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CD player dead.....using alternative players

I can't find a decent CD player at any of the thrift stores in my area to save my life. Lots and lots of Sony 5 disc players.

So since my old CD player bit the dust, I've been using a blu-ray player that I picked up for $3. While the price was right, I don't like it. The treble is very bright and the sound strikes me as "sharp" for lack of a better word.
Also, while being one of the few DVD/Blu-ray players that had FF/REV, and skip controls on its face, it only displays the minutes played of a track. I have to figure for myself what track I'm on, and how many are on the CD.

Any decent DVD/Blu-rays that actually display the track info on the player?
 
Is there some reason you guys prefer spinning CDs over ripping them once, then streaming them to where you want them DAC'd? New here, so not critical just curious...
 
awillia6 said:
Is there some reason you guys prefer spinning CDs over ripping them once, then streaming them to where you want them DAC'd? New here, so not critical just curious...
Click to expand...

There are quite a few of us who have done just that. I've had a dedicated music server for more than eight years. I went from a Creative Labs X-Fi Pro (in a desktop 8 years ago) to a Behringer UCA222/Netbook/USB HDD (four years ago) to my current Netbook/USB HDD and Emotiva XDA-2.

All my CD's were ripped into FLAC files. It's easy and largely an automatic process. LP's are a different story. Ripping them is far more labor and time intensive. So, I've only done a small number of them. There are far too many to do all of them before I die. Besides, I'm an old fogey and like the ritual surrounding LP playback.
 
awillia6 said:
Is there some reason you guys prefer spinning CDs over ripping them once, then streaming them to where you want them DAC'd? New here, so not critical just curious...
Click to expand...

I'll figure I get to that point, but if there's an album I feel like listening to, I'd like the option of just dropping it in and playing vs. cueing it up on the playlist.
 
I recently discovered that my Sony DVD player has a rather sucky DAC. I ripped several CDs to FLAC on my computer (DSoTM among them) that sound amazing when streamed (even by BT). Popped DSoTM into the player for a comparison with BT streaming. The local disc sounded lame and had lots of distortion.

If you are just looking for a short-term substitute, it's probably OK. However, for long term, critical listening applications, definitely go the route of something intended for home audio versus home theater playback.
 
tthoms said:
I'll figure I get to that point, but if there's an album I feel like listening to, I'd like the option of just dropping it in and playing vs. cueing it up on the playlist.
Click to expand...

Guarantee you I can "cue up" anything I own in less than 20 seconds from cold start (10 secs once amps are at temp). Of course, if you mean stacking four or five LPs above the little zig-zag in the turntable spindle and enjoying those satisfying "PLOPs", no way I can match that!
 
JoeESP9 said:
There are quite a few of us who have done just that. I've had a dedicated music server for more than eight years. I went from a Creative Labs X-Fi Pro (in a desktop 8 years ago) to a Behringer UCA222/Netbook/USB HDD (four years ago) to my current Netbook/USB HDD and Emotiva XDA-2.

All my CD's were ripped into FLAC files. It's easy and largely an automatic process. LP's are a different story. Ripping them is far more labor and time intensive. So, I've only done a small number of them. There are far too many to do all of them before I die. Besides, I'm an old fogey and like the ritual surrounding LP playback.
Click to expand...

It was kind of a tough sled back then, but today it's such a snap, and the hardware is almost universally excellent (at 16/44.1 at least), that I don't get the attraction of spinning. I DO get the PITA of ripping, the fear of data loss, and the arcane minutiae of FLAC, AAC, various rippers, DAC selection, etc. Even given all that, there are some VERY simple server setups that function seamlessly (at least for CD quality software). I'm always a bit mystified why an "off-the-shelf" $200 solution isn't universally accepted.
 
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