Question about CD output (1 Viewer)

[Eduardo]

What about the DACs in a CD Jukebox? They tend to spin the CD vertically. I own a Sony CXP-400 cd player and a Sony STR-DE835 reciever. Which DAC is better?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Still, and forgive me if I misread some of your comments, how about a little thought experiment. Take a bargain brand El Cheapo CD player and a top of the line Rolls-Royce CD player and hook them to the same A/V receiver using digital transports. Which will sound better? I think of a CD as having a bunch of 1's and 0's that can be read; both CD players can read the 1's and 0's and send them in a bitstream to the receiver. I know errors can occur while reading the data and most CD players have some kind of error checking (the more expensive models will have better error checking), and the El Cheapo model may mechanically fail sooner than the Rolls Royce, but if we assume that both are functioning a peak efficiency, I can't see how they would sound different. The bitstreams going to the receiver would be identical, correct?

Two things to keep in mind:
1. Timing differences (jitter) can be all over the place and are very audible.
2. Error correction may not be the same in each of these cases, since a more stable transport can have lower error rates, which lead to less stress on the player.
These are overcome in two ways:
1. Reclocking the signal by coupling the timing stream to the receiver.
2. Using a more stable platter and receiving less jitter.
Many people say "bits is bits" implying that os and 1s will always be the same, but that is simply leaving out one of the more critical elements of the analog waveform, the exact time the waveform is measured or sampled. You see the DACs simply reconvert the digital representation of an analog waveform that was measured (PCM example only!) in height and what time it was measured.
The other major differences between CD players include:
1. General build quality
2. Features like HDCD decoding and high rez upsampling capability
3. Quality of connections
4. Power supply bulk and isolation
5. Quality of DAC chips, capacitors, use of op amps, etc.
Hope that helps.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I currently have a Marantz SA8260 SACD player on order. It will be paired with a Pioneer Elite 49-tx receiver. For redbook playback would I be better off using a digital or analog connection? The Marantz supposedly has state of the art dac's, but I'm sure the ones in the Pioneer aren't to shabby themselves.

Karl,

My best guess is you stay with the signal from the Marantz DACs, but try the Pioneer's and see if you like them. Pioneer in the past has used their Legato Link technology. I don't like the sound as much as newer techniques but it has a nice laid back nature to it. You can switch by using the analog and digital outputs and A/B'ing the choice.

 

[mike_decock]

why would a person buy an expensive CD player?

Because some of exensive one are really pretty and you can show it off to your friends .
Basically, go for whichever has the best DAC.
-Mike...

 

[KeithH]

Mike, it's all about the looks. Right.

 

[Dennis B]

Karl,
Has your SA-8260 arrived yet?
I'm trying to gather more impressions on this player, it's got Crystals' CS4397 DACs and HDAMs for analog stages, folks over at Audio Asylum are comparing it to the XA777ES. This is looking like a very serious player...