[Andrew Rieger]

So picking components for my new headphone set up is driving me nuts to say the least.
 
I'm currently running an AT R70X with a Teac UD301 DAC/Amp, pretty happy with the combo so far but I'm looking to upgrade. I'm currently using Tidal but I live in an area with absolute garbage wifi in a house where the signal is being divided between six people so sometimes songs just stop randomly and won't resume for 10 or so seconds. Its driving me nuts and I can't deal with it since I'm paying $20 bucks a month for this service. I already have a decent CD collection so I'm thinking of moving back to CD's for future music acquisition and playback.
 
Im still new at this but I've been reading up on the negative side effects of using USB as an audio connection so I'm thinking of going to SPDIF instead to avoid the need for a USB decrapifier or USB to SPDIF converter. 
 
I'm looking at the Onkyo C7030 CD player which has a Wolfson DAC (Delta Sigma, yuck I know but I'm poor so what can I do) and coax/optical out. I would run the Onkyo into either the Rupert Neve RNHP or the Schiit Jotenheim (decisions, decisions). Hopefully the Wolfson DAC isn't much of a downgrade from the dual Burr Brown chips in my Teac UD301. I would eventually upgrade the DAC and run SPDIF from the Onkyo to a Schiit Modi Multibit which is why the Teac is going up for sale in the classifieds. 
 
Does this seem like a decent setup? Sound wise ... is the built in Wolfson DAC in the Onkyo CD player going to be noticeably worse than the Teac I currently have? If so, should I just suck it up and get the Modi Multibit now?

 

[zenheadfi]

You don't need CDs physically rotating to listen to your music. It's just too much a pain to switch out music when you want to. Rip them to dedicated storage and then get a nice DAC. I own the Modi Multibit / Magni Uber stack for work and it's awesome. Only buy a USB decrapifier if you hear something first that warrants it. I'm perfectly happy without it.
 
Definitely do not start purchasing CDs again. It's a digital format that's stopped evolving and that has been superseded by others.
 
As for your Internet situation, I'd put that $20 you're spending on Tidal back into the internet connection plan to boost bandwidth. In the future, you may want to buy a premium wireless router that has good QOS to prevent complete bandwidth starvation for a particular service of your choice. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

My general recommendations: Focus on the music you want and like. It can be in any format, whether it be CDs, digital downloads, vinyl, and so on. What matters most in sound quality terms is the quality of the recording and master; the format and "resolution" isn't nearly as important. Most of the music I bought was CDs. They can be ripped once to lossless digital files, then you never need to worry about doing it again or using CD players; you can just use a computer and DAC as your source. If you are using a portable device too, you can convert the files and create a lossy copy of your collection if you don't have enough space for lossless on it. If I were you, I'd skip the CD player and just get the Modi Multibit.

 

[lugnut]

I guess I am old fashioned and not hip, I just bought a new cd player. 
I have a Emotiva ERC running balanced with a Matrix - hpa-3b Amp to Sony Z7 Headphones & Wywire Red
I have this on a stand next to my favorite sofa. I really enjoy it. If a person has a collection of cd's why not a cd player !
I keep this set-up separate from my computer audio system. No need to ask , do what you want to do.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

All good advice but I'm trying to avoid using USB as my connection type which is why I'm looking to use an optical connection from a CD player, something my laptop doesn't have. I just don't like the idea of having to add all these devices to my USB chain like the Wyrd and Regen just to get my signal close to the quality of the optical out of a CD player. Plus digitizing all my CD's is a long and frankly annoying process. As far as I can tell, buying CD's for the files is still way cheaper than downloading files from the various FLAC services. 

 

[kelly200269]

The TEAC UD-301 is a seriously underated DAC IMO. I use one in my home system, and love it as a DAC.
It's headphone output is OK too, but only for low impedence models. Your AT's are 470 ohm, which is too high for the TEAC to deliver a decent current to.
There's nothing wrong with using CD as a medium, but if you keep the TEAC, all you need is a relatively cheap CD player/transport to send the signal via SPDIF into the TEAC.
I think you would benefit more from a dedicated headphone amp for your AT's. I run the balanced output from the TEAC into a Musical Fidelity MX-HPA, and couldn't be happier with the performance using HD800's and T1's.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

 

[Music Alchemist]

  All good advice but I'm trying to avoid using USB as my connection type which is why I'm looking to use an optical connection from a CD player, something my laptop doesn't have. I just don't like the idea of having to add all these devices to my USB chain like the Wyrd and Regen just to get my signal close to the quality of the optical out of a CD player. Plus digitizing all my CD's is a long and frankly annoying process. As far as I can tell, buying CD's for the files is still way cheaper than downloading files from the various FLAC services. 

 
In all likelihood, you won't need anything but a cheap USB cable. Some systems benefit from the other stuff, but I've never needed it. Seems you've been scared away from USB due to certain stories, but those are actually the exception, not the norm.
 
Having to physically change discs whenever I want to listen to something else is a much more annoying process for me than ripping the CDs once, then being able to configure playlists any way I want in the future. (I usually select tracks from various albums instead of playing full albums.)
 
There's also the issue of CD players potentially being lower quality than digital sources. This is a complex topic that you can research on your own if it interests you.
 
And yeah, you can get used CDs for as low as a penny (plus shipping) on Amazon, whereas lossless downloads often cost more than new CDs.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

The TEAC UD-301 is a seriously underated DAC IMO. I use one in my home system, and love it as a DAC.
It's headphone output is OK too, but only for low impedence models. Your AT's are 470 ohm, which is too high for the TEAC to deliver a decent current to.
 

 
People say that the UD 301 headphone output is way underpowered but with my 470 ohm R70's, things start to get uncomfortably loud around 65-70% on the volume pot. So it can drive higher impedance cans, how well it can is open for debate but I don't think the specs tell the whole story. I actually think the UD301's headphone amp sounded better than my Uber Schiit stack even though the Schiit had way more power. But I do agree with you and I will be upgrading my amp at some point as well to go with my new Beyer DT1990's

 

[zenheadfi]

I went through the CD ripping routine once with over 200 CDs. The key was to automate it as much as possible. In the end, all I had to do was take the previous CD out, put the new CD in, and the PC would rip in the background. Meanwhile I'd do something else. The only thing missing was a robot for the physical action. Took me on the order of a week or so, but it wasn't too bad.
 
The cost argument for used CDs on Amazon is compelling. I didn't think about that.