4 CDP's

[ajay124]

How much is the SA10 coming to?

The international retail price of SA10 is 3500$.I have asked Grattan for a quote.Will get to know in a few days.
Boomarang has the SA50 in stock.This one is priced at 6000$.Indian prices would probably be in the 250K-300K range.

 

[malvai]

The international retail price of SA10 is 3500$.I have asked Grattan for a quote.Will get to know in a few days.
Boomarang has the SA50 in stock.This one is priced at 6000$.Indian prices would probably be in the 250K-300K range.

I'd go for the SA50 if i were you.... its a universal player - it can accept DVD-A!

and will allow PC compatibility...

Wish I had the money at this time. I'd GRAB it.

 

[ajay124]

I'd go for the SA50 if i were you.... its a universal player - it can accept DVD-A!

and will allow PC compatibility...

Wish I had the money at this time. I'd GRAB it.

From the 6moon review

" Any discussion on digital filters will have to include frequency and impulse response and the associated terms pre- and post ringing. The latter are to be understood as unnatural echoes which bracket the recorded signal before and after...Particularly unnatural was the pre-ringing preceding the 'causal' event in time... The trade off was HF leakage of aliasing artifacts of the digital conversion process which the steeper filters removed successfully...Advocates of eliminating the digital filter altogether proposed later that the perfect transient response of their solution overrode the broad-scale high-level aliasing distortion that now invaded the playback signal...Cooler heads meanwhile should assume that there's no consensus yet on which scheme of compromises is sonically superior."

Not exactly a two thumbs up for digital filters.

More from the same review:

"The hi-rez brigade will still cry wolf because this USB port doesn't transcend 16/44 input data and Blutooth fanatics who must have wireless everything aren't catered to.As aren't Firewirers"

Only 16/44 input data?What about the high resolution data at 24/96,24/176,24/192?Will it be down converted?I'm not very good at this.Perhaps somebody on the forum can look into it.But I think the SA50's USB is a strict no,no for high resolution files.And why would anybody buy an Esoteric to play low resolution files?I bet even the entry level Dac's from Musical Fidelity,Arcam and CA have USB's with 24/192 inputs!

More from the review

the vast majority of iTunes users actually do view those of us who still own such collectionsor worse, carry ambitions to assembling them in the futureas definitely pass. We're a dying breed....Where the SA-50 continues to look backwards is in its embrace of an overbuilt transport.Habitual rippers import their music files from CD to hard disk via far cheaper PC drives. They rely on free software to check for extraction errors and automate necessary re-reads. This seems to negate the need for expensive sleds

So if the digital filters are not a big deal
The USB is not a big deal
The Preamp(for someone who alrady has a preamp) is not a big deal
The transport is not a big deal(For the iTunes converts)
What is left?A straight forward red book cd player for 'a dying breed'.
Better to buy XO5 for the same price.

All-in-one CDP's seem to be a last ditch attempt to stave of the iTunes/Apple juggernaut.Apple is on a roll.Countless technologies have bitten the dust.Countless more will be obliterated.The CDP in all likelihood will be one of them.
We need to be very clear whether we want a good old fashioned transport +dac or are we moving towards a hard disk/dac options.Trying to keep a foot in both camps would mean paying for both technologies and probably not getting the best of either one or the other
All I want is a good old fashioned CDP with a great transport and the best digital to analogue conversion available in that price range.If I was looking for PC compatibility,I would be looking at a high end Dac.I would not buy a CDP which is also trying to be a Dac,a preamp or an integrated amp.
*I have just made a quick reading of the reviews and posted my initial impressions.I may have caught the wrong end of some or all the things

 

[malvai]

From the 6moon review

]If I was looking for PC compatibility,I would be looking at a high end Dac.I would not buy a CDP which is also trying to be a Dac,a preamp or an integrated amp.
*I have just made a quick reading of the reviews and posted my initial impressions.I may have caught the wrong end of some or all the things

Bingo. your analysis makes sense...

I guess in my case i'd be better off with a XO5 and a standalone DAC for Laptop playback. So gotta start earning more!

 

[ajay124]

Bingo. your analysis makes sense...

I guess in my case i'd be better off with a XO5 and a standalone DAC for Laptop playback. So gotta start earning more!

An XO5 and a high end Dac would call for a huge cash outflow.
Your passion for HiFi is truly remarkable!
What does your wife have to say about your madness?
My wife just shakes her head in bewilderment.Although she too is very happy with the SQ.
Still missing my 3B SST:sad:
It will probably be shipped tomorrow and I will have some music on New Years Eve!
I am leaving for Goa on the 1st so there won't be much time to catch up on music.

 

[malvai]

My wife realises how much music is important to me... she too shakes her head in complete bewilderment!

but, is a happy camper in front of it with a scrabble board on the weekends (that is before the lil one came!).

thankfully she understands...

 

[ajay124]

@Manav
Why don't you visit Boomarang and audition the SA50/ BP6/ 3B SST/ Thiel 2.4.And also without a preamp.I would love to have your impressions as you are familiar with the rest of the stuff and would be able to judge what the SA50 is contributing to the sound.

 

[malvai]

@Manav
Why don't you visit Boomarang and audition the SA50/ BP6/ 3B SST/ Thiel 2.4.And also without a preamp.I would love to have your impressions as you are familiar with the rest of the stuff and would be able to judge what the SA50 is contributing to the sound.

sure thing... but i'm not in mumbai till the 10th....

 

[ajay124]

esoteric sa-10 cd player sale price
If this pricing history for the SA10 on Ebay is true,I'll take two of them

 

[arj]

esoteric sa-10 cd player sale price
If this pricing history for the SA10 on Ebay is true,I'll take two of them

I just dont trust ebay... I guess this is the carrot they lure you in..then you end up in a bidding frenzy and pay 4 times more

but if you Are looking at these options, there is an SA60 at A'gon for less than 2.2K

 

[ajay124]

I am not looking at these options.Merely glancing at them out of curiosity.
When I buy,it will in all probability be from Boomarang

 

[ajay124]

Cdp only,Dac only or a Cdp that can also function as a Dac?
USB input or a Firewire input?
Jitter while transferring data from a PC to an Amp
The lack of high end cables for data transfer from a USB/Firewire port to an amp.
Do standalone Cdp's have a Future?
16/44,24/96,24/176,24/192 resolutions and the best way to transfer this data to an amp.
I think I will be spending many hours/days/months surfing and chasing answers to these mysteries.Looking for fellow passengers willing to embark on this journey into the best source for the future
Three great Dac's
Weiss Engineering Minerva DAC Review | Computer Audiophile
Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Review | Computer Audiophile
Bryston BDA-1 DAC Review | Computer Audiophile

 

[ajay124]

http://www.bryston.com/pdfs/09/sp_bda_0110.pdf
Stereophile seems to be extremely happy with the BDA1!
USB input like the Esoteric SA10 seems to be 16/44.
A Belcanto 24/96 link is used for high resolution files.
Does anybody have knowledge of USB links by Belcanto and Lynx?

 

[bhagwan]

Cdp only,Dac only or a Cdp that can also function as a Dac?
USB input or a Firewire input?
Jitter while transferring data from a PC to an Amp
The lack of high end cables for data transfer from a USB/Firewire port to an amp.
Do standalone Cdp's have a Future?
16/44,24/96,24/176,24/192 resolutions and the best way to transfer this data to an amp.
I think I will be spending many hours/days/months surfing and chasing answers to these mysteries.Looking for fellow passengers willing to embark on this journey into the best source for the future
Three great Dac's
Weiss Engineering Minerva DAC Review | Computer Audiophile
Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Review | Computer Audiophile
Bryston BDA-1 DAC Review | Computer Audiophile

I used to have the Weiss 2 years back.
It is an excellent 'interface' & a good 'dac'
I would rate it @ 8/10 for its interface & 6.5/10 for its DAC.

I used to use it more as a 'bridge' between my computer & CD Player.

 

[ajay124]

@shanti
Can you explain in layman terms for everyone's benefit,the issues that come up when you transfer data from a computer to a Dac.Which is better,USB input or a firewire?What are the merits/demerits of both?Why do most Dac's have a 16/44 input?What exactly does a 24/96 link do to convert this data into a higher resolution?I read in one of the computer audiophile reviews that even in a laptop/dac interface 'jitter' needs to be taken care off?Which brand of USB cable and Firewire would be able to compare with the high end IC's?Should one combine cdp/dac option in one unit or look for separate options,as even in the combined option,manufacturer's seem to be charging for both?

 

[bhagwan]

@shanti
Can you explain in layman terms for everyone's benefit,the issues that come up when you transfer data from a computer to a Dac.Which is better,USB input or a firewire?What are the merits/demerits of both?Why do most Dac's have a 16/44 input?What exactly does a 24/96 link do to convert this data into a higher resolution?I read in one of the computer audiophile reviews that even in a laptop/dac interface 'jitter' needs to be taken care off?Which brand of USB cable and Firewire would be able to compare with the high end IC's?Should one combine cdp/dac option in one unit or look for separate options,as even in the combined option,manufacturer's seem to be charging for both?

Oh Oh !

These are all 'tech' questions & I have no idea on that front.
Audio front - music playback - features & differences, yes I can comment on.
These questions, I guess an engineer will be in a position to answer.
I am sorry.
Regards,

 

[avidyarthy]

@ ajay .....

would suggest you write to Ashish Aggarwal, ex- Harman Kardon, now CEO of Snap Networks ... designer of Violet speaker system.

email ID: [email protected]

He should have answers to most of your queries .....

 

[arj]

There is no 1 great answer to this.
try going through this for 10 different perspectives
ca intro

 

[ajay124]

There is no 1 great answer to this.
try going through this for 10 different perspectives
ca intro

I am reasonably sure that CDP's will be 'history' in less than five years(many manufacturer's and reviewer's are already penning obituaries)
but I'm still contemplating upgrading my CDP.Because I'm not a techie.Because I don't want to embrace a technology I do not fully understand.
I shudder at the very idea of having a signature for a source that went like Mr. Dave Clark's.( from the link posted by Arj)

My computer is a Mac Book (2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB DDR3 Memory) and files are saved on a Raid 5 NAS (1.5TB) drive on its own AC line (housed in another room). Files are ripped and played back via iTunes 8 (error correction on) as Lossless files. The Mac sends the bits out via van den Hul Optocoupler II Toslink cable to an Empirical Audio Pace Car which then sends them out via Purist Audio Contego XLR digital cables or DH Labs D-75 XLR digital cable to the digital inputs on the Cary Professional 306. For USB, I have the Locus Design Nucleus USB cable here to feed whatever USB DAC is in house (RedWine, Bel Canto, etc.) either directly or through either the Bel Canto 24/96 or the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3 USB convertors/re-clockers. I feed AC to all via the Audio-Magic Transcendence AC conditioner. I also use Shakti Stones and On-lines, and Audio-Magic Gen ZX and Noise Disruptors where needed. The Mac Book sits upon a special shelf built to address EMI/RFI by AudiAV. All un-used digital RCA inputs/outputs are capped off with 75-ohm digital-terminators from HighEndElectronics.

Whew!Seems like trying to climb Mt.Everest without oxygen

 

[bhagwan]

I am reasonably sure that CDP's will be 'history' in less than five years(many manufacturer's and reviewer's are already penning obituaries)
but I'm still contemplating upgrading my CDP.Because I'm not a techie.Because I don't want to embrace a technology I do not fully understand.
I shudder at the very idea of having a signature for a source that went like Mr. Dave Clark's.( from the link posted by Arj)

My computer is a Mac Book (2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB DDR3 Memory) and files are saved on a Raid 5 NAS (1.5TB) drive on its own AC line (housed in another room). Files are ripped and played back via iTunes 8 (error correction on) as Lossless files. The Mac sends the bits out via van den Hul Optocoupler II Toslink cable to an Empirical Audio Pace Car which then sends them out via Purist Audio Contego XLR digital cables or DH Labs D-75 XLR digital cable to the digital inputs on the Cary Professional 306. For USB, I have the Locus Design Nucleus USB cable here to feed whatever USB DAC is in house (RedWine, Bel Canto, etc.) either directly or through either the Bel Canto 24/96 or the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3 USB convertors/re-clockers. I feed AC to all via the Audio-Magic Transcendence AC conditioner. I also use Shakti Stones and On-lines, and Audio-Magic Gen ZX and Noise Disruptors where needed. The Mac Book sits upon a special shelf built to address EMI/RFI by AudiAV. All un-used digital RCA inputs/outputs are capped off with 75-ohm digital-terminators from HighEndElectronics.

Whew!Seems like trying to climb Mt.Everest without oxygen

Sir,
I do not understand it either;
However, when I put a CD into a CD Player & play the same song [ripped] through the same DAC, the computer sounds 'better'
So, the name of the game is to go in the direction which is 'better' !!!

I do not have a clue about bit rates & sampling frequencies - asio / wasapi etc. etc.
I do not care about that.
It is the true [truer] representation of music that I care about & the computer is the way to go. I have done more than enough test & only then taken the plunge.... Trust me I have a lot to loose - with 5 K ++ CD's with me, I have moved - 100 % to Computer - ARJ knows, he was over a few weeks back....