I had A LOT of Eno on vinyl, including Airports. Hugely frustrating to listen to any of his ambient stuff because of clicks and pops, surface noise, etc. Sounded nice when I finally got a clean pressing, but the amount of records I had to go through to get there was ridiculous. The newer pressings were mostly garbage… In fact you can search here and find posts of people talking about how the newer pressings, Even though half speed mastered and expensive, had all sorts of problems. Obviously some copies didnt, But again who wants to pay 50 bucks for an abbey Road half speed mastered record with pressing flaws? And that’s not taking into consideration all the other stuff that enters into the chain… Is the VTA & VTF Correctly set for THIS record? Is the speed of your turntable accurate? Is there static electricity in your listening environment? How many plays has the record had? How many hours are on your cartridge? Azimuth, anti-skate, non-fill, off center pressings, warps, paper scuffs, protractors, on and on. With analog you are always fighting some variable, And that’s after you find a pressing that’s good. And what are modern records almost always being pressed from anyway? Digital high-resolution files! So all that you are doing it’s going through all that hassle so you can listen to a digital file that has been dumbed down to fit the physical format. I have all the Peter Gabriel records in 24/96. And I have all the reissue vinyl. Even if there were some sonic benefit to the vinyl copies (there isn’t, I listened back to back), to go through all that aggravation just because a cymbal transient is a little more natural is a level of masochism I just couldn’t buy into any more. Every record store day I read endless posts about garbage pressings of expensive records. And then of course there is the hilarity of things like ultra gain, where you get to pay a couple hundred dollars for a record that has been released a bazillion times. Meanwhile if you buy a Hi-Rez file that wasn’t brickwalled, literally 1 billion people could buy that same file and it would not have any errors, they can play it 1 million times and it would never change. OK it doesn’t hit the spot in terms of the collector aspect that vinyl does in its own unique way, but if you’re there for the music, it’s a lot less frustrating and equally rewarding. Vinyl is f$$king exhausting. The romance of vinyl/analog in general is built on a foundation that ignores the reality of the physical limitations of the format that are baked in. But if you enjoy it, that’s great! The music is most important after all
I also found the SQ of my Pioneer Laser Disc player somewhat intriguing. I had a Pioneer Elite CD player that had a decently balanced sound that was better than its price range would suggest. The only Sony player I’ve ever had was the SCD1. I used it for quite a long time but it was sort of mixed bag. I guess what I look for can best be described as “Depth and Fullness ” of sound comparable to the shading and depth of field of a superbly rendered video image.
In terms of what I experience from my vinyl 'masochism', I would add in response to these points that 1) I only buy sealed, vintage vinyl (hence the aforementioned time and expense), so digitised LPs and pops-and-clicks are not issues, 2) all of those vintage records are 120g (I think I have three 140g ones) so VTA is also not an issue, and 3) the PG vinyl reissues were cut from the same loudness-compressed 24-bit files as the downloads so I'm not surprised that they don't sound different (for my reference to compression here, Audacity-up the waveform for 'Lay Your Hands On Me' from PG4 and compare it to the original -- you'll see the difference between the original release and the re-release and once seen you'll surely hear it too). But yes, as long as we're all happy with our own world-views that's all that matters, even if you see error baked-in to my preference and I see quality leached-out of yours
surely you can see how extreme it is that you only buy sealed vintage vinyl. that’s the food equivalent of only eating only eagle’s egg omelettes - and a perfect illustration of the extremes to which this fetish can go to be satisfied. Call me happily leached!
I worked in Hi-Fi shops for around 10 years after the Denon DCD 1500 and later the 1500 II were launched, two of the shops had second outlets, I can honestly say I didn't come across, or hear about a single failure. This was going back 25-34 years!! I'm sorry that you were unlucky with yours.
[QUOTE="enfield, post: 25789998 Someone above said that no CD sounds like vinyl..A lot of CD players with non-oversampled Philips TDA 1541 /1543 chips do sound very analogue..Pair any of those players up with neutral sounding amp and speakers and you have a great sound that is warm and very easy to listen too but still nicely detailed[/QUOTE] Yes the TDA chips in that family are great but to me not in my Philips cd 960. The Musical Fidelity dm 25 some years later had those chips and they were implemented very well and were smooth/warm sounding if you will. I always complain about my old CD-960 cause it gave me a permanent ringing in ears! John M.
Yes the TDA chips in that family are great but to me not in my Philips cd 960. The Musical Fidelity dm 25 some years later had those chips and they were implemented very well and were smooth/warm sounding if you will. I always complain about my old CD-960 cause it gave me a permanent ringing in ears! John M.[/QUOTE] I hear you. Unfortunately, I have a $350 NAD CD player and don't beaucoup bucks to buy a high end CD player.
I would add another vote for Rega. I actually haven't heard one, but based on the Dac-r I have. And I'm not sure id say it adds a ton of warmth but it's extremely smooth and not fatiguing in the slightest.
I just use a NAD CD player and like it quite a lot really. Sounds fine to me. 'Warm sound' from digital? I've mentioned this before - I use speakers with AlNiCo magnets. Seems to mellow (warm) digital out for me. Something is going on.
"The perspective offered by the CD23 was somewhat forward, while the EAD's was more toward the rear of the hall. Using the EAD player, Night on Bald Mountain was presented with a more distant view, with less air, leading to a sense that the highest highs were somewhat rolled-off." -Stereophile review
First thought...I have never heard a "warm" sounding CD player. 99% of them sound thin and clinical to my ear. The closest to warm (that I owned) was a Rotel RCD-971. I would not call it exactly warm though but quite analog sounding. I used to compare it to a Nakamichi Cassette Deck that I also owned and both players had the same type of sound which was fleshy and analog-like but neither of them sounded rolled-off in the traditional definitiion of warm. I have also heard various iterations of the Lampizator DAC(s) at shows and I thought these sounded very organic, analog-like and real (for lack of a better word) but here again I did not think the sound was rolled off or warm in the traditional sense. It just sounded highly flattering to all music.
Not surprised this thread veered into digital vs. analog territory, but the real audio freaks (and there are many here) opt for both. I listened to vinyl and cassettes for years and shifted to CD when everyone else did. My kids listen to streaming and are now discovering vinyl! I don’t think there is any right or wrong way, just a bunch of different ones.
I have had a lot of CD players over the years. Meridian, Cal Audio Labs, Rega, Sony ES. The Audio Note combo I have now is the best of them all in terms of warmness and a very minimum of harshness in the high frequencies. Very "analog sounding" for a digital source. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that it uses 1x oversampling (AD1865) and is transformer coupled with tube output. I am not saying that Audio Note is the way. Anything with a similar design using 1x oversampling with transformer coupling and tube output will likely give the OP the sound he is looking for.
I hear you. Unfortunately, I have a $350 NAD CD player and don't beaucoup bucks to buy a high end CD player.[/QUOTE] Apesfan: I'm with you! After retirement I can't afford Schiitt. So I got to hold on to my Esoteric, AKM chips and all, till and forever. In the late '90's till around 2005 I had tons of overtime carrying mail and chasing criminals, then my wifes health got a little precarious, then 2009's financial mess hurt us and basically we never totally recovered. And now- forgetaboutit. Its been taken a lot of temerity to keep what we have. Take care, John M. P.S.- I had/ NAD CD and or had/ tried itergrated amps and loved their sound. Unfortunately whatever my dealer sold me eventually broke down and thus returned. From that ordeal got the Esoteric. The quotes are getting misrepresented to wrong persons. I tried to edit and started a mess, Sorry. John M.
Original AH! Tjoeb was pretty warm.. As well as Rega Planet... Dunno how much of it is a compliment. Did not like any of them (paired 20 years ago at the time with CJ electronics). Some may say that my current AYON CD-5 is warm, while it is extremely resolving ..
I agree, the Lampizator was the first digital product I heard that sounded like real music instead of a flat pastiche.
I would agree regarding the Kenwood DP7090 and the Lampizator website. I did all the capacitor upgrades he suggests and upgraded the Op Amps (OPA604 I think). (Did not put valves in). One afternoon in testing at a UK audio shop called Sounds of Music (no longer trading) on a system costing £120,000 (True) it bested the 3 players we swapped ranging in cost from £1000 to £4000. Though it was blown away by an MBL costing £25k! The cost of the 7090 and mods was about £280. Other than that Tube Technology Fusion 64 is a fantastic smooth machine, if sum what unreliable.
I've heard many high priced and low priced and different levels of quality though most have been at friends and their system's play a part in sound in every case. I myself have been very happy with my Pioneer PDR555RW. Bought new at Frys Electronics in 1998 for 599.99 It is Burr Brown equipped, which I knew nothing about at the time of purchase other than the manual saying so and a couple years later reading a review. Anyway it sounds great and when it was down, I tried my old units and others, tho none sounded good or right to me since I got so used to it. (had it repaired and have backups now too!) It records too and makes great copies of records, tapes, or anything that sounds good and has any type of output, I also have connectors that will adapt and accommodate most anything. Cheers
I recently bought a used Cary 303/300 CD player with tubes. It is being repaired At Cary and I am anxious to hear it! I’m hoping for warmth...
