apogee Duet $500
total $1270 for a kick arse system that also acts as my DVD player and feeds my HD tv through a 25 ft dvi to hdmi cable.

If you wanted a different dac no sweat you still have a budget of $1230 for a dac with this system. If you don't dig macs for a computer don't think of it as such it is a media hub. Again I would put this up against any $2k cdp and then some. Next week I am integrating a Kora Hermes dac into this system with the use of a hagusb to convert usb to aes

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by m3_arun /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the reason many CD players are better is that reading CD's is an art that has been perfected for over 20 years, whereas using computers as high-fidelity transports for audio is a relatively new thing.

are you basing this on fact of pure conjecture?? Reading a CD is not an art in any sense of the word reading a cd is simply getting the data off the disk in the most accurate manner possible. Using a computer allows for multiple reads and rechecks to get the most accurate data transfer to the HD. CDs perform error correction to get the most accurate read possible there should be little difference.

 

[White Mike]

Although there is rarely room for the moderate point-of-view on these forums, this is definitely a case of neither being better than the other... just different.
Those that push a particular case any further are only seeking validation.

 

[grawk]

I fail to see how saying a computer can make a good transport is an extreme position.

 

[White Mike]

It's not.
This on the other hand is a little more so...

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I will tell you that a properly set up computer as a transport works better than a cd player, and I'm not confused....

I have the exact same 840c/SB3 setup as Morphsci so I am very easily able to have the best of both worlds. I've always found there are definitely different positive experiences that can be assosciated to each method of playing the music.

 

[grawk]

I'd put my setup against yours any time, you coming to canjam?

 

[Arainach]

A few points:

Time - I turn on my CD player cold and press play, I've got audio in under 10 seconds. I've never seen a computer that can cold-boot that fast. Vista can return from sleep mode that fast, which is a notable improvement over every other OS I've used, but sleep mode and a cold start aren't the same thing. Plus then I have to start the media player, find the song I want, make it play, etc.
Noise - It's difficult and tedious to make a computer silent, and especially with hard drive noise and vibrations you usually won't get around some background hum. Even my cheap CE-595 is silent while playing.
Remote Control - Yes, you can theoretically get one with your computer, but that's added cost, configuration time, and hoping it works with both your OS and your media player of choice. The one with my CD player comes stock, is compatible with universal remotes, and requires no setup.
No Background Noise - I won't have pop-up ads screaming about Viagra right at the climax of a Mahler symphony. I also won't have problems with different applications being at different volume levels.

It's nice to have my music library digitized - it's a joy to have it on my iPod, and even on the computer it's occasionally convenient. But when I want to listen to music, 19 times out of 20 I press play on the CD player, not on foobar2000.

 

[grawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arainach /img/forum/go_quote.gif A few points: Time - I turn on my CD player cold and press play, I've got audio in under 10 seconds. I've never seen a computer that can cold-boot that fast. Vista can return from sleep mode that fast, which is a notable improvement over every other OS I've used, but sleep mode and a cold start aren't the same thing. Plus then I have to start the media player, find the song I want, make it play, etc.

why shut it down? My mac boots from sleep in seconds. Faster than my dvd2900.

Quote:

Noise - It's difficult and tedious to make a computer silent, and especially with hard drive noise and vibrations you usually won't get around some background hum. Even my cheap CE-595 is silent while playing.

My mini makes noise, but not louder than ambiant noise, and disappears once music is playing. But if that's a huge concern, there are good solutions for silencing computers.

Quote:

Remote Control - Yes, you can theoretically get one with your computer, but that's added cost, configuration time, and hoping it works with both your OS and your media player of choice. The one with my CD player comes stock, is compatible with universal remotes, and requires no setup.

My mini came with a remote, it's compatible with universal remotes, and required no setup
Quote:

No Background Noise - I won't have pop-up ads screaming about Viagra right at the climax of a Mahler symphony. I also won't have problems with different applications being at different volume levels.

I've never had a popup on my mini, and it doesn't even have to be connected to the internet to work as a music server.

Quote:

It's nice to have my music library digitized - it's a joy to have it on my iPod, and even on the computer it's occasionally convenient. But when I want to listen to music, 19 times out of 20 I press play on the CD player, not on foobar2000.

I keep my cds because I feel like selling them sells my right to keep the music. I even rip my sacds via my adc, because I hate messing with discs and stopping to change discs every 30-80 minutes.

 

[thedauntlessone]

^^^^ Damn grawk beat me to it

Time - OSX boots from sleep in 1 second literally
Noise - No noise coming from my MBP. I can only say there will be less noise coming from MB
Remote Control - There is one for Mac computers
No Background Noise - Ever heard of Firefox?

 

[Arainach]

And let's not forget the economical point:

Mac Mini Power Consumption: 110W
Sony CE-595 Power Consumption (Playing): 15W

Sorry, but if I'm going to have such a power-hungry device sitting around, it's going to be a workstation, not a dedicated "music PC". Hence the volume issues and such.

 

[Dominat0r]

I have a SACD player and its miles ahead of my PC in terms of audio Quality...and its not even a expensive one either. I received it as a birthday gift, however ive seen them go for around 100$. Its the one mentioned above in Arianach's post (the CE-595)

Also, i game alot on my machine so its more of a hassle to games and music running.

Now unless you rip all your music to FLAC or some other lossless format then you cannot even to begin to compare MP3 quality vs CD quality.

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arainach /img/forum/go_quote.gif And let's not forget the economical point: Mac Mini Power Consumption: 110W Sony CE-595 Power Consumption (Playing): 15W Sorry, but if I'm going to have such a power-hungry device sitting around, it's going to be a workstation, not a dedicated "music PC". Hence the volume issues and such.

if you are going to quote specs please be accurate the 100 rating is at max consumption with 23 at idle oh and if you choose sources and amps based on power consumption and not sound then I feel for your ears man. I guess I should turn in my tube pre and power amp as well

Also just to point out the lunacy of the power consumption thought in California a kilowatt hour is 12 cents so 10 hours of 100 watt consumption is 12 cents so if you use it for 2 hours a day for a week you broke the bank at 17 cents Yikes. Feel free to correct me if I have somehow misconstrued the power cost statement

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HighLife /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a SACD player and its miles ahead of my PC in terms of audio Quality...and its not even a expensive one either. I received it as a birthday gift, however ive seen them go for around 100$. Its the one mentioned above in Arianach's post (the CE-595) Also, i game alot on my machine so its more of a hassle to games and music running. Now unless you rip all your music to FLAC or some other lossless format then you cannot even to begin to compare MP3 quality vs CD quality.

Dom check out Tyrion's set up it will change your mind on the quality issue. I would glady do an after hours face off at canjam with your cdp and Mike's min/duet out of the amp of your choice

 

[radio]

i have always had an expensive cdplayer and i always was pro cd player as they sound "better".

Few years ago a friend of mine showed me his setup where he had a pc -> bit perfect sound card -> chord dac -> sim audio i5.

I listened to his system and was very impressed not knowing it was a pc.

After he told me i had to test my cd player so i took my cd player there arcam 192 and used it and his combo was always better.

After that i started to build my computer which is very quiet. I use a bit perfect sound card and use a ci audio dac with it.

It still sounds better than my 192.

just my .02.

My pc is dedicated for dvd/audio playback. All my cds are sitting on harddrive in flac and bitperfect ripped using eac.

I use winamp and fully confirmed bitperfect it sounds great.

I think a lot of people may have trouble with pcs which come from the techinical aspect of pc.

so far the only cd player that sounds better are ones that are in the 3-4k + range... having said that if i get a better dac i think i would have those cd players run for thier money.