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CDP or DAC with DVD player

Hello,

Is there an easy answer to this question:

Which will sound *better* for 2 channel audio?

1. Lower end audiophile CDP (e.g., Marantz CD5001 or Onkyo DX-7555)

or

2. Regular DVD player (e.g., Marantz dv3002) coupled with a nice DAC such as Channel Islands VDA-2 or Benchmark DAC-1.

People talk about cd playback being more than just the D/A conversion, and I want to believe that. Actually, my preference would be to buy the CDP, but I can't see doing it if it doesn't offer better sound. Any feedback from personal experience with this decision would be great. Thanks in advance.
braudio7
mjcmt's avatar
mjcmt
710 posts
 
I agree w/ Kijanki.
Oppo (best picture) or Sony as a transport and Benchmark or Lavry DAC.
jlc76
37 posts
 
Kijanki,
Isn't it possible to have the SACD decoded out to analog and then the redbook CD digital to a DAC? This way you don't have to convert the SACD DSD to PCM. I have a Sony 9100 ES and I am thinking of doing this exact setup with a Benchmark. If I could run a phono stage through the Benchmark I wouldn't even need a preamp.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,432 posts
 
Jlc76 - That would be the best of both worlds. SACD players are not the greatest redbook players and SACD converted to PCM looses advantage of bit stream. SACD is pretty much one channel Direct Stream Digital (DSD) recording format (4 channel "wide DSD"). Remember that Benchmark does not have analog inputs!!!
jlc76
37 posts
 
Well, there is a new Benchmark that has one set of analog inputs, but for my setup I would need two (one for SACD, the other for my turntable...which would still need a phono stage).
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,432 posts
 
Jlc - users reported better results with Benchmark + preamp than Benchmark alone - I don't know why. Why don't you take 30-day free loaner from Benchmark and just try it. It is possible that you would like sound from your Sony more (while playing redbook CD). Benchmark sounds very clean - maybe too clean (takes a while to get used to). Some people call it sterile.
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