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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
sol322
426 posts
 
Dave:

I had a small room like yours for 2-3 yrs and they require the most accoustic help you can get. I treated side walls, floor (carpet) and ceiling (fiber panels) and got nice improvements. I also got front wall treated as you now have and was even better.
Another aspect to consider is power. Do you have any treatment or dedicated lines?
What about vibration tweaks?
I read from your post that money is tight and you have to stay with room / components for a while.

IMHO I'd try to tweak what you have now. This way you can get improvements that might satisfy you for the time been and t will yield far more better sound once you get the chance to upgrade source or other components.
Proper setup is the foundation of audio enjoyement.
Good Luck
Luis
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
I wouldn't fault the 3950. I bought mine after reading the multiple AA threads and was pretty much amazed by it. Now, feeding a battery-powered Ack dAck!, it has taken over CD-playing duty from my $2K Sony XA777ES.
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
No problem Reubent they are not for everyone..What speaker is ? For someone who owns the Reference 3A MM De Capo and liked it. You sure are negative about non crossover speakers. Go figure! Or did you forget your speakers don't have crossovers? LOL

Here's one small town builder. Who builds these to order, The cost is around $1500.00. Just the two 8 inch drivers used in this design cost around $800.00. These speakers will do 30hz bass and everything in between. You do not need to spend over $2000 to get a nice single driver speaker. No crossovers saves quite a bit on cost.Here's a link FTA 2000 . The Omegas are also very nice.

The reason I have waited so long in trying this type of speaker is because of people ..who have made negative comments. No speakers perfect..but for the people who haven't lived with them..listen for yourself in your own home before you rule them out.
Sorry for hijacking your thread David.
vaystrem
80 posts
 
I have the 3950 in my system. It was an improvement over my Pioneer DV-353.

However.

When compared to the AMC CD8b, Cambridge Audio Azur 640c, Arcam 73t, Rega Planet 2000, Creek CD50mk1, or Cary 308. It falls completely flat. I have had all of these players in my system.

The ONLY time the differences were not notable was when I was using the pre-amp section of my integrated NAD C350. Once I had bypassed that section with a higher quality pre-amp the differences were obvious to audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike.

I had a friend's girlfriend over who sat down and told me point blank "no f**king way CDPs will sound different" and she was completely blown away by how different, and better, all of the CDPs sounded in comparison to the Toshiba.

The Toshiba is the weakest component in your system. It is not bad for $100 and it is tolerable, but it doesn't compete with $500 CDN players, let alone $1k USD players. The only reason I'm still using mine is that I had to buy a laptop for grad school instead of a new CD player :)

If you'd like to chat feel free to e-mail me,
vaystrem
80 posts
 
Oops one more thing I forgot to add.

The Toshiba is incredibly sensitive to electricity quality.

I have two outlets near my stereo setup. After some re-arranging I had noticed that my soundstage had fallen flat , there was little depth to the recordings, and fatigue was increased.

I could not pin it down for the longest time. Then one day when my roomate was cooking with the kitchen's exhaust fan on I heard a hum through my speakers which went off as soon as the fan was shut off.

I moved my power bar to the other outlet and everything returned to normal.

I have noticed harshness from the Toshiba that is not there with other CD Players.

You can search the forums for my roundup or I can e-mail the link to you if you like.
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