CD Alive and Well?

[StingRay 1,486]

29 minutes ago, mentt said:

Yes, I have owned number of streamers over recent years(Aries, sonore microRendu, linn accurate, lumin, Aurender to name some) only Aurender was close to good CD transport and it is due to its internal storage. It is not easy to make streaming from NAS good sounding(people try optical network isolation, battery power network switches and so on). On the other hand  CD chain is simple and easy(and relatively cheap nowadays)

What do you call a good cd player? Many people have got rid of their cd players because they found streaming better. 

Edited February 11, 2019 by BeeRay

[mentt 37]

20 minutes ago, BeeRay said:

What do you call a good cd player? Many people have got rid of their cd players because they found streaming better. 

For example musical fidelity m1 cdt, Cyrus CD t

Edited February 11, 2019 by mentt

[bohemian 1,755]

9 hours ago, sunbeamgls said:

So we're all different.

I'm not!

I, too, listen to a lot of classical music and prefer the convenience of the cd or playing from hdd. I gave up vinyl many years ago (Dunlop Systemdek, Grace / Supex) and do not regret it at all. The inconvenince, expense etc have no attraction for me.

 My cdp is excellent and does sound better than streaming most of the time (Audio Research cd5) but occasionally streaming from hdd with hi-res files can sound marginally better.  I hate picking out individual tracks and much prefer entire albums. I do not use streaming services other than Radio Paradise on my iPad, but even that is a rarity.

All my cds are ripped to backups, but still get played a lot.

[MartinC 2,836]

1 hour ago, mentt said:

Yes, I have owned number of streamers over recent years(Aries, sonore microRendu, linn accurate, lumin, Aurender to name some) only Aurender was close to good CD transport and it is due to its internal storage.

Are you comparing a streamer connected via USB to a DAC vs a CD transport connected to the same DAC via an SPDIF connection, or something else? 

[mentt 37]

2 minutes ago, MartinC said:

Are you comparing a streamer connected via USB to a DAC vs a CD transport connected to the same DAC via an SPDIF connection, or something else? 

Usually I am comparing “best sounding” output from streamer vs  “best sounding output” from CD transport 

[MartinC 2,836]

1 hour ago, mentt said:

Usually I am comparing “best sounding” output from streamer vs  “best sounding output” from CD transport 

Do you mean CD player rather than CD transport? I'm confused what DAC(s) are in the picture...

[mentt 37]

24 minutes ago, MartinC said:

Do you mean CD player rather than CD transport? I'm confused what DAC(s) are in the picture...

No, CD transport. There is of course only one DAC when you are comparing transport components 

[MartinC 2,836]

12 hours ago, mentt said:

No, CD transport. There is of course only one DAC when you are comparing transport components 

Just checking. What DAC(s) have you used for the comparisons?

[v1nn1e 46]

I still buy CDs - just too tempting sometimes!

Always have a browse when I'm in Tesco's or Sainsbury's, probably more so now that they also sell some vinyl.

[mentt 37]

1 hour ago, MartinC said:

Just checking. What DAC(s) have you used for the comparisons?

Over the years many models . Last comparison(CD transport vs streamer) that we did was on Chord Dave DAC

[MartinC 2,836]

41 minutes ago, mentt said:

Over the years many models . Last comparison(CD transport vs streamer) that we did was on Chord Dave DAC

Not blind tests I'm guessing, but still interesting. From measurements I've seen of other Chord DACs I'm sure the DAVE DAC will have exemplary jitter rejection, although any impact of electrical noise at the input is a slightly different question but my guess would be this shouldn't be an issue either.

[mentt 37]

1 hour ago, MartinC said:

Not blind tests I'm guessing, but still interesting. From measurements I've seen of other Chord DACs I'm sure the DAVE DAC will have exemplary jitter rejection, although any impact of electrical noise at the input is a slightly different question but my guess would be this shouldn't be an issue either.

My friend was planning the blind test when we did the testing as it is so popular on the internet nowadays , but difference was so clear that even him after couple of tracks stopped requesting it. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by mentt

[Fourlegs 2,196]

7 minutes ago, mentt said:

My friend was planning the blind test when we did the testing as it so popular on the internet nowadays , but difference was so clear that even him after couple of tracks stopped requesting it. 

As I type I am sure that on another keyboard someone else is typing this -  " I don't believe you", Keith.

[mentt 37]

12 minutes ago, Fourlegs said:

As I type I am sure that on another keyboard someone else is typing this -  " I don't believe you", Keith.

Keith? He wouldn’t write such a thing :-)

[dino 2]

I think Cd format  is very close to being dead. Its inconvenient and scratches very easily.  I gave close to 1000 discs to various  charity shops over a period of some weeks, keeping only a few that are impossible to locate. Some of those shops sell 8 discs for one pound. People simply do not want them. 

All my collection is on a laptop and can be accessed instantly. I have checked several times to listen for any difference between the disc and even an MP3 version of the same recording. The disc does not have extra dynamics or  anything else. If the disc did, I would use, but it doesnt add anything. 

I dont think bits are bits. The quality of the DAC matters a lot, otherwise we all would be using a £200 DAC and makers of higher end DACS would not bother making them.