2. misc-audio
  3. 1237138105

Trade offs?

As I have improved my system the quality of the CD recordings has become more and more obvious; unfortunately poor quality and harsh sounding discs seem to bother me more as the reproduction becomes clearer.
Having recently started using Ultrabit Platinum I find it sustantially improves the sound of better recordings but also reveals the harsness in poor recordings.
This all gets me wondering,on this quiet Sunday morning, if perhaps I'm reaching the end of the line on further upgrades to my Spectral/MIT based system?
For example will a better CD player simply reveal that the quality of the recordings are already the limiting factor in my enjoyment, better Cd players won't provide more enjoyment?
psacanli
sns
3,212 posts
 
Tvad, refinement for me has come with parts upgrades. Duelund, Jantzen and VH Audio V-Cap capacitors have made all the difference. Vishay nude resistors are nice as well. Power supply mods are the latest upgrades.

This kind of refinement doesn't have to cost a lot, DIY saves a whole lot. Parts upgrades also allow for a multitude of voicing adjustments, much greater than cables and various isolation schemes, even some wholesale equipment changes IME.

I can't believe how few modders are out there, equipment recycling is relatively boring, endless and costly, I'm done with it.
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devilboy
1,176 posts
 
"If you want more of your cd's to sound less harsh, then I suggest moving toward a less resolving system...."
WHAT?!?!?! Tvad: Do you really think that someone should totally reconfigure their system to accomodate "harsh" sounding cd's, instead of buying better cds? C'mon. That's like putting $500 tires on a Kia instead of buying a BMW.
plato
1,543 posts
 
Aball, I'm 100 percent with you on what you said about systems and recording quality. Congrats for explaining it better than I did. :)
psacanli OP
535 posts
 
Thanks for the comments, and I do understand where Tvad is coming from; however I should clarify, it is through the use of "exceptional" AC power conditioning and isolation, as well as the clarity gained using the CD enhancing fluid mentioned, that I came to this question. As well, I did not say that 'most' of my CDs sound poor- it's quite the reverse in fact - with the efforts I've spent so far more & more Cds reveal the beautiful musicality of the CDs(and I do have a Goldmund turntable as well) and artistic talent of the performers.
My question remains however. Am I reaching the end of the line for CD playback based on the comments I made?
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