I picked up an early 2000s Pioneer Elite DV-47A DVD player at a garage sale last year for just $10. It works great and features SACD compatibility and Brown/Burr DACs. It makes even regular CDs sound so good.
I have this one and an Oppo DV-980H. Bought them both for around $10 each used. CDs sound great. No way I'm going to spend thousands and get an improvement I feel is worthwhile.
I don't know if you are checking the comments 9 months later, but the store front is down. I tried to look at brands and models in the description. It said store front is not working 😢
no matter how expensive or cheap or old or new a cd player is, the data read from the disc always go into a buffer before being decoded into pcm audio, so the "the cd must spin at a consistent rate" is a total myth, the only thing that can cause jitters and stuff in the audio is the clock that times the pcm data before sending it to the dac
I recently picked up a Denon DCD-1520 ( vintage 1988 ) not knowing anything about it. All I can tell it was heavy. When I first hooked it up my first impression was Wow. Then I compared it to my Marantz and Yamaha CD players. Both really nice decks. To my ears the Denon sounded better. Upon further research The Denon has two Burr Brown PCM64P Digital converters and a Sony KSS-151A CD Mechanism. Both top notch. Also the Denon has a case within a case. I had to remove a lot of screws to get inside. Amazing build quality. Back in 1988 it was a 750.00 deck.
1 dual signal dac-$ 2 dual power supply for moving cd sled etc and putting out sound 3 dampening heavyn€$$? etc 4 dampening 5 quality off toslink chip output 6 last knött least dac etc. dcd 980 just rounder? slightlie? more pleasant to hear than 620. a lil bit. will knöt büy sonys with 271a or 274a as i wouldnt pay 500e ön a laser exchange... esi maya xte sounds more decent than the nahimic msi mobo but pops more often. bass is much ´teita^^ under toslink..? 1500 mk2 would be minimum i guess. on german ebay 1500 mk1 mostlie runs under 80e -.- the cd string 5 blotevogl also can shape the bass compactness... wörth every e ^^
The differences in the higher echelon gear is not subtle. You're paying for the ability to resolve Soundstage, separation, size, hight, accurate tone, and decay which make a huge difference. Timbre and the lowest jitter and noise floor possible help the sound come from the space around , above, and behind the speakers, providing they are not against the front wall. This all comes in to play with all good music, some gear is more forgiving some isn't. I can listen to Guns N Roses and be treated to the soundstage of the band. I can hear the bass guitar while hearing the lead, vocals, and percussion in their own space and time. Everything is tamed and not in a small confined space. I can then switch to classical and hear the orchestra and its subtleties as well as the larger instruments in concert with the chior if applicable. Is it all perfect, no, but its a treat to the senses and emotions.
Yes,thats why i auditioned many speakers.The ones i bought resolve sound stage separation, size, height, accurate tone, and decay,through moderate gear.
@@SylvesterJcat The quality of your sources determines the gain you get in resolution. With moderate end gear you simply won't get the full potential of a fully resolving speaker. In my journey that started with Focal Sopra No 3, they only got better as I climbed up higher on the Hi-Fi source totem. Ultimately if an audiophile wants their system to fully resolve their music the best, no moderate gear will fully do that and the speaker will still be good but not great. If anything it'll show the owner where the weak links are.
I first heard the term "audiophile" applied to hi-fi components in the early '80's in Britain. Back then it distinguished the minimalist, no-frills, sound quality-focused builds of (mostly British) small manufacturers from the mainstream products of (mostly Japanese) mass producers where features and aesthetics gobbled up a significant part of the budget. Even non-audiophile, non-music-lover households had some sort of stereo system so the distinction did make sense. Today the same people would just have a BT speaker so "audiophile" becomes a much more vague and subjective definition of sound quality.
Now Mike, even I understand the technical bits & pieces from a pure technological and also measurement point of view I really follow your sense as a listener too. Very well broadly explained and communicated. I often find myself of checking graphs, THD figures, Response, Wide spectrum analysis and so forth. But pure figures become meaningless (unless there is a serioustech problem in order of magnitudes) once you really start to listen. People often forget that a top notch system irrespective of costs will never sound right in the wrong room for instance. On the other hand a well treated or naturally good sounding room will lift even a mid range system to say more than one thought. Goes analogue then with a better system in such a room. Well done what you said here.
I liked how you explained about the Good performance CD Player components. But the same way as cars, home appliances, cellphones, and other things for the consumer market. For the tastes the colors!, and for the Budgets the Options!. Being and audiophile is to love and enjoy Music. Having a higher audio gear is the obsession with the music reproduction. The real audiophile doesn’t depend of the audio gear grade to enjoy his music. But if you have the opportunity ($) the obsession is there. Judge others with higher value audio gear eq and accessories sometimes is envy. Priorities are priorities and everyone has them…
Totally left hanging on the recommendations, the shops "closed". I just have trouble justifying hundreds of dollars on a CD player. Now I'm contemplating just burning/ripping all my disc's at the highest quality and be done with it. But I suppose they'll be something wrong with that too. 😅
The term "audiophile" needs to be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to audio gear. There's barely a grain of truth because it gets thrown around so much.
It’s basically become how much money do you have to spend/waste on gear. I consider myself an audiophile Jr. cause my 2 channel stereo sounds really good but it only cost me $1600 for the whole set up.
Great video Mike, thank you! The wife and I were listening to our stereo last week and I was telling her the same things that you state around the 2 minute mark in this vid. Which were: We can still improve on the sound, but improvements are going to start costing thousands instead of hundreds.
With respect to CD players/changers and their built-in DACs it depends on what you buy. I have an Integra CDC 3.4 5 disc changer which has a Wolfson DAC built-in. It's sounds fantastic in my kit. Everything from the Beatles to Rob Zombie to Miles Davis sounds fantastic. I've zero desire to buy a DAC for it. Yamaha CD players & changers have, in my experience, provided very good internal DACs. However if one has, for example, a basic Sony, or Technics CD player or changer, then investing in an external DAC is not a bad idea. It will certainly improve the listening experience. Schiit makes a very nice entry level DAC to start out with as well as something even better, there's a lot of DACs to choose out there. In many cases, regarding internal DACS, it's going to depend on the brand you buy and what parts that brand put in that component. But that's just me.
I just purchased a Cambridge CXCV2 transport. I have the Chord TT2 DAC/ Upscaler and TToby Amp (Oy Vey!!) These go brilliantly. I am not listening to the CD player-I am relying on the Cambridge doing its' bit in spinning those silver discs at the right tempo without jitter and enjoying my Chord family doing their bit.
I picked up a Pioneer CLD-S201 for $130.00 because I have a few music laserdiscs still. Seems okay to me. I have a Dark Side...Moon disc as a test and it sounds great. Speakers/amp are the most important part of my setup. Everything sounds great to my ears. 😊😊
Any CD player/transport connected over HDMI to a quality DAC / AVR is going to sound the same (as any other CD/DVD/BluRay Player.) With the DAC/Amp stages going to be the differentiator. I like the Sony UBP-X700 4k BluRay player connected to my Onkyo RZ-50. I can watch concerts on DVD or BluRay in surround, 4k BluRay movies in 7.1 lossless surround, listen to SACD in 5.1 lossless surround, listen to BluRay Pure-Audio in lossless Surround. And it supports SACD, DTS-MA, Dolby PA, Atmos, DTS-X and high res 8-channel (7.1) 24-192PCM. Oh and of course Rebbook CD's. Why would I want to limit myself to only red-book 2 channel CD's?
Like most audiophile things it requires you to believe such a thing actually exists. I guarantee I couldn't tell the difference between CD players with a gun to my head. I have talked to people that believe they can hear subtle differences that make expensive hardware and cables worth it. More power to them.
Excellent video. Would the “audiophile “ description change with the age of the item? I have just purchased a Marantz CD63 mkII KI edition which was definitely an audiophile product in its day but is it still? I bought this to replace a Technics which has served me well for 20+ years but I noticed some laser burn on one of my CD’s so wanted something that sounded analogue. To be honest I have fancied one for 25 years and can’t wait for it to arrive.
The answer to this is simpler than you make it seem: it's about sound quality. I used to think "better" meant more realistic to others and not just me, but it's even simpler than that: if the consensus is that people like something, that's it. Of course "audiophile" is also a marketing term, and the idea that something that there's anything out there in the modern world that is "proportionate in cost" is naive, and this has nothing to do with audio. It's a one-way and always has been: higher production cost will prevent certain goods from being marketed at a lower cost (i.e. a discrete output stage costs more than an off the shelf OpAmp), but there's no rule that says that something that's more expensive is (sounds) better. In addition to sound quality, buyers will be attracted to secondary features, some of which qualitative (built quality, looks etc.), some not (name recognition, resale value etc.). It's really not that complicated once one accepts that quality/price ratio is just that: a one-way.
I just bought Audiolab 9000CDT and it is a great "audiophile" CD transport! As for system is only as good as weakest link, I have found that is also why reasonable cables are needed. ps> Also sometimes when you move from mid hifo to high end, it is quite possible to go backwards for your own tastes, especially on tonality! :)
-Phil from latin origin just means to like or love something it is not bound to any quality standards, a poor guy student whoever who invests his small amount of money to get the best audio quality he can get can surely be called an audiphile while a rich guy who buys the most expensive gear just to show off is no audiophil in my definition.
What's your opinion about companies like Linn or Naim who decided to quit manufacturing cd players and only focused on streamers plus dac inside. They say sound better but other customers think "The old" cd players of the same companies sounded better.
Many companies want to adapt to what's current. At the end of the day, the money is what all companies are after. I praise the companies that continue to innovate with the CD format!
The chances that the laser tracking, focusing, deciphering electronics and laser mechanisms are anything other than off the shelf items used elsewhere is pretty laughable. The major factor is going to be the DAC itself. If it's outputing Toslink or coaxial digital, it's still up the DAC. Bits are bits. The aesthetics of the outside of the chassis and relative smooth operation of the disc loading mechanism and maybe the display are really the only premium items. Well maybe the back panel connections. Seems completely underwhelming for the ludicrous sums asked for many "high end CD transports"
A very enlightening lecture, demonstration on the topic of CD Players. Thumbs up. However, (in italics) I don't absolutely agree with you on the completely separate CD Transport only system of high fidelity! If a CD Player is well engineered, and as accurate as the manufacture has designed, and built it, such as Sony, or AMC CD6 CD Players, it can be connected as a CD Transport; and the output is going to be of excellent performance. Results are rarely noticeable. And if those sonic, musical advantages are there, they are very small. AMC was an American audiophile-level manufacturer of hi fi audio products deep into the 1990s. The following comments are not from deep technical knowledge which I don't possess; but from experience. And my opinions, and hearing observations are from listening experience! I conducted experiments, and to listen, and enjoy the music from CDs on four CD Players connected by Coaxial Cable, and a Sony CD Player connected with an digital optical Toslink. I have arrived at the conclusion that if a very good, medium priced CD Player is connected as a CD Transport by digital Coaxial, or Optical Cable from the CD Player's output jack's the sound of music is very close to a separate CD Transport only Player! Although it is obvious, and a matter of fact, a good Digital to Analogue Convertor is just as important as a disc drive laser assembly. Simple consideration, but maybe a bit ignored by some audiophiles who believe, and place more importance on a laser pickup, and transport mechanism. Maybe it seems that way to me by marketing, and advertising, anyhow. I have up to 4 different CD Players, whereupon one of them is actually a CD Transport connect to my Sony DH520 Receiver of 85 W (2012) for audio only. For the most part, I have three of those CD Players connected to an external DAC.Those 3 CD Players are connected to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 (2023) to the Receiver by Blue Jeans RCA Cables. AMC CD6 (of 1992) is connected by BlueRigger Coaxial Cable; to BD/DVD COAXIAL Input of Sony Receiver. Marantz SACD/DVD Player DV6400 (2003) interconnect is Blue Jeans Coax Cable; and the Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport also connected with Blue Jeans Cable. Also is a Sony CDP-970 (1989) I purchased from Canadian ebay that's very close to mint condition; it's connected with 3 foot Blue Jeans Optical Cable Toslink. From what I've heard a very long Optical Cable connection can degrade the sound; except for Optical Cable made of glass.🔉🎵🎶
Its a pity the golden ear brigade has difficulty justifying their absurd expenditure when they fail abx blind tests.The main difference are speakers and room placement,and its all about your taste and listening habits really.DACs,amps,transport systems,not so much its the placebo effect.But hey if your 100k system gives you the illusion your gear is far superior,who am i to say.
Can someone help me, I’m getting into cds and I’m looking for a good player to listen to with headphones. The list he provided doesn’t seem to be working. Thanks !
the recently bought gold note mk 1000 deluxe cd player provides incredible detali, soundscape I'ver ever heard.. You can actually "feel" the instruments
Most of my music collection is compact discs, just because it's the medium that I can find most of the recordings I want. I spend on equipment as much as I can afford. Do I wish I could spend more. A little. Am I likely to. Probably not.
I'm very happy with my NORMA Revo 1BR CD Player : Listening to a NORMA CD Player will surprise you when you hear the sound from CDs you think you already know. Firstly, the typical harshness of digital sound are missing, but at the same time you can find much more information and a lot more dynamics. All this happens without listening fatigue, but rather with a sense of neutrality and a surprising lack of artificiality. But perhaps even more spectacular is the reproduction of the soundstage. The NORMA CD Playerdoes not rebuild an artificial sound image, but really makes the listener feel the original ambience of the place where the CD was recorded. Anyone who has had the opportunity to listen to a Norma CD player has always reached the conclusion that, finally, a heavy curtain has been lifted over music. Now it’s like being seated in the front row and finally having the whole expressive palette available!
I bought a LINN GENKI CD player with an HDCD chip back in 2001. it's still going strong 21 years later- I only relegated it to my back up machine last year. That was an excellent investment all those years ago!
To my ears my vintage Philips CD101 sounds more musical than local streaming using modern 1 bit dacs. Don't know, if dacs in the 20k region would sound better.
I heard the earlyish Marantz players The special UK editions were especially impressive. The electrical superstore I worked in stocked them even though we stocked very few hi Fi separates. I used to A B demo them & say if you genuinely can't hear any difference in sound than save yourself the £50 difference. There was a significant improved sound & most customers could tell & describe difference on my demo standard cd music 🎶 tracks 👍🙂
@@andrewbrazier9664 Interesting. The CD101 may not be the last word regarding resolution. But the synergy with my Maggies, which are very transparent and two REL subs is really amazing. Marantz produced the CD63B, technically based on the Philips CD101 and a rare piece. 👍
"Audiophile" in today's use is nothing more than a hype sticker in my opinion. I have yet to see a receipt that explains and proves it to be a thing. Even the modern definition is a logical fallacy. I happen to have "trained ears" by force, not choice. Yes, I am a detail hound. The modern definition if stating that audiophiles want to hear the music or recording exactly the way it was done is impossible to achieve whether studio or live. In order to hear the recording that way one would have to have the exact equipment that was used in the mastering and the exact same setup. If we are talking a live recording that means not only would one need the exact same gear, but also the same venue! In my opinion to pursue this unicorn is the definition of insanity. Of the "audiophile" gear I have heard, all of it has been subpar in one way or other to "non-audiophile" gear. (gear without the hype sticker). My personal rule of thumb after that is that I avoid anything with the word "audiophile" in the description or such a sticker because it tells me straight away it is not going to perform well and is waste. One can get great sound ("audiophile sound") with almost any gear through good setup, period. The other half of the secret is setting expectations. If you expect to hear the music as it was recorded, you never will and you be be disappointed in everything and never enjoy the music. If one sets their expectations realistically, then one will find satisfaction. For me personally, my holy grail was making it so the the speakers disappear in the room, which can simulate the "live" sound. If one can close ones eyes and is unable to point to where their speakers are, but can point to where each musician is, then you have it! It took me a while, but I finally got there. (It came down to changing out the rug, believe it or not). None of my gear is "Audiophile", that is to say the word is not used in description and there were never such stickers on any of my pieces and none of it is from big box stores or what have you. Absolutely agree: Ones system is only as good as not only the weakest link in gear, but actually the weakest recording, because that is where it starts and we are not in control of the recordings. If one is that picky then one would never listen to a single note. Yes, the only measuring device that matters at the end of the day is ones ears, full stop. So what makes a CD player "Audiophile quality"? Answer: The sticker that says it is. Reality answer: There is no such thing or it is up to the beholder to claim it, but it is near impossible to prove.
I like your view on the subject. Crazy how a rug can make such a difference. People should definitely experiment with the acoustics in their room. It's a very rewarding experience.
DSP room correction has come a long way since the early days. You can now get amazing results from it, but, and through hundreds of hours of experimenting myself (and in my room) only below the schroeder frequency. Having a room that doesn't have to many reflective surfaces really helps also, in my experience. - - - - Having owned over 20 cd players in my time (and one or two of them very expensive ones) the two best players I've ever heard for sound quality are my current Denons (DCD-1600NE and DCD 2500NE) with their Alpha processing. Having said that I've had Trichord Master clocks fitted to both players, improvements to the power supplys carried out and chassis signal grounding applied to both as well as the rest of my system. What a difference chassis signal grounding makes, getting rid of any noise on the system and sending it to earth helping to keep RFI out of your system has to surely be a priority if you really want to hear great results. - - - Thanks for your video Mike!
@@jcarter3562 I have had a lot of different mid-priced CD players since the 80s with all having different DAC chips etc.. Half of them were ok and half were awful, but not for sound quality. As for that, they sounded the same to me. Today I have two CD players, both Marantz. The Marantz players I notice are built like brick houses. They are the heaviest players I have ever had and have big thick power cords. I find it odd, but that is how they come. There is a huge price difference between them and the more expensive one was just discontinued about a month and a half ago after being around for about 5 years. Both sound exactly the same. The outstanding thing about them to me is the transport, really good and solid. As for sound quality, to me they sound the same as any player. That said, from what I have heard over and over is that an outboard DAC can make a difference in sound quality of CD players. I can see that being possible, but I have not yet tried it. That is what I am fixing to do eventually, but I have a couple of other things on the audio list that are before it that I need to get.
@@ericelliott227I wouldn’t bother with an external DAC on your CD players. You will find exactly the same results as you have with every CD player you’ve heard. It’ll still sound the same. I’ve had a few CD players and external DACs. They are all audibly transparent, they present the recording as it is, there is no progression from that. That’s why they sound the same, they just sound like what ever the recording sounds like. Audiophilea really is a case of the emperors new clothes when it comes down to it.
@@michaelb9664 That is what I expect, but there is a twist with my current player that may or may not make a difference. My current player allows me to have choice of variable and fixed on the analog ports as well as the ability to shut down any ports not in use to reduce cross signal. Of course there is choice of Coax and Optical as well. It also allows for manual shut down of the internal DAC I think (I need to verify). That said, while I expect no difference at all, I have an arrangement with a company to try one of their DACs for 30 days with the option of return at no cost or fees. You are essentially correct about audiophilia.
is the Sony CDP-cx205 mega storage CD player any good? I think it sounds pretty good but I don't have anything to compare it to and it doesn't have an out for a dac just RCA outs thanks
@@normanleach5427 Yes, Instead of the laser trying to read a disc without errors at 200 to 500 rpm, the software can take it's time to verify that the CD has been read error free. If that means slowing the read, no problem. The data read back from a disc drive goes through more thorough error correction.
I do too but I still keep my CDs incase the WiFi goes (and it does have its' moments believe me.) Also nice to have the "old style" physical discs around.
Good morning from Toronto thanks for keeping me company on my drive into work this morning. As for a quality CD player audio file or not a quality built machine should last quite a few years the Denon that I am using it’s onto its third decade of use. There are many options out there and yes and external doc is in my opinion a must because unless you buy a multi thousand dollar unit and I’m talking $10,000 unit to be precise you will always have a compromise either in the transport or in the deck Now you don’t need to spend $10,000 but let’s face it in the world of Audiophile equipment that is not uncommon take care rate video as usual. This was by hands-free dictation so sorry for any pick ups in the text.
This is when Mike earns the " Golden Mic" ( this is where your passion lights up the Mic) The best sound happens @ the microvolts ,milliamps level that means clean power is important. You can build a low noise power supply with multiple outputs for under $50 In short excellent sound is not as esoteric as we make it in America ( One day we need to connect so I can pass on some plug & play options any one can do) Pro Tip CD >optical or Coax>Cheap DAC> AVR internal DAC= top notch CD Audio
The answer alot of bs. If I could get a brand new single tray sony 910 from the 80's I would take that over anything at all made today. Mine just now broke beyond reasonable price repair. Had for like 40 years not a bad run. And in those years a lot of people with really expensive players asked wtf.
"Audiophile / High End Audio" are terms from the Psychological / Mental issue books. In contrary: wide band signal transfer, low self noise, low jitter error, Fast slew rate, solide error correction, cloaking, cd drive physical stability and resonates protection...blah blah blah - ARE VALID TECHNICAL terms. It's 2023 - why to use inferior digital audio format like mechanical CD ??? Load the wav to a harddrive / cloud drive 1time and stream it without the mechanical week point of the Archeological CD! Get yourself a nice DA convertor and spend the rest of your life to make enough money for Acoustical Treatment of your large- long walls / high ceiling listening room;) Enjoy your voodoo, have fun in life, be blessed, healthy, free and prosper!
"Sound is only as good as the weakest link?" I TOTALLY disagree!! Even with a crappy $80 Lepai class-D amp, I was really enjoying my $1000/pair Zu speakers (in a rec-room system) They clearly sounded better than if I had cheap $300 Pioneer speakers. I don't like this saying, because it makes people think you cannot appreciate better speakers with a crappy little amp, so why bother? That's simply not true. You can slowly build up your system, and replace the weaker items with better items over time. And believe it or not, you can indeed appreciate better amplification on some cheap speakers (unless they are really truly bad). Sometimes you don't know what the weak link is, until you replace it!
If one who is putting a system together has invested the heaviest with regard to the speakers; that's the best way to do it. Paul McGowan from PS Audio advises to do that all of the time. Get the best speakers you can possibly afford. I often advise people to do the same. Depending on the speaker's characteristics, it will showcase the strengths of whatever amplifier one is using, but it can just as easily display the limits of that amplifier as well. A cheap amplifier is going to have its limitations. It will not explore the complete landscape of what an expensive set of speakers can do. That's the science of it. That's when amplifier upgrades will generally improve the sound significantly. For example if one jumps from a $80-$100 amplifier to a well-reviewed amplifier, (which is the next logical step in most cases) that's $800-$1200 or a bit more, then there will be a an improvement in sound quality because you're dealing with companies that design amplifiers using better parts, materials, chassis, and overall design, along with more features, better transformer, better phono stage, better DAC, more wattage, a tube or solid state design, etc. That means those speakers are going to reveal those improvements. So if the amplifier is the weakest link in that chain then that's where I don't agree with you but if it's a less vital component in your kit, then that rule won't necessarily apply. However one should at least know what their weakest link is before spending money to replace it; that way one knows what it is that they're pursuing in the first place. One should know their own kit completely, inside and out to the best of their abilities and if one does not know, then they haven't been listening carefully enough and should invest more time to correct that before spending any money needlessly. To not know that and randomly spend money on a component is a waste of time and money. That would be like walking into an auto dealership randomly purchasing the very first vehicle you see without knowing anything about it, while giving zero thought to what it is that you want to drive and why. To do so would be unnecessarily risky with a very high likelihood of dissatisfaction with such a purchase. So in a nutshell, I don't agree with you, especially regarding that last part you stated. However it's your time and your money, do what you think will work for you.
Take of three cd players. 1: Rega Apollo. Maddening lack of error correction. does it's best to sound analog. 2. Marantz cd-6007. AKM DAC, sounds very vivid and really has an impactful sound, especially compared to the rega. $200 sony cd player: sounds kind of dull vs either aforementioned player.
Not sure why you’d ever use the internal DAC, though. Even great CDPs internals can’t compete with a quality standalone DAC and even if they matched, you’d lose the flexibility of being able to add other sources.
I own a 12 year old Onkyo "mid range" C7070 cd player running through a Naim XLS2 amplifier & Focal floorstanders Really well made & specs say, left & right internal stereo channels are seperate !!! Case is packed with electronics. I took it in for service after a CD slid over the shallow tray ! Can't imagine another cd player could sound better tbh My 2nd system cd player is a year old Rotel Tribute An owner compared it with his Marantz CD6007 & said it had the edge as music was more clearly defined. Cost me less than £300 🇬🇧 & running through adecade old Marantz PM6006 amplifier & also new budget Mission QX2 Mk 2 speakers Sounds very impressive & detailed at this price 👍 I did try running Panasonic Blu ray player as a CD player though 1st but sound was a little brittle & thin.
Agree.... , but the Yamaha cd-s303 beats it..... bought 3 of them...one with the update...but the one without the update matches my ortofon 2m blue cartridge sound better.... Yamaha...! Have a couple of videos.
just twisted or turned my plastick trashcans below my fostex 0.5 and yes tighter bass ör much? less nöize?.. nö 3 digit träncespörtt? even will featur töp löädink enäblink different puck $häpes -:-
CD is obsolete low res digital, talking about “Audiophile Quality”with cd is ridiculous today, and degrade the community credibility when rme state that 768khz/32bit PCM still not as good as analog!
Audiophile quality starts with the recording. Most recordings don't get close to whats actually possible.
Try Steely Dan.
FooFighters prove this and record is horrible horrible ways
Yes! Recording first… and when your system is too analytical, you can’t listen to most of your collection…..
I picked up an early 2000s Pioneer Elite DV-47A DVD player at a garage sale last year for just $10. It works great and features SACD compatibility and Brown/Burr DACs. It makes even regular CDs sound so good.
I have this one and an Oppo DV-980H. Bought them both for around $10 each used. CDs sound great. No way I'm going to spend thousands and get an improvement I feel is worthwhile.
@@AG-bp3ll right on!
I don't know if you are checking the comments 9 months later, but the store front is down. I tried to look at brands and models in the description. It said store front is not working 😢
no matter how expensive or cheap or old or new a cd player is, the data read from the disc always go into a buffer before being decoded into pcm audio, so the "the cd must spin at a consistent rate" is a total myth, the only thing that can cause jitters and stuff in the audio is the clock that times the pcm data before sending it to the dac
I recently picked up a Denon DCD-1520 ( vintage 1988 ) not knowing anything about it. All I can tell it was heavy. When I first hooked it up my first impression was Wow. Then I compared it to my Marantz and Yamaha CD players. Both really nice decks. To my ears the Denon sounded better. Upon further research The Denon has two Burr Brown PCM64P Digital converters and a Sony KSS-151A CD Mechanism. Both top notch. Also the Denon has a case within a case. I had to remove a lot of screws to get inside. Amazing build quality. Back in 1988 it was a 750.00 deck.
1 dual signal dac-$ 2 dual power supply for moving cd sled etc and putting out sound 3 dampening heavyn€$$? etc 4 dampening 5 quality off toslink chip output
6 last knött least dac etc. dcd 980 just rounder? slightlie? more pleasant to hear than 620. a lil bit. will knöt büy sonys with 271a or 274a as i wouldnt pay 500e ön a laser exchange...
esi maya xte sounds more decent than the nahimic msi mobo but pops more often. bass is much ´teita^^ under toslink..? 1500 mk2 would be minimum i guess.
on german ebay 1500 mk1 mostlie runs under 80e -.- the cd string 5 blotevogl also can shape the bass compactness... wörth every e ^^
The differences in the higher echelon gear is not subtle. You're paying for the ability to resolve Soundstage, separation, size, hight, accurate tone, and decay which make a huge difference. Timbre and the lowest jitter and noise floor possible help the sound come from the space around , above, and behind the speakers, providing they are not against the front wall. This all comes in to play with all good music, some gear is more forgiving some isn't. I can listen to Guns N Roses and be treated to the soundstage of the band. I can hear the bass guitar while hearing the lead, vocals, and percussion in their own space and time. Everything is tamed and not in a small confined space. I can then switch to classical and hear the orchestra and its subtleties as well as the larger instruments in concert with the chior if applicable. Is it all perfect, no, but its a treat to the senses and emotions.
Yes,thats why i auditioned many speakers.The ones i bought resolve sound stage separation, size, height, accurate tone, and decay,through moderate gear.
@@SylvesterJcat The quality of your sources determines the gain you get in resolution. With moderate end gear you simply won't get the full potential of a fully resolving speaker. In my journey that started with Focal Sopra No 3, they only got better as I climbed up higher on the Hi-Fi source totem. Ultimately if an audiophile wants their system to fully resolve their music the best, no moderate gear will fully do that and the speaker will still be good but not great. If anything it'll show the owner where the weak links are.
I first heard the term "audiophile" applied to hi-fi components in the early '80's in Britain. Back then it distinguished the minimalist, no-frills, sound quality-focused builds of (mostly British) small manufacturers from the mainstream products of (mostly Japanese) mass producers where features and aesthetics gobbled up a significant part of the budget. Even non-audiophile, non-music-lover households had some sort of stereo system so the distinction did make sense. Today the same people would just have a BT speaker so "audiophile" becomes a much more vague and subjective definition of sound quality.
I think it’s more about spending tons of money on stuff you could get way cheaper now
Now Mike, even I understand the technical bits & pieces from a pure technological and also measurement point of view I really follow your sense as a listener too. Very well broadly explained and communicated. I often find myself of checking graphs, THD figures, Response, Wide spectrum analysis and so forth. But pure figures become meaningless (unless there is a serioustech problem in order of magnitudes) once you really start to listen. People often forget that a top notch system irrespective of costs will never sound right in the wrong room for instance. On the other hand a well treated or naturally good sounding room will lift even a mid range system to say more than one thought. Goes analogue then with a better system in such a room. Well done what you said here.
I liked how you explained about the Good performance CD Player components. But the same way as cars, home appliances, cellphones, and other things for the consumer market. For the tastes the colors!, and for the Budgets the Options!. Being and audiophile is to love and enjoy Music. Having a higher audio gear is the obsession with the music reproduction. The real audiophile doesn’t depend of the audio gear grade to enjoy his music. But if you have the opportunity ($) the obsession is there. Judge others with higher value audio gear eq and accessories sometimes is envy. Priorities are priorities and everyone has them…
Totally left hanging on the recommendations, the shops "closed". I just have trouble justifying hundreds of dollars on a CD player. Now I'm contemplating just burning/ripping all my disc's at the highest quality and be done with it. But I suppose they'll be something wrong with that too. 😅
The term "audiophile" needs to be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to audio gear. There's barely a grain of truth because it gets thrown around so much.
You told it the way that I see it.
Spot on observation
It’s basically become how much money do you have to spend/waste on gear. I consider myself an audiophile Jr. cause my 2 channel stereo sounds really good but it only cost me $1600 for the whole set up.
Great video Mike, thank you! The wife and I were listening to our stereo last week and I was telling her the same things that you state around the 2 minute mark in this vid. Which were:
We can still improve on the sound, but improvements are going to start costing thousands instead of hundreds.
With respect to CD players/changers and their built-in DACs it depends on what you buy.
I have an Integra CDC 3.4 5 disc changer which has a Wolfson DAC built-in.
It's sounds fantastic in my kit. Everything from the Beatles to Rob Zombie to Miles Davis sounds fantastic. I've zero desire to buy a DAC for it.
Yamaha CD players & changers have, in my experience, provided very good internal DACs.
However if one has, for example, a basic Sony, or Technics CD player or changer, then investing in an external DAC is not a bad idea. It will certainly improve the listening experience.
Schiit makes a very nice entry level DAC to start out with as well as something even better, there's a lot of DACs to choose out there.
In many cases, regarding internal DACS, it's going to depend on the brand you buy and what parts that brand put in that component.
But that's just me.
I agree, I have a Magnavox from the early 80s that has an incredible DAC. All depends on how it's designed.
I just purchased a Cambridge CXCV2 transport. I have the Chord TT2 DAC/ Upscaler and TToby Amp (Oy Vey!!) These go brilliantly. I am not listening to the CD player-I am relying on the Cambridge doing its' bit in spinning those silver discs at the right tempo without jitter and enjoying my Chord family doing their bit.
Chord is very nice!
You gave me the idea of the Transport, Mike. Thanks for that.
I picked up a Pioneer CLD-S201 for $130.00 because I have a few music laserdiscs still. Seems okay to me. I have a Dark Side...Moon disc as a test and it sounds great. Speakers/amp are the most important part of my setup. Everything sounds great to my ears. 😊😊
Any CD player/transport connected over HDMI to a quality DAC / AVR is going to sound the same (as any other CD/DVD/BluRay Player.) With the DAC/Amp stages going to be the differentiator.
I like the Sony UBP-X700 4k BluRay player connected to my Onkyo RZ-50. I can watch concerts on DVD or BluRay in surround, 4k BluRay movies in 7.1 lossless surround, listen to SACD in 5.1 lossless surround, listen to BluRay Pure-Audio in lossless Surround. And it supports SACD, DTS-MA, Dolby PA, Atmos, DTS-X and high res 8-channel (7.1) 24-192PCM. Oh and of course Rebbook CD's.
Why would I want to limit myself to only red-book 2 channel CD's?
You need to try more CD transports. There is an audible difference. I did an entire video explaining why.
Mike, you are a God among RUclipsrs. Thanks for your hard work and delving into this. So helpful!
Like most audiophile things it requires you to believe such a thing actually exists. I guarantee I couldn't tell the difference between CD players with a gun to my head. I have talked to people that believe they can hear subtle differences that make expensive hardware and cables worth it. More power to them.
It all depends on the DAC, as a transport it's less noticeable
Excellent video. Would the “audiophile “ description change with the age of the item? I have just purchased a Marantz CD63 mkII KI edition which was definitely an audiophile product in its day but is it still? I bought this to replace a Technics which has served me well for 20+ years but I noticed some laser burn on one of my CD’s so wanted something that sounded analogue. To be honest I have fancied one for 25 years and can’t wait for it to arrive.
Well, I'm so happy with my ps1 1001...
The answer to this is simpler than you make it seem: it's about sound quality. I used to think "better" meant more realistic to others and not just me, but it's even simpler than that: if the consensus is that people like something, that's it. Of course "audiophile" is also a marketing term, and the idea that something that there's anything out there in the modern world that is "proportionate in cost" is naive, and this has nothing to do with audio. It's a one-way and always has been: higher production cost will prevent certain goods from being marketed at a lower cost (i.e. a discrete output stage costs more than an off the shelf OpAmp), but there's no rule that says that something that's more expensive is (sounds) better. In addition to sound quality, buyers will be attracted to secondary features, some of which qualitative (built quality, looks etc.), some not (name recognition, resale value etc.). It's really not that complicated once one accepts that quality/price ratio is just that: a one-way.
Besides, I love that T-shirt 👕. Wonder where to get that one ..
I just bought Audiolab 9000CDT and it is a great "audiophile" CD transport!
As for system is only as good as weakest link, I have found that is also why reasonable cables are needed.
ps> Also sometimes when you move from mid hifo to high end, it is quite possible to go backwards for your own tastes, especially on tonality! :)
-Phil from latin origin just means to like or love something it is not bound to any quality standards, a poor guy student whoever who invests his small amount of money to get the best audio quality he can get can surely be called an audiphile while a rich guy who buys the most expensive gear just to show off is no audiophil in my definition.
The link to those cd players doesn’t work
What's your opinion about companies like Linn or Naim who decided to quit manufacturing cd players and only focused on streamers plus dac inside. They say sound better but other customers think "The old" cd players of the same companies sounded better.
Many companies want to adapt to what's current. At the end of the day, the money is what all companies are after. I praise the companies that continue to innovate with the CD format!
@@audioarkitekts The money is always the king...
The chances that the laser tracking, focusing, deciphering electronics and laser mechanisms are anything other than off the shelf items used elsewhere is pretty laughable. The major factor is going to be the DAC itself. If it's outputing Toslink or coaxial digital, it's still up the DAC. Bits are bits. The aesthetics of the outside of the chassis and relative smooth operation of the disc loading mechanism and maybe the display are really the only premium items. Well maybe the back panel connections. Seems completely underwhelming for the ludicrous sums asked for many "high end CD transports"
A very enlightening lecture, demonstration on the topic of CD Players. Thumbs up. However, (in italics) I don't absolutely agree with you on the completely separate CD Transport only system of high fidelity! If a CD Player is well engineered, and as accurate as the manufacture has designed, and built it, such as Sony, or AMC CD6 CD Players, it can be connected as a CD Transport; and the output is going to be of excellent performance.
Results are rarely noticeable. And if those sonic, musical advantages are there, they are very small. AMC was an American audiophile-level manufacturer of hi fi audio products deep into the 1990s. The following comments are not from deep technical knowledge which I don't possess; but from experience. And my opinions, and hearing observations are from listening experience!
I conducted experiments, and to listen, and enjoy the music from CDs on four CD Players connected by Coaxial Cable, and a Sony CD Player connected with an digital optical Toslink. I have arrived at the conclusion that if a very good, medium priced CD Player is connected as a CD Transport by digital Coaxial, or Optical Cable from the CD Player's output jack's the sound of music is very close to a separate CD Transport only Player!
Although it is obvious, and a matter of fact, a good Digital to Analogue Convertor is just as important as a disc drive laser assembly. Simple consideration, but maybe a bit ignored by some audiophiles who believe, and place more importance on a laser pickup, and transport mechanism. Maybe it seems that way to me by marketing, and advertising, anyhow.
I have up to 4 different CD Players, whereupon one of them is actually a CD Transport connect to my Sony DH520 Receiver of 85 W (2012) for audio only. For the most part, I have three of those CD Players connected to an external DAC.Those 3 CD Players are connected to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 (2023) to the Receiver by Blue Jeans RCA Cables.
AMC CD6 (of 1992) is connected by BlueRigger Coaxial Cable; to BD/DVD COAXIAL Input of Sony Receiver. Marantz SACD/DVD Player DV6400 (2003) interconnect is Blue Jeans Coax Cable; and the Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport also connected with Blue Jeans Cable.
Also is a Sony CDP-970 (1989) I purchased from Canadian ebay that's very close to mint condition; it's connected with 3 foot Blue Jeans Optical Cable Toslink. From what I've heard a very long Optical Cable connection can degrade the sound; except for Optical Cable made of glass.🔉🎵🎶
Its a pity the golden ear brigade has difficulty justifying their absurd expenditure when they fail abx blind tests.The main difference are speakers and room placement,and its all about your taste and listening habits really.DACs,amps,transport systems,not so much its the placebo effect.But hey if your 100k system gives you the illusion your gear is far superior,who am i to say.
Can someone help me, I’m getting into cds and I’m looking for a good player to listen to with headphones. The list he provided doesn’t seem to be working. Thanks !
There are so many.. how about a Denon DCD-1450 AR ? It's a good one that you can get pretty cheap.
I just picked up an Onkyo DX-C390 open box from Best Buy for $125 with a 4 year geek squad warranty. I would look for one of these
the recently bought gold note mk 1000 deluxe cd player provides incredible detali, soundscape I'ver ever heard.. You can actually "feel" the instruments
Most of my music collection is compact discs, just because it's the medium that I can find most of the recordings I want. I spend on equipment as much as I can afford. Do I wish I could spend more. A little. Am I likely to. Probably not.
I'm very happy with my NORMA Revo 1BR CD Player : Listening to a NORMA CD Player will surprise you when you hear the sound from CDs you think you already know. Firstly, the typical harshness of digital sound are missing, but at the same time you can find much more information and a lot more dynamics. All this happens without listening fatigue, but rather with a sense of neutrality and a surprising lack of artificiality. But perhaps even more spectacular is the reproduction of the soundstage. The NORMA CD Playerdoes not rebuild an artificial sound image, but really makes the listener feel the original ambience of the place where the CD was recorded. Anyone who has had the opportunity to listen to a Norma CD player has always reached the conclusion that, finally, a heavy curtain has been lifted over music. Now it’s like being seated in the front row and finally having the whole expressive palette available!
I bought a LINN GENKI CD player with an HDCD chip back in 2001. it's still going strong 21 years later- I only relegated it to my back up machine last year. That was an excellent investment all those years ago!
I will print my t-shirt with the compact DISC DIGITAL AUDIO *TEXT*
because I like record the titles and names xD :D : )
To my ears my vintage Philips CD101 sounds more musical than local streaming using modern 1 bit dacs. Don't know, if dacs in the 20k region would sound better.
I heard the earlyish Marantz players The special UK editions were especially impressive.
The electrical superstore I worked in stocked them even though we stocked very few hi Fi separates.
I used to A B demo them & say if you genuinely can't hear any difference in sound than save yourself the £50 difference.
There was a significant improved sound & most customers could tell & describe difference on my demo standard cd music 🎶 tracks 👍🙂
@@andrewbrazier9664 Interesting. The CD101 may not be the last word regarding resolution. But the synergy with my Maggies, which are very transparent and two REL subs is really amazing. Marantz produced the CD63B, technically based on the Philips CD101 and a rare piece. 👍
"Audiophile" in today's use is nothing more than a hype sticker in my opinion. I have yet to see a receipt that explains and proves it to be a thing. Even the modern definition is a logical fallacy. I happen to have "trained ears" by force, not choice. Yes, I am a detail hound. The modern definition if stating that audiophiles want to hear the music or recording exactly the way it was done is impossible to achieve whether studio or live. In order to hear the recording that way one would have to have the exact equipment that was used in the mastering and the exact same setup. If we are talking a live recording that means not only would one need the exact same gear, but also the same venue! In my opinion to pursue this unicorn is the definition of insanity.
Of the "audiophile" gear I have heard, all of it has been subpar in one way or other to "non-audiophile" gear. (gear without the hype sticker).
My personal rule of thumb after that is that I avoid anything with the word "audiophile" in the description or such a sticker because it tells me straight away it is not going to perform well and is waste.
One can get great sound ("audiophile sound") with almost any gear through good setup, period. The other half of the secret is setting expectations. If you expect to hear the music as it was recorded, you never will and you be be disappointed in everything and never enjoy the music. If one sets their expectations realistically, then one will find satisfaction. For me personally, my holy grail was making it so the the speakers disappear in the room, which can simulate the "live" sound. If one can close ones eyes and is unable to point to where their speakers are, but can point to where each musician is, then you have it! It took me a while, but I finally got there. (It came down to changing out the rug, believe it or not). None of my gear is "Audiophile", that is to say the word is not used in description and there were never such stickers on any of my pieces and none of it is from big box stores or what have you.
Absolutely agree: Ones system is only as good as not only the weakest link in gear, but actually the weakest recording, because that is where it starts and we are not in control of the recordings. If one is that picky then one would never listen to a single note.
Yes, the only measuring device that matters at the end of the day is ones ears, full stop.
So what makes a CD player "Audiophile quality"? Answer: The sticker that says it is. Reality answer: There is no such thing or it is up to the beholder to claim it, but it is near impossible to prove.
I like your view on the subject. Crazy how a rug can make such a difference. People should definitely experiment with the acoustics in their room. It's a very rewarding experience.
DSP room correction has come a long way since the early days. You can now get amazing results from it, but, and through hundreds of hours of experimenting myself (and in my room) only below the schroeder frequency. Having a room that doesn't have to many reflective surfaces really helps also, in my experience. - - - - Having owned over 20 cd players in my time (and one or two of them very expensive ones) the two best players I've ever heard for sound quality are my current Denons (DCD-1600NE and DCD 2500NE) with their Alpha processing. Having said that I've had Trichord Master clocks fitted to both players, improvements to the power supplys carried out and chassis signal grounding applied to both as well as the rest of my system. What a difference chassis signal grounding makes, getting rid of any noise on the system and sending it to earth helping to keep RFI out of your system has to surely be a priority if you really want to hear great results. - - - Thanks for your video Mike!
@@jcarter3562 I have had a lot of different mid-priced CD players since the 80s with all having different DAC chips etc.. Half of them were ok and half were awful, but not for sound quality. As for that, they sounded the same to me. Today I have two CD players, both Marantz. The Marantz players I notice are built like brick houses. They are the heaviest players I have ever had and have big thick power cords. I find it odd, but that is how they come. There is a huge price difference between them and the more expensive one was just discontinued about a month and a half ago after being around for about 5 years. Both sound exactly the same. The outstanding thing about them to me is the transport, really good and solid. As for sound quality, to me they sound the same as any player.
That said, from what I have heard over and over is that an outboard DAC can make a difference in sound quality of CD players. I can see that being possible, but I have not yet tried it. That is what I am fixing to do eventually, but I have a couple of other things on the audio list that are before it that I need to get.
@@ericelliott227I wouldn’t bother with an external DAC on your CD players. You will find exactly the same results as you have with every CD player you’ve heard. It’ll still sound the same.
I’ve had a few CD players and external DACs. They are all audibly transparent, they present the recording as it is, there is no progression from that. That’s why they sound the same, they just sound like what ever the recording sounds like.
Audiophilea really is a case of the emperors new clothes when it comes down to it.
@@michaelb9664 That is what I expect, but there is a twist with my current player that may or may not make a difference. My current player allows me to have choice of variable and fixed on the analog ports as well as the ability to shut down any ports not in use to reduce cross signal. Of course there is choice of Coax and Optical as well. It also allows for manual shut down of the internal DAC I think (I need to verify). That said, while I expect no difference at all, I have an arrangement with a company to try one of their DACs for 30 days with the option of return at no cost or fees.
You are essentially correct about audiophilia.
is the Sony CDP-cx205 mega storage CD player any good? I think it sounds pretty good but I don't have anything to compare it to and it doesn't have an out for a dac just RCA outs thanks
Good info and content.
get dCS gear and it's game over.
All CD players have built in error correction,
Jitter isn't an issue.
I rip all my CDs to flac files with my own method and software. Gets the cd transport question out of the equation altogether.
Do tell...(seriously)
@@normanleach5427 Yes, Instead of the laser trying to read a disc without errors at 200 to 500 rpm, the software can take it's time to verify that the CD has been read error free. If that means slowing the read, no problem. The data read back from a disc drive goes through more thorough error correction.
I do too but I still keep my CDs incase the WiFi goes (and it does have its' moments believe me.) Also nice to have the "old style" physical discs around.
@@samlaser1975 Yes, I keep them too.
Sure, but what CD player did you use to do that?
A better CD and DAC is not necessarily a good thing, I upgraded recently and much of my CD collection now sounds unpleasant.
Good morning from Toronto thanks for keeping me company on my drive into work this morning. As for a quality CD player audio file or not a quality built machine should last quite a few years the Denon that I am using it’s onto its third decade of use. There are many options out there and yes and external doc is in my opinion a must because unless you buy a multi thousand dollar unit and I’m talking $10,000 unit to be precise you will always have a compromise either in the transport or in the deck Now you don’t need to spend $10,000 but let’s face it in the world of Audiophile equipment that is not uncommon take care rate video as usual. This was by hands-free dictation so sorry for any pick ups in the text.
Where can I get the cd shirt?
Link is in the description!
This is when Mike earns the " Golden Mic" ( this is where your passion lights up the Mic)
The best sound happens @ the microvolts ,milliamps level that means clean power is important.
You can build a low noise power supply with multiple outputs for under $50
In short excellent sound is not as esoteric as we make it in America
( One day we need to connect so I can pass on some plug & play options any one can do)
Pro Tip CD >optical or Coax>Cheap DAC> AVR internal DAC= top notch CD Audio
I almost committed to be a D the player contains a philips tda1541.
Else its not audiophile.
The answer alot of bs. If I could get a brand new single tray sony 910 from the 80's I would take that over anything at all made today.
Mine just now broke beyond reasonable price repair. Had for like 40 years not a bad run.
And in those years a lot of people with really expensive players asked wtf.
"Audiophile / High End Audio" are terms from the
Psychological / Mental issue books.
In contrary:
wide band signal transfer, low self noise, low jitter error,
Fast slew rate, solide error correction, cloaking, cd drive
physical stability and resonates protection...blah blah blah -
ARE VALID TECHNICAL terms.
It's 2023 -
why to use inferior digital audio format like mechanical CD ???
Load the wav to a harddrive / cloud drive 1time and stream it
without the mechanical week point of the Archeological CD!
Get yourself a nice DA convertor and spend the rest of your
life to make enough money for Acoustical Treatment of your
large- long walls / high ceiling listening room;)
Enjoy your voodoo, have fun in life, be blessed,
healthy, free and prosper!
Audiophile Quality means having more noise and distortion or being less linear than than it should.
"Sound is only as good as the weakest link?" I TOTALLY disagree!! Even with a crappy $80 Lepai class-D amp, I was really enjoying my $1000/pair Zu speakers (in a rec-room system) They clearly sounded better than if I had cheap $300 Pioneer speakers. I don't like this saying, because it makes people think you cannot appreciate better speakers with a crappy little amp, so why bother? That's simply not true. You can slowly build up your system, and replace the weaker items with better items over time. And believe it or not, you can indeed appreciate better amplification on some cheap speakers (unless they are really truly bad). Sometimes you don't know what the weak link is, until you replace it!
We will have to agree to disagree on this one.
If one who is putting a system together has invested the heaviest with regard to the speakers; that's the best way to do it.
Paul McGowan from PS Audio advises to do that all of the time. Get the best speakers you can possibly afford. I often advise people to do the same. Depending on the speaker's characteristics, it will showcase the strengths of whatever amplifier one is using, but it can just as easily display the limits of that amplifier as well.
A cheap amplifier is going to have its limitations. It will not explore the complete landscape of what an expensive set of speakers can do. That's the science of it.
That's when amplifier upgrades will generally improve the sound significantly.
For example if one jumps from a $80-$100 amplifier to a well-reviewed amplifier, (which is the next logical step in most cases) that's $800-$1200 or a bit more, then there will be a an improvement in sound quality because you're dealing with companies that design amplifiers using better parts, materials, chassis, and overall design, along with more features, better transformer, better phono stage, better DAC, more wattage, a tube or solid state design, etc.
That means those speakers are going to reveal those improvements. So if the amplifier is the weakest link in that chain then that's where I don't agree with you but if it's a less vital component in your kit, then that rule won't necessarily apply.
However one should at least know what their weakest link is before spending money to replace it; that way one knows what it is that they're pursuing in the first place. One should know their own kit completely, inside and out to the best of their abilities and if one does not know, then they haven't been listening carefully enough and should invest more time to correct that before spending any money needlessly.
To not know that and randomly spend money on a component is a waste of time and money.
That would be like walking into an auto dealership randomly purchasing the very first vehicle you see without knowing anything about it, while giving zero thought to what it is that you want to drive and why. To do so would be unnecessarily risky with a very high likelihood of dissatisfaction with such a purchase.
So in a nutshell, I don't agree with you, especially regarding that last part you stated. However it's your time and your money, do what you think will work for you.
Take of three cd players. 1: Rega Apollo. Maddening lack of error correction. does it's best to sound analog. 2. Marantz cd-6007. AKM DAC, sounds very vivid and really has an impactful sound, especially compared to the rega. $200 sony cd player: sounds kind of dull vs either aforementioned player.
Not sure why you’d ever use the internal DAC, though. Even great CDPs internals can’t compete with a quality standalone DAC and even if they matched, you’d lose the flexibility of being able to add other sources.
I own a 12 year old Onkyo "mid range" C7070 cd player running through a Naim XLS2 amplifier & Focal floorstanders
Really well made & specs say, left & right internal stereo channels are seperate !!! Case is packed with electronics. I took it in for service after a CD slid over the shallow tray !
Can't imagine another cd player could sound better tbh
My 2nd system cd player is a year old Rotel Tribute
An owner compared it with his Marantz CD6007 & said it had the edge as music was more clearly defined.
Cost me less than £300 🇬🇧 & running through adecade old Marantz PM6006 amplifier & also new budget Mission QX2 Mk 2 speakers
Sounds very impressive & detailed at this price 👍
I did try running Panasonic Blu ray player as a CD player though 1st but sound was a little brittle & thin.
Put a good DAC on that Sony and it will sound a lot better in a profound manner.
6007 sound flat and boring compared to a pioneer pd 91 ki 63 ,Arcam Alpha 7se theses older players blew it away
Depends upon the gear, that's the bottom line.
Yamaha CD-S300 is a great unit.
Agree.... , but the Yamaha cd-s303 beats it..... bought 3 of them...one with the update...but the one without the update matches my ortofon 2m blue cartridge sound better.... Yamaha...! Have a couple of videos.
Bro cd s303 it’s sounds completely the same, and what Ortofon do you talking about, do we spoke about cd players or turntables 😂😂
just twisted or turned my plastick trashcans below my fostex 0.5 and yes tighter bass ör much? less nöize?..
nö 3 digit träncespörtt? even will featur töp löädink enäblink different puck $häpes -:-
Maybe audiophile CD players decode bigger and better 0's and 1's 😂
CD is obsolete low res digital, talking about “Audiophile Quality”with cd is ridiculous today, and degrade the community credibility when rme state that 768khz/32bit PCM still not as good as analog!
The Cambridge player and the audinote dac the best combination for playing CDs that I have ever had❤love sound