Need a new CD player

[AnitaPeterson]

Hmm.. I haven't got a digital input though on my Sonos Connect. So that would impede the way we listen to CDs. And coax audio is the only digital output on this dvd player.

Wait... you pass your music through a Sonos streamer, yet you're worried about CD quality? What else do you have in that chain?

I mean sure, it's a notch above Wal-mart Bluetooth speakers, but we're not talking real HiFi equipment here... Chances are you wouldn't hear the difference between players anyway.

 

[tinpanalley]

Wait... you pass your music through a Sonos streamer, yet you're worried about CD quality? What else do you have in that chain?

I mean sure, it's a notch above Wal-mart Bluetooth speakers, but we're not talking real HiFi equipment here... Chances are you wouldn't hear the difference between players anyway.

I'm a bit confused. What is it that's a notch above Bluetooth speakers? I don't have any Sonos speakers on my receiver. I said I have a Connect.

 

[sdifox]

I knew someone was gonna ask that. And probably you.
Yes. It does. And in fact, it's how I usually set up the DVD player for DVD watching so I can get 5.1 audio from them. However, unfortunately when you let sources go through the amp first and THEN to the Sonos, it causes a delay of 2 seconds between the instant play of the receiver and the Wifi play of the Sonos Connect to the Move in the other room. And we didn't think it was gonna be annoying, but it is. As we do stuff around the apartment the delay is just audible enough everywhere.
What's the real-world comparison here? AM radio and 24-bit SACD (yes, I'm exaggerating for effect) or just an on-paper technical improvement? And if it's a worthwhile thing to invest in then maybe I need a CD player with a good quality DAC?

No the difference between the dvd player dac and the reciver dac is not that dramatic. So just use the analogue out from the dvd player.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I mean sure, it's a notch above Wal-mart Bluetooth speakers, but we're not talking real HiFi equipment here... In such a case, you wouldn't hear the difference between players anyway.

I'm a bit confused. What is it that's a notch above Bluetooth speakers? I don't have any Sonos speakers on my receiver. I said I have a Connect.

You got everyone confused, and mentioned very late in the thread how you got everything set up.
On top of it all, you were not clear about what you are trying to accomplish.
You want the best possible CD audio? Any Blu-ray/DVD player made in the past five years will do the trick.
The rest of your equipment won't make a difference.

So let me clarify things a bit:

Digital is straightforward, analog has more weaker points.

At any point in this chain of equipment, the signal - whether analog or digital! - will dragged to the the lowest common denominator by the quality (or lack thereof) of the cheapest component. The more gadgets you include in the chain between the CD and your ear, the bigger chances you have that one of these gadgets - in your case, the Sonos Connect - will be cheap enough to affect everything else downstream.

If you had a NAD amplifier/preamp setup with separate mono stages, connected to Nautilus speakers, and listened to CDs via analog, then the quality of the player could have made a difference.

But when you include streaming devices like Sonos to the equation, the rest is academic. You have "consumer stereo", not HiFi. Your concerns about CD player quality in such a use scenario are as relevant as winter tires on cars in Florida.

Read sdifox's posts again, you already got good advice there.

 

[tinpanalley]

You got everyone confused, and mentioned very late in the thread how you got everything set up.
On top of it all, you were not clear about what you are trying to accomplish.
You want the best possible CD audio? Any Blu-ray/DVD player made in the past five years will do the trick.
The rest of your equipment won't make a difference.

So let me clarify things a bit:

Digital is straightforward, analog has more weaker points.

At any point in this chain of equipment, the signal - whether analog or digital! - will dragged to the the lowest common denominator by the quality (or lack thereof) of the cheapest component. The more gadgets you include in the chain between the CD and your ear, the bigger chances you have that one of these gadgets - in your case, the Sonos Connect - will be cheap enough to affect everything else downstream.

If you had a NAD amplifier/preamp setup with separate mono stages, connected to Nautilus speakers, and listened to CDs via analog, then the quality of the player could have made a difference.

But when you include streaming devices like Sonos to the equation, the rest is academic. You have "consumer stereo", not HiFi. Your concerns about CD player quality in such a use scenario are as relevant as winter tires on cars in Florida.

Read sdifox's posts again, you already got good advice there.

Not sure I'm understanding the need for the condescending tone of your response. Actually, no, I'm certain I don't understand it.
Is what bothers you the fact that I have a certain degree of ignorance about these things or that I would have the gall to ask for help? In either case, has my asking somehow inconvenienced you? I'm genuinely asking because my lack of knowledge seems to really annoy you which I can assure you was not my intention. You do, as does anyone in a forum, have the option to ignore my ignorance by moving on to another topic.
Oh well, anyway, my apologies. Thanks for your input. I just don't need, if it's not too much to ask, the heavy condescension that came with it.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

My intention was to be as precise as possible. There's no condescension in trying to clarify something that can be arcane to most ordinary folks, particularly since audiophiles have been at it for much longer than computer geeks.

Any form of wireless streaming - whether WiFi, blutooth or plain-old radio - may cause quality issues that are much more severe and discernible than the CD player.

 

[sdifox]

My intention was to be as precise as possible. There's no condescension in trying to clarify something that can be arcane to most ordinary folks, particularly since audiophiles have been at it for much longer than computer geeks.

Any form of wireless streaming - whether WiFi, blutooth or plain-old radio - may cause quality issues that are much more severe and discernible than the CD player.

Not if you stream flac :awe:

I setup Foobar 2000 as a DLNA server and play music off that.

 

[mnewsham]

Not if you stream flac :awe:

I setup Foobar 2000 as a DLNA server and play music off that.

You're not streaming DSD? Pleb.

 

[sdifox]

You're not streaming DSD? Pleb.

DSD is garbage. Every time you process it the noise floor creeps up.