Why CD players will never be dead

MRTennis wrote:
"i have only found one digital front end that i prefer to my cd player, namely the original zanden and its companion transport.

i will assume that you fabricate a fine product but i doubt it sounds like the original zanden or the original lector."

You would be wrong. As you can see from this old customer posts:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1228141324&read&keyw&zzspoiler

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1211443920&read&keyw&zzspoiler

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1208020926&read&keyw&zzspoiler

even my older obsolete Spoiler DAC beat the Zanden 5000 and dCS stacks. My new Overdrive DAC is a LOT better, taking best of show from TAS in both 2010 and 2011 at RMAF.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

HFChoi - you are correct. With a clean CD, there are virtually no read errors with modern read heads. There will be some differences in jitter with each play however, based on lots of things, such as AC power, ground loops in the system etc..

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

hi steve:

i think you miss my point.

1) the fact that some prefer your tranhsports and dac combinations to the zanden does not mean that is in fact better.

2) preference is subjective. i dare say it is possible that i would disagree with the assessment of the zanden relative to your products, because of taste considerations.

as has been said before many fine products are different not better than each other.

again, i will not cast aspersions on your products, its just that hmy preferences differ from yours.

would you bet that i would prefer your dac and transport to, say the lector player ?

Thanks to all that replied. This is a very helpful thread.

Mrtennis,

I have followed your posts to audioengr. I would be careful here as luckily Hifi has now fallen into the arms of the computer world where all the snake oil is cleaned away. Unless you are finding some kind of lucky euphonic coincidence in your set up, it is unlikely any cd player playing in real time can compete these days with a computer server.

You will find focus & purity, with timing & dynamics all in place like no CD/SACD player can match from a well set up computer & DAC combo. I have been there with very exotic players, & they were completely out classed by a humble mac with a decent DAC.

At last digital has come of age like they promised 30 years ago... Don't fall into that audiophile nonsense. The source is unpoluted now... Just worry about all the rest down stream!