Silky and soft highs II: CD reference tests


I've been in some interesting discussions here recently regarding high end CD players and have heard a couple at dealers recently, including the DCS Puccini which certainly has to be considered one of the best.

I currently own a very modest Denon player/recorder that is sounding the best of any player I've ever owned in my current system at present.

The flaw that I have heard most frequently in CD players over the years that I notice and bothers me when I hear it is what I think is commonly referred to as graininess, often recognizable as sibilance in the high end. I hear it most easily when present in long drawn out violin notes at a certain pitch, for example, possibly a result of jitter in the analog signal due to clock or other issues in recreating high frequencies from the digital stream correctly in the analog waveform. I suspect better CD players do a better job in general of avoiding or perhaps even masking this somehow if in fact it is inherent in the CD formats limitations.

I'd like to know if anyone can suggest a CD recording I might own that I might use as a test for how well my player handles this? Also any info regarding what to listen for to determine sound quality would be appreciated.

General discussion of this topic is also welcome.

Thanks.
128x128mapman
most of todays cd players handle 'reference' discs incredibly well(even cheaper ones). the sonic shortcomings you're refering to are most often in the recording, a by product of the mastering of the disc itself.
I second what Jaybo said, and would also add the amp you use has quite an effect on the sound as well.
Jaybo,

What you say is probably true, but, that aside, I'm wondering if anybody can suggest something to listen for from a passage of a particular CD that they have heard differences with from player to player so that I can see what I hear on my system for comparison. I'm looking for something specific to listen for that clearly separates a better player from a lesser one, all other factors aside.