advertisement


CD and DAC upgrade?

sq225917 said:
Well I run a modded 12" Kuzma, Benz l.p., paradise as my vinyl setup, which isn't exactly kiddo, and my digital matches it for 1/3 of the cost of the denafrips. There's plenty of great digital out there at sub 1.5k, no need to spend more to achieve great sound IME.
Click to expand...

I haven't found or heard any DAC that comes close to sounding better than my vinyl setup which is a bit annoying as I'm finding myself listening to records less and less now.
 
I've recently acquired a Chord DAC64 to partner an Audiolab 6000cdt and (for the time being) I'm finally happy to listen to CDs without being arrested by their "CD-ness" - It doesn't sound as natural nor as involving as my Vinyl setup, but I've spent a small fortune on that, so I'd be disappointed if it did to some extent. But it's a combo that's fairly natural and more involving than any digital setup that I've heard before. I actually enjoy listening to CDs without ever thinking of the technology, so I suppose that's a decent endorsement?
 
The dac chip does the conversion of data to analogue signal, but usually outputs a current that needs turning into a voltage to make it's way to your pre amp. You can do this current to voltage (I/V) conversion a number of different ways, with resistors, with opamps with a discrete circuit or with transformers. Transformers tend to give you a bit of that 'valvey' warmth (distortion) and in this case makes my dac sound more analogue like.

At the same time I have a very unanalogue sounding phonostage, so they meet in the middle.
 
Mike P said:
Fair enough then, I guess that's a positive result. It was certainly worth a try.

Bear in mind though that your CD80 is unlikely to be giving its best still after 30 years of use without an overhaul.

You should get a fairly decent amount of wedge for a CD80 on ebay which you could spend on something else. Just a thought...
Click to expand...

@Mike P and @sq225917 - my CD80 is starting to cut out sporadically. It goes silent for a few minutes, then comes back in again and sounds perfect. It's doing it more and more these days. Do you know who can do a decent job of an overhaul and service?
 
If I was going to ask anyone about Philips marantz stuff it'd be Mike P.

The cd 80 is a good old fashioned unit, not much that can't be fixed in them by all accounts. If the disc keeps on spinning during drop out its very likely the analogue side that glitches.
 
+1 for a Saturn-r. It’s a warm sounding CD player.
I thoroughly enjoy listening to CDs more than I ever thought I would!
 
Last edited:
Well, it's been 2 years and I've done nothing about this due to a fantastic analogue upgrade and just listening to vinyl for the last 2 years!
But... I miss my CDs. So I need to pull the trigger on something.
1. Do I keep the Aragon D2A dac and buy a new CD transport (if so which one), or
2. Do I get the Marantz CD80 overhauled and if so where / by whom? or
3. Do I put both the Aragon DAC and CD80 on eBay and buy a nice new CD player, and if so which one to get anywhere close to my vinyl sound (and without costing an arm and a leg)?
 
Are you looking to find an analogue souding digital source, or do you already have quite a digital sounding analogue front end?

I ask because I have 10k+ of analogue source, that matches my £600 dac. Good analogue isn't cheap, good digital can be. But analogue sounding digital is unlikely to be cheap as it's mostly expensive, rolled on Virgin's thighs, NOS or R2R dacs etc.
 
Spencerfrater said:
Well, it's been 2 years and I've done nothing about this due to a fantastic analogue upgrade and just listening to vinyl for the last 2 years!
But... I miss my CDs. So I need to pull the trigger on something.
1. Do I keep the Aragon D2A dac and buy a new CD transport (if so which one), or
2. Do I get the Marantz CD80 overhauled and if so where / by whom? or
3. Do I put both the Aragon DAC and CD80 on eBay and buy a nice new CD player, and if so which one to get anywhere close to my vinyl sound (and without costing an arm and a leg)?
Click to expand...

1. Start with Cambridge CXC or Audiolab. If you're not happy with one or the other you can sell it on at little loss, and spend more on Project, Moon, Jays etc. although I'm not convinced there's a real objective difference.
 
sq225917 said:
Are you looking to find an analogue souding digital source, or do you already have quite a digital sounding analogue front end?

I ask because I have 10k+ of analogue source, that matches my £600 dac. Good analogue isn't cheap, good digital can be. But analogue sounding digital is unlikely to be cheap as it's mostly expensive, rolled on Virgin's thighs, NOS or R2R dacs etc.
Click to expand...

No I don't need "analogue sounding digital" - just decent digital
 
brab said:
1. Start with Cambridge CXC or Audiolab. If you're not happy with one or the other you can sell it on at little loss, and spend more on Project, Moon, Jays etc. although I'm not convinced there's a real objective difference.
Click to expand...

Thanks. So you still rate the Aragon dac? Then I'm going shopping... :)
 
CXC or if you have money CEC

Second hand Densen CD players make nice transports with proper BNC out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top