vincei
aka MasterControlMedia
I suppose, but still wonder how much error correction is being used. My rips sounds fine, but I am always skeptical...
I also use WASAPI for bit perfect playback under Windows 7 64
I don't understand high dollar CD players...
- Thread starter racecannon
- Start date
I suppose, but still wonder how much error correction is being used. My rips sounds fine, but I am always skeptical...
I also use WASAPI for bit perfect playback under Windows 7 64
I suppose, but still wonder how much error correction is being used. My rips sounds fine, but I am always skeptical...
Transferring a music file is no different than installing a program. The original and copy should be identical. Just like if you transfer an image file, spread sheet file etc. It should be just as accurate as transferring a file from a USB flash drive or another hard drive.
racecannon
Member
When it comes to a top of the line CD transport, are there any units available that have no DAC capabilities? I would think the cost of a high end CD player with XLR outputs would be rather equally split between the transport side of the unit and the DAC side. If people are buying top quality stand alone DACs, then I would think there's a good opportunity to develop a top of the line CD transport with no DAC capabilities, for a reasonably price. Right?
Mr. Lin
Lunatic Member
There are lots of high-end transports out there, most are very expensive. Audio Note is one company that's been in the transport business for a long time, here's a review from years ago on TNT: http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/audionote0cd_e.html
I'd love to get my hands on something like this, but I worry about how long they'll last because I'd have to buy used.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
Esoteric is another company that makes transports that are highly priced by the specialized press:http://esoteric.teac.com/transports/
Back to the OP, who would have us believe that two different CD transports, feeding the same DAC, with identical cabling, will sound exactly the same.
Wrong.
I bought my DAC first, used it with an inexpensive CD player, feeding the digi out to the DAC. Upgraded to a higher-grade CD transport, connected the same way, and .... big difference.
Wrong.
I bought my DAC first, used it with an inexpensive CD player, feeding the digi out to the DAC. Upgraded to a higher-grade CD transport, connected the same way, and .... big difference.
tuoppi
it's all in your head
The great thing about not playing the disk in real time is that you can re-read the disk many many times to get it absolutely right. Besides computer CD drives have to be much more accurate than CD player drives by definition, because they have to be able to read data bit-perfect while CD player can deal with some amount of read errors.I suppose, but still wonder how much error correction is being used. My rips sounds fine, but I am always skeptical...
michaelhigh
mind's eye music
But then you'll need an expensive DAC
Brersford 7520 Caiman DAC from Beresford Audio- $300, roughly. No affiliation, highly recommended as the $1000+ giant-killer. I will be getting one soon.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
This is an advantage. Regarding the sound quality, unless you take a digital output from the PC and feed it to a high quality external DAC, most probably it would be inferior to that of a average quality CDP due to the limited quality of most (standard) audio PC cards. There are, of course, good quality audio cards, but they come as a special item. Not only the DAC chip could degrade the quality, but also the analog amplification stage to which high end CDP designers pay lots of care to, which yields important costs.
fdrennen
Organist in Residence
Is this true? I was thinking of making a cd player from odds and ends I have laying around, I have lots of CDROMS and an old Apex DVD player that takes a computer drive.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
If you would be so kind, please donate those 5 $ to my savings so that I could buy sooner a Naim or Cambridge Audio 840 CDP. No scientific truth there, just pure pleasure.
That's also the theory behind memory CD players too.
Meridian, PS Audio and a few other companies make them.
Jack
Mr. Lin
Lunatic Member
Who ever said that?
If you can't hear the difference between a bottom-of-the-line CD player and one of the more expensive ones you need to get your hearing checked.
whoaru99
Epic Member
So you're going to take the offer/challenge?
Mr. Lin
Lunatic Member
Like I've said before, I don't bother with that sort of thing because the differences are big enough that I'm entirely confident of what I'm hearing, and I don't need any kind of test, experiment, or other proof aside from the actual sound in order to enjoy what I'm hearing.
Also, $5 is not much of an incentive.
House de Kris
Loud-n-Deep
So, Jon_Logan, are you saying you believe all CD players sound the same?
Jon_Logan
Addicted Member
In my experience and test methods, yes. If the CD player meets the normal specs, it's not broken, and is 20~20kHz, yada, yada, yada; I'm not embarrassed to say that I don't find the differences. One important key to the comparison is, the levels are matched into the load and the discs are synchronized so that the listener doesn't use timing as a cue.
I thought I could easily pick these things out years ago, but the differences to human ears if any are minute. .... but that's just my opinion after my own conclusion. I don't know why the incentive about the $5 dollar amount is important and not enough to spend one's time on the challenge. It seems people would like to prove it for free. More money would be sunken into the test apparatus. Mercury switches, etc.
House de Kris
Loud-n-Deep
Fair enough, thank you Jon_Logan for your honest reply based on personal experience. Doesn't get any better than that.
Out of curiosity, do you think that all preamps sound the same?
Out of curiosity, do you think that all preamps sound the same?
Jon_Logan
Addicted Member
There can always be exceptions, but as before, electronics that are decently designed, can work into the loads that are connected and don't have any failings in terms of frequency response, THD, and to a lesser extent phase vs. frequency, than I could answer for myself: no, I don't hear the differences.
I've personally done an experiment on wire and power amps and the result was the same under the same test conditions... zip, zero, nada. The first test case (which I thought I'd be able to tell the difference) was with wire. 100% silver Mark Levinson wire against Gold-enz. No dif-france when switched back and forth. Next power amps. I had an SAE Mark 111C and a Levinson ML-3 (serial number 0072). Vastly different topologies. Maybe the most different two solid state amplifiers could be. I was SURE I could tell the difference. I knew enough that they had to be switched quickly and the levels had to be matched. I did that and guess what?? No dif-france.
It could be my hearing or my skill at Golden Ear'ing but I'd like to see some proof if it's my shortcoming or if people have just convinced themselves that they "hear" things based on placebo effects and ego.
Now, I would never say the same things about speakers. I hear speaker differences all of the time. The errors in speakers are magnitudes greater than the errors found in decently designed electronics.
While I am curious if people can hear differences in wire, preamps and CD players, my conclusion is these things aren't necessary for superb sound. Speakers and room tuning is where it's at for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a gear slut as much as the next guy. I love copper buss bars, thick faceplates, big heat sinks, the whole nine, but that's pretty much eye candy. If the design is sufficient for the application, that's good enough for me. I'll buy the more expensive electronics after I win the lottery and need to boost my status level.
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