[Duncan]

Hiya

On Saturday I'm going to be buying a Cambridge Audio S700 DAC Its list price is $800 but, i'm going to be getting it for a lot less than that

So... The Questions...

1. Which is considered the best 'input'? Electrical, or Digital?
2. Will my EJ1000 technically sound exactly the same as my CD63SE with either/or running through this DAC?
3. Can I use my AudioQuest Quartz III cable to connect the CDP to the DAC?
4. If not... can you please suggest a cable?
5. and... most importantly, just how much does a seperate DAC improve the sound?
6. HDCD output is 3.4v compared to CD at 1.7v... does that mean that HDCDs will play at twice the volume of CD?

Thanks

 

[grinch]

as far as i understand, you're going to HAVE to use one of those mini-to-optical cords to use a pcdp as a transport.. sounds like a big waste of time/money to me. i'd suggest picking up a denon 370, i heard those are great transports. i also hear that coaxial is the way to go for using dacs.. i myself have only used coaxial, so i don't really have much info to give on that subject.

 

[carlo]

Quote:

Which is considered the best 'input'? Electrical, or Digital?

you damned british person, i don't know what an electrical input is. but you'll need a digital output, as grinch said coaxial is normally the standard.
Quote:

Will my EJ1000 technically sound exactly the same as my CD63SE with either/or running through this DAC?

in one theory yes (data is data and it goes through the same dac, blah, blah). but, more than likely, they won't.
Quote:

Can I use my AudioQuest Quartz III cable to connect the CDP to the DAC?

yes, but it lacks a true 75ohm or 110ohm connection so it isn't a "digital cable" and may have some issues with signals. however, i've done the same with normal analog ics into different dacs and it certainly worked.
Quote:

If not... can you please suggest a cable?

i know illuminati used to make a killer cable for relatively cheap (around $60 us), don't know if it's still around.
Quote:

and... most importantly, just how much does a seperate DAC improve the sound?

depends on the dac, there've been instances where i liked the stand alone cd player more than that player+dac. i didn't feel the cambridge s700 was anything close to mind blowing when i tried it a couple of years ago, but liked the cd63se in a properly matched system... so, take that as you will.
Quote:

HDCD output is 3.4v compared to CD at 1.7v... does that mean that HDCDs will play at twice the volume of CD?

well, there's some issues with hdcd decks having +6db signals compared to regular cds (then attenuated down in the analog domain in some cd players). strange and trippy stuff... anyway, with the hdcd equipped decks i've heard it isn't twice as loud, just a little bigger. what's up with that? hell if i know. also, keep in mind i'm not a big proponent of hdcd and don't check to see if player recognizes one or not.

best

carlo

ps grinch... nice theft

 

[Duncan]

Thanks for the replies

Carlo:

Quote:

you damned british person, i don't know what an electrical input is. but you'll need a digital output, as grinch said coaxial is normally the standard

By electrical, I meant Co-Axial, and... Digital is Optical

Quote:

depends on the dac, there've been instances where i liked the stand alone cd player more than that player+dac. i didn't feel the cambridge s700 was anything close to mind blowing when i tried it a couple of years ago, but liked the cd63se in a properly matched system... so, take that as you will.

Uhoh, does that mean i'm throwing my money away?!

And, HDCD... I've only got one HDCD so its no biggy, just strange that the voltage is twice as high?!