Has CD player technology progressed so much in 30 years?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by CMT, Aug 3, 2019.

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  1. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    The Beave and patient_ot like this.
  2. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    $1500 worth of GIK room treatments would yield a huge upgrade.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  3. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    If you can find a copy of the manual with the full specs, that would be best.

    FWIW before I got my "new" CD player I used an older unit from the mid/late 80s that had an 18 bit DAC in it. That was quite advanced for back then and the newer player only sounds just a little bit "clearer" than the old one. Spec wise I probably gained 5-10db in S/N ratio but the old one wasn't bad spec wise either.

    With a REALLY outdated DAC or failing capacitors in an older CDP you may notice a bigger difference. Other than that it will likely be a subtle difference you'd be unable to pick out in a blind test, especially if you are older. Most people over 50 are lucky to hear out to 12khz.
     
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  4. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    Ham Sandwich and c-eling like this.
  5. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    You can see lots of photos of this machine and the ports available on the back at this website, selling one. 二手进口 音响Pioneer/先锋 PD-HS7 发烧CD播放机HIFI CD 机100V - SGshop
     
  6. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    The lasers are softer now...they no longer hew large divots into the surface of the CD like a tie-fighter cruising a death star.
    You can use better cables, so more of your budget is routed to psychological advantage of shifting your esteem for products outside the component itself; this gives the perception of better sound, without attributing it to the price of the actual component.
    Being more aware of the various masterings, gives you more minutiae to obsess over beyond the component, as more expensive improvements to your turntables these days have caused turntable fanatics to focus on cantilevers and platter accessories.
    And of course, now there's the option of being dissatisfied with your DAC, no matter where in the chain of the signal it resides. You can even get one for the stage in-between your wall outlet and your end-table lamp, for more "transcendence" and "luminosity", leading to "revealing" more of the bass notes!

    Most definitely consider doing all your window shopping locally, where you have to drive hours and hours to find stores that actually display these newer units on real shelves (ask the dealer if they're common pressed-wood shelves, or natural walnut); then, spend years looking-over technical notes, reviews, downloaded manuals in .pdf, and Reddit, before the player you want, finally comes up on Audiogon! :righton:
     
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  7. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    GIK?
     
  8. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    That was tremendously helpful
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  9. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
  10. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    These have fiberglass inside. I had mine made with acoustic foam inside instead of the Rockwool the local factory offered. Almost the same mids and highs absortion with none of the health hazards associated with those breathable fibres, which are OK inside a wall, sealed in plastic, but not behind an acoustically transparent fabric that WILL let those highly abrasive loose particles reach your lungs. Just touch it without gloves and tell me. And fiberglass is the worst; deadly stuff man ! My wife is highly allergic.

    Granted; way less absorbant on the lower end of the spectrum but a non-issue to me.
     
    SandAndGlass and patient_ot like this.
  11. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I've touched my new panels quite a few times since I received them last week and haven't noticed any loose fiber symptoms. I'm also sensitive to such stuff. Years ago, I'd leave work with composite fibers (aramid/glass/carbon) imbedded in my skin almost daily - drove me nutty at times - actually inspired me to return to school. The fabric GIK uses is not the typical transparent speaker-grill type. It's a much tighter weave.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  12. RH67

    RH67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Simi Valley Ca.
    Have you thought of using an External CD Drive? On Amazon they range in price from $20-$30. I have one connected to my Lampazator Dac, sounds better than any CD player and when they quit it`s no big beal.
     
  13. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    Since you're subscriber to the SF Symphony, why not upgrade to a SACD player? The SF Symphony Orchestra is a big supporter of the format.
     
    PhantomStranger likes this.
  14. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Darken the room completely and turn on an ultraviolet light of some kind (a bulb on the roof would be ideal). You should be able to see the particles floating in the air all around the room. No acoustically transparent fabric can stop them; they're incredibly small.
     
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  15. Guildx500

    Guildx500 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Cables make a difference but not that big of a difference. I really would try this as you will probably gain some insight from the experience with only the outlay of a little time and effort. Any digital upgrade you make with your current equipment will be connected with cables anyway.

     
  16. Boltman92124

    Boltman92124 Go Padres!!

    Location:
    San Diego
    I second the reco of a new outboard DAC. Even a few hundred bucks will sound better than a $1k outboard DAC from 15 years ago. The Cambridge Dacmagic units look really nice.
    Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus (Black)
     
  17. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    It must be nice to have access to so many accesible DAC a keystroke away. No such thing down here. Hence my one-box solution, a NOS Oppo unit.
     
  18. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Dreamy unit; is it one of those ¨stable platter¨ ones ?
     
    c-eling likes this.
  19. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it!

    Holy Crap that’s gorgeous!
    Ah, when Pioneer still made classic stereo gear.
    B
     
    c-eling likes this.
  20. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it!

    CMT, got the right solution for you.
    Check this unit out:
    Audiolab 6000CDT Dedicated CD Transport with Remote (Black)

    It’s a CD transport, which means it has NO DAC. It has a read ahead buffer that can make it read damaged CDs’s that other players can’t. You already have a DAC in your new receiver so you just hook it up to one of the digital inputs on that and you’ve got a super high quality, well built unit with a fresh laser. And your not paying for a DAC you don’t need.
    I have one and it works great, and for $500 it’s not a bad price, then you can use the rest of the money to buy more CDs’s!
    Beave
     
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  21. Dingly Del Boy

    Dingly Del Boy Forum Resident

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Another option for you to consider would be a Cambridge Audio CXN v2 network player ($900). This has a pretty good DAC (which might well improve the sound of your CD player) but would also give you the ability to stream Spotify, Tidal, internet radio etc. as well as play digital music from various local and networked storage devices. I used one for a while and it is a very flexible, easy to use, and surprisingly high quality device. CA also has a very good CD transport (CXC, $449) which I use in my current system.
     
  22. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    Not sure what you mean by "stable platter" but it's interesting in that the laser is above the disc rather than below, so to play a CD, you load the CD upside down (label side down).
     
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  23. CMT

    CMT Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sebastopol, CA
    I did finally get around to trying this comparison. Very interesting in a number of ways. First, I'd say that the DAC in the Pioneer CD player is actually pretty good. My neighbor, a musician, came over to compare the two DACs with me and he actually preferred the Pioneer DAC, but I suspect he has high-frequency hearing loss to some degree, so he preferred the slightly brighter tone of the old DAC, whereas I like the new one in the Outlaw Audio amplifier, which handles the high end better, it seems to me, and has somewhat more extended bass. That said, the difference is fairly subtle--noticeable, but not as big as I thought there might be. As the old DAC in the CD player was running through a cheap old cord, and the new one is connected through an optical cable, the difference might even be smaller than it seemed.
     
  24. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    still rocking these ancient (1987/1988) early-ELITE PIONEER models, PD-M90X and PD-91.

    both still manage to sound as magnificent as they look, especially the -91...

    [​IMG]
     
  25. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL


    What a pair of beauts !!:targettiphat:
     
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