[sacd lover]

In a thread about the sacdmods 555es markl made some vey good observations about what design areas make the most difference in a cd players sound quality. I added a fifth. What do all of you believe to be most important?

 

[jpelg]

I don't know exactly what 'the quality of the analog section' means. If someone could explain, and differentiate it from the DAC itself, that woud be helpful.

TIA.

 

[tom hankins]

IMO. 3-way tie for first. Transport, analog section, and clock, slightly followed by power supplys. I would think most of the DAC's used nowadays are all very good. Where most of the budget cdp's are lacking are in the other four areas more than the DAC's.

 

[sacd lover]

jpelg,the cd players analog output stage is what I was referring to. Say... cheap op amps vs a discrete class A output stage as an example of a quality difference.

I actually wanted people to rank the above 5 areas as to importance but I didnt know how to do it.

My rankings are:

1) the quality of the analog output stage
2) the quality of the power supplies
2a /3) a low jitter clock
4) the quality of the transport
5) the dac chipset

My beliefs are based on the huge differences the high quality output stage, power supply mods and the new clock made with my 555es. This mod did not alter the stock transport nor replace the dac chipset. I am torn between whether the clock or the power supply mods in the 555es had more effect. But zap filter2 output stage also has its own beefy power supply, so there were actully two power supply changes.

I believe the current transports and dac chipsets are all high quality and the real differences are the care with which the analog section and power supplies are realized. Furthermore, I read a phrase one time that with digital timing is everything; replacing the stock clock is a change made by nearly every professional modification service and results in very audible improvements per these experts. Therefore, with current cd players, I think the clock is more of a determinant than the dacs or transport with regard to sound quality .

Thats my take on what I feel is most important. Now I would like to read your thoughts on the subject. Understand that the best cd players no doubt address each of these areas.

 

[pigmode]

Seems like this query is aimed at mods, otherwise it doesn't make much sense. I'm not sure how you can seperate one from the other as the unit has to operate as a whole. Excluding the clock (which I know nothing about), I'd say equal importance for all.

As far as the DAC being less important, that might be so unless you put non-upsampling digital filterless DACs into the equation.

 

[markl]

Hi sacdlover,
WRT the clock, I guess I always considered that part of the digital/DAC section, so I sort of lump them together, hence i chose DAC as most important. But you make a good point that most DACs today are excellent with great specs, but still that doesn't diminish their centrality in determining sound quality, IMO. Older machines with primitive DACs may have great transports and power supplies, but still can still fall short of a modern, cheaper player with better DACs, and lower quality analog section. So in that sense, I'd still say the DAC section is most crucial.

Quote:

I don't know exactly what 'the quality of the analog section' means. If someone could explain, and differentiate it from the DAC itself, that woud be helpful.

Typically, in a CDP there are two separate audio boards, one that has all the digital components that read the CD, process the sound, clock it, convert it to an analog signal and hand it off to the analog section (usually on a separate board) to be output through the RCA jacks.

Mark

 

[JaZZ]

I've experienced the importance of the transport section; the rest is just guessing. But I'm sure the analog output stage is very important too as well as the DAC's linearity. Shouldn't jitter be subsumed within the transport section?

 

[SumB]

The output stage.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Well, to me it would be obvious that the analog output stage would be the single most important area, but I also threw in a vote for power supplies.

 

[dhwilkin]

This is a bit difficult, since I haven't heard the results of a clock upgrade before. Hmm... well, here's my best guess:

1) analog output stage
2) power supply
3) dac
4) clock
5) transport

 

[crazychile]

I voted analog section, But actually I consider the power supplies to be just as critical. Hence, my list would go something like this:

1. Analog section and PS's
2. Transport, and integrity of data transmission
3. Chipset/Dacs

I guess I'm sort of lumping the clock into the data transmission category. It is possible to have a decent transport and clock, but the data stream picks up lots of RF and garbage because of poor component placement.

Is there really such a thing as a clock that isn't low jitter any more? I think that the PS's also play a big part in this stage also.

 

[Canman]

seriously guys, what the hell do we know about CD player design? Everyone here is guessing on which component might make the biggest difference, whereas I think in actuality it is not possible to consider one single part without considering the entire system design. For example, as markl said, the clock should be considered part of the DAC section because they are integral to the each other.

But hey, I'm no expert either. I think this thread proves that digital design theory is still a mystery to most people (including myself)