POLL: Do You Think That Different CD Players Have Their Own Sonic Signature?

I'm the poster that audiomixer is referring to in his opening post, and let me assure you - I never said all CD players were the same. The 'discussion' he's referring to was about an SACD being played on an SACD player vs a blu ray player. I wondered if there was that much difference to justify buying an SACD player. His response was typical of his personality (witness this thread if you'd like more proof), to post a laughing and pointing emoticon. When I pointed out that I was just trying to learn and that he was acting like a jerk, he denied said behavior and ran off to further pout by starting the thread you're reading now. What`s happening with AudioFidelity ?

Anyway, it was SACDs and not CDs I was inquiring about. And I'm sure one can probably tell the difference, but I'd still like a demonstration. And you know, ridiculing members for a supposed lack of knowledge is never cool or justified. It's too bad the OP doesn't understand internet etiquette, not to mention basic good manners.

 

Do you know what the smart argument is for no differences between CD players? I’d like to consider it.

 

I have no demonstration to offer, but what I find a bit puzzling about the question is that it doesn't seem to acknowledge sonic differences among different DVD players and different SACD players. In other words, one cannot possibly even begin to answer your question without knowing which DVD player you are comparing to which SACD player, and at which price point(s). If you buy a cheaper SCAD player than your DVD player, it probably won't sound better, or even as good (though there may be occasional exceptions). On the other hand, if you go for a higher level SACD player, it will likely sound better, just as in the case with different CD players. It's possible that at the same price point, a dedicated SACD player might be somewhat better due to having more of the unit's cost taken with the SACD-only elements--but you'd probably want to read reviews of both units, and take into account synergy with your other components.

All that said, I agree that audiomixer's response was unnecessarily rude.

 

Hey, bits is bits.
Might as well just get a Sony Discman.



No offense, but is this question serious?

 

Look at the poll results. F*** yes, it's serious!

 

Not sure there can be one. The only thing that is the same in two different CD players is the disc itself you are using to compare them.

 

If we answer yes, we imply that it would be possible to identify the CDPs by their sound. I see this as totally impossible for most, maybe it would be possible with a very, very small numbers, some with a very odd character.

 

Both.

 

Just to be absolutely clear, we are talking about the analog outs of an CD player here, right? Because the thread starter mentioned the "digital is digital" approach earlier and as we all know, once the signal reaches the analog output, it's not digital anymore. And I wonder if some of those who voted "No" on tbe poll were referring to the digital output of a player.

Maybe the thread starter could quote the statement that started this thread, so we all know what it was about.

 

I really do believe that each player has its own sound. I always stick with Cyrus players as i very much like their sound. I have tried many different players at home but always opt for the Cyrus player due to the sound.

 

Well all I can say is when a NAD is replaced in my system by a Cambridge with the same connectors, the same set up, and playing the same CDs it definitely sounds different. So I am 99.99% sure the correct answer is yes. I’ll grant that the comparison using a switch might have closed it to 100%, but I didn’t want to buy a switch for no reason other than answering polls.

 

The theory is (or was?) that CD sound is perfect. For that to be true then all players are perfect and therefore must sound identical.

 

I've owned 5 CD players and they've all sounded different to each other.

Even down to the same brand... My Sony CDP XE500 sounds subtler on the treble than my CD XE530.... Basically the same model, just a few years later... Both sound great on bass...

Whereas my Philips CDR760 thing sounds much more more punchy in the midrange than those two, but lacks bass presence...

 

I voted no, but I am referring to where the CD player is just a transport. Of course if the CD player is outputting an analog signal it makes a big difference. But I don't think there is that much of a problem with jitter down the old HDMI trail. So nice topic, but it needs to be further classified.

Or to put it another way, if there is a difference in sound between different transports, then how come different rippers and different PCs come up with the same rip/numbers, which is how some error detection is done in some rippers.

 

My old Denon Own Sonic Signature. Bad.

 

It's hard to fathom why anyone would think all CDP's sound the same. Mind boggling really.

 

Different? Yup.

 

Assuming the OP is referring to the final analogue output then the answer is yes. Personally, I would avoid any player that deviates wildly from a flat output.

 

I find it amusing that today there are still people who buy-into the "perfect sound forever" marketing line that was pushed when CDs were first introduced. I've owned a number of CD players over the years, and none have sounded exactly the same.

My first player (a first gen Magnavox) sounded pretty bad actually. My second (a Yamaha CDX-1100u) was the first player that didn't make me run for the off switch when I heard it. But it was still embarrassed by my turntable. My Next player, a CAL Alpha-Delta combo, with its tube output stage was when I finally felt like CDs could begin to compete with my records. My next one, a VSE level 6 modified Sony SCD-1 sounded so good that I caused me to lose much of my interest in analog. When that player broke down, I hated listening to CDs because nothing I tried could compete with what I had become used to with that player. That was until I got my current PS Audio DS DAC, with which with its current firmware, can humble even that amazing player.

Now my current digital setup sounds so good, that I very rarely feel the need to spin any of my records anymore. It's going to take something extremely special to get me to upgrade from this DAC.

 

Are different things perceptively different? Duh.

 

Digital is digital and ones and zero's are all the same??? Oh, that's why cheap CD players all sound the same as nice ones ???
OH-Boy.

 

No my opinion, trust me.

 

This "hobby" would be easy if all playback equipment sounded the "same".

 

I’ve found that even portable digital music players have a sonic signature. My iPod and IPhone sons very different from my Sony NW-A 45 Walkman. I prefer the Sony. I suspect much of it comes down to the DAC.

However many components and circuit design all affect the presentation of sound. Anyone who has ever “upgraded” things like caps or hexfreds can attest to that.

 

I seem to recall some discussion here about what a CD player should actually do, digitally, to conform to standards. It might have been in a thread about whether two CDs which are digital clones can/do sound different.
Anyway, if you were to hook up any CD players to a digital recorder and record their digital output, they should produce bit identical results, unless they are faulty or the disc is dirty etc. and thus error correction is being used. If there are no errors (or maybe some soft, correctable, ones) the digital output should be the same.

I have experienced cheap players that will happily play a brand new shop bought pressed CD without issue, and at the same time a more expensive player glitches and gives up on the same disc. Must be something to do with error correction or quality of laser there or something in the read area.

But digital isn't everything. Those tiny little electrical signals generated from the DAC chip need to be amplified up to a usable and transmittable level to send out of the player, so it can be connected to a bigger amplifier and speakers or headphones - analogue gear. The analogue circuits in CD players can vary quite a bit, and if one takes noise as a factor, then shielding and keeping a clean signal is really important.

What I am constantly surprised by the the audio quality of modern chip solutions to producing analogue audio from a digital signal. DACs can be made utterly tiny now, and they are surprisingly not terrible. Sure, there a lot of discreet components that can tweak and sculpt the sound as it is being amplified, but a couple of chips and a circuit board the size of a USB stick can produce a pretty good sound.

Of course CD players sound different to each other. As others have suggested, go plug two different ones into the same amp, and switch between them. A Technics won't sound like a Yamaha.