DVD player playing CD's

All players sound different some more than others. CD players are designed to play audio and DVD players are designed to play video and audio. Having said all that, the best way is to put it in your system and see if you like the results. 

That sums it up.

"Any degradation /loss of audio compared to a cd player?"

Well of course there is if it's a high quality player! 

Esoteric DV-50S, a multi-format (DVD, CD, SACD) player.

Think of the price of a DVD player you're considering.  Now think of all the video circuitry going into it.  Now think of a similarly priced CD player, and think of what isn't included in it.

The best thing is to use the DVD player as a transport and get a DAC whose sound you really like.

This question is funny to me. Us as audiophiles are so concerned about making a mistake. The answer is No.. For the most part. Unless your concerned with the features a player may have, a carousel, anti-skip, resume, etc. The DVD player should be identical to a CD player in extracting the digital information from a disc and should therefore be an acoustically transparent medium.

The caveat is that you plan on using the digital audio out (toslink/coax) of the player in question and disable any digital DSP settings. Not all players DACs are created equal though. Unfortunately there are some very poor performing DACs a player might incorporate that may not be so, “acoustically transparent”.

Thanx for the answers. I have a UBP X800 Sony and is considered a great DVD reference player. I also recently purchased a Bifrost 2 and Freya+.  I just connected it up and am soo impressed but was wondering if a cd player without a DAC would sound any better...

Use it, and enjoy!

 Use a couple pioneer dv players ourselves,...all sound great!

 Use a McCormack udp, sounds fine as well.

 Use it.

 My last cd only player was the Yamaha cds300 I think, sounded amazingly open, and airy! It didn’t last and didn’t play a few CDs, for which I should of overlooked, as she was an amazing sounding player!

 I do miss it, but the Pioneer dv-79 is one of the best players I’ve heard in a long time, great features and great sound.

 My last 2 players I owned have long since gone, and I loved the moth!,! Onkyo dx-7500
Acurus ACD-11

I used to use a Sony UBP x800 to play cd's.  It sounded fine.  However, I now use a Meridian 598 DVD audio player to play my cd's and the sound is even better.  The Meridian does have a dvd vs just a cd transport.  The electronics of the Meridian of course is among the best in the industry, and its about 10+ years old.

I am surprised how good the sound is out of my Marantz U7007 blu ray player through my Yggdrasil via digital coax.

Don’t know what a hi-end DVD player sounds like, but I can tell you for sure that a low-end DVD-player is sh*t compared to any routine dedicated CD-player. (I was told they had two different lasers and related circuitry? So that essentially what you’re getting for a cd-player is at best equivalent to one that would cost half as much. Is that true? )

I was going to say use a DAC, but you’re obviously already there.  Depending on the quality of the clock in the Bifrost you might benefit further from something like a W4S Reclocker and a better digital cable depending on what you’re using now.  Just some additional thoughts FWIW. 

I use an Oppo UDP205 as a CD transport to play exclusively CD and SACD. It sounds better than my previous Wadia CD player. 

iirc sony’s dvp 9100 es dvd/sacd player was one of the very best sounding ones back in the day playing 2 channel...

I used an Integra DPC 8.5 DVD/CD/SACD changer for many years and was very content with it. It had a Wolfson DAC and played CD’s & SACDs much better than the lower-end Yamaha and Sony players that preceded it. Notably absent was the motor noise that plagued the other decks when playing the higher RPM SACDs. It retailed for about $700 in 2007.
I had to replace it last year when it started glitching out whenever a gold disk was inserted.
Putting my limited number of SACDs on hold for a while. I took a chance on the CD-only, Marantz CD 6006. At only $599 at the time and having the option to use it with or without an external DAC, I was hoping that the sound would be "as good" as I had come to expect from the Integra.
Boy was I surprised. Using the internal DAC, Redbook CDs sounded much better than they ever did on the Integra... so much so, that it inspired one of those stupid-late listening marathons...playing many of my favorite and go to CDs, hearing more detail and musical sound than I knew they had.
I’ll be content with the 6006 for a while, but when my covid economy improves, I’ll be curious to take the next step with a better DAC and possibly a transport.
Anyway, it’s about the music and about the journey....it’s all good.
Cheers

I have a Meridian 800. I specifically asked Meridian this same question. Does their top of range dvd player play cds better than their top of range cd player? Answer yes - due to better components

The DVD player should be better. If you look at the error rate coming off a CD player data stream, much higher than a DVD player. and remember few of the high end CD players make their own drives, almost all sourced from China or Japan. the Real question is what DAC will you use with it?

We have a SONY DVD/CD unit.  The only complaint is it only takes one CD at a time but it truly sounds just fine.  Multi-unit CD players or juke boxes are more convenient.

Good luck. Just use the best cables you can afford or if it has an optical out for Audio alone.
Some units only have one optical out.

My Parasound Hilo has two optical in's and one is used for a standard CD changer and one for TV Dish audio.

The DVD/CD player is in another room not our main system but works well.

It really depends on the player.  I have a Rotel CD player that listed for around $1000.  I have a OPPO 95 DVD-BluRay player that also listed for around $1000.  I think the OPPO sounds better playing CD's that the Rotel does, plus it plays SACD's and DVD Audio discs.
You really just need to do a little research on the different players and then bring some home to audition them in your own system.

I use a Multiple Format Digital Disc player, it's a Esoteric DV-50. It's pre Blu-ray but it plays most everything else.

The thing about DVD players is, depending on the unit, there might be a brief pause between tracks. With some CDs this can be annoying. But other than that I would expect a DVD player to work fine playing a CD.

Try them in your system ans see how they do and sound if they sound good to you that is all that matters.

Do they not make a New California Audio Labs Tercet mkIII Cd player anymore? I can’t seem to find a vendor? I just read a review back in Oct 2020... Any Help?