Redbook Keeps Surprising
Groan.... where someone here is concerned, it does not matter if the OP finds that redbook sounds great. The thread has somehow gone on to whether redbook will sound great with or without a particular type of DAC chip used. Heck, the OP did not even touch on the DAC chip.Redbook still sounds fabulous. Period. Whatever it is that makes redbook sound fabulous is not the issue here. So, the OP is using an Aurender and he is enjoying his redbook but no, this guy has to come along to say, hey, you should not be enjoying redbook so much because your Aurender is a delta-sigma. WT.....? |
".... otherwise they might think the OP is full of it." Seriously? No-one else thinks so except.....well, you know who you are. For anyone else saying that redbook is great without even thinking or knowing what type of converter he has in his DAC, he is then "full of it"? Come on, give us all a break. The OP is enjoying redbook very much with his Aurender but now that he is told Aurender is delta sigma, he is going to enjoy redbook less because ....." Delta Sigma will just mutilate it like it does to Redbook"? I don't think so. |
Steakster, I fully agree about the Bricasti. I have auditioned it in my home system but it could not yet do DSD at the time. Don’t let anyone tell you different just because.... http://www.bricasti.com/m1_specs.html Yup, you guessed it. The Bricasti is delta-sigma! |
Review of Aeris DAC :- http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/jeffrowland/2.html "JRDG states that the Aeris is "based upon an asynchronous buffer, voltage-controlled crystal oscillators and a 24-bit D/A converter – under the precise control of a FPGA running proprietary algorithms..." and "...delivers bit-perfect conversion ......." But, but...... http://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/AD1853.pdf http://www.analog.com/en/products/audio-video/audio-da-converters/ad1853.html#product-overview Review of Bricasti M1 :- http://www.dagogo.com/bricasti-design-model-1-usb-dac-review "The M1 is one of the best DACs available on the market at any price." Sheesh! |
Coming back to the OP, if I understand it correctly, cd recordings today which sound good are more likely to be sourced from 192/24 masters which are then downsampled to 44/16 in the disc or as downloads. Many recording studios seem to be doing all-digital masters nowadays, either in hires pcm or dsd. A very good sounding cd like Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue, I have been told, is mastered in hires pcm. |
"You MUST have physical possession of the original CD ...." This is an interesting aspect of the law. I always thought artists get paid for each CD purchased but what happens to the same purchased CD after that is immaterial to the artist as he/she will not or cannot be paid twice for the same physical CD. It's like if I have a defective CD, I should not bin it lest it gets picked up by a scavenger? I may be wrong but I find this issue rather puzzling. |
lp2cd, Thanks for clarifying. Much appreciated. If we have ripped a CD but not distributed the rip, retaining it only for personal use, that would be still be ok even if one day we happen to lose the original CD, like when moving or we bin it because it has bad scratches on it. I hope this is correct. |
Hi bsmith, In my system, it’s just the opposite. The ripped cd file sounds better than the cd spinning in the super heavy transport of my old Esoteric K-01. Many others in audioland have also found ripped files to sound better than cd’s. To be fair, I have also upgraded to the new generation Esoteric N-05 dac/network player. The usb implementation in the N-05 is miles ahead of the K-01. New digital gets cheaper and better in doing wonders for redbook. When I switch to hi-res files, the difference isn’t that dramatic. My entire redbook collection now sounds better than ever and the good recordings sound as good as hi-res. Jon. :) (Ptss, we can only hope YKWYA doesn’t come forth to tell us what I already know about the chip residing in the Esoteric N-05) |
Hi donjr, Yes, that is correct. The thumbdrive is ported to the JB which in turn is ported to the dac. Makes a whole lot of difference! I thought the iFi USB 3.0 was good for the PC set-up but apparently not good enough. I use JRiver to rip but others have recommended dbPoweramp. I have not compared the two directly but either way, you will be so glad you did once all the ripping is done. Sounds like a great winter ahead for you. Enjoy! J. :) |
Another weekend, another revelation. I have a rear panel usb A-port on my dac for a thumbdrive transport. Over the weekend, I compared thumbdrive in series with the AQ jitterbug ported to the rear vs thumbdrive ported to the PC which relays the usb signal to the B-port of my dac via the iFi USB 3.0. The USB 3.0 isolates usb power from the noise and regenerates the usb signal. Well, the result is a jaw-dropping experience with night and day difference between the direct thumbdrive-AQ Jitterbug-dac approach and the previous PC-USB 3.0 - dac set-up. More clarity, dynamics, open soundstage, airy highs, fleshed out instruments, musical.....! That said, I return to the title of this thread by exclaiming that Redbook is absolutely stunning with this direct thumbdrive-AQ JB-dac configuration. When I listen to Redbook now, I am truly amazed at how far dac's have come to make it so, so wonderful. At no point at all when listening to Redbook ripped to FLAC, do I feel that I am missing hires pcm/dsd. There is no need today to fidget over new formats or pay more for hires pcm/dsd/MQA when Redbook can sound so gorgeous! We can all just sit back and enjoy our vast CD/Redbook collection with the technology of today's dac's. A truly breathtaking revelation! J. :) |
Hi kalali, Probably not as the quality of the cdp’s transport matters here. But once cd’s are ripped losslessly to the format of your choice onto a thumbdrive, all that is needed is a quality dac that sports a usb A-port. A few other dac’s today that have usb A-ports come from Ayre, T+A, Naim, Cambridge Audio, Lumin, Aurender, Pioneer, Teac, etc. So there is a wide range of choices. Paying a lot for a quality mechanical cd spinner today may not be money well spent. Saving transport resources for the best dac that one can afford seems to be the better way to go when music files can be easily played from a cheap thumbdrive transport. The Bluesound Node 2 does not take input from a cdp but it does have a usb A-port for a thumbdrive. http://www.bluesound.com/en-eu/products/node-2/?cl |
