[taylor]

I'm wondering what to do about my source. Right now I use a PC and a cheap CDP, but i want to get a good source.

So, I've got several options:

Option 1: CDP
Buy a nice CDP, thinking about the NAD 521i. The problem with that is I would have to burn tons of CDs, as currently I rip my dads and my uncles CDs into MP3 and put them on the computer, whilst listening to only a few of my own CDs via the CDP. I would also have to do a lot of disc swapping.

Option 2: MP3P
Buy a Rio Karma, then rip a bunch of CDs into FLAC. Might not sound as good as the NAD 521i, however. This option has the best portability, and is probably the easiest.

Option 3: PC
Buy a big hard drive, rip tons of CDs into it in FLAC, then put it in a the small PC that will sit on the audio shelf, using Foobar to play it, and upgrading the sound card to something good, probably Chaintech AV-710.

I'm currently leaning towards the PC, as I like having a big window full of different kinds of music, without swapping CDs. My concern is that the sound would not be as good as through a regular CDP. The Karma is an interesting idea, but I won't have the 21" diagonal view showing 80 tracks at a time that I love so much about PC-based audio.

So, if I do go for the dedicated audio PC, what sound card should i get? Preferably under $150. The Chaintech AV-710 seemed like a good card, but I want the best sound I can get out of the PC.

They are all similarly priced, the NAD CDP is $200, the Karma is $234, the PC would cost around $215 ($60 for a huge hard drive, $150 for a sound card, $5 for a nice pair of gold plated insulated RCA jacks to mount on the back of the PC if the soundcard doesn't have RCA outs.

I liked the M-Audio Audiophile 2496, but it requires a P3-500, whilst the pc on my audio shelf (at the moment I use it as a TV tuner, but it can be adpted to a FLAC jukebox easily) PC is only a P2-350. If the soundcard needs something faster than the P2-350, then I'll buy a Celeron 1600. Or i could just buy a laptop off ebay, which gives me the feautures of the PC with the portability of the Karma. I could even make a small amplifier for when I am travelling and can't drag my Bradford with me.

 

[GlowWorm]

I vote for option #1.

 

[Wodgy]

Get the Terratec EWX 24/96. This is, in my opinion, the sweet spot of sound cards in terms of price/performance, especially now that it's available for $99. I personally wouldn't waste your time with the Chaintech AV-710; I have one and it's good for a $20 card, but that's pretty much it. The digital output isn't even bit-perfect, unless you install the M-Audio Delta 2448 drivers for it, but this disables some of the card's other features. The M-Audio Revolution is another good choice, but it doesn't sound as warm as the EWX 24/96. You could also send PMs to "sbulack" and "pbirkett" to get more specific opinions about the Terratec card, as they both own it.

Since you don't own a lot of CDs, I don't see the point in investing in a standalone CDP. If you get really heavily into audio, you'll eventually want a standalone source, but it will be something more upscale than the 521i.

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wodgy Since you don't own a lot of CDs, I don't see the point in investing in a standalone CDP. If you get really heavily into audio, you'll eventually want a standalone source, but it will be something more upscale than the 521i.

Good point, but he's talking about now, not eventually. Of course their are better CDP's out there, but he's probably interested in the 521i because it's one of the best options available within his price range. Why not buy a 521i (or something comparable), and slowly invest some money into putting together a decent CD collection, then "eventually" he can upgrade to a better CDP. At least by then he'll have some high quality music to put into it.

 

[taylor]

GlowWorm makes a good point about getting CDs now, because PC sound cards probably can't match up to a high end CDP, so when I have enough money to get an awesome CDP I will already have a bunch of CDs.

How about doing both?
I mean, the AV-710 is pretty cheap, I could get one of those for PC-based audio. I could also get a nice CDP. While I build up a big collection of CDs I could also be listening to pretty good PC audio.

Now, is the NAD 521i a good CDP? I was thinking a Denon DCD-1500 might be another good choice, as would one of the vintage CD changers (the kind with 5+ separate trays, none of that carosel crap).

I have a store nearby that sells older CDPs, I will take a look there soon and see what I can find. A 5 disc changer would be nice.

 

[MN Ham Phones]

Quote:

[ as would one of the vintage CD changers (the kind with 5+ separate trays, none of that carosel crap). ]

I used to own both a Denon and Pioneer CD player with the 5 disc cartridge. Both players failed in the same manner. Spindle motor would not spin up a CD, but when I took the cover off I could spin it up by hand and it would play. Sort of like a high tech Victrola.

I don't own a carousel type player, but I don't trust the cartridige style players.

(Edit- My spelling corrected...)

 

[meat01]

I was also under the impression that magazine changers had a lot more problems than carousel changers, which is why you see more carousels than magazine changers.

 

[soundboy]

Too much mechanical going-on's with magazine-type changers. Stick with carousel changers, if you want a changer. Otherwise, I would opt for a single disc CDP.

 

[taylor]

My uncle had a magazine changer too, it either broke or was stolen.

I just hate that stupid carosel. it takes so long to change discs.

That's why I like magazine changers, you put in 5 CDs you like and can play any of them, change discs quickly, see what discs are in it, and change the discs that aren't playing.

The newer CDPs seem to be a lot slower. When I press the button to eject on my Samsung DVD player, it takes like 3 seconds for it to come out. Same with the fast foreward button. I'm on track 2, I hit the button, doesn't work, hit it again, still doesn't work, hit it one more time and i'm on track 12.

So, i'll look just for single disc players.

So, at the moment my list of choices for CDPs is
NAD CD521i
Denon DCP-1500

Any other good options to add, in the sub-$200 range?

 

[Wodgy]

I would seriously consider the DCP-1500 that Mkmelt pointed out in the "Sources for Sale Forum." Mkmelt usually has very good ears, and the price is right, assuming shipping isn't too bad. Also, if you ever need to sevice it, Peranders over at DIYaudio has a PDF version of the service manual.

 

[taylor]

It costs $30 to ship

I'm going to go to my local usedd hi-fi store and take an inventory. Thye have a ton of those older CDPs, i'm sure I could find a DCP-1500 there, or at least another good vintage CDP. (They have 3 20' walls of shelves, full of CDPs and recievers

But, before I go, what are some of the other good vintage CDPs?

 

[sbulack]

I'm currently using the AOS Piccolo DAC to produce analog audio from my computer. I'm using my Terratec EWX 2496 as a digital interface to my computer, and for its optical digital output. Seeing that Taylor's budget is about $200-ish, and that the AOS Piccolo is about $230.00, is there a sound card less expensive than the Terratec with a decent optical digital out to feed the Piccolo? No need to pay much for a sound card DAC that you're not going to be using. Plus what's nice about putting your money into a portable DAC instead of into a sound card is that a portable DAC is a much more versatile audio component.

The Terratec's DAC produces analog audio that is a substantial step up from the Audigy soundcard I owned previously, but I preferred the analog audio from my Pioneer DV563AS ($160 at Circuit City). BTW, the 563 decodes and plays .mp3's burned onto CD-R's. Using the Piccolo DAC on my computer rig, the analog audio output is easily as good in quality as that from the DV563. In fact, the audio from the DAC is as mesmerizing to listen to, and substantially more detailed with better separation of voices than the analog audio from the 563. My ear happens to really like the sound of the 563: I find its lower sonic component separation to be a more organic presentation of the overall sound. But I really LOVE having both flavors readily available to me now.

Between having the Terratec EWX 2496 producing analog audio, and having the AOS Piccolo DAC producing analog audio, the Terratec produces very nice analog audio, but I'd say that the Piccolo produces very fine analog audio that I'd much rather listen to - for a price.

So again, is there a sound card, less expensive than the Terratec, that can be used for its PC connectivity and an optical digital out to feed the AOS Piccolo? If the Piccolo could be made affordable to Taylor, I think that would be a preferable solution for him in terms of versatility and sound quality.

 

[markl]

Bah humbug, I hate single-disc machines. Give me a good 5-disc changer any day!

 

[sleepkyng]

i'm reccomending the toshiba quite blindly, but it has gotten good reviews and is probably worth the 60 bucks.

with that said, how big a harddrive can you get for 60 bucks? i want more HD space and amthinking of getting a firewire enclosure and making an external hd.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally posted by sleepkyng with that said, how big a harddrive can you get for 60 bucks? i want more HD space and amthinking of getting a firewire enclosure and making an external hd.

About 40GB.