I was going to say that I don't really believe in all that, but then my mind cast back to a Phase Linear. OK, that DID sound "cold and sterile" whereas my Magnavox CDB-650 just sounded...right. However, the differences while real (you could tell by listening to reverb tails) were not tremendous.
Back in early 90's had a Marantz CD52SE that was quite forward and attacking via a Cyrus 1 and 780's. It went with the music I played then - youthful and spirited. Then I got a Cyrus 2 with PSX feeding mission 733's and the 52 sounded much harsher. At the time my musical tastes where moving down the Jazz and acoustic realms so in came a Marantz CD73 and that was very warm, expansive and laid back (still have this old kit in a rooftop bed den for occasional background tunes). Then - 10 yrs later - I got a Primare i30 and Rega RS5's - both known for being revealing & neutrality. The 73 started to feel 'muddy' in that setup - in fact it was at time I also started using + preferring Spotify 320 - until I got a Primare CD32 (which can't be described as warm but its not harsh) and the SQ with better system match jumped up a few bars. I tried a little Rega top loader at time but the 32 was miles better (and same price S/H). So, the Marantz 73 is doing well and still feels cosy with its stable mates. I guess it's what music you intend to play on a warm CD and it's sync to the rest of system to find a presentation that works and that you like. Good luck with your search!
What goes in must come out. The signal coming out of the device should be as close as possible to the one recorded in the studio . Measure the difference between the two signals. In a perfect world it would be zero, in real life it never is. The closer it is the better.
And how do you measure that? One signal from the CD Player one one out of the air? And what do you measure? Frequency graph? All the same from all CDP ... what else? Distortion? Who has measuring equipment for distortion? That’s all wishful thinking ...
Am l correct in thinking a lot of kit from yesteryear was fuller and warmer than stuff from nowadays, just a thought.
I was just comparing the Arcam CD23t and as a transport to a Wyred4Sound DAC2-DSD. They both have the same JPS Untraconnect2 IC's. The W4S has More bass. Deeper and tighter. It Also have a more extended high end thats sharper. I bought the Arcam CD23 years ago because it had more weight and bass than most others I heard in its price range. The W4S DAC2 has more and is overall better in all ways. They can be had for around $800 5 years old +/-
Perhaps NAD 5300, 1989. It has the Burr Brown PCM54 chip, though I have no idea of the characteristic sound of this chip. It is old, so its age may also contribute to its apparent warm sound. My Bifrost 4490 had "clicking issues" with his CD player.
Take original and playback signal, flip one to negative, and sum. If the sum is zero, the playback is perfect. If not, the magnitude of the difference tells you how good the playback process is. This can theoretically be done in the analogue or digital domain. No, the original would be the master. Of course this is not accessible to consumers. The next best thing you can do as a consumer is make your own digital test recording from an analogue source, say an LP playing, using your computer and a more or less decent soundcard. You then have a digital copy of the same audio and can compare aurally, and if you're so inclined, measure the difference between the two say in a WAV editor. If you hear and measure no significant difference between the original LP and your own digital copy created on your computer, you can from now on be assured that the digital process is not faulty and that CD as a medium is fine.
Great. Uhm, I prefer listening though ... from a warm CD Player Sending my regards to Lockdown City - I pity you guys. Muss ziemlich zum Kotzen sein.
Hi yes there is. MHDT lab Canary , and Orchid based on TDA 1541 ,nos not oversampling with tube output. Great reviews on internet. Lineartubeaudio in USA is the dealer. If you go on MHDT lab.com site Mhdt lab family you can compare them.Mhdt Laboratory
Earlier in the thread I lauded my Italian Lector CDP 0.6T. Well I managed to find it’s “big brother”, the CDP 7TL at a very good price and IMHO it lives up to it’s very fine reputation. Some reviews call it one of the best CD players ever made. While I haven’t heard any if it’s competitors, I can say that I’ve been playing CDs all day long for days now, and the CDP 7TL is as close to a vinyl experience with digital as I’ve ever experienced (and I’m loving having a top loader in my life again). The player has a separate PSU with three transformers, a main, one for the tube output and one for the digital. I’m looking forward to hopefully many years of enjoyment from this player, and thankfully know the one tech in the U.S. who services Lector.
I've owned 3 Rega CD players, two Planets and an Apoll0-R. The transports on two of the three failed, including the Apollo-R just recently. They definitely sound sweet and I know Rega is a respected company. I want to feel good about them, but I'm just tired-tired-tired of reliability issues. And, adding insult to injury, Rega denies there's a problem (there are hundreds of complaints on audio forums) and charges serious money to replace a transport... then you wonder how many CDs it will play before it dies again. Aside from inconvenience and cost, anticipating trouble kills the enjoyment, so I'm moving on to separate transport and DAC setup.
Yup, my experience too. Thankfully the Rega DAC is brilliant -- I may go back to one of those with a transport if my CD5 finally croaks.
I don't have a huge wealth of experience to compare across, but one of the reasons I've had my California Audio Labs Ikon Mk II for 24 or so years is that it's very warm, almost classically "analog" in its presentation.
Hands down Cal Audio Labs Mkll still use it till this day. edit.......... That’s hysterical I hit enter without reading a single entry in this thread and then saw the posts above mine
Let me tell you first about my set up egarding digital. Amp is a Home Theater receiver, a Pioneer SC-LX76 from 2012 (sold in the US under the Elite range, quite transparent for an A/V receiver), B&W 601's from 1997 bi-amped, Sony UHD BD player X-800 used as a transport and Topping D50 D/A converter with a Yaqin SD-CD3 tube buffer with NOS 1960's Tung Sol 6SN7 GTB tubes between D/A converter and receiver. This sounds fine, just fine to my ears keeping in mind that don't play digital very often and for long listening sessions, I leave those to analogue. I recently borrowed a friend's Topping D90 all X'mas long. This D/A converter despite being an inexpensive (by this forum standards) one is supposed to be a top performer mesurements wise. Do I notice a significant improvement between the Topping D50 and the D90? I DO notice a difference but I can't decide which one sounds really better. If I connect both converters without the tube buffer the same happens, they both sound different, not much despite using different D/A IC's by different makers ( Sabre for the D50 and AKM for the D90), but I can't decide which one sounds better or I should better say, which one I like best. This could be because my set up is not revealing enough, maybe because I don't quite like digital (except for DSD) or because they don't really sound much different as both use Delta/Sigma technology. The fact is that I don't and I won't bother trying to improve my digital playing, if I had more money I would, but being on a budget (the Covid pandemia is leaving many people's pockets empty, mines includded) I won't. Despite all of that changing my TT's (Goldring GR-1 with some enhancements) cart from Audio Technica VM540ML to VM740ML and being the VM740ML only around 170 Euros more expensive than the VM540ML, I DID noticed an improvement with the new cart despite the small difference in price between the two carts. Does this mean that current D/A converters can transparently play red book and get the most out of them without breaking the cash? I don't know, maybe...
The Rega Planet was the one I've owned. I didn't like it. Might have been a system match, but I was disappointed with its mechanical running noise. To be honest, I've preferred every other cd player I've owned. I have several Phillips players I'd describe as warm, and I really like those. Again, perhaps there were other factors.
Our first CD player, which still works, is a 1990 Pioneer PD-4500 we bought new at Sears. This was the bottom of their line, but sounds good and neutral. It has Burr Brown PCM-1700 DAC chips in it, and a hype sticker on it saying it is a 20 bit system.
