[ReignHavoK]

Hi all,
I have a Creative E5 DAC/Amp combo and using it with a set of Sennheiser HD600. I was wondering if its worth getting a Sony discman that has toslink out and connect to the E5.

I want a portable option as well as just using my PC.
I'm not interested in getting a mp3 player as I want to use CDs

Thanks.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I have a Creative E5 DAC/Amp combo and using it with a set of Sennheiser HD600. I was wondering if its worth getting a Sony discman that has toslink out and connect to the E5.

I want a portable option as well as just using my PC.
I'm not interested in getting a mp3 player as I want to use CDs

If you really want to 1) use CDs and 2) something portable, then you can't really ask if it's worth it to buy a CDP with toslink out since any reason for why it isn't will go against your need to use a portable CD player, like mechanical parts that wear out sooner than easily swappable SD cards. Not to mention skipping and such if you're moving, bulky CDs to carry, exposing the CD copy to higher likelihood of wear and tear, the mechanical parts going through AA batteries faster than any modern device using a 7.2v Li-Ion battery and solid state memory despite the CPU...

The only argument for it apart from your requirements is that it's easier to replace rechargeable AA batteries than sending a DAP back to get its battery replaced. Then again, why not just try your smartphone via USB OTG instead of buying a discman with mechanical parts?

 

[ReignHavoK]

I have loads of CDs I listen to, I could probably save them to my PC in a lossless format.

Cheers.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I have loads of CDs I listen to, I could probably save them to my PC in a lossless format.

Just rip them to FLAC into the PC, just use higher compression ratio for smaller file sizes. HDD vibration will not be a problem that affects the sound quality unless you have a case with no dampening on the HDD rails, and even then, if you're playing per album or use a playlist, the computer preloads it all into the RAM or a swap space in your SSD OS drive, so error correction works better (ie it's not reading it in real time anyway).

 

[ReignHavoK]

Just rip them to FLAC into the PC, just use higher compression ratio for smaller file sizes. HDD vibration will not be a problem that affects the sound quality unless you have a case with no dampening on the HDD rails, and even then, if you're playing per album or use a playlist, the computer preloads it all into the RAM or a swap space in your SSD OS drive, so error correction works better (ie it's not reading it in real time anyway).

Sounds good to me, thanks for the advice!

 

[Redcarmoose]

At times I'm using toslink from a player to a DAC and think it sounds better than any USB to computer audio. But............I may be mistaken. Many folks just love to use CDs and If you have a collection then there is nothing wrong with using them. Many here will argue that they are going to sound the same as FLAC rips stored on your drive. Still it's up to your ears to tell if there could be a difference.

Big FLAC collections are going to be much more easy to use though.