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A high quality CD Player

Maxbertola said:
Yes.

Two questions to those who alert against lasers obsolescence and unavailability:
how many of you (if already in this world, and into HiFi) thought, 30 years ago (1986), that MM and MC cartridges, turntables, arms, phono stages, LP pressing facilities and plants and LP records would still (or again) be manufactured and sold 30 years later?

Have you seen the speed with which some 30-years old CD players from Marantz and Philips still read the TOC and the CD?

I think that the CD will survive most of us.
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In my case I still have and use my Naim Cdi. But certainly there is no chance of Philips making the laser head again. I have got an old nos head put away for if it goes wrong, but the mechs are very scarce.
But I use Tidal through a Chord Mojo into my hifi a lot of the time. This is reducing wear on my cdi, so there is a good chance it will see me out. What I find game changing with Tidal is the ability to discover new music. At night in bed I can scout out new music to listen to next day on the hifi.
When I find an album that I completely can't do without I will buy the cd cheap online. I see this as insurance in case there comes a time when I can't afford 20 quid a month for Tidal, or the artist decides to pull out of streaming.
So I'm a happy bunny, but personally I wouldn't dream of spending thousands on a new cd player. It won't be long before Tidal is streaming higher quality than cd (studio master quaity) and at that point cd player values will drop. In tech, when higher specs come out, the older spec products crash in value.
I'm 50, and as I say I'm pretty sure my cd player will see me out, and by 70 I won't be able to hear the difference between 44 and 96 recording.
 
I am a big fan of the Burmester CD players that have added DAC functionality. Models like the 052 (like mine) can be found secondhand at the GBP2000 level. Lovely lovely sound though my Shindo amplification.

Simon
 
Purite Audio said:
Does the transport,make any difference to sound quality?
Keith.
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Taking the question on its merits, YES it does.

Some years back I had a Rotel RCD965BX (which use a Philips CDM-4 mechanism) and wound up adding a Theta DSPro Progeny 'a' DAC after running out of after-market tweaks... Then a few months later the same friendly Theta dealer pitched up with a Theta Data Basic transport (which used the Philips CDM-9PRO mechanism and some other jitter-reduction tricks) and said "how would you like to try this out?". So I did...

After a week, I passed the Rotel on to my daughter and kept the Theta CDT.

There were definite and easily identified improvements in sound quality - both from a pitch/tonal perspective as well as serious gains in imaging and soundstaging.

After the Data Basic was stolen, I got the Data Basic II with a Theta DSPro GenVa and was in heaven.

The Bryston BDA-1 DAC came along after the GenVa died and, more recently, I acquired a Bryston BCD-1 for the study system.

I've done comparisons between Data Basic II + BDA-1 and BCD-1 (as CDT) + BDA-1 DAC (both with Transparent Premium AES/EBU digital I/c) and there are small but detectable differences - with the 15year old Theta delivering an overall sound that draws one in a bit more than the all-Bryston setup.

Make no mistake, these differences are subtle and cover a number of aspects that, in isolation, hardly count, but - in combination - the overall enjoyment factor is just that little bit better.

Does it make financial sense to spend a fortune on a CD transport (these days particularly)? Probably not... But, as mentioned above, "financial sense" doesn't always play a major role in any purchase driven by the heart and not the brain... :)

Dave
 
I use Samsung SE-208DB/TSBS. At less than £20 each they save wear and tear on the laptop drive and get the data off a disc without error.

Money is better spent on the media renderer.
 
radamel said:
It's difficult to understand why someone who makes a living selling HiFi equipment would ask that question.
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Because I wouldn't sell something that can't possibly improve sound quality, I can understand the 'pride of ownership' angle, but as to improving sound quality solid magnesium will not make the slightest difference.
Keith.
 
Purite Audio said:
Because I wouldn't sell something that can't possibly improve sound quality, I can understand the 'pride of ownership' angle, but as to improving sound quality solid magnesium will not make the slightest difference.
Keith.
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So your question was just a rhetorical one so that you could wave your flag of how ethical your business practices are. Come on...

The worst part is that you're wrong. A better CD transport does improve SQ. If you can't notice the difference than something's not right.
 
You have read too many marketing brochures Rad, and believed them!
I do understand the pride of ownership aspect though.
We used to use a Tascam 'pro' transport, slot loader it was perfect,you could use it as a player or take the digital out into a DAC.
Keith.
 
Purite Audio said:
You have read too many marketing brochures Rad, and believed them!
I do understand the pride of ownership aspect though.
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You're wrong again Keith.

I don't believe in marketing empty phrases like your preferred mantra of "properly engineered" HiFi equipment nor do I spend my time reading brochures.

I compared several CD transports and concluded for myself. The SQ differences are quite important in some cases. Just for you to know how wrong you are regarding pride of ownership I've just bought a modestly priced CD transport made by Cambridge Audio, the CXC. Simply because it sounds better than some more expensive and aesthetically more pleasing ones.

You really should try and forget your misconceptions and listen for yourself. Although I'm afraid in some cases you wouldn't be able to spot a SQ difference if it hit you in the face. :)
 
Well of course I have listened for myself Rad, when we set up Purité Audio ten years ago we listened to a large number of different manufacturers, from DCS down, we kept the Tascam as a reference , once you remove the sighted bias, differences do tend to disappear.
Keith
 
Purite Audio said:
Well of course I have listened for myself Rad, when we set up Purité Audio ten years ago we listened to a large number of different manufacturers, from DCS down, we kept the Tascam as a reference , once you remove the sighted bias, differences do tend to disappear.
Keith
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Oh...now you play the sighted bias argument. How predictable.
You should perhaps consider the confirmation bias instead.

If you can't tell the difference between a top CD transport like that used in an Esoteric K-03 and an entry level Tascam one I say that something's wrong with the rest of your setup. That or surely we must listen to music in a very different way.
 
Predictable perhaps, but true, once you level match and compare unsighted previously held convictions tend to disappear.
You should try it,
Keith.
 
Purite Audio said:
You have read too many marketing brochures Rad, and believed them!
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And you're assuming EVERYONE who says that a transport can better the sound, even those who've actually tried it for themselves, are merely sheep following the belwether .... which is a poor attitude for a supposed 'professional' in the field.
 
Purite Audio said:
Predictable perhaps, but true, once you level match and compare unsighted previously held convictions tend to disappear.
You should try it,
Keith.
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Look I've done my fair share of blind testing and in most cases I was able to distinguish between different equipment (DACs for example).
Never found the need to do it in the case of CD transports as the SQ difference seems to obvious to make anyone bother.

Do you really want to level match different CD transports?! :D LOL
 
mattgbell said:
I've re-tagged all my classical CD rips. Of course it's a huge PITA, but I'd still rather that than deal with CDs.

Unfortunately it still leaves the problem of messed-up tagging on streaming services (I use Qobuz Classical). Searching for stuff is horribly hit and miss.
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I have a machine that came with an AMG Pro license and I must admit that after ripping 800 CDs, mostly classical, I cannot recall it not having the data for a single classical disc. It came unstuck on Arabic and Hebrew titles, so-so on French.
 
When I had a variety of transports to try (including CDPs with digital outs). I hooked them up in turn to a Benchmark DAC and they all sounded obviously different. Sorry, not buying the sighted bias since I was attempting to evaluate the DAC not the transports.
 
radamel said:
You're wrong again Keith.
<snip>
You really should try and forget your misconceptions and listen for yourself.
<snip>
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The above sentence should read: "You really should try and forget your misconceptions and listen TO yourself."

@Keith:

One aspect I've always valued in any salesperson - irrespective of market segment - is where that person accepts that the good Lord provided us humans with two ears and one mouth and that these organs should be used in the same proportion.

I've always been more prepared to engage with a salesperson who "asks" and does not "tell" - these folk usually wind up with a reasonable understanding of my wants, needs, motivations, musical tastes, listening environment, budget, circumstances, etc.

The secret to success in sales when it comes to asking questions is to avoid all questions that require either a binary (Yes/No) or definitive response (Two speakers). Phrase questions so as to elicit information about the buyer and NIS needs.

So, let's forget the snide comment about listening to yourself and try to listen to your customers and what they actually want (and why they want what they say they do) - and don't try to TELL them what you think they should have. That's the fastest way to drive any self-respecting audio buyer out the door to set off in search of a dealer who does listen.

Dave
 
What on earth are you claiming a better transport can get off a cd apart from an accurate duplication of its 16/44.1 bits? Accurate is accurate and it is all there is - and since a cheaper than £20 plastic drive can give you accurate - proven to be accurate - anything more is indulgence. Buy, em, use em and bin em if they break.
 
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