2. pc-audio
  3. 1351958193

Are you still playing CDs after, comp based syst?

I own 2 DACs
Hegel hd11
P S audio PWD,
Macbook pro
Sometimes I have the urge to spin a CD, no idea if this mostly psichological?
I dont currently own any cdp, wondering if I could get a value/performance one, I also play vinyls a lot, but I do have many cds.

Rest of my system.
Luxman 550 AII
Harberth comp 7 ES3

My budget for a cdp around 1000 new or used?

Thanks
mountainsong
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,388 posts
 
What your DAC or CDP can produce depends on the quality of your cdp and the DAC therein.

On the weekend we test-drove a $900 DAC, and also a $4000 DAC at the dealer steamed from a MAC computer in Apple Lossless format: neither matched the performance from the same tunes played as the redbook CDP (about $12K) w.r.t. sounstage width and depth, vocal presence and instrument clarity, digging out much more the subtle details in the recording, and mainly the PRaT and overall emotion.

In this audition, the digital music server playback was comparatively compressed with a perceived dip in the midrange and upper midrange upper midrange

The point: what are are you prepared to give and compromise between the different formats?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Akg - The compressed formats are not as good as .wav for sure, however AIFF comes pretty close to .wav on a Mac, and retains all of the tags and album art.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
pettyofficer
462 posts
 
We are just now discovering all of these warts with Computer Audio? Now that we have been trying to kill off
the CD Market with "Soon all New Music will only be
available as Music Downloads"! I have been desperately
promoting the use of both Formats so long as Computer
Audio remains an unfinished Format- it is indeed that!
Now we are caught between the loss of one Format, and
the premature underdevelopment of its replacement Format.
Nice job cutting off your nose to spite your face for the sake of convenience (At the cost of everything else!).
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,202 posts
 
No need to gloat.

There is no vindication here, just another aspect to be considered.

All things in good time.

All the best,
Nonoise
pettyofficer
462 posts
 
Not gloating! Vindication, never expected it- don't now!
I just wanted the freedom to play both Formats, and there
is alot less risk that way. In that respect do we now
plan on saving the CD Format- I didn't think so! Obviously,
this doesn't help me; therefore, I have nothing to gloat/
be vindicated about. I am in the same sorry lifeboat
(Without a Format Paddle) as everyone else! "Well Olie,
another fine mess you have gotten us into"! No Gloat,
no Vind- just rolling around with the egg on my face
(Same a everyone else). Can we clean the mess up now?
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