Why are CDs the current hot topic?
- Thread starter H2oman7.62mm
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Can I have one?
Robint
Super Member
Unfortunately it arrived unable to read discs. Every thing else works perfectly. I bought a Philco CD-471 off of Ebay which has the same laser, so time for a transplant. There is a Youtube guide on dis-assembling a 473. When I remove the laser assembly from the 471, you may have it!
Late Boomer
Super Member
CD player = transport + DAC, Q.E.D.
A $5 DVD player from a thrift store + your favorite DAC would do it without transplanting anything. This also allows using any player with the same chip. Whether you can get your favorite TDA-1541A chip in modern DACs is a separate question, but judging by tests, a $100 DAC beats up pretty much anything that has been produced 30 years ago.
But can most people tell the difference after they are 30+ years old?
Late Boomer
Super Member
Which is why I don't even bother with fancy DACs and use whatever is built in, the result is better than cassette or vinyl, which is good enough for me.
ev13wt
Super Member
They can't tell the difference before age 30 either.
It's like this:
"Hey do you hear this?"
"Yea, I do."
Everything else is just your brain telling you what to hear.
Tried to watch three videos with thisman a while ago and will never try again.
Such an annoying style- and convoluted way- of presenting things.
But anyway, whilst CD's are very much obsolete, I've really been enjoying some favorite albums in the car on a 700km (or about 430 if Imperial is your thing) roadtrip to Berlin with a mate who has very similar taste. Good times!
The difference between a mid-fi DAC and a decent cheap new one can definitely be heard. Higher quality source material than a regular audio CD might be required though, so if it matters in the context of this thread..
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I'm a lot older than that and I can hear the differences. When we get older high frequency gets rolled off a bit, but there's a lot more to what makes something sound good, a DAC or otherwise, than treble extension.
As far as digital goes, I only play CDs and I can hear differences with that...
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I should collect more CDs before they all end up in the trash. The music I used to see at thrifts was total garbage.
I remember back when people used to fight over 16 bit and 18 bit (or was it 20 forget) DACs in CD players and who calibrated them the best but MASH 1 bit sounded good enough to me at the time. Free downloads of shitty MP3's and iPods pretty much made the whole thing moot because people would rather have bad rips and bad reproduction (cheap headphones) but carry their whole collection with them.
I remember back when people used to fight over 16 bit and 18 bit (or was it 20 forget) DACs in CD players and who calibrated them the best but MASH 1 bit sounded good enough to me at the time. Free downloads of shitty MP3's and iPods pretty much made the whole thing moot because people would rather have bad rips and bad reproduction (cheap headphones) but carry their whole collection with them.
The SACD Mafia is being awfully quiet in here. 
Late Boomer
Super Member
These 16-bit and 18-bit DACs were brute force ladder DACs, which needed super-precise components to go beyond 12-13 bits, while 1-bit DAC is delta-sigma and given a fast enough sampling frequency generator, can be produced for peanuts with consistent audio quality and small size.
I hope that people who buy precision-made ladder DACs for thousands $$$ get their money worth. I buy late-1990s Discmans with 1-bit DAC on eBay for $20. I got three of them just in case, and several DVD players.
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I thought that it was settled that SACDs don't sound any better than CDs (in stereo) and are all about 5.1/7.1 sound, if you have the setup for that.The SACD Mafia is being awfully quiet in here.
A year or so ago i picked up a sony ps1 to get my feet wet and now have a small cd collection ive been enjoying very much. The satisfaction i get from the PS1 sound is uncomfortably close to my streaming source and a much more novel solution than dealing with network connections and software. Not to mention at a much lower price point. I would have a difficult time parting with my streamer because my physical media collection is small, but i will continue to purchase albums i like in cd format.
Mart Mccall
Well-Known Member
They are no 'better' but they almost always are a different mastering to the CD version, so they do sound different.
Often the SACD remaster has less dynamic range than the CD which makes a mockery of the supposed 24 bit capability.
intro6
Well-Known Member
Never had any interest in them. When well recorded and mastered CDs already sound utterly fantastic, why would I pay a premium price for something which "supposedly" ekes out a minuscule (and hardly audible) amount of improvement. They were also obviously a failure since I've never encountered any out in the world, and don't recall any SACD players either, at least for a long while. Maybe at least some DVD players play them, but I could care less. From what I know, most artists don't bother putting their albums out on them either.The SACD Mafia is being awfully quiet in here.
I don't know which is true, but I have read more than once that for a one, or two week period....EVERY CD manufactured in the world was an AOL setup disc.Shocking, I tell you!
