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Aqua 'La Diva' ($9k) or Gryphon 'Ethos' ($39k) versus. Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T ($3k)?

What sensible rationale is there for buying either of the two above-mentioned VERY COSTLY CD spinners (Aqua ’La Diva,’ a CD-only transport, and the Gryphon ’Ethos,’ a CD player with built-in DAC) when we can get the same pure Red-Book CD digital output from the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T for FAR less money?

What is a potential buyer getting for their significantly increased expenditure other than fancy packaging and possibly a boost to their egos from ownership of a prestige brand-name item? The one component (and a crucially-significant one at that) which all three of these products have in common is the new Philips-based Stream Unlimited CD Pro 8 CD player mechanism. Aside than that, what one appears to get with the two far-higher-priced components is little more than pure window-dressing, not substantive gains in performance over the CD Box RS2 T.

It is little wonder that one reviewer of the RS2 T thinks of it as nothing less than a "giant killer," in that it makes it nearly impossible for any level-headed purchaser, even one with the means to spend lavishly, to rationalize spending thousands of dollars more on these two competing products (or on others like them) when one can get the same sonic results (which from most reports are splendid) from the humble little CD Box.

Any thoughts? Do we audiophiles finally have good reason to come to our buying senses? To me, Pro-Ject Audio Systems may have struck a true winning vein with their CD Box when prospecting for gold.

128x128erictal4075
lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

Yes the Aurender ACS100 is a great CD ripper, used it to rip my whole collection after I found it better than my computer rips.

ghdprentice
6,949 posts
 

@lordmelton

This is a very interesting observation.

 

Question. You are comparing the same file format, one ripped on a PC and one ripped on the Aurender… and both played by streaming from the Aurender?

 

If true. To me it would imply differences between the file translation software between the two. Which would be very interesting.

 

I ripped all of my CDs as I acquired them over a couple decades to lossless files, using a PC… many different PCs.. I have an Aurender W20SE streamer and can directly compare a streamed version of a red book CD, one of my ripped CDs, and one playing on my CD player / DAC (you can see my system if you click on my ID). I have cannot detect a difference. This observation brings up some interesting questions to me.

 

 

david_ten
5,480 posts
 

Agree. This needs to be explained and expanded upon. Comes across as attribution bias.

 

I found it better than my computer rips

erictal4075's avatar
erictal4075 OP
70 posts
 

ANYONE electing to "RIP" (copy) a Red Book Compact Disk to a mechanical HD or SSD has two primary options or means to do so: either on a standard PC which uses a built-in generic CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or Blu-Ray tray mechanism into which we insert our CD and UPON WHICH we totally DEPEND to faithfully read the "ones and zeros" off our CD and transfer them to hard-drive storage for later retrieval.

OR one can take a different approach to ripping their CD collection to a storage hard drive besides using a standard PC and use a machine specifically designed and constructed for the sole purpose of ripping CDs, which does essentially the same thing as a PC, only in a presumably far more uniquely purposeful and high-quality manner (such as amadeus888’s Aurender ACS100, whose SOLE raison d’être is ripping CDs).

HOWEVER, the point of this discussion of CD rippers is to evaluate the nature and quality of the laser transport mechanism used in generic computer CD-ROMS and dedicated machines like the Aurender ACS100 alike.

My contention is that if the new Philips-based Stream Unlimited CD Pro-8 drive makes such a radical difference to how well Red-Book CDs sound as compared to playing them over older, less advanced-design CD-spinning mechanisms, then the quality and nature of the CD-reading mechanism in the Aurender could very likely affect how a ripped CD sounds when played back from its storage drive.

I can’t personally attest to any sonic difference, if there is one, since I have no way to directly compare the sound of a CD played over my new Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T to the sound of the same CD ripped on an Aurender ACS100. Until someone does a direct comparison of the two, this discussion will remain at a subjective guessing-game level.

laoman's avatar
laoman
435 posts
 

"I have not heard either one of the two far-more-expensive alternatives, and I am curious as to why they are so much higher-priced than the CD Box."

Why? Because they sound a lot better, that’s why. If you are happy with the CD Box, be grateful. By the way, you do realise the Gryphon incorporates a high quality DAC. A DCS Dac plus the CD Box will cost more than the Gryphon. What is comparable to a Gryphon is a Playback Design.

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