[PeterG]

With a little luck, I'll be switching from a Sony d-33 (an older portable cd player) to a Denon dcm-370. I'll be using a hd-580 powered by an airhead (does a fine job). Should the improvement be substantial? From what I've heard, the 580s are definitely being held back by my source.

 

[jms007bnd007]

Don't know about the D33, but I like my DCM-370. I think its a great player for the money, if you get one off of ebay that is.

 

[Duncan]

The better PCDPs can sound as good as a $150~$200 CD Player... but are no match for the $300+ crowd....

...I've heard a player that I really want... will mean selling off all of my PCDPs... hmm... life is never easy

 

[vrao81]

Heck yeah get a real cdp. The NAD C541 I have beats the pants off the sony d-303 I also own (which is the best pcdp I've heard and I've tested several).

 

[orl2222]

I agree, The NAD 541i is a hell of a source, best redbook for the price. Try yawa audio, If you call David there, he's got a special price on it for headfi members!

 

[elrod-tom]

You should see the biggest difference in bass response and extension. Dedicated players are also more stable, and thus get truer reproduction from the source.

 

[screwdriver]

Quote:

PCDP to CDP a large gain?

you bet.

 

[blr]

Even a cheap tabletop player (providing you know which one to get) will outperform any PCDP by quite a margin. As already said the frequency extremes and soundstage expand, the sound is a lot more open and relaxed.
I've compared Sony D345 (good old school) and D EJ725 (newer but with good line out) to a modest Technics tabletop and the difference is big. Move to something better and it is like night and day.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by PeterG Should the improvement be substantial?

You'd better believe it!

I had tons of fun listening to my favorite albums again with when I got my SCD-CE775. With full-size players I'd say that the sound you get is also much fuller. It makes PCDPs sound all thin and crappy-like

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by blr Even a cheap tabletop player (providing you know which one to get) will outperform any PCDP by quite a margin.

But on the other hand, buy the wrong cheap tabletop player, and you'll end up with a big, power-hungry, permanently mounted unit that actually underperforms many, though not all, of the PCDPs on the market. (Unfortunately, in the US consumer market, most of the new-model tabletop CDPs under $300 sacrifice performance for capacity and features; their makers spend so much money on looks and storage, and hardly anything whatsoever on sound quality - so that you'll end up with a $150-ish 400-disc jukebox that actually sounds worse than some of the better current-model PCDPs on the market. Unfortunately also, that's what the consumers want.) So can putting a good tabletop CDP on an unstable shelf, or even a slightly tilted shelf.

 

[blr]

Well, Eagle I don't know what's on the US market but in Europe there are several cheap single disc players that sell for 100-180 USD and sound very good for the price and much better than any portable I've tried. The mentioned Technics SLPG 490 is one of them, Sony and Marantz also have some good cheap models.

I don't know what do you mean by "power-hungry" they operate on mains plugs so the power consumption is not an issue. It is true that the emphasis is on features rather than sound quality, but this is also true for the portables of today. The other consideration is the output voltage. A portable outputs a lot less than 2V which is the standard for full size components, which in turn degrades the S/N ratio.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, one full-size player (some off-brand that I don't even want to mention) that I own outputs much less voltage than even the average PCDP: That full-size player outputs only 12mV (that's right, 12mV, not 1.2V) at its line-out, compared to about 600mV for a typical PCDP and a full 2V for other full-size CDPs. And, based on the selection at stores, budget-priced single full-size CDPs aren't available new in the US any more; I would have to either spend well over $300 just to even buy a new-model single-play full-size CDP or hunt the used electronics section for a budget-priced one.

Correction: I found two single-play full-size CDPs from Sony's consumer line at SonyStyle USA's Web site - but both actually cost slightly more than their 5-disc carousel counterparts. The only difference between the two single-play Sony units, CDP-XE270 and CDP-XE370, is the inclusion of a remote control with the latter. Unfortunately, neither Best Buy nor Circuit City carries either of those CDPs, nor do they carry any single-play full-size CDPs other than DVD units and CD recorders.