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How Important Is The Cdp?


Hi,

My current set-up includes PSB Stratus Mini's speakers, Cambridge AZUR 540 A and a Toshiba 3950 DVD which i use for cd playback only. I know this is a mismatch of gear, but i originally hadnly planned on using this equipment with each other, then shortly after had some money troubles so im stuck with this gear for awhile.

My system sounds OK at times, its somewhat musical but alot of the time the sound is jsut too harsh and fatuiging- guitar harmonics are especially grainy and shimmery, vocals seem to be yelling at me way too much and overall the sound seems unfocused and veiled.

My room is pretty small, about 10x10 with an open closet and Jon Risch acoustic treatments directly behind each speaker, side walls arent really treated at all. I know my room isnt the greatest, but somehow i get the sence that the room isnt the main problem im having, sure it could use alot of improvement but the bad sound seems to be coming directly from the speakers.

Im sort of confused on what is causing the harshness, some people say its my cdp, others say my amp and then theres a few who think its my speakers interacting with the room.

This brings me to the question on how important is the cdp? Ive heard many people say that the cdp makes very little to no difference and wont tame the harshness i speaker of. Others say the source is most important and that what im hearing is my speakers producing the crappy sound my cdp is feeding them.

Would a better cdp, or say a 1000$ DAC improve my system to the point where the harshness i speaker of will be mostly eliminated, or will it just show more weaknesses of my amp. Or will a better cdp just make my system only slighty less harsh by only taming some of the digital glare of cdp's?

What do you guys think? cdp causing the harshness, or is it the amp?
dave123456
aroc
760 posts
 
Some good advice here. BTW, I thought the Toshiba was a smooth player? Granted I've never heard one so I can't be sure. For a cheap experiment you could try to get a $150 used Adcom GDA600 DAC. That's a pretty smooth operator. I had one for a while back when I had a peaky, trebly system. the Adcom was a good synergetic match. If you still have treble problems, then the problem will lie else where in the system or room. You may need different speakers. Good luck!
reubent
6,953 posts
 
A couple of people have mentioned your speakers and I suspect they are off base. Although I have not heard the PSB Status Mini, it is a well respected monitor that retails for $1100. I just read through the reviews and it was mentioned that the Stratus Mini had a "neutral tonal balance", so I suspect the speakers are the strongest component in your system.

However, the speaker is listed as a 4 ohm impedence with a sensitivity of only 86db. Your amp could be having a hard time driving this load and this could be adding to your displeasure with the sound. I don't have any experience with this amp, but if it is unable to drive your speaker sufficiently, the sound you discribe could be a result.

I have not heard the Toshiba DVD player, but have heard many highly regarded DVD players used for CD playback. I have owned the JVC XA-SA600BK which ia an TAS recommended component and I have owned the Sony 7700 and Sony 9000ES which are highly regarded and expensive DVD players. None of these were even close to any of the dedicated CD players that I've also owned. Yes, all of my CD players were relatively expensive models, but they all handily trounced all of the DVD players that I have owned when playing back CD.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you, I just raise more questions! Regardless, this may be a synergy issue between your speakers and amp or it may be a source issue. I would highly recommend borrowing a different source or amp and trying it in your system. It should help you determine what component is causing your issue.

Enjoy,

TIC
adasilva
57 posts
 
Unfortunately I think the DVD and the Cambridge AZUR 540 are contributing to the harshness. I think you can buy an NAD 541i (or whatever the latest version is) for about $400 and still have a CD play that you can upgrade your other components around. Even one of the cheaper NAD CDP players will give you an improvement and the NAD will never sound harsh. I wouldn't spend more than $500 on your source (new!).
howie
230 posts
 
The recordings themselves are causing you the majority of the problems. In SOTA systems, bad recordings tend to be more listenable but there are some that will sound harsh in any system. Try moving the acoustic treatments that you have directly behind the back of the speaker to the first reflections and see if it improves anything. Also, try placing something absorbtive behind you. Treatment directly behind the speakers really isn't too important if at all in the room treatment scheme of things.

If I'm not mistaken the Cambridge is a receiver? If so, the preamp section is probably causing you the most problems. In general, the preamp section in integrated amps and receivers are their greatest weaknesses for 2ch music. I started out upgrading my 2ch system by adding amps. While that brought an improvement, adding a preamp really allowed the system to come together. In terms of price/performance, CD players and amps are generally better than preamps.
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Lazarus28 it's not the point of accuracy. I think everyone should hear a crossover less speaker. This will at least give them a starting point as to how much they prefer the sound to be coloured. Crossovers no matter how expensive will always effect the sound in one way or another.

I like different implementations of speakers..including the active ones. But the purist midrange I've heard comes from a speaker with no crossover.There are also multi driver speakers that do not have crossovers. Not easy to find but they are out there.

Once Dave spends time with a phase correct/ no crossover speaker.He will then be able to hear the changes in his gear and also know what way he needs to go with it.So many speakers cover up the music to a point where some can't hear the differences in the gear.So they go on guessing and using expensive interconnects and speaker wires as tone controls. There's no real way to explain it. If you listen to live vocals or instrumental acoustic recordings, this type of speaker should be on the list of auditions.

Happy Listening!
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