Budget CDP which can be also used as DAC

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Tanoj

Tanoj

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Hi Friends,

I believe this topic must be discussed many times, but i could not find answer to my point when i searched few threads, so please pardon me

My listnings are

1. Hindi songs, few ghazals , A.R Rehman live in concer, songs with lot of instruments playing

example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vlHUkms9Nig

2. just started to like English Albums... mostly country music etc

My Setup is

Sony DD Turntable, Audio Technica Cart - for my analog listning

compaq Laptop, a Philips DVD player ( it has a digital coax out ) for my digital listning

Preamp : Nelson Pass B1
Power amp : Akai
Speakers : acoustic portrait Mini Monitors

My Requrement : a CDP + a DAC with USB and Coax input , and analog output

Budget : 15-20 K

New or sparingly used is fine

Thanks in advance ....
 
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This is the time of DACs. We can find lot of dac models from various providers around the world .But a good dac will cost more than an amp and speaker.Also you should be very careful to select a DAC.Every DAC has its own sound signature.All your setup should match with the DAC input otherwise this will be total waste of money.

What I recommend is oppo dvd or a blue ray player they are superb in sound quality, Just find any used one available in the market.Its hard to find one in india.Another option is to check the DAC called Asus Xonar Essence One for your budget.
 
New CDP with digital input in that budget range is a tall affair and USB input is totally ruled out according to me. You may try to get a used CA 740C or 741C. No USB input though. You can go for USB to Optical adapter in this case. Someone is selling a 740c on olx, you may be interested: Cambridge Azur CD Player 740C without remote - Mumbai
 
just4kix said:
The word "budget" does not go well with the device known as "DAC". :mad:
Click to expand...

Though I didn't want to divert the topic, I have a curious question or doubt in my mind and all the while I was bit nervous to put that for the fear of creating any unwarranted negative debates/arguments ...

Here is my question and please pardon my ignorance on the technical details ...

Components like DAC, pre-amp, etc.,(or any other audio system component considered to be used only by the purists) are considered to be under the audiophile category. The question is - the moment any component gets categorized as an audiophile one, do the manufacturers or sellers artificially inflate the price of that component ? When I say "artificially inflated", I am not saying those components are built with average quality materials, but rather priced way beyond what those materials actually cost or deserve ...
I am not making this judgement, but I have this question lingering in my mind for a long time ... I also hear that there won't be any significant improvement in sound quality beyond some certain price .. Is it true ?? Or will that be a million dollar question without any actual answer ???
 
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Tanoj said:
My Requrement : a CDP + a DAC with USB and Coax input , and analog output

Budget : 15-20 K
Click to expand...

I'd suggest get a USB DAC rather than a CDP. Your money will go much farther.


shanmune said:
Though I didn't want to divert the topic, I have a curious question or doubt in my mind and all the while I was bit nervous to put that for the fear of creating any unwarranted negative debates/arguments ...

Here is my question and please pardon my ignorance on the technical details ...

Components like DAC, pre-amp, etc.,(or any other audio system component considered to be used only by the purists) are considered to be under the audiophile category. The question is - the moment any component gets categorized as an audiophile one, do the manufacturers or sellers artificially inflate the price of that component ? When I say "artificially inflated", I am not saying those components are built with average quality materials, but rather priced way beyond what those materials actually cost or deserve ...
I am not making this judgement, but I have this question lingering in my mind for a long time ... I also hear that there won't be any significant improvement in sound quality beyond some certain price .. Is it true ?? Or will that be a million dollar question without any actual answer ???
Click to expand...

I will try to explain how it works.

A CDP which has to have a D-A stage in addition to a transport is being sold at say 1000 bucks. Now if were to break the components down and say we wanted the manufacturer to implement digital inputs, he will have to put some extra parts. An additional clock (possibly), a USB reciever chip (if USB is to be implemeted), a few more input terminals. At the volume manufacturers buy parts, all these extra are not likely to cost more than say 50 US dollars.

So then why aren't companies doing it?

Let me guess:

(1) They want to market their product as CDP not a DAC.
(2) DAC section isn't good enough. So they don't want to implement and let reviewers write negatively of the component thus impacting the sale of the unit.
(3) DAC market is saturating fast. There are too many products at every price range, and the product won't be able to take the challenge if it's DAC section to be compared directly with other products.

There you have it.
 
Buying a CDP would make sense only if you have a sizable number of CDs. IIRC, your CD collection is not big (unless you've gone on a CD buying spree:) of late)

Though a DVDP (or BDP for that matter) may not be able to match SQ of the analogue output of a CDP (for a given price point) or even as a transport for that matter, it can still be a decent transport.

If I were you, I'd buy a DAC with USB & Optical/Coaxial inputs and use it to connect the laptop as well as DVDP.

Hope this makes sense to you.
 
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shanmune said:
... The question is - the moment any component gets categorized as an audiophile one, do the manufacturers or sellers artificially inflate the price of that component ? When I say "artificially inflated", I am not saying those components are built with average quality materials, but rather priced way beyond what those materials actually cost or deserve ...
Click to expand...

Generally speaking there is lot of competition even in "Audiophile" segment. In mass manufactured audiophile equipment there are price-performance segments wherein one manufacturer cannot risk overpricing /artificially inflate the cost of its goods. OTOH the Audiophile equipment is "overpriced" considering the cost of parts in it because the "Audiophile" equipment volumes are much lesser than FMCG equipment. Of course there are exceptions to every generalization... and that's where the term "Giant-killer" comes in (also the term "expensive lemon" :D).


shanmune said:
...
I am not making this judgement, but I have this question lingering in my mind for a long time ... I also hear that there won't be any significant improvement in sound quality beyond some certain price .. Is it true ?? Or will that be a million dollar question without any actual answer ???
Click to expand...

The law of diminishing returns applies to audiophile equipment almost across whole chain. However the word "significant" has different meaning to different persons. Many agree that difference between a 1 lac DAC and a 5 lac DAC is not 5X, however quite a few people shell out the extra moolah because for them that extra is "significant enough" to justify expense.

Regds,
 
captrajesh said:
Buying a CDP would make sense only if you have a sizable number of CDs. IIRC, your CD collection is not big (unless you've gone on a CD buying spree:))

Though a DVDP (or BDP for that matter) may not be able to match SQ of the analogue output of a CDP (for a given price point) or even as a transport for that matter, it can still be a decent transport.

If I were you, I'd buy a DAC with USB & Optical/Coaxial inputs and use it to connect the laptop as well as DVDP.

Hope this makes sense to you.
Click to expand...

Actually I was also thinking on these lines for a while and your post helps. I do have a big collection of Ilayaraja (IR) songs but they are all in mp3 format.
Currently I play those files using my PC and headphone or through my Sony BDP player. Going forward, I want to replace those mp3 songs either by going for a collection of good CDs or flac files. I am yet to explore on how I can go about in getting those good source materials for IR compositions. In that process, if I end up having a good collection of CDs, I will end up buying a dedicated CD player. Or If I get very good high resolution music files, I will
I use my existing SOny BDP player to read those high resolution files and have a DAC connected to it as per your suggestion.
 
shanmune said:
I do have a big collection of Ilayaraja (IR) songs but they are all in mp3 format.

I want to replace those mp3 songs either by going for a collection of good CDs or flac files. I am yet to explore on how I can go about in getting those good source materials for IR compositions.
Click to expand...

FLAC/WAV files would be a major step up in SQ front. You should be able to source them without much problems.
 
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