Elevik - no matter how you slice and dice the byte stream in the player the CD only contains 2 channels of 16 bit audio sampled at 44.1 khz each.
CD vs CD/SACD Player – Tube-based or Not
Some of you might have read my previous threads asking for recommendations on CD/SACD player. That was roughly 6 months ago when I first started building my hi-fi system.
Now that I’ve settled on the back end of my system, I’ll finally select my digital source. My system consists of the following:
Harbeth C7-es3 on Sound Anchor (3-posts) speaker stands
Pass Labs XA30.5 – Power amp
Ayre K-1xe - Pre-amp
CD player – a modest 15-year old Philips CD player(the weakest link which I need to upgrade)
I want to get a CD or CD/SACD player that matches my system in terms of synergies, quality and performance. While I’ve done a lot of readings/research, it’s hard to narrow down on my selections before some fundamental questions are answered.
1. CD player vs CD/SACD player: my preference for music are vocal, some pop, classical (symphony, chamber), some rock, blue. I know the selection of musice in SACD is somehow limited.
2. Tube-based vs Solid State CD player: would my system benefit from tube-based CD player since both my pre- and power-amps are solid state? What’s the advantage and disadvantage of tube-based player? What’s the difference in sound?
3. So many choice in my price range (mostly used):
Ayon CD-5, CD-2s
Ayre C-7eMP, Ayre C-5eMP
Audio Research CD-7
BAK 51
Esoteric SA-50, X-05, X 03se, K-07
Luxman D06
SONY 5400ES, Sony 5400ES modified by Modwright (with tube output),
Oppo 95/105 modified by Modwright (with tube output)
4. I want to get a player with solid transport, digital output, balanced output(preferred); dynamic/solid bass, extended treble and most importantly fuller mid-range with great, accurate, lush presentation for vocal recordings.
What’re your recommendations and why? Thanks.
Now that I’ve settled on the back end of my system, I’ll finally select my digital source. My system consists of the following:
Harbeth C7-es3 on Sound Anchor (3-posts) speaker stands
Pass Labs XA30.5 – Power amp
Ayre K-1xe - Pre-amp
CD player – a modest 15-year old Philips CD player(the weakest link which I need to upgrade)
I want to get a CD or CD/SACD player that matches my system in terms of synergies, quality and performance. While I’ve done a lot of readings/research, it’s hard to narrow down on my selections before some fundamental questions are answered.
1. CD player vs CD/SACD player: my preference for music are vocal, some pop, classical (symphony, chamber), some rock, blue. I know the selection of musice in SACD is somehow limited.
2. Tube-based vs Solid State CD player: would my system benefit from tube-based CD player since both my pre- and power-amps are solid state? What’s the advantage and disadvantage of tube-based player? What’s the difference in sound?
3. So many choice in my price range (mostly used):
Ayon CD-5, CD-2s
Ayre C-7eMP, Ayre C-5eMP
Audio Research CD-7
BAK 51
Esoteric SA-50, X-05, X 03se, K-07
Luxman D06
SONY 5400ES, Sony 5400ES modified by Modwright (with tube output),
Oppo 95/105 modified by Modwright (with tube output)
4. I want to get a player with solid transport, digital output, balanced output(preferred); dynamic/solid bass, extended treble and most importantly fuller mid-range with great, accurate, lush presentation for vocal recordings.
What’re your recommendations and why? Thanks.