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Whats the deal with CD players?

I have a hard time telling the difference between CD players, even ones that are cheaply made vs. 'hi-end', or even CD's vs. DVD players. I couldn't even notice a big difference between tube and solid state outputs. When i get a player home i'll set up a double blind a/b test vs. my inexpensive dvd player and have yet to find a player that i could honestly say was a marked improvement. When i read reviews, both amateur and professional, people make it seem like it's night and day. And what do people mean by jitter? Amps and speakers to me can be night and day, but Cd players? I currently use a pair of dynaudio 1.8's and some H/K separates and I'll admit I skimp on cables and use those plastic ones that came with my vcr and dvd player, but despite that, shouldn't I be able to at least tell which player i'm listening to? I'd upgrade my cables, but I don't think cables are to blame. I know this post will piss a lot of people off, but honestly, what is it that you hear that can make you drop tons of cash on a cd player?
128x128perkadin
tweekerman
473 posts
 
you've got 4 levels of players...$0 to $1K...$2K...$2K to $4K $4K to $8K...ok the 5th level is anything over $8K which does not concern this thread and most of us on the gon...trust me.. there IS a diference in each level you go up...it's just that there are some good buys in each level and of course there are some not-so-good players in each level...do your homework...and you may make the best choice for you
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
The new Capitole retails for $8800 and more then a few members are getting them so you need to make your highest level player catagory 4k to 8.8k :)
kthomas
911 posts
 
I have found there to be a huge range of opinion on the importance of a CD player - everything from "they all sound the same" to "they're the most important component". My own personal experience was similar to the ones you have described - I experimented with different setups and compared without noting much (if any difference). Everything from a decent Sony player, to a DVD player, to a DVD player as a transport into a nice pre/pro used as a DAC, to a transport into a decent DAC, etc. etc. I usually look for changes that are clearly differentiable and it's not subtle. I like playing around, but if something would take days to really appreciate, I guess my patience runs out.

I would add that my cable thoughts are between yours and many of the others here - I use cable that all my non-audiophile friends can't imagine springing for, but wouldn't make it into cable afficionado clubs around here.

Anyway, after several years of being unconvinced but interested and open to being convinced, I recently bought a Muse model 9 DVD player that is also highly regarded as a CD source. It was instantly more enjoyable. Two particular things characterized the differences for me. First, the ability to resolve all details on the CD is decidedly better. The most obvious case is hearing instruments on familiar recordings that I've never heard before, but there are plenty of subtler (but obvious) differences in hearing how an instrument is being played, hearing the singer's voice in all it's layers, etc.

The second major difference is harder to describe without sounding vague, but there is no question that the whole sound is smoother without being any more laid back. One aspect of this is that the speakers (I have Dynaudio Contour 3.0's) "disappear" to a much greater degree. But the alto sax (love that instrument!) that sounded convincing before now has a character that is just more "right" (Sorry, I warned you that it would sound vague).

I wouldn't even try to describe this if I hadn't tried at least 10 different renditions prior to this that hadn't made a bit of difference, IMO. My system has gotten better over time, so maybe the resolution of the overall system is bringing it out this time, as well as the player. I don't know. All I know is I'm not going back.

BTW, I think the suggestion to go to a high-end store and audition the difference on a reference system is a very good one. I recently did this with amps and it was really amazing how much just changing the amp (up in the same manufacturer's line) improved the sound. Swap back and forth between a decent and a reference CD player on a reference system. If you can't hear a difference, then by all means stick with the less $$$ approach and don't worry about it. If you do hear a difference, that's probably good news too, but then you'll have to go figure out how to achieve the same difference in your own system. -Kirk

tweekerman
473 posts
 
Kirk makes a interesting point, your new upgraded digital player will be limited by the finnese of your amp and the capibilities of your speaker, a obvious point to be kept in mind
gold001
30 posts
 
I follow the school of thought that says source matters most. However I belive that you first need to have well designed pre/power and speakers. I suspect the H/K gear is just not capable of resolving the music from the more expensive CD players. It could also be that you're not trying the right CD players. What players did you try?

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