[Closed] One for the audiophools - would anyone buy a CD player these days?

Rip to iPod - as high quality as you like. Simples

Kids still have dinky cd players for talking books etc.

I use my ipod for convenience, so ripped music is all compressed. Not sure I could face re-doing it, nor do I (currently) have the space.

Could be a good way forward, though.

I've just listened to Gold Against the Soul on CD. The mixing of From Dispair To Where into La Tristesse Durera is sublime. You completely miss that when you listen to the same album on an iPod. Or maybe I'm ripping them wrong...

Usual answer...

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/type/1

Got a Cambridge Audio jukebox thing a while ago. Has a CD player built in, which you cna play from or just use to rip to internal HDD as well. Plug a small LCD PC screen into it for naviagtion and it's actually pretty usable. With a USB Wi-Fi dongle I can stream from network discs as well. Still buy CD's (I like the physical artifact) - rip once and then off they go to the attic. Free-ed up loads of space.

On the downside, the CA software is a bit clunky and seems to take an age to fire up, and, TBH I've not had chance to use it as much as perhaps I might - perhaps that is telling.

All my MP3s are 192k or above (classic music is 256k upwards), and when played through a decent 24bit sound card (or iPod), you can't tell they're MP3s - when hooked up to a reasonable sound system.

Lots of ways to do this, but I guess the question is "what's your budget?". Personally I'd take the time to rip lossless (FLAC) to a network attached PC or storage, get a relatively cheap Squeezebox player & plug it into the hifi system I presume you already have. For even better results (and more money), get a good offboard DAC for the Squeezebox.

aaaand:

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/type/7

What arm and cartridge on your LP12, have you got the upgraded start button...... 😛

The answer is buy your fav stuff on vinyl if you can.

lol @ Mr Woppit. Oranges are not the only fruit, nor necessarily the tastiest 😉

Old Goldring MM and a Basik. Actually, long term loan from a friend.

Nothing comes close to it, TBH.

Interesting that lots of responses are very definite on the Squeezebox etc approach.

Woppit - I have a child. If I go down the Naim path she'll never own shoes..!

Or maybe I'm ripping them wrong..

Not an audio person but reading this the other day suggest to me that it is all do do with your sample rate on your ripping.

Shannon's Therorem (paraphrased) states that

" .. if the sampling is carried out at more than two times the

highest frequency in the signal before sampling, then the

signal can be reconstructed without degradation."

not an expert though by any means.

http://www.mega-nerd.com/Res/IADSPL/page08.html

I've just bought a CD player. I will probably go DAC and computer with a big network storage device, but I like actually having discs to look through and I got a good price on a player I really like. The option of having 24bit files really appeals though, so I want to try the computer route as well.

Replaced my CD player with a Rega one last year as I can't envisage ever not having one. Not Naim cos I have an expensive bike habit. 😉

One of life's pleasures is loafing on the sofa, admiring speakers, glass in hand, and CD case in other, checking out the words/musicians etc.

Secondhand iPod touch, Pure i-10 dock and a Spotify subscription.

pedalhead - Member
lol @ Mr Woppit. Oranges are not the only fruit, nor necessarily the tastiest

Of course. I understand that there are some bananas and the like available.

If you like that sort of thing. *sniff*

😆

Listened to "Bitches Brew" all the way through yet, C_G?

Still have CD, Vinyl and even my Nakamichi cassette deck (that doesn't see much use nowadays though! how rubbish is transcription in real time!?) Although i can see using a nice high bitrate>optical>my Arcam BB5 as being useful too (tried it with spotify and it sounded 'ok')

Yes I have Mr Woppit, it's definitely growing on me but much prefer Kind of Blue.

Interesting that some of the views have thrown up "either/or" responses - I've got no problem with mixing media and reporoduction and I'm certainly not hidebound to any one format.

We don't own many CDs - maybe 700 or so - and the nature of the way we have lived for the last few years* means they tend not to be listened to much. But, I miss that in a big way.

I guess the digital-analogue interface is really key to getting the best out of music, wherever it comes from.

*Terraced house. Slightest musical provocation from me would give them an excuse for music belting through the wall at 3am. I'm due to be moving to a detatched place.

[url= http://www.olive.us/products/music_servers/olive4hd/overview.html ]Olive 4HD[/url], or a 2HD plus a new bike... Rips CD's in lossless and is a dedicated standalone player, rather than a toy that one has to wrestle from the kids every five minutes to deny their Angry Birds habit 🙄

I've just bought a cd transport to feed through my dac, and will probably be buying a new dac in a week or two as well.

I have an upgraded LP12 with an rb 1000 tonearm.

I'm also quite happy to listen to. mp3s anf .flacs as well, depending on where in the house I am and what else I'm doing.

I bought a new to me cd player the other day as my 20 year old one died. You can get some lovely stuff on eBay these days for under £100. Can't be a bad investment.

That Olive 4HD (and the likes of a Naim HDX) is a *little* above my budget!

Nice idea though.

Mine too 🙁 They do a 2HD for half price - if that helps? Otherwise, I'd look at a 10yo micromega CD from ebay...

I have everything ripped onto the computer, and all the CDs in the office.

I have a logitech squeezebox in most rooms for when I want some music on, and a separate hi-fi for when I want to [i]listen[/i] to music

To the OP, yes, it's worth buying a CD player - if nothing else it's good to have a physical copy of the music, to my mind at least.
And with something like an Arcam Solo or Naim Uniti(?) you can stream digital formats through it as well as CD.

Cambridge Audio DVD99. Allows you to play your DVD's, and DVD-A, SACD, DIVX, CD, and it upscales to 1080p. I still buy and play CD's and will continue to do so. I like to have the actual disc; it gives me something to gat the artist to sign when I get the chance. 😀

My dad has just packed away his LP12 along with all his vinyl, seemingly for good. He spent £500-odd quid on a CD player (I'll find the make and model out) and claims it's better at sound reproduction than the record player.

And TBH, I agree with him. What's the point of hearing all the clicks and pops inherent with vinyl when I reckon if an artist was asked, they wouldn't want them on the recording.

I like the simplicity of a CD player, choosing one to play, reading the sleeve notes etc. I have an external DAC and stream music to it via iTunes, but 99% of the time just use the CD player through the DAC

i recently bought a Roberts MP53 cd player stereo. you can plug other things into it but i wouldn't know where to start.
so yes, cd's for me 😀

No chance. You already have a computer, encode all your music at as high bit-rate FLACs as you can muster and buy one of these:

[img] [/img]

Woppit - I have a child. If I go down the Naim path she'll never own shoes..!

You say this like it's a bad thing.

I got rid of my LP12 a few years ago. Well actually I swapped it and my Naim CD player for an even better Naim CD player courtesy of my friendly dealer. Best deal I've done.

Listening on my iPod doesn't come anywhere near.

Also I've got 1,000 CDs so I couldn't fit them all on my iPod even if I wanted to.

What's the point of hearing all the clicks and pops inherent with vinyl when I reckon if an artist was asked, they wouldn't want them on the recording.

I LIKE the clicks and pops!

I've had some of those records for over 30 years, they're like old friends. If I hear some tracks on the radio I'm subconsciously waiting for the scratches and pops - just not the same without them.

Ripped everything several years ago, CDs are in a box tucked away in my parents' attic (but my dad raids it from time to time for new listens).

All done as high-bitrate VBR MP3s (LAME with what was --alt-preset-standard at the time) which sound fine to my ears. 80GB ipod classic has all my albums on, and is in whichever room we're listening to music, but is getting full.

Only time I buy CDs now is if they're cheaper than the Amazon MP3 download.

There's far too much BS and snobbery amongst hifi buffs, who are generally too proud to admit that their ageing ears can't tell the difference between MP3s on a £150 MP3 player and their £3000+ separate CD transport and DAC.

Ooh dear. 😀

Here we go....

(Settles in for the long haul)

Rusty Spanner - Member
What's the point of hearing all the clicks and pops inherent with vinyl when I reckon if an artist was asked, they wouldn't want them on the recording.
I LIKE the clicks and pops!

I've had some of those records for over 30 years, they're like old friends. If I hear some tracks on the radio I'm subconsciously waiting for the scratches and pops - just not the same without them.

POSTED 9 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Exactly the same reason why I would choose to listen to a vinyl mix over digital.

and we were doing so well to keep this more or less on track. Oh well, if we don't respond, it'll all just go away. Oh, wait....

and we were doing so well to keep this more or less on track.

I did start the thread with the title "audiophools", so don't blame me if you lot get carried away with what you can and can't differentiate. 😉

Anyway, back on topic. Hmm, I'm still not decided, though I am sort of tending towards avoiding the ambient disturbance of a 'puter fan whirring in the background as I listen.

Any thoughts on the practicalities of avoiding IT hardware intruding on the experience?

Check out NAIM Uniti, it does lots and I'm v happy with mine.

Computers don't need to have fans :D. Lots of "home audio component" type PC cases around now, silent cooling solutions etc. Plus, you could always just stick the PC in another room, or the garage, or the loft. Or you could use a NAS box, which will be less flexible & less powerful but probably have a smaller footprint & might be easier to achieve silent running than with a PC.

What sort of cableing?

What sort of cableing?

was that question for me or the OP?

Blu-ray hooked up to Tv and hifi plays Blu-Rays, Dvds and Cds

It'll need to be the right way round and suspended from the floor....

😉

Has anyone mentioned yet that the way CDs are mastered these days means that they all sound rubbish anyway?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

What sort of cableing?

[img] [/img]

When only the best will do.

MtbRoutes - Member

Has anyone mentioned yet that the way CDs are mastered these days means that they all sound rubbish anyway?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

Agree on this! Who cares if its 24 bit or 16 when you chuck away 80% of the dynamic range anyway.

I wouldn't go for a hifi cd player nowadays - go the computer and/or squeezebox route with a decent DAC - like the Benchmark or maybe the Lavry Black, which I understand is sweeter sounding.

http://www.studiocare.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=Lavry%20Engineering%20Black%20DA-10%20-%20Stereo%20DA

No fans in my PC and, once I add an SSD, nothing moving either 🙂

Assuming that vinyl isn't your thing, I have recently discovered that something like this [url= http://www.linn.co.uk/majik_ds-i ]majik[/url] or this [url= http://www.brennan.co.uk/ ]brennan[/url] is the future. An external HD with your ripped-CDs, or (God forbid) mp3s on it and a dedicated DAC amplifier combo.

Who cares if its 24 bit or 16 when you chuck away 80% of the dynamic range anyway.

like cutting to an LP then...

, or (God forbid)

Unlikely...

Lets not start about modern mastering. As properly mastered sounds great but badly mastered, played, recorded is what sounds rubbish

CD player! I gave up on CDs ages ago and have just bought a new turntable.

cinnamon_girl
One of life's pleasures is loafing on the sofa, admiring speakers, glass in hand, and [s]CD case[/s] record sleeve in other, checking out the words/musicians etc.

There, fixed it for you.

Elfinsafety - Member
Ooh dear.
Here [s]we[/s] [b][i]I[/i][/b] go....
(Settles in for the long haul)

FIFY 😉

We are still manufacturing plenty of CD players so there's clearly still a market out there. There is a lot to be said for the NAS and streaming DAC approach though. This means you can tuck your NAS out of the way somewhere and only have the front end in the lounge.

This is probably the way I'll have to go, since impending baby means space is at a premium, and I've about 1300 CDs. Already had to move about 500 records into the loft 🙁 I'm just waiting for us to design a front end that's better than my current player.

If you want something to sound as good as an LP12, it isn't going to be cheap 😉 DAC technology has really come on in the last decade though.

WRT ripping, storage is so cheap these days you might as well rip to native WAV format if you go the NAS route. I've been told that the ripping process is very important, itunes and wmp being cited as particularly poor. Smoething like Exact Audio Copy will do the trick.

richpenny - which mfr do you work for? Please don't tell me it's Woppit's favorite addiction...! 😉

New house will have a room where the hifi will live away from the lounge (essentially a spare bedroom) and CDs, LPs (Tapes - yes!) will live with it.

I like the idea of streaming it, though - I'm certainly spoiled by the near-instant access nature of my ipod.

So, then, can someone please explain all this squeezebox/NAS/SSD etc terminology? I know I'm out of touch with hifi, but I've never been in touch with all that stuff..!

It is only an "Old Goldring MM and a Basik" so it should be easy to better that. And we don't know what MM stage is on the amp either.

But it may be that he likes the compressed sound and lack of channel separation from his turntable, which is understandable, and so it will be difficult to match this from a CD player.

There was a box from the HiFi World guys (maybe called a Frankenstien?) that bleed the channels together to reduce the separation and make a CD player sound more like a turntable.

[url= https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/ ]look here[/url]

for squeezebox type stuff and some guidance.

richpenny does work for Naim I think - before that he was on the forum as poorpenny...

TurnerGuy - Member

Who cares if its 24 bit or 16 when you chuck away 80% of the dynamic range anyway.

like cutting to an LP then...

Yes indeedy, vinyl having equivalent dynamic range to 11 bit digital IIRC.

ourmaninthenorth - Member
richpenny - which mfr do you work for? Please don't tell me it's Woppit's favorite addiction...!

I'll do it for him, then. 😈

tunerguy - leave off. It beats current CDP (original Arcam Alpha 7) hands down in the most important consideration - emotional connection with music.

TBH, I love hi fidelity, but I don't favour it over artistic accomplishment.

Cheers for squeezebox links.

richpenny does work for Naim I think - before that he was on the forum as poorpenny...

Richpenny is my naim 😉 Working in hifi will never make you rich unless, like Victor Kiam, you bought the company. Took a 20% pay cut to come and work here cos I loves it so. That was from pro audio, where people truly are overpaid and undertalented 😉

Richpenny is my naim

When you started did you do that thing where you have to build a component from scratch?

My rec would be a fanless ITX mini PC with a solid state drive running J River Media Centre and hooked up your choice of dac

I'll do it for him, then.

You're Mick Parry and I claim my £5. 😀

My rec would be a fanless ITX mini PC with a solid state drive running J River Media Centre

Not all of us on STW are IT guys, you know..!

Translation please. 🙂

ourmaninthenorth - Member

I'll do it for him, then.

You're Mick Parry and I claim my £5.

😆 😆 😆

Jokes don't get get much more "in" than that.

Would you like to play with my gun?

I run a minimac into my Naim Supernait - moved away form CD's about 5 years ago and would never go back - Vinyl will always sound awesome, but high resolution FLAC/WAV is up there with it - amazing results & better than CD.

ourmaninthenorth - you are welcome to drop me an email, I have been down this route extensively and tried many options into a proper hifi and have learn a lot and have setup a few friends who are very happy too! ericemel at yahoo dot com

Mick Parry is a software construct developed as an enforcer on the Naim Forum, similar to the Agents from the Matrix films:)

Did do that matthew, worked in wiring for about a month. Built most of my system at home too.

OMITN, ericmel has posted an example of what plenty of people use, I've a Mac mini at home and it is indeed silent, you could run the O/P of that into a decent DAC. Can you use an ipod touch as a remote for itunes ericmel?

You can use an ipod/ipad as a remote for itunes (win/Mac) or with some faffing Foobar (win). Also as a remote for spotify.

any reason why a pc + output is the preferred option to an ipod with an appropriately flash dock? it seems the average album with flac is 400mb, so the classic would hold 400 of them. Granted if you have more than 400 albums it might be an issue, if you had to have them all lossless. If you encoded at 320kb/s mp3 you'd probably get around 1500 on there..

5lab - this can actually work well (obviously no flac support - but alac is ok). One of the draw back is the lack of remote and flexibility it can't play internet radio or spotify (except ipod touch). I have heard an ipod though a £2k dac and no one could say it sounded bad in the slightest.

But as always, spend more and get better results, albeit diminishing returns (BIG TIME) - but additional flexibility. too.

Jokes don't get get much more "in" than that.

Mick Parry is a software construct

So it's true. I used to lurk there around 10 years ago when I was flirting with the idea of naiming myself. Then I realised that the whole upgrade path would make me mentally ill (as well as bankrupt) so I withdrew.... 😉

ericemel - I'll drop you a mail. Am not rushing into all of this, but getting an understanding of how I get from A, through B to C, would be ace. Cheers.

Then I realised that the whole upgrade path would make me mentally ill

What? Bang! Wibble.

Pooooooot poooooot

I bought one of these recently during their VATback scheme-

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/mfi-ipod-hi-fi/cmt-mx750ni

Internet radio/DAB/iPod/USB/WiFi/audio in and of course my first CD player for about 5 years 😀

I bought one of these recently during their VATback scheme

I thought we were wanting to better his LP12, not go backwards...

Arcam Alpha 7 is a bit old now and DACs have come a long way - just make sure that you get one with good jitter rejection (is that possible) or provide it with a precisely clocked output.

I have an Echo Indigo laptop soundcard that would show that Arcam a clean set of heels, for about £100.

I thought my old Micromega Leader was decent (better than a Marantz CD72SE and Quad CDP at demo time anyway) and it was used in the LS3/5a room at the 2000 HFN show at Heathrow to very good results. Then I put a upsampling/reclocking box and DAC on it and it was a fair bit better, and then I compared it to the Indigo card - to which it lost 🙁

RichPenny - Member
I've been told that the ripping process is very important, itunes and wmp being cited as particularly poor. Smoething like Exact Audio Copy will do the trick

I can't really understand why this would be. Every other piece of software I have is capable of reading (even fairly scratched) CDs 'bit perfectly'. The evidence of this is seems to be that those CDs contain files and software that would not work if they contained errors.
Can someone please enlighten me?

p.s. I have recently sold my old CD transport in favour of a NAS/streaming solution, so no I personally wouldn't bother buying a CD player these days.