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Network Transport vs. CD Transport

So I decided to conduct an experiment. I pulled the old Marantz cd player circa 1999, around $400 retail, from storage along with few CDs. Using a coax digital cable with a $4.97 rca to bnc adapter from amazon, I sat down to listen. I played the CD, the ripped version (AIFF) of that CD, and a Qobuz redbook version thru my zmac Mini. Long story short...the reason why I did it was because there is something missing in the Mac Mini sound quality and I got tired of trying to figure out what the heck is going on. 
Anyways, that old cd player used as a transport into the Qutest DAC sounds considerably better  than the Mac Mini that right now I will need a few days break before I can can listen to the Mac again. I figured (assumed) that a dedicated network transport will pretty much better the Mac Mini and be comparable or better than what I heard with Marantz player as transport. Eyeing Auralic G1, Lumin D2 and Lumin U1 Mini as candidates (I need wifi capability), will any of these be comparable or better than let’s say a decent CD transport feeding the Chord Qutest? For example a Cambridge CXC, or a used high end player?
I can go back to spinning CDs, but figured I don’t want to give up on streaming just yet.
What are your thoughts - Auralic G1, Lumin D2, Lumin U1 Mini, or a dedicated CD transport for high quality playback. Forget convenience, let’s talk purely sound quality...thanks!

System:
Rogue RP-1, Rogue ST-100, Martin Logan Montis, Chord Qutest dac. 
128x128audphile1
porscheracer
132 posts
 
George,

The 24/96 "Reference Recordings" that you mention are not CDs. That's just marketing bullcrap. 

Why do you think it is better to convert from analog to 24/96 and then to 16/44.1 than to convert analog to 16/44.1? The only reason they do that is because they use "Peak Extend" in the conversion process so they can effectively gain some bits back, up to about 20. They are not real bits though. It is just a method to extend dynamic range to what you get with 20 bits.

So yes, if you have an HDCD compatible player, the "Reference Recordings" CDs can sound better. But, as the link I provided in my previous posts shows, if you don't have an HDCD compatible player, the results are not so good.


thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 

lalitk1,737 posts04-13-2020 5:19am“I think there are a number of inherent problems with the Mini as a streamer based on my recent findings. One is the internal Power supply. The other is the fact that it isn’t optimized for streaming music in the context of a high end system”.



In my opinion, unless you get rid of mac-mini you will never experience the true potential of high resolution digital streaming.
Bingo!!
limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,470 posts
 
Just take your cd out of its case and just put it in your cd player and enjoy...life is to short ,enjoy what you have  and be happy....
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
The 24/96 "Reference Recordings" that you mention are not CDs. That’s just marketing bullcrap.
🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Can’t see the forest for the trees.
Believe what you want, just have a listen to just one RR 24/96 CD, on a CD player even without a HDCD capabilities!
audphile1's avatar
audphile1 OP
5,433 posts
 
Appreciate everyone’s thoughts and feedback. Since I started this discussion, night after night I proved to myself that a CD does sound a lot better than the same album rip played thru the Mac Mini. While I don’t doubt that running the Mini wired and adding bells and whistles such as EtherRegen to the set up will improve the sound, I still think that the sonic gap between the CD transport and the Mini is just too large to bridge. Yes, we can throw more money into the Mac set up with mods, etc. but...will it get to where the CD transport is sonically? I’m not sure. 
So I pulled the trigger on the Auralic G1 and it’s arriving next week. The G1’s wireless capabilities are appealing to me and will allow me to get the Mac out of my system. I’ll give the G1 a few days of continuous burn in before I judge it and compare it to the CD player transport (remember the Marantz player is over 20 years old). I hope it’s at least as good or better than the CD. If it isn’t, I’m down the shipping cost, and back to spinning discs. I also like the concept and flexibility of the CD player with digital inputs such as the Luxman 03x that was mentioned in this thread so this may be my fallback option. I’ll report back on what I hear from the Auralic. 
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