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CD vs Your Phones FLAC files via AUX

averscds

averscds

New Member
Interesting question i have, wondering if there is a noticeable difference in sound quality between a CD hooked up to my 2 channel amp, and my phone playing that same CD through an AUX adapter (3.5mm to male rca). Been thinking about this for a while. If there is not a major difference, whats the point with those $20,000 dollar cd players? Kinda cool to think about. Thanks,
 
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A $20,000 cd player will crush the cell phone. This is a given if preamplification, amplification, interconnects, and speakers are of the same quality as the 20k cd player.
 
The amp requires analog. So the CD player and phone must have a DAC. I assume you have music ripped to your phone. If compressed that is less resolution than CD.
You need to compare the combination of DAC and level of compression. Most likely the CD player DAC has better specs than phone DAC. It is up to you to decide if there is enough difference.
 
If you're using other than FLAC or ALAC (both are loss less compression) for ripping to your phone you've already compromised sound quality. Any lossy compression scheme throws away some of the music during the compression process.
 
averscds said:
. If there is not a major difference, whats the point with those $20,000 dollar cd players?
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No Major difference. This is extremely subjective based on what type of listener and what sort of equipment is being used. If the system matches up with the expensive CD player, then of course it will sound better than some cell phone's tiny DAC. Chances are you can't get lossless out of the 3.5mm jack anyway, but if you can there is still a big bottleneck with SQ out of the phone. I ditched my phone for music for anything but the car or long flights because the SQ hit was much more than I was willing to put up with. Some people don't really care that much about getting the best sound possible and so if they do have a bigger system in their house it is often for increased volume levels only. Others want the clarity.
Often you will get what you pay for but there is a diminishing returns element to it. Most of us are caught by that hard simple fact! If the best sound is less important, so much the better for your bank acc.
 
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If it was me, I'd do it different anyway. Take the 20K buy a nice laptop, external USB drive, external DAC, a set of nice speakers and maybe a nice integrated amp. Then use the pile left over to buy CDs. It works better than a phone.
 
Not quite what you're asking but.....I've got a Yamaha amp with a dedicated dock connector on it for Apple devices. I can chuck an old Iphone with ALAC files on it into the dock (which I acquired for ten bucks) and it sounds bloody great. Don't think I'll be needing the $20K CD player any time soon :-)
 
Markoneswift said:
Not quite what you're asking but.....I've got a Yamaha amp with a dedicated dock connector on it for Apple devices. I can chuck an old Iphone with ALAC files on it into the dock (which I acquired for ten bucks) and it sounds bloody great. Don't think I'll be needing the $20K CD player any time soon :)
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But that doesn't use the 3.5 mm output, or, as I remember them, the "stereo mini". The headphone output is analog, and runs through the phone's amp, as well as the DAC. So, even if the file is a lossless format, the phone's inboard DAC and amp will make it tough to compete with your iPhone 'transport', as Wadia called their dock.

That said, averscds, you may find the phone is adequate for your purposes. You would have to decide whether the difference was 'major'. In that case, for you, there is no need for a $20K cd player. For others, the use of a phone's analog output as a source is not an option. If that person also has the $20K for the cdp, then the cdp might be their preferred source. That is for them to decide, for their own use, and expenditure.

I see that you have only recently joined. Just a word of advice from your friendly neighbourhood admin. Every person here finds their own path to audio nirvana, whatever is right for them. No matter where that system lands, on the cost spectrum, it is the value to that person which is important. If one is happy with what they have, then nobody should be ridiculing the amount spent, whether the amount is large or small.

A word to the wise, for all our gentle readers.
 
Depending on the phone, the difference wouldn't be huge. For instance, the DAC on the newer iPhones is extremely well implemented and while not the final frontier of sound quality, it's certainly very good. Audiophiles (not all) tend to dismiss anything that's cheap and convenient as inferior when in fact, blind tests show the difference to be pretty minuscule.

To keep a simple phone setup but up the sound quality by bypassing the phone’s DAC, you can buy a Chromecast Audio or other streaming device (Apple Airport Express, Bluesound Node) and run optical from it to an outboard DAC. That way you can send your music wirelessly and feel confident you’re getting better sound from an expensive DAC. (even if you aren’t).
 
I agree with Rex. I have an HTC M8 and playing flac files is very good. Not much worse than a normal CD player. They only issue I see is the output level of the phones jack is not as strong as a cd player or dedicated line out on a DAC.
 
mars_volta said:
I agree with Rex. I have an HTC M8 and playing flac files is very good. They only issue I see is the output level of the phones jack is not as strong as a cd player or dedicated line out on a DAC.
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Right, some phones do struggle with output level.

It's pretty amazing how good cheap DACs are these days. Or rather, how cheap good DACs are these days. The difference between a $10 DAC and a $1,000 DAC is pretty small. My audio club recently did a blind test comparison between an Apple Airport Express with a $10 DAC inside it and a $900 DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 external DAC and the Airport won. Not by a huge margin, but everyone agreed the Airport had a fuller, more balanced sound.
 
Thanks everyone for your insight! It's just weird to me how my phone connected to my Yamaha amp playing Flac files sounds identical to the same cd being played on my $200 onkyo cd player.
 
I notice a difference between playing a .flac file on my PC (using foobar or Kodi +WASAPI) vs playing that same file though my phone (sony xperia) on the default sound app. Definitely lower output on my phone vs computer, which is still lower output than my CD player (Marantz cd-46). Even equalizing the volume levels, the sound from my phone does not sound as crisp, but it may come down to what the default sound app is doing to the sound behind the scenes. The CD player (albeit it is not very 'high end'), produces sound which is hard to distinguish from .flac + WASAPI with a good sound card. Though the CD player definitely produces a higher line level output than my PC at full volume.

Edit: I guess it's good to note, I do not buy the latest and greatest phones, my 2 year old xperia, might pale in comparison to what's out today, and I usually use my PC for anything media related.
 
FWIW, not all phones are created equal, in terms of audio quality.

I'd take a look at the LG V10 & V20. Of course, it goes without saying you'll still want to use lossless files.
 
JoeESP9 said:
If you're using other than FLAC or ALAC (both are loss less compression) for ripping to your phone you've already compromised sound quality. Any lossy compression scheme throws away some of the music during the compression process.
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Not always- depending on whats being listened to whats thrown away isnt even there!

A full orchestra? Sure. Sex Pistols? Probably not.
 
jefrodigital said:
Not always- depending on whats being listened to whats thrown away isnt even there!

A full orchestra? Sure. Sex Pistols? Probably not.
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Sorry, what I posted is correct. MP3 files discard part of the music period. The lower the bit rate the more that's discarded. Maybe you can't hear the difference because of the type and quality of the music, however, the facts are the facts.

FWIW: I didn't like or listen to the Sex pistols when they were "current". They IMO sounded awful then and still do now.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Sorry, what I posted is correct. MP3 files discard part of the music period. The lower the bit rate the more that's discarded. Maybe you can't hear the difference because of the type and quality of the music, however, the facts are the facts.

FWIW: I didn't like or listen to the Sex pistols when they were "current". They IMO sounded awful then and still do now.
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They often try to throw away the stuff that is outside "normal" hearing. Therefore, limiting whether most people will notice a difference at higher bit rates. Lower bit rates seem to have more compression artifacts that become more noticeable.
 
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