CDP advice and opinions

[rgwalker]

One of the first things that I bought when I got into this insanity a few years ago was a Dynaco tube output CDP from the early 90s. The system has evolved and changed drastically except for the CDP and until recently I never gave it much thought.

What do you guys use and like? I'm not concerned about it being vintage.

Thanks

Bob Walker

[Daytona50]

Even though the Dynaco has a tube stage in it, it was never considered a really good CD player as I recall based on reviews of the day. Digital technology has come a long long way since the early 90's in any case. In any case, any of the players made by Meridian, especially the 508-20 or 508-24 can be found used on Audiogon at reasonable prices and are excellent players. The EAR Acute which has a true tube and transformer coupled output as well as its own volume control is one of the best sounding CD players available in my opinion. (It comes close to my reference, the Audio Research CD7). The new Bryston CD player is an excellent machine as well.

Hope this helps.

[rgwalker]

Even though the Dynaco has a tube stage in it, it was never considered a really good CD player as I recall based on reviews of the day. Digital technology has come a long long way since the early 90's in any case. In any case, any of the players made by Meridian, especially the 508-20 or 508-24 can be found used on Audiogon at reasonable prices and are excellent players. The EAR Acute which has a true tube and transformer coupled output as well as its own volume control is one of the best sounding CD players available in my opinion. (It comes close to my reference, the Audio Research CD7). The new Bryston CD player is an excellent machine as well.

Hope this helps.

Sigh................I've opened Pandora's box. After reading a couple of reviews I don't think that I'll be happy until I get an Ear Acute. However, at $5.5K it's almost worth as much as the rest of the system but it's probably well worth it. I have a few things that I can sell and we'll have to see what happens between now and Christmas.

You may be referring to the Dynaco CDV-1, which wasn't well received. I have a CDV-2, which was a totally reworked player based on the CDV Pro and received much better reviews. I have no complaints with it and it is very musical and precise but I said the same thing about the Altec 620As that preceded this speaker system and I was absolutely blown away and don't take anything for granted anymore. The same was true with high end cables and it wasn't until I was given some with a 60 day trial that I became one of the converted.

I'll also check out the other CDPs that you've mentioned but I won't be satisfied until I have an Ear Acute.

Thanks

Bob Walker

[richluvsound]

Hi ,

just to through in my humble opinion. I use an MSB power DAC and Sony
DVD player. The new DVD players have bloody good conversion anyway, but I bi - pass that with toslink into the DAC. Everything goes through the MSB including the TT.

I'm very happy with the sound. Maybe ,if your close Larry may be able to set you up with a demo.

Good luck , Rich

[Daytona50]

Yes I was probably referring to the original Dynaco Cd player. Sorry. Anyway, the EAR Acute is THAT good and made even better with NOS Amperex 6DJ8 tubes. Good news is that you can get these players from time to time on Audiogon for really good prices. Also call Jay at Audio Revelation to see if they have a demo for sale. You are right though, you won't be happy with less of a player once you hear this thing.

[rgwalker]

Yes I was probably referring to the original Dynaco Cd player. Sorry. .

No apology needed. The CDV-1 was apparently a dog and even though Dynaco had an outstanding reputation the second generation CDP never caught on. I'm sure that it's because they didn't distance it from the bad rep and kept the same chasis and model name as the old one.

Anyway that's old news and I'm onto the Ear Acute. I'll keep my eyes open for deals but I can't afford to do it tomorrow and need to gather some cash.

Bob Walker

[rgwalker]

call Jay at Audio Revelation to see if they have a demo for sale. .

San Diego is only five hours from here and we go there two or three times a year. I'll definitely contact Jay and see what can happen.

Bob W

[Mr. Widget]

I am not familiar wit the EAR Acute player, but I certainly am of the school of thought that the modern DACs are superior to those of a few years ago so I'd bet it will be a real upgrade. I believe quite a lot has been learned over the decades since digital audio has been mainstream.

Personally, I'd consider any solid player with digital outs and buy a modern DAC. I don't think the spinning the disc part of the equation has as much black magic as many would have you believe. Alternatively, I have just picked up a Wadia 170i Transport. (An iPod dock with digital outs that will match redbook as long as you use WAV files or Apple Lossless.) Feeding my digital front end there are things about it that are more convenient than messing around with piles of discs and things about it that are less so.


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[Chas]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Widget. There is a new Bryston BDA-1 working very nicely in my system with a variety of vintages of transports. All sound pretty darned nice.

[yggdrasil]

I agree with you Widget. A good cd-player or a network player and an external DAC gives you freedom to upgrade the audio part of the signal chain.

I have installed a Squeeze center server and a Squeezebox. Some of the music collection have been ripped with flac. It is really very user friendly, and I believe it is a more reliable digital delivery system than any cd-player.

The Squeezebox sounds ok, but does not have audiophile quality. At the moment I have parts for a DAC in the workshop (actually two..), but it will have to wait there a month or so due to summer vacation.

[Daytona50]

I agree with the facts that modern DACs and servers can offer excellent sound quality as well as convenience and reliability. The EAR CD player has an excellent Wolfson DAC chip in it but in my opinion, much of the sound quality coming from that unit is attributable to the custom analog electronics that come after the DAC chip. Now if Tim made a DAC....

[Mr. Widget]

...but in my opinion, much of the sound quality coming from that unit is attributable to the custom analog electronics that come after the DAC chip. No argument from me. DAC chipsets are all relatively cheap... the magic happens when care is taken after the DAC chipset.


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[rgwalker]

The Dynaco CDP has a DA output. Should I keep it and buy a DAC and what is a good one to complement my system? It is a 3 way with a 416-8B in a 9 cu ft cabinet with a 288C driver attached to an EV HR60 horn crossed at 800 and a Heil ESS AMT-1 tweeter crossed at 9K. The preamp is a McIntosh MX110 and the amp is a McIntosh 240.

I'll try this before going all out on the Ear Acute CDP.

Thanks

Bob Walker

[John W]

I recently purchased a DAC board off ebay and wired it up into a nice case: one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gigawork-24-192-Up-.... (http://cgi.ebay.com/Gigawork-24-192-Up-sampling-DAC-DA-CONVERTER-w-USB-kit_W0QQitemZ120444612089QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item1c0b0eedf9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1234%7C 293%3A1%7C294%3A50)

I also wired in a headphone amp with volume control, since I use it mostly at work.
My CD library is loaded into a Mac Mini using apple lossless format, and the USB input on the DAC is I great interface. The DAC sounds great, uses a nice chipset, and is very modular if you feel like plugging in different opamps or chips.

[Mr. Widget]

The Dynaco CDP has a DA output. Should I keep it and buy a DAC and what is a good one to complement my system? I would keep it and upgrade the DAC. I am sure the one John built is better than a stock computer DAC and very likely better than those in most consumer grade CD players... and maybe better than many older stand alone DACs, I have no idea. The new Bryston is around $2K and is very highly praised by everyone who I have talked to. I am not sure if the street price on that unit will give you much of a break. I'd be surprised if it wasn't a serious upgrade over your current player, but at $100 the unit John posted may also be an upgrade.


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[yggdrasil]

I got nearly the same DAC as John (no USB, and other supplier). You might find this thread on diyaudio interesting: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137976&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

[John W]

I got nearly the same DAC as John (no USB, and other supplier). You might find this thread on diyaudio interesting: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137976&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Thanks,
Thats a long thread, I picked through about half. It mentions a few modifications to the output stage, have you tried any?

[rgwalker]

I would keep it and upgrade the DAC. I am sure the one John built is better than a stock computer DAC and very likely better than those in most consumer grade CD players... and maybe better than many older stand alone DACs, I have no idea. The new Bryston is around $2K and is very highly praised by everyone who I have talked to. I am not sure if the street price on that unit will give you much of a break. I'd be surprised if it wasn't a serious upgrade over your current player, but at $100 the unit John posted may also be an upgrade.


Widget

For $100.00 plus a few bucks for a box etc it's worth the time and effort to try. I may buy the parts right away but I likely won't get to it for awhile. However, I will post my two bits worth when I do.

Can I simply mount the board in a box and start using it or does it require any other components to work?

Thanks

Bob W

[Hoerninger]

Is there a way to use three of these DACs to perform a 6 channel digital output from a DVD player (DTS, Dolby)?
It must be kept in mind that here is only one connection coax or optical!
____________
Peter

[John W]

Can I simply mount the board in a box and start using it or does it require any other components to work?

Thanks

Bob W

The power supply is on the board, so as long as you purchase the kit with the transformer you are 90% there. You'll probably want to wire in an on/off switch, a fuse and an indicator light but thats about it.
One little gripe, is that switching between different sources - usb, spdif, and optical requires manually manipulating a small jumper on the board. I wired in a pair of external switches to accomplish this, but it is a little tricky.

[John W]

Is there a way to use three of these DACs to perform a 6 channel digital output from a DVD player (DTS, Dolby)?
It must be kept in mind that here is only one connection coax or optical!
____________
Peter
No,
I don't think that would work. For multichannel there is still only one digital signal. This gets processed and split into analog channels by the DVD player. I haven't seen a DVD player that spits a signal into seperate digital channels.

[Mr. Widget]

While I understand that talking about audio is like dancing about architecture (or however that quote goes), but with that in mind John, how would you compare the sound of the little DAC board to your CD player?


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[John W]

While I understand that talking about audio is like dancing about architecture (or however that quote goes), but with that in mind John, how would you compare the sound of the little DAC board to your CD player?


Widget
It's a little difficult to say. For the last few years I've pretty much only dealt with digital output from a CD/DVD player. I have one setup that sends the digital signal into a digital crossover and the other into a surround sound receiver. It certainly sounds better than the stereo outputs from my oppo dvd player, or the headphone jacks on the computer, but it’s not really a fair comparison.

[yggdrasil]

Thanks,
Thats a long thread, I picked through about half. It mentions a few modifications to the output stage, have you tried any?
No, haven't even heard it right out of the box. All parts still in the workshop....

I bought two equal sets so that I will be able to evaluate the modifications without relying on memory.

The planned modification is to make a modified B1 (Nelson Pass) for each of the DAC outputs, giving balanced outputs. Will report back when I get around to do building and listening.

[yggdrasil]

Just got around to build a box for the stock DAC yesterday. Very good indeed. :D

Today: Etching PCB's for the upgrade.

[yggdrasil]

Finished the upgrade earlier this week. The improvements were more than subtle!

Posted details in the Pass labs forum on diyaudio: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152794

[Mr. Widget]

Congratulations!

Cool project, Johnny.


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