[No Deal]

Since tube rolling allows the tailoring of an amplifiers sound, how good does a CD source really need to be? What characteristics should the player have to have good synergy with the amp? Is detailed with a good sound stage enough to let the tubes do the rest? Do good tubes compensate for an average CD player?

I am struggling with whether or not I should live with my newly acquired sub $500 Onkyo or move up a level or two. If my amp won't care, I can spend my money elsewhere.

 

[swt61]

You can't polish a turd. Trying to tune your sub standard CD player by tube rolling your amp would be a futile effort IMO. While you might be able to mask certain problems, you'll never be able to acquire more resolution and detail from tube rolling your amp.

 

[Rednamalas1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can't polish a turd. Trying to tune your sub standard CD player by tube rolling your amp would be a futile effort IMO. While you might be able to mask certain problems, you'll never be able to acquire more resolution and detail from tube rolling your amp.

X2 on polishing
I use iAudio X5L w/ FLAC (shudder) ->BADA PH-12 -> K701 for my main rig
I'm upgrading to decent CD player as soon as I get some money

 

[No Deal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can't polish a turd. Trying to tune your sub standard CD player by tube rolling your amp would be a futile effort IMO. While you might be able to mask certain problems, you'll never be able to acquire more resolution and detail from tube rolling your amp.

So, are you saying that I should go for maximum resolution and let the amp warm the sound?

 

[Asr]

That's exactly what you should do! Max detail with max clarity! Blow your budget and your mind! Snazzle, poof, and shazzam! I tell you, my former Arcam FMJ CD33 and Singlepower Extreme combo (Cayin HA-1A too) was foolproof eargasmic! Go go go!

 

[HiWire]

The Audio Research CD-7 that I heard was about $9,000, with a tube output section. Tubes don't automatically dirty or correct a source's sound...

 

[No Deal]

Looks like I will need to find something better to feed this amp. There are a couple of used FMJ36 units around. Then there is the Cambridge 840C. I don't know if either of these will work well with this amp. Maybe I'll roll the dice.

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since tube rolling allows the tailoring of an amplifiers sound, how good does a CD source really need to be? What characteristics should the player have to have good synergy with the amp? Is detailed with a good sound stage enough to let the tubes do the rest? Do good tubes compensate for an average CD player? I am struggling with whether or not I should live with my newly acquired sub $500 Onkyo or move up a level or two. If my amp won't care, I can spend my money elsewhere.

You can't add details that are lacking (due to the source) just because you add a killer amp. You can change the sound of your signal with an amp (make it brighter, bassier, etc.) but if your CD player doesn't pick up that tiny brush across a high-hat (it's all about micro-details with high-end equipment!) a $10,000 amp isn't going to make it appear out of nowhere.

A tube amp will (IMO) sound much better than a solid state amp of the same price range almost all of the time. So, yeah, a tube amp will make your music sound better, but only incrementally. You'd probably get more mileage out of getting a better source.

Source first!!! I can't emphasize this enough. A 5 star CD player through a 3 star amp will sound better than a 3 star CD player through a 5 star amp.

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

I agree 100% with what the others have posted. I'm in pretty good shape with the Zana Deux as my amp. Going from a Esound E5 to a Musical Fidelity Xray V3 was a nice jump in the overall sound of my rig. Then spending more serious cash on my current Resolution Audio Opus 21 CDP just took things to whole new levels. Spend as much as you can afford on your source. You will not regret it when combined with a good amp.

A_Sr.

 

[Negatron]

Not knowing the funds situation, a good starting point is an used Rega Planet (built like a tank) and that will give you a good transport to move to an upper tier DAC and later on, a top end transport. (It never ends anyway) And nothing really wrong with the Rega.

 

[No Deal]

I tried to do the source on the cheap. I had visions of taking a foray into vinyl and I wanted to save some cash. I have since changed my mind. The Onkyo that I bought is not a bad player by any means but hearing how it sounds with my amp has just made me wonder what I might be missing by not having a higher quality source. Now I can only hope that the WA6 will be satisfied with something in the $1-2k range since I can't tube roll my way to bliss.

I don't want to get into things that would be discussed better over in the dedicated source forum but I will try to get more out of this amp with one of the players that have been mentioned here.

 

[krmathis]

As good as possible, or that you can afford.
A nice tube amplifier can't fix a "broken" signal from a bad CD source.

 

[greggf]

I'm in the process of going from the Arcam CD33 to the Onkyo 7555 and from the Eddie Current Zana Deux to the headphone jack of of a Denon integrated amp in order to REGAIN a sense of music and to lose detached audiophile detail.

Oddly, there has been no loss of detail anyway, and the music is much more organic with the Onkyo.

The CD33 isn't the CD36, but I'm unclear as to the changes.

I'd suggest that it's not the ZD that's amusical, but, rather, the Arcam's presentation of extreme detail. Detail is not music - although it can be fun for a certain type of listener.

The groupthink here, in terms of more $ = better sound, is rather manic. We'd all like to think that we can control the sound, and spending money is one of the few ways that we can command that control, but it's an illusion. Good sound seems to arise almost spontaneously, via horizontal moves as well as vertical ones.

 

[greggf]

Asr,

You might want to make your thoughts clearer - I think what you said went over most folks' heads.

I also think people should re-read what Asr said.

And how he said it.

 

[Jingo Lingo]

Quote:

The groupthink here, in terms of more $ = better sound, is rather manic. We'd all like to think that we can control the sound, and spending money is one of the few ways that we can command that control, but it's an illusion. Good sound seems to arise almost spontaneously, via horizontal moves as well as vertical ones.

I very much agree with you there. In sources especially, why should more money = better sound? The technology is quite mature by now. Many of them use very similar transports and the total cost of the components cant be that expensive. Slap on an impressive looking enclosure and a $2000 price tag and there you have it. It simply must be better because it cost more...