xrcd
- Thread starter millerdog
- Start date
Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
Peanut Head
It's not any differetn than the Redbook standard. They just give more TLC into preparing the master and to manufacturing. Their title selections are a bit odd. But if you can find something you like, it will be well worth the cost. I have several Classical "Red Seal" titles they did as well as Tina Turner's "Private Dancer" and Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms".
Some of the very first XRCD releases tend to sound rather bright and forward, although they offer gobs of sonic detail. The most recent XRCD releases, however, are much smoother overall, and do indeed sound far better than their standard CD counterparts - particularly in the upper treble region.
In fact, when played using a CD player or DAC that does away with digital filtering (and there are a small but growing number of such units), these newer XRCDs can make you wonder what all the fuss is about regarding SACDs...
In fact, when played using a CD player or DAC that does away with digital filtering (and there are a small but growing number of such units), these newer XRCDs can make you wonder what all the fuss is about regarding SACDs...
Last edited:
Originally posted by millerdog
Brian,
Are you talking about the low freq "notch" filter that up and over sampling DACs use? I am getting away from digital but this is interesting. SK recently got a 47 Labs DAC that has "no sampling?" Anyway, XRCD is way too expensive! I'd rather get an LP
There are currently four companies that I know of offering digital components that sport zero upsampling/oversampling and no digital filtering. I believe that Audio Note was the company that started this trend, and it is the only one offering integrated tube CD players with these features. The other three companies are 47 Labs, Wavelength Audio, and Zanden.
While I'm almost certain that all of these filterless digital products would measure quite poorly in comparison to "traditional" CD players, they truly sound superior to my ears.
David Cope, a fellow Audio Note dealer (his very cool shop is called Triode & Co.) and a member here at AudioKarma, actually purchased one of Sony's top-of-the-line SACD players so that customers can compare its performance with SACDs to the performance of the less-expensive Audio Note CD2.1x with Redbook CDs. Now that's putting your money where your mouth is - and guess which unit consistently comes up the winner?
Of course, vinyl still remains my favorite source, but here's an interesting story:
Just before the Lima show, I had a customer over who wanted to hear the Audio Note OTO SE integrated amplifier and Audio Note AN-J/LX speakers that I had just acquired. Knowing that he was a vinyl buff, I decided to pull a little stunt - I took out my RCA Living Stereo LP of Debussy's Iberia (Fritz Reiner/Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and started spinning it on one of my Kuzma rigs, but the OTO SE was not set to "phono". Instead, I discreetly hit the "play" button on my Audio Note CD2.1x, which contained the JVC XRCD version of this title. And guess what? My guest immediately relaxed in the listening chair and began singing the praises of analog playback! I only played this game for a couple of minutes, but the results were quite telling, in my opinion.
P.S. In case you're wondering, the customer was quite taken aback when informed that he was listening to a digital source, but reluctantly admitted to being rather impressed. Still, I don't think he'll be adding a CD player to his system anytime soon - he's quite set in his ways!
P.P.S. I don't normally engage in such shenanigans with my customers, but I know this fellow pretty well, and I simply couldn't resist...
Last edited:
Wow! I just checked the prices of those XRCDs. Man, I'd just rather buy the vinyl
I gotta say, all these trends in digital makes me just want to sit and improve my TT, at least for another year. At least I know what direction I'm going in.
The thing that bothers me though is all that money I spent on redbook CDs! Sheesh!
I gotta say, all these trends in digital makes me just want to sit and improve my TT, at least for another year. At least I know what direction I'm going in.
The thing that bothers me though is all that money I spent on redbook CDs! Sheesh!
Originally posted by millerdog
Wow! I just checked the prices of those XRCDs. Man, I'd just rather buy the vinyl
Of course, the price of most XRCDs is equivalent to price of many current-production audiophile LPs. If you only have a hgih-quality digital source, then XRCDs may actually be a good investment (the standard CD versions of many of these titles sound like crap in comparison).
Still, you've just gotta love vinyl!
The new Jolida CD player is indeed outstanding, and would be my top pick at its price point. However, the Audio Note CD2.1x is in a completely different league. It's sound is remarkably rich and liquid, but with lots of sparkle in the upper registers. Unlike many other tube CD players which sound like they were designed to "gloss over" digital nasties, this one sounds like it was designed to emulate the performance of a good analog rig.
I know of several audiophiles who have "traded down" to this player from more expensive "Stereophile Class A Recommended" digital components. I myself recently replaced some costlier lines in my shop with the Audio Note players, and I haven't looked back since. And I regularly use the CD2.1x (as well as the CD3.1x) to show off my very best amplifiers and loudspeakers.
I know of several audiophiles who have "traded down" to this player from more expensive "Stereophile Class A Recommended" digital components. I myself recently replaced some costlier lines in my shop with the Audio Note players, and I haven't looked back since. And I regularly use the CD2.1x (as well as the CD3.1x) to show off my very best amplifiers and loudspeakers.
sasaki kojiro
Active Member
Not on my rig (ex-rig). That SACD had more detail and a smoother sound presentation as well. This with an SACD 1000/45 SET. Sound quality on SACDs vary as it does on all formats. I sorely missed my better SACDs till I got my current digital setup.
I am interested in the Audionote 2.1 as a second player...
hifitommy
Super Member
$xrcd$
sorry, too expen$ive!!! nearly $30 for rbcd isnt what i will pay. to stay digital, i will purchase sacd product, and RBCD used and for those things not easily acquirable on vinyl.
jvc should be giving us the higher rez rbcd at a small surcharge or the same price. we deserve the best that can be done in ANY format.
i grabbed a sony ns500v for $161 delivered (now discontinued) and i got the surprise of my life. pretty good sacd playback (it lets you relax like vinyl) and SUPERLATIVE rbcd playback! in AIG i read that they upsample the rbcd signal to dsd and then filter. that eliminates the sound of the ringing filters because it is too high in the freq band to affect what we can hear.
i will surmise that sony does this with their other dvd/sacd/cd players. so here is great sound for cheeeeep, even in rbcd.
i snagged a kendra shank cd on mapleshade for $5 used and was at first disheartened that it skipped like crazy in the car but when i put it in the ns500v, it was MAGIC. so much for xrcd!
i can see $30 vinyl as being a necessary price for a small company like groove note but truly the prices can come down and the cash flow would change things for those vendors. i just got the white srtripes-elephant-2 LP set for $13 delivered form circ city and if they can do it, so can a lot of others.
the xrcd buyers wont have competition from me.
sorry, too expen$ive!!! nearly $30 for rbcd isnt what i will pay. to stay digital, i will purchase sacd product, and RBCD used and for those things not easily acquirable on vinyl.
jvc should be giving us the higher rez rbcd at a small surcharge or the same price. we deserve the best that can be done in ANY format.
i grabbed a sony ns500v for $161 delivered (now discontinued) and i got the surprise of my life. pretty good sacd playback (it lets you relax like vinyl) and SUPERLATIVE rbcd playback! in AIG i read that they upsample the rbcd signal to dsd and then filter. that eliminates the sound of the ringing filters because it is too high in the freq band to affect what we can hear.
i will surmise that sony does this with their other dvd/sacd/cd players. so here is great sound for cheeeeep, even in rbcd.
i snagged a kendra shank cd on mapleshade for $5 used and was at first disheartened that it skipped like crazy in the car but when i put it in the ns500v, it was MAGIC. so much for xrcd!
i can see $30 vinyl as being a necessary price for a small company like groove note but truly the prices can come down and the cash flow would change things for those vendors. i just got the white srtripes-elephant-2 LP set for $13 delivered form circ city and if they can do it, so can a lot of others.
the xrcd buyers wont have competition from me.
Similar threads
