A discussion about crappy DVD players as CD players

[bornfi]

Thanks for the tip. I did use dbpoweramp (it was free). I did use the slowest rip time setting. All original CDs ripped to FLAC. I didn’t rip any to WAV.

Just to share, it is ripped to WAV first and then further compressed to FLAC.

 

[Kannan]

Thanks for the tip. I did use dbpoweramp (it was free). I did use the slowest rip time setting. All original CDs ripped to FLAC. I didn’t rip any to WAV.

Not necessary. But with storage sizes no more an issue, you can do wav also.
I also used to back-up my original CDs to blank Taiyu-Yuden CDs and also made some using cheaper CDs for listening in car. For writing back to a CD I preferred an original wav rip from the master CD

 

[Sean de Silva]

But with storage sizes no more an issue, you can do wav also.

+1. I've ripped all my CDs using the paid version of dBpoweramp to wav only. The wav files are copied to external portable hdd and played via Allo Boss.

 

[Naturelover]

Talking of CD playback and rips.
To my mind -
Firstly, you need to have the ears to hear the difference between the various formats. I don't think I do. Age has probably taken it's toll.
Or, maybe, I just don't bother any more. Just hear the music.
Then, you need to have the proper software and hardware for ripping.
Further you need to decide if the last few percentage increments is worth the investment in time and money.
Still further, all the other factors like the chain and the room play their parts.

 

[Analogous]

Just to share, it is ripped to WAV first and then further compressed to FLAC.

I did not know that. Thanks

 

[Analogous]

Talking of CD playback and rips.
To my mind -
Firstly, you need to have the ears to hear the difference between the various formats. I don't think I do. Age has probably taken it's toll.
Or, maybe, I just don't bother any more. Just hear the music.
Then, you need to have the proper software and hardware for ripping.
Further you need to decide if the last few percentage increments is worth the investment in time and money.
Still further, all the other factors like the chain and the room play their parts.

Thank you !
These are excellent and wise reminders; each and every one of them.
I will probably start with the first one and get an audiometry done. It’s been a few years…

I did enjoy and learn so much from these discussions.

Confession: I almost exclusively stream. I do occasionally dip into the ripped and stored old favourites, which are also available to stream, often in several versions I never knew existed before. (Fans of jam bands like Grateful Dead and Jugalbandh classical music will understand this )

I have heard a few fabulous set ups using physical media (FM and others)

The convenience and the endless possibilities for discovering new and old music that streaming offers nowadays makes me feel like a kid in a toy shop every time I power up the set up. Creating playlists for different moods and circumstances… but I digress.

Whichever path we take, in the end it’s all about the music and how it makes us feel. As the 70’s Swedish pop supergroup sang “Thank you for the music….”

 

[Kannan]

Thank you !
These are excellent and wise reminders; each and every one of them.
I will probably start with the first one and get an audiometry done. It’s been a few years…

I did enjoy and learn so much from these discussions.

Confession: I almost exclusively stream. I do occasionally dip into the ripped and stored old favourites, which are also available to stream, often in several versions I never knew existed before. (Fans of jam bands like Grateful Dead and Jugalbandh classical music will understand this )

I have heard a few fabulous set ups using physical media (FM and others)

The convenience and the endless possibilities for discovering new and old music that streaming offers nowadays makes me feel like a kid in a toy shop every time I power up the set up. Creating playlists for different moods and circumstances… but I digress.

Whichever path we take, in the end it’s all about the music and how it makes us feel. As the 70’s Swedish pop supergroup sang “Thank you for the music….”

I have now completely resigned to a very simple setup sans wires, and have almost completely cleared most of stuff that I had been hoarding. Listen to anything from streams to YouTube content and mostly now exploring retro Indian (Tamil and Hindi) content.

 

[IndianEars]

This is interesting to me.
Could you help me understand how to get bit perfect rips?
I never even considered that rips could vary. Is this dependent on the software used?

1. I totally agree with Prem (again ) ... I dont like the sound of a CEC Transport, it is just toooo rounded off in the HF.
Some like it a lot, saying it is the closest to Vinyl... I dont. To each their own.


2. Yes, I too refuse to buy a Pre Owned CD / DVD / BluRay player. They all have a limited life, due to the large number of moving parts and the laser (which has a limited life). Buy new or dont buy at all.

3. If you are a Windows user, dB Power Amp ( a paid software) and EAC (Exact Audio Copy) which is a free ware are the 2 most popular Go To ripping software..

Both are 'Bit Perfect'...Rips from both sound (subtly) different. EAC is a 'smoother' sound, dB Power Amp give more e3nergy and extended HF.

When installing either of these software, it gives you an option to Calibrate your computer ROM drive, using almost any pristine condition, popular CD. Dont skip this step. Once yr ROM drive is calibrated (takes about 60 seconds) the software will 'Accurip' all CDs you rip. Accurip is a process that provides Near perfect reading of the CD data. It does this by comparing the ripped data with an online reference for that CD. If there is any variation (error) it will automatically go back abd re-read that segment off the CD.

If you need help or handholding installing these software, DM me ....

4. Please rip ONLY to .wav. You may think its an overkill today but if you get seriously into this hobby, it will save you a ton of effort to re ripping everything. .wav files are twice as large as flac but cost of a HDD is not exorbitant ... a 1 TB HDD will hold 1,500 CDs ripped in .wav
Cost of 'Future Proofing' is not exhorbitant.

 

[Analogous]

1. I totally agree with Prem (again ) ... I dont like the sound of a CEC Transport, it is just toooo rounded off in the HF.
Some like it a lot, saying it is the closest to Vinyl... I dont. To each their own.


2. Yes, I too refuse to buy a Pre Owned CD / DVD / BluRay player. They all have a limited life, due to the large number of moving parts and the laser (which has a limited life). Buy new or dont buy at all.

3. If you are a Windows user, dB Power Amp ( a paid software) and EAC (Exact Audio Copy) which is a free ware are the 2 most popular Go To ripping software..

Both are 'Bit Perfect'...Rips from both sound (subtly) different. EAC is a 'smoother' sound, dB Power Amp give more e3nergy and extended HF.

When installing either of these software, it gives you an option to Calibrate your computer ROM drive, using almost any pristine condition, popular CD. Dont skip this step. Once yr ROM drive is calibrated (takes about 60 seconds) the software will 'Accurip' all CDs you rip. Accurip is a process that provides Near perfect reading of the CD data. It does this by comparing the ripped data with an online reference for that CD. If there is any variation (error) it will automatically go back abd re-read that segment off the CD.

If you need help or handholding installing these software, DM me ....

I never knew I had to calibrate the CD ROM drive before starting the rip ! The prospect of ripping the 100-200 CDs I have all over again is daunting.

 

[IndianEars]

Yes, hence best to get it right to begin with ..... also Rip to .wav, please.

 

[IndianEars]

Here is a sample log of an accurip CD via dB Power Amp:

dBpoweramp Release 17.3 Digital Audio Extraction Log from 23 January 2025 18:00

Drive & Settings
----------------

Ripping with drive 'I: [hp - CDDVDW GP70N ]', Drive offset: 6, Overread Lead-in/out: No
AccurateRip: Active, Using C2: Yes, Cache: 1024 KB, FUA Cache Invalidate: No
Pass 1 Drive Speed: Max, Pass 2 Drive Speed: Max
Bad Sector Re-rip:: Drive Speed: Max, Maximum Re-reads: 34

Encoder: Wave -compression="PCM"

Extraction Log
--------------

Track 1: Ripped LBA 0 to 16957 (3:46) in 0:25. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\01 Joan Baez - Diamonds & Rust.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 27) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 4F8E5231 AccurateRip CRC: 890C6AA0 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-1]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 27 [CRCv2 890c6aa0]

Track 2: Ripped LBA 16957 to 23119 (1:22) in 0:08. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\02 Joan Baez - Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: AD73119C AccurateRip CRC: CEEB8789 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-2]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 ceeb8789]

Track 3: Ripped LBA 23119 to 40042 (3:45) in 0:25. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\03 Joan Baez - No Woman, No Cry.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 27) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 56040015 AccurateRip CRC: F912F1ED (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-3]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 27 [CRCv2 f912f1ed]

Track 4: Ripped LBA 40042 to 62437 (4:58) in 0:36. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\04 Joan Baez - Famous Blue Raincoat.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: F0336947 AccurateRip CRC: 5FDA18E0 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-4]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 5fda18e0]

Track 5: Ripped LBA 62437 to 79215 (3:43) in 0:28. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\05 Joan Baez - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: A859C957 AccurateRip CRC: CCDF117A (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-5]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 ccdf117a]

Track 6: Ripped LBA 79215 to 97164 (3:59) in 0:31. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\06 Joan Baez - Let It Be.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 27) [Pass 1]
CRC32: D92CC716 AccurateRip CRC: 41308314 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-6]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 27 [CRCv2 41308314]

Track 7: Ripped LBA 97164 to 111851 (3:15) in 0:26. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\07 Joan Baez - El Preso Numero Nueve.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: ED9CF372 AccurateRip CRC: 46B99350 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-7]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 46b99350]

Track 8: Ripped LBA 111851 to 123591 (2:36) in 0:21. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\08 Joan Baez - Illego con Tres Heridas.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 2A10D674 AccurateRip CRC: 5BFCBE9D (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-8]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 5bfcbe9d]

Track 9: Ripped LBA 123591 to 137115 (3:00) in 0:25. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\09 Joan Baez - Txoria Txori.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 2C793ECE AccurateRip CRC: 14D9E930 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-9]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 14d9e930]

Track 10: Ripped LBA 137115 to 162478 (5:38) in 0:48. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\10 Joan Baez - Ellas Danzan Solas (Cueca Sola).wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 623A3D66 AccurateRip CRC: 5E07F0F2 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-10]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 5e07f0f2]

Track 11: Ripped LBA 162478 to 190525 (6:13) in 0:55. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\11 Joan Baez - Gracias a la Vida.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: C29CAAFC AccurateRip CRC: 3AF8132D (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-11]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 3af8132d]

Track 12: Ripped LBA 190525 to 196969 (1:25) in 0:13. Filename: D:\Users\Downloads\Joan Baez\Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring\12 Joan Baez - No Nos Moveran.wav
AccurateRip: Accurate (confidence 26) [Pass 1]
CRC32: 1B829DF0 AccurateRip CRC: DBB68D86 (CRCv2) [DiscID: 012-0012f177-00b33107-9e0a420c-12]
AccurateRip Verified Confidence 26 [CRCv2 dbb68d86]

--------------

12 Tracks Ripped Accurately

 

[bhooshaniyer]

I have not heard all CEC models. Only the one I own and it's not just a transport. Fwiw, I don't find it lacking in high frequency at all. It's certainly more musical but that's to do with its timing and tempo and.midrange glow- not rounded offness at hf. Anyway we digress. But the point is no one can say a brand is bad or good unless we have heard all. If the point is entry level CEC to be avoided thats fair.

 

[prem]

There is nothing like avoiding an entry level CEC. I was just sharing my experience. I like my sound to be a bit more raw with a little more attack. Hence the lower end CEC didn’t work for me. That does not mean someone else will not love it.

 

[Kannan]

Accuraterip is a like a torrent authentication and depends on database uploaded by other rippers. It is like the seeders on a torrent. But it is the closest approximation to an assurance of the content on the CD. Earlier, it was very less when in came to Indian music, but now that too has grown in multitudes.
There are ofcourse many Accuraterip settings that enable the tolerance to be the lowest, but that can sometimes delay copying a CD for hours depending on the CD quality, the drive quality, lens status etc.
Even if you get a message that Accuraterip has failed, most often that not it does not mean you have got a poor or lesser quality rip than what is pressed on the CD. It just means that there are some differences with respect to the online database.

 

[bhooshaniyer]

Ok moving the story forward: I would suggest dev to keep the following points in mind.

1. CEC, esoteric, sony es, shanling cdt and the usual marantz/denon top ends are good to evaluate.

2. Have a view on sacds. This is coming back in a good way. Nice titles and audiophile mastering.

3. Keep in mind that when you come from off the shelf streaming to CDP, even an ordinary blueray player play back will impress you.
(If you are coming from audiophile technical streaming like diretta/gentoo/audiolinux etc this may not apply)

4. CEC doesn't have sacd playback.

5. CDPs are easily repaired by Anil.. choose a CDP whose lens parts are easily available on Amazon usa ,.ebay or Amazon japan.

6. Id recommend a CDP which has that turntable architecture with record weight to keep it stable as standard.

6..I keep one set lens assembly and one mechanical assembly as spare and ensure anil has seen the device once upon purchase.

I ensure all my cds are wrapped with inner sleeves and outer sleeves (3mm thickness so you can open and close many times) to ensure they have good life and don't develop rots and scratches.

Good luck.

 

[Kannan]

My suggesstion in this angle is that if you already own a DAC in your chain, then go for a CD Transport.

 

[Analogous]

Lots to ponder and ponder I will: specially keeping what @Naturelover has highlighted earlier in this thread.
Thanks everyone !

 

[fLUX]

@prem

Curious to know what you would recommend in the 1.5L INR range if the TL5 is average per your experience. I own the TL5 & have found it better than Denon A100 , Simaudio Eclipse , Marantz SA14 ( older version ) all of which I tried in the exact same chain for a good period of time. While some were better in terms of details, dynamics individually none of them convinced me to move away from TL5 . Am sure the top end of CEC, Esoteric are next level stuff but then at this budget there are hardly any better alternatives I have personally experienced.

Would love to know what you feel would be a good upgrade over this genuinely which retains the CEC characteristics & brings on whatever is missing in TL5 ( for a budget of 3L thereabouts in the used segment)

 

[prem]

Hi fLUX, i moved away from digital more than a decade back. So i don’t know what’s currently on offer. But from what I have read, Teac new transport, Jay Audio transport and Sparkler Audio transport may be worth looking at.

At this price point, there will always be some give and take. So what works for one may not work for other.

If you are missing something in your CEC, then look for options. Else just stick to it. A new cd transport might bring you some other attributes but you may lose some that you enjoy with your CEC.

 

[Analogous]

A new cd transport might bring you some other attributes but you may lose some that you enjoy with your CEC.

Wise words. I think this is true for any component in the audio chain as we upgrade and chase that elusive absolute best, just sounds perfectly right SQ,