opinions: single vs. multi disc players

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by cwon, May 26, 2004.

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  1. levi

    levi Can't Stand Up For Falling Down In Memoriam

    Location:
    North Carolina
    I'm not trying to tread into thread-crap territory, but can someone explain this to me? we're dealing with digital signals -- 0s and 1s -- not Moving Magnets or Moving Coils or cartridge characteristics.

    I can understand some of the mechanical complications that can come with carousels. but I can't for the life of me figure out why any cd player would sound different from any other.
     
  2. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    Jeff, just a few I can think of and believe me I'm no expert.

    Circuitboard designs are not all the same. Neither are the capacitors, resistors, timing clock mechanisms, the laser assemblies themselves, the type of solder used, and even the kind of wire used inside. Hence differences that can make a difference in sound quality.
     
  3. levi

    levi Can't Stand Up For Falling Down In Memoriam

    Location:
    North Carolina
    makes sense. thanks, Dave.
     
  4. GT40sc

    GT40sc Senior Member

    Location:
    Eugene, Oregon
    At home, single-disc players only. But I want a 10-disc changer in the truck for the road-trip...

    However, CD changers have been the cause of much personal hell for me, due to the fact that they have helped drive the MAXIMUM VOLUME WARS that have plagued the mastering world for the past 10 years.

    Even in my low-budget project studio world, I still get plenty of nasty phone calls from the head of A&R at Crapsmell Records, wondering why the new PMCD I just turned in plays back QUIETER than the latest smash from Hung and the Hungarians...

    Quiet is not good...if my disc is not the LOUDEST on the 3-cd Yorx boombox in his office, I will have to do it over...

    ...just one of the many reasons I do not care to have a changer at home, thank you...

    carry on,
     
  5. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I'm interested to know where this question is coming from.

    (a) Have you compared CD players yourself and found that they sound different, and are then asking why this should be so? Or

    (b) Have you never compared the sound of CD players and are speculating that they should sound the same because it's digital?

    In the digital domain, there's a whole lot of important stuff to do with jitter. Although it is 0s and 1s, the 0s and 1s need to be accurately assembled along a time line - and that's a big problem. So it's not quite the same as reading a program from a CD.

    Of course, it's not all digital inside the CD player. The analogue output stage and associated power supply that amplify the small analogue signal coming out of the DAC has a big effect on the resulting performance.
     
  6. TSmithPage

    TSmithPage Ex Post Facto Member

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    I'm sure I was trying to keep it under $500, but can't specifically recall the purchase price. The more I think about it, I think I bought it 3 years ago, and ended up buying a Harmen Karden. The company used to have a good reputation, but I think it has slid from an upper end manufacturer into a midline company. I ended up buying my unit at a Circuit City.
     
  7. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    I don't think levi was trying to flame anyone. He put in a disclaimer that he did not mean to thread-crap, plus he did not say something like, "Anyone who thinks that one player can sound better than another is an idiot." Notice also that he thanked Dave for his explanation about how players vary. I'm giving levi the benefit of the doubt that he was asking what, in his mind, was a legitimate question.

    It's always easy to tell someone to compare players on their own to formulate their own opinions, and this is a valuable exercise for those who are really interested in audio. However, not all people have the time or means to do these comparisons. So once again, I feel that a question about how players can sound different is legitimate.
     
  8. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    O.K. H/K has made HDCD-compatible changers in recent years. I believe the FL 8380 is still made and sells for around $250. When I wanted an inexpensive changer a few years ago, I considered H/K and Denon models that were both HDCD-compatible and went with Denon (DCM-370). The Denon is not a world-beater, but I preferred it to the H/K.
     
  9. TSmithPage

    TSmithPage Ex Post Facto Member

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    Keith,
    As I recall, I also considered a Denon at the time, primarily because it was a single disc player but (as I recall) the purchase price was more than $100 more than the H/K. At the time, I couldn't justify the added cost, as I had a number of other financial obligations kicking me at the same time. For the most part, I've been happy with the H/K except for some quirks in the 5 disc changer that I've never been able to figure out.

    Going back to the original question of this thread, at least in my experience, a multi-disc player has one primary advantage, i.e., that you can stay seated while more than one disc plays. However, it has a number of disadvantages. At least in my case, sometimes the player goes to the next disc, sometimes it just stops, and sometimes it replays the disc that just finished. No rhyme or reason to the pattern as far as I can see. Also, you sometimes have to wait while the machine goes through the cycle to load up the disc you want, making you wait to play a disc. I don't have the science to back me up, but it just seems the transport would be more solid with just a single disc player.
     
  10. levi

    levi Can't Stand Up For Falling Down In Memoriam

    Location:
    North Carolina
    thanks, Keith! no, I wasn't trying to bait anyone. I haven't done an A/B test between CD players, though I've swapped several out on the same system (from single-disc player to carousel DVD player to universal single-disc player). I didn't think I'd hear a difference in sound, so I probably wasn't paying close attention. when I saw this topic, it made me curious.

    this place has taught me a heckuva lot about audio. I appreciate the responses.
     
  11. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    With the Pioneer, I have a single-disc slot. I push one button on the front, the carousel rotates to this slot, and the cover opens. It's called Disc 0, so it's basically a 101 CD changer. I haven't actually used my changer recently, but now that summer's rolling in, I'll have it hooked up to the Sony ES receiver, playing outdoors on a pair or two of Boston Acoustics speakers. :)
     
  12. 4_everyman

    4_everyman The Sexual Intellectual

    Location:
    Gillette, Wyoming
    I'm with you, Todd. The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop-up the drain. :laugh:
     
  13. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.





    Then there were three. :agree:
     
  14. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    I've owned three carousel players in my lifetime. Never had a problem with any of them! And two have found new homes, too!

    For my house system, I have a Sony 775 - 5 disc. Great for wandering through the house, listening to music as you eat breakfast, read the Saturday "funnies" (the best part of the paper! :D ), etc., etc.

    I have a single disc Sony 777ES for "serious" listening with my McIntosh tubes.

    And yes, the 777 sounds better than the 775 - but it's not a fair comparison at all!
     
  15. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    A lot of people are concerned about noisy carousel mechanisms and the seemingly flimsy build quality with some changers, but I've never had a problem with one. The only player I've ever had die on me was a three-month-old Kenwood single-disc player. It was my first non-portable player. I got it new in 1989, and the laser died in three months. I replaced it with a Kenwood changer that served me well for ten years. That changer didn't die on me. Rather, I gave it to a friend when I upgraded.
     
  16. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    No problem. Comparing players can be quite a revelation. I've compared various players in my systems, and some of the differences have been literally night and day. Granted, the prices of some players were significantly different, but the differences were still striking. I amazed my wife a couple of years ago (she was my girlfriend then :)) when I played a Bee Gees CD for her on a $600 Sony CDP-CX333ES 300-disc megachanger and then on a $3500 Sony SCD-777ES single-disc player. She had been used to hearing Bee Gees on boomboxes and the car radio, so she thought the disc sounded great on the megachanger. Then her jaw literally dropped when she heard it on the '777ES. She's still no audiophile, but she gained an appreciation for my obsession at that moment and remains supportive as a result. :)
     
  17. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I didn't feel that I was being "baited", but I did want to clear the ground, since this has come up here before. Thanks for responding.
     
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