How subtle are differences between CDPs?

[greggf]

I've never before compared one cd player to another in the comfort of my own home, but will be soon.

How major or minor are the differences in sound quality between two competently engineered, same-generation players? Do specs, stats, and technology (24 bit DACS vs. 18 or 20, 8X oversampling vs. upsampling, 2 or 4 DACS vs. just 1 or 2, etc. etc.) really tell you if something will sound better or not?

What should I expect? What should I listen for? How long should I live with multiple units, trying to figure out which is best for me? How do you guys go about it?

Head-Fi is famous for people saying how "big" a difference something makes, when that's really code for, "makes a very, very subtle, yet musically-meaningful (and often expensive) change" for that person. I kind of expect subtle to be the key word. Is that realistic?

I've got a Rotel 1072 coming, mainly for its HDCD capability.

 

[dura]

How big is the difference between musicality and uninvolving sound?
That is what you should listen for, does the music reach you? You have to take your time. Quick bursts will give you an impression about things like bass and soundstage and detail, but you can't choose a CDP your gonna love by these things alone.
It takes time to relax and give the music a chance to grow on you.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Judging by your signature, you'll be moving from one great source to another, so the results will be closer than if you had upgraded from a cheap player.

There can be a huge difference in sound quality between two CD players, enough that you'll hear recordings in different ways. Listen on enough different sources and you'll know what a recording can really sound like.

 

[GarryH]

Gregg,

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Judging by your signature, you'll be moving from one great source to another, so the results will be closer than if you had upgraded from a cheap player. There can be a huge difference in sound quality between two CD players, enough that you'll hear recordings in different ways. Listen on enough different sources and you'll know what a recording can really sound like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dura You have to take your time. Quick bursts will give you an impression about things like bass and soundstage and detail, but you can't choose a CDP your gonna love by these things alone. It takes time to relax and give the music a chance to grow on you.

Good advise - as noted above and from your comments, with more listening experience, the subtleties may seem minor at the moment, however, over time and because we become attuned to them, they're what makes a system enjoyable in the long term.

Enjoy your new Rotel.

Cheers,
Garry

 

[bigshot]

Most midrange CD players use stock parts. What's inside one is very likely to be the same as what's inside another. When choosing a normal price range CD player, it's best to look at the functions and the useability. Build quality and durability matter too. Those will likely make much more of a difference than sound quality.

See ya
Steve

 

[Asr]

greggf, I'm guessing that with your equipment, you'll notice an immediate difference between two CDPs. I remember the first time I owned two sources, they were two DVD players (an Onkyo and NAD), and all I could tell was that there was a difference, but couldn't pin down what made the difference. My equipment at the time was what I'd consider low-end now.

If you've developed your hearing well enough, it's possible to discern two CDPs immediately, as in within 5 minutes. Of course I don't mean you'll understand their sonic signatures completely, I just mean that you'll be able to hear that they're different - I've been able to replicate this as long as I've owned two or more sources, I've always heard a difference immediately. It just takes time to get to know what those differences are and how to interpret them.

Measure of difference is subjective - some people casually throw out "night and day" while others say it's more subtle. I fall somewhere in between - difference can definitely be polarizing (but not enough for "night vs day"), but it's not necessarily something that completely alters what you hear.

As far as how specs influence sound, I find that to be an extremely complicated game. You just can't guess how something will sound based on specs. Many CDP brands use the same parts - DACs, transports, etc, it's really all in both overall and specific implementation. Even within a brand can be a guessing game unless that brand has an established house sound in which case it might be safe to assume higher-level sources are refinements. Aside from that though, there are too many variables. On the subject of multiple DACs specifically, it seems that generally lowers noise floor and improves channel separation - the more DACs there are, the more black the background and the less signal crosstalk/interference occurs. All the high-end CDPs have at least one DAC in each channel - most have two, and some have three or more.

Of course what you just need to do is sit down and find out for yourself the sonic difference between CDPs, it all comes down to what you hear.

 

[greggf]

Thanks all.

What I know so far is that I can hear the difference between an old Sony DVD player playing CDs - muddy and dull - and the Arcam. I think anybody off the street could hear the difference.

What I'm afraid of doing is judging the Rotel, which is on paper a downgrade, as just fine, but then later, regretting the "downgrade" in subtle ways.