[Pr0crastin8r]

I use an HD600 with a custom made altoid amp (somebody here made it for me, he's in Germany, but I can't remember exactly who...). Anyway, it makes my Senns sound pretty damn good, but I can definitely hear room for improvement. I've overheard a lot of talk about upgrade order and I just have a few questions about source.

My next upgrade, which is paid for an on the way, is the MG Head OTL. Then I plan to get some of those raytheon tubes. As far as source goes, I use a Sony 5 disc changer, a sony discman (it was $300 3 years ago, has digital optical out and line out and 60 hrs battery life) and a nomad jukebox 3 w/ all songs in 320kbps. Are any of these sources really a bottleneck? I can't afford any $500 cd players, so that's out of the question. Comments?

 

[NewportGeek]

MP3s are crap. Run from them. I would go into alot of detail about why this is the case, but I would rather not.


Altho, your tube amp may smooth out the artifacts that bother me so much. I think the delayed frequency response associated with tube amps will help your mp3s to sound more natural.

What sony disc changer?


Also, when shopping for a discman, look for one with SHORTER battery life. Engineering for long battery life = reduced power consumption = compromise on quality.

Still, its all relative and I'm sure you're setup sounds great.

(but really, try to get away from mp3's)

 

[Pr0crastin8r]

128kbps mp3s are crap. 192kbps is tolerable, 256 is great, and 320 is cd quality. i'd put down $100 that says you can't tell the difference between a good 320kbps mp3 and a wav.

also, pardon my newbieness, but why is less power consumption bad? its not like i'm using the headphone out on the discman... does less power really affect what comes out the line out?

cd changer - cd-ce345 i think. low end sony

and about getting away from mp3s...

haha, yeah i know... someday when i'm rich i'll own every cd. but i can't afford $1/song when much of the time i'll only like a couple songs on an album. its really kind of ridiculous. but from what i've read, a good 320kbps mp3 is as good as cd... and i also listen to lossless music formats such as monkey's audio and the like

 

[eric343]

No, here's a better way to shop for a source: (less battery life == more juice for the circuitry that generates music from digital data. Less juice == worse sound. It's a known fact)

a) Click here: http://www.ebay.com

b) Search for "d-25s"

c) Click on "Sony Discman D-25S Portable CD Player NOS!!!
"

d) Click "Buy it Now!"

(steps E-G and I are only necessary if you want to use it portably. You can just go with step H if you want to use it solely as a home player - that'll save you about $40 (incl. shipping) and since the battery lasts only about 4hrs anyway...)

e) Click here: http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/

f) Type "152832511" into the Part Number box

g) Buy it.

h) Go to the local Radio Shock and get yourself a wall power supply that matches the specs marked on the Sony D-25S you just got off eBay.

I) Let it charge up overnight

j) Enjoy. Now start saving up for a good home player, because you've got one of the best sounding portable CD players ever made. (excluding the D-555/D-777 and a few other such old rare ones)


Congratulations!