Usually a ripped cd sounds better
Why is simple a stored data file has no read errors
Optical playback may have read errors when playing
So the ripped cd is presenting an error free data package to the dac
You may want to look at a higher end server the vault is a starter level server which doesn't offer usb which sounds better |
We have different hardware, but I feel confident in saying that SQ can be better after the rip than playing from a CD drive. In my case it was an Oppo 105 going to a new DAC. After the rips, it was a USB hard drive to a desk-top running JRiver and out to the DAC. Many subsequent changes, hard drive, dlna bridge,, etc.
Add to that the convenience. I run my whole digital library from my phone. |
I got tired of swapping disk, vinyl and everything else, at a get together.
I stuffed it on a DAC/server/streamer/ripper/THING. Cocktail.
I looked at the build quality of the unit. I was impressed. You aught to hear it with a little Puffin phono stage and a Cary V12R hooked up via XLR. One of the quietest vinyl rigs I've ever heard. All with the mellow sound of EL34s. The little Puffin has some really neat features.
Couple a good server and that phono stage.. Little over 2K
The old Thoren TD124s never sounded better.
The overall quality is better, the convenience is just a snap..
When I set down for a different listen. I go back to vinyl, CDs, and tapes. That combo for the money or with or WITHOUT the phono stage makes playback and convenience well worth it.. The Cocktail comes with a MM phono stage onboard.. I'm waiting on a Decware ZP3, about 3 weeks. I'm Second from the TOP on the build list now.. Actually in testing now.. 6 months 1 week.. LONG wait..
Pick a good server, this little jewel almost bettered my hot rodded Macs.. and for an "ALL in one" kind of thing.. It was better..
Regards |
I used DB Poweramp’s CD ripper. It is very good. I have a pretty high end DAC and CD Transport. My transport upsamples the CD to DSD and conveys that to the DAC via either I2S or 3 BNC cables. After I got a music server and ripped my CDs to the HD I did a live A/B comparison of the CD vs Flacc. I can switch the inputs on the DAC back and forth. I could not tell a difference. I tried this with a few CDs. I was chagrined to learn I could have saved a good sum on a transport. Well, I still like to spin CDs sometimes although selecting music with my iPad is very seductive. |
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A ripped CD to a HD has just as many read errors as the cd had, as it’s the CD transport/player that uses it’s error correction to correct the bit error reads, and inserts a 1 or 0 in place of the error, which is has a 50% chance of getting it correct.
Then you’ll get bit read errors from the HD that it then has to correct, also 50% chance.
Then jitter also comes into it for both.
A ripping from CD to HD is is NOT any cleaner, it can be worse.
Best is playing the original stamped retail CD, as any read errors are corrected once only.
Cheers George
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+3 George
to specifically deal with the OP equipment, I have owned both the Marantz and the Vault2. They are a good match sonically. The Marantz rolls off the top end but is great in the midrange. The Vault2 is more balanced but short on detail everywhere when compared to better equipment. I would find myself preferring the Marantz, but it isn’t night and day, and yes the convenience of a streamer can be seductive.
A few points about the Vault2. It isn’t a perfect ripper. I had batch ripped hundreds of discs and find areas of skips, some that were truly unplayable. Make sure you clean each disc prior to ripping. Secondly, the Vault2 can crash , particularly after the frequent mandatory updates. Don’t throw out those CDs just yet. And if you like the Vault2, resist the temptation to add another unit to a different system, such as the Node2, because a lot of issues occur during the aforementioned updates, where one player gets hung up during the update and the other doesn’t. If the whole home thing is important, try Sonos.
I personally am very happy with Melco, both sonically and quality.
If you get the comparable player/NAS unit, the N 100 it will cost slightly more than the Vault2 but well worth it. You can use a standard Optical Disc ripper, but their ripper CD/ transport is well worth it |
Thanks for the replies, all. On the whole, it sounds to me as if I should just stop being lazy and use my CDP. This convenience thing is going too far! |
Your heart is telling you please get up off your butt and exercise me , walk the few feet back and forth and change the disks
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I’ve gone back and forth between a Node 2i and my Cambridge CXC. Very, very hard to hear a difference. For me. YMMV.
With a CD player, I commit more to listening to several tracks on a disks. It’s nice to have that focus. Yet, on a streamer/HD, I can free associate, jumping from one cut to the next one it inspires. Nothing wrong with that.
Consider how you eat from dinner plate with multiple things on it; do you just eat the steak, then the potatoes, then the green beans, or do you rotate between them as you follow your feelings? Why would it be inherently better to stick with one thing any longer than you desired? It wouldn’t, for me. |
Oh I have a streamer -- Node 2i -. I get to skip around all I like and more. The questions is about whether to rip my CDs so I can play them without having to move a muscle. |
@rnm4 I see better. I was ripping a lot of my cds, too. Now, I'm not sure I need to since I can find them all on the web. |
Good discussion.
George makes ’very key points ’ in his argument that "ripped" CDs sound quality is not superior to the playing of the original CD directly.
@hilde45 makes the case of being able to flip through multiple recordings without having to rise from your listening seat (Or hardly move a muscle😊).
Charles |
I use a Naim UnitiCore to rip and store the CD data. It's ripper will read over and over the same spot if there is any problem to try and extract the correct data or determine what value to insert if it cannot read or it gets different results each time. This is something that a CD player in real time may not be able to do. Thus, the ripper has the potential to be better than a CD player. The ripper also says whether there were any problem areas that had to be repaired by inserting data that is a guess. I have not had any CD where such repair had to be done, and I've ripped nearly 5,000 cds. I had some where I noticed that progress or ripping temorarily stalls out, so that might be a region where multiple passes were needed to get a good reading, but ultimately, the ripper reported no problems. |
So can you add a Master Clock to a Streamer/Ripper to get the very best quality possible from a physical CD like you can with MSB/DCS/ESOTERIC spinners to name a few?? |
Yeah I can find most of my CDs on streaming cites too, But see the recent discussion of compression of the files that get streamed vs. the original CD. |
Interesting thread! The solution I have arrived at is to use Sony MegaStorage 400CD units (3 units for a total of 1200 CD's) and connect them to external DACs. Two units connect to Denafrips Ares II in one system using optical inputs and one unit in a different system to Denafrips Pontus II). Sony's remote, large display and versatile U/I make it easy to randomly select CD's and tracks on each CD, almost like a CD jukebox. You can even create playlists or play random tracks across 400 CD's! I realize this is not a highly scalable solution: I can not handle 5000 CD's for example which would require ~12 MegaStorage CD400 units, but I can choose my better recordings and favorites on the three units I have.
Beyond that I use a Vault 2i and rip CD's, a task to be completed. That also connect to the Pontus II via Coax digital.
The external DAC was the key to puzzle of unlocking the sound quality on my CD collection, increasing my appreciation of the collection tremendously :)
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