CA DVD99 v. Marantz CD5001 v. Marantz CD6002 v. CA 540C V2

[Asit]

Hi moser,

You along with a few others are great proponents of PC-based music. I have also started this in a small way (from my laptop).

I have a few worries of a general kind which I like to ask. Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to discuss this. Psychotropic, please excuse me.

Here goes:

1. I remember about a decade ago (in 1997 to be exact), I requisitioned for a small server kind of machine in my office with 32 MB of RAM. Our Computer Purchase Committee refused that and gave a machine with only 16MB of RAM, because they thought 32 MB was too much. But today we have desktops and laptops having a few GBs as RAM. Similar story with HD. If you have a PC which is more than 5 years old, it is hard to find an OS that can fit into the hardware. Hence it is very difficult to keep a PC these days for a time which is siginificantly more than 3-4 years. Old hard discs may even not fit the new hardware becaise of mismatch of pin numbers (34 pins, 40 pins, IDE, SATA etc). Under these circumstances of very rapid change of hardware and software, what is the best way to rip the music into HDDs so that every few years you do not need to do it all over again?

2. Hard discs can fail. Logic card failures of HD are very common. In many cases, data cannot be recovered reliably from the damaged discs. Do you have to then back up all the ripped music, right? What is the best method to do that?

May be these questions are too trivial and everybody knows the answers. But I have no shame to admit that I find them as worrisome issues for a PC-based solution.

Please do not compare with the CDP situation. We know all the pros and cons of having a CDP. Just imagine there are no sources (CDP, TT etc) known in this world other than the PC. Then how do you see the issues I have mentioned above to be tackled?

 

[anm]

pricing wise, see the htpc assembled by suprateep - it costed around 12k.

regards

 

[rallynut]

hey moser, i totally get your points, and i will probably get a PC based source somewhere along the line, but at the moment my position is this:

Without the Asus sound card, the computer's sound will be ordinary, so until i put that in it's not really serving my purpose, so I can't dispense with it. Yes, I can save money on the cabinet for now, but throwing in a CRT monitor will wipe out that advantage, and take it well above 21-22k. The 18k for a CD6002 was at a real stretch , so the 21-22k is not going to be possible for me.

But yes, in light of the various options including a PC based source, it probably makes most sense for me to grab the CD5001 at 10,500 bucks (since at that price point there is just no comparable alternative). what say?

pyschotropic,looks like ur heart is set on a cdp.go for it mate.am sure with the cd5001 ul sleep a lot easier knowin uve got a great cdp and saved money as well!!cheers

 

[moserw]

Hi moser,

You along with a few others are great proponents of PC-based music. I have also started this in a small way (from my laptop).

I have a few worries of a general kind which I like to ask. Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to discuss this. Psychotropic, please excuse me.

Here goes:

1. I remember about a decade ago (in 1997 to be exact), I requisitioned for a small server kind of machine in my office with 32 MB of RAM. Our Computer Purchase Committee refused that and gave a machine with only 16MB of RAM, because they thought 32 MB was too much. But today we have desktops and laptops having a few GBs as RAM. Similar story with HD. If you have a PC which is more than 5 years old, it is hard to find an OS that can fit into the hardware. Hence it is very difficult to keep a PC these days for a time which is siginificantly more than 3-4 years. Old hard discs may even not fit the new hardware becaise of mismatch of pin numbers (34 pins, 40 pins, IDE, SATA etc). Under these circumstances of very rapid change of hardware and software, what is the best way to rip the music into HDDs so that every few years you do not need to do it all over again?

2. Hard discs can fail. Logic card failures of HD are very common. In many cases, data cannot be recovered reliably from the damaged discs. Do you have to then back up all the ripped music, right? What is the best method to do that?

May be these questions are too trivial and everybody knows the answers. But I have no shame to admit that I find them as worrisome issues for a PC-based solution.

Please do not compare with the CDP situation. We know all the pros and cons of having a CDP. Just imagine there are no sources (CDP, TT etc) known in this world other than the PC. Then how do you see the issues I have mentioned above to be tackled?

Hi Asit,

Coming to ripping I used to rip in MP3 previously but now I'm ripping in FLAC. Coming to backup I backup all my FLAC rips in DVDs so it will save me the trouble of re-ripping them all over again. I will move all backups to Blu-Ray media once it becomes more mainstream and cheaper. Coming to HDD failure, well it's not so much an issue these days, I've HDDs working for over 5 years without an issue but still its a good idea to backup data and use the HDD only for storage and playing the songs as a transport but not a permanent medium of backup. The only issue is running out of storage place and having to get new HDD but the costs here are comparatively very, very cheap since a new HDD costs under 5K and it will be months before a new HDD is required. Coming to PC h/w getting outdated yeah that's an issue, but all new h/w has to be backward compliant too. I've a new mobo that handles SATA HDD/Drives etc. now since that's the new standard replacing PATA but in this mobo options to connect both SATA and PATA devices are there. Everything in PC h/w is built to a standard specification and adhered to by all manufacturers. For eg. there are different form factors like ATX, MicroATX, etc. but devices made for one fit in the other too. In other words even when you upgrade your h/w like your mobo, your soundcard, HDD, LAN card, graphics card, DVD Writer etc. all will still be usable in the new mobo and h/w. It cost me only around 6K to get a new mobo and a core duo processor. I just connected all my old/existing h/w to the new mobo and they all work fine. This kind of upgrade is possible only in a PC. For 6K nothing is possible/affordable in other h/w setups.

The only thing time consuming is ripping the CDs, but still worth it for the simple facts that my original CDs are safe, the rips actually sound way better on the PC, I can backup the rips (like I am doing to save the trouble of re-ripping) and it's very cheap too since a blank Sony DVD costs Rs. 13 and will backup 4.36 GB worth of data which is like 6 CDs worth so for Rs. 130 I backup 60 CDs. Just imagine how much 60 CDs will cost and also the trouble of finding them/sourcing them all over again if the originals were to get damaged. Yet for a little trouble of ripping them and burning the rips on blank DVDS and very cheap costs involved all my music collection is secure and re-usable for years. Also as Venkat sir mentioned RAID is another option and a long term prospect for me, but not something I will get into now.

 

[gobble]

My main concern with a PC based system is the effort involved. I'll have to rip the CDs firstly. Every time I use it i'll have to boot up (unless of course i get one of those mobos with splashtop linux pre-installed).

Thats precisely why I got a dedicated CDP I just love to walk-in switch on, play the remote and sit back - keeping the experience a mindless and effortless affair. No clumsy navigation with mouse keyboards, broken remote (some functionless keys) integration and its hassles etc.

I won't want any video processing at all, so a basic mobo (with splashtop?) with onboard graphics, a basic (AMD?) processor, a 500 GB HDD, 2 GB (dual channel) RAM, asus xonar sound card, a cheap but quiet cabinet and power supply.....how much do you think this would cost? And would a basic low-power processor and 2 gigs of RAM be sufficient for quality audio playback with a good sound card?

There are other threads with component prices listed for 780G based platforms. That will give you a fair idea. Add +4K cost for remote

Has anyone compared the Asus Xonar to any of the dedicated CDPs?

Never mind if 18K CDP is only 0.985958437666 times better sounding than a Xonar.
Will you get the same convenience as a dedicated player? The htpc should be make a great secondary/alternative/backup system provided the software works 100% with remote (It Wont mostly).

Regards

 

[moserw]

Hi like rallynut said it seems your heart is set on a CDP so go for it. After all we live to enjoy and have joy/happiness/satisfaction and that's all that matters. I find no joy in a Rs. 15K sari but my wife/mom do and that's what matters in the end. The heart does rule over the mind, what say?

hey moser, i totally get your points, and i will probably get a PC based source somewhere along the line, but at the moment my position is this:

Without the Asus sound card, the computer's sound will be ordinary, so until i put that in it's not really serving my purpose, so I can't dispense with it. Yes, I can save money on the cabinet for now, but throwing in a CRT monitor will wipe out that advantage, and take it well above 21-22k. The 18k for a CD6002 was at a real stretch , so the 21-22k is not going to be possible for me.

But yes, in light of the various options including a PC based source, it probably makes most sense for me to grab the CD5001 at 10,500 bucks (since at that price point there is just no comparable alternative). what say?

 

[anm]

my dvdp has started skipping songs on some of my cds. My other DVDP is away for repair so can't really verify the issue right away. If my original cds are scratched/ screwed up, I would be very scared. I need a backup NOW! Or if it is the dvdp lens, I won't like a replacement/ servicing every year! BTW, I have tried lens cleaner dvd from philips and it didn't help

Another + for comp, dvd backups. But holding the CD cover in your hands while the CD is playing is heavenly.

 

[Asit]

Never mind if 18K CDP is only 0.985958437666 times better sounding than a Xonar.

Gobble, do you want to reconsider that factor of 0.985958437666? Because as it is (less than 1), it makes the 18K CDP worse than the Xonar. You need a factor greater than 1 (something like 1.0298345675...) to make the CDP better.

Moser, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts on my worries above.

 

[gobble]

But holding the CD cover in your hands while the CD is playing is heavenly.

Oh Boy, you haven't experienced the joy of handling Vinyl and gazing at the artwork on the covers!!! The smell of cardboard like the pages of a fresh book.. the 6 sq. inches of artwork on a CD sleeve is a real killjoy compared to large print on Vinyl sleeves. Believe me!

Plus the live sound and presence - its like summoning various artists at the snap of your fingers for a personal live performance .. but this is OT here. Move to the Vinyl thread

Cheers

 

[psychotropic]

hey sushanth, i am ready for it boss, we need venkatji to confirm if he is okay with us doing it at his place, and when it would be convenient for him.

But when are we having this shootout :licklips:

 

[psychotropic]

it would be very unusual indeed if you found joy in a sari of any sort

Thanks everyone for the advice and feedback, all that's left for me is the audition, have to see which player is available in which shop, and then cart my audioengine 2s all over the place.

Hi like rallynut said it seems your heart is set on a CDP so go for it. After all we live to enjoy and have joy/happiness/satisfaction and that's all that matters. I find no joy in a Rs. 15K sari but my wife/mom do and that's what matters in the end. The heart does rule over the mind, what say?

 

[moserw]

@anm & @gobble

You guys are only talking of the joy of holding a CD/Vinyl cover in your hands which I agree is great. What about the despair/pain of holding scratched CDs/DVDs and even worse broken Vinyl in your hands with no backup and your favorite music gone??? Try and picture that too!

More than this my fellow brothers and music lovers... my greatest pain has been with friends (well at least so called ones) who've borrowed my CDs and books and never returned them even after so many years. That truly hurts even today.

 

[moserw]

my dvdp has started skipping songs on some of my cds. My other DVDP is away for repair so can't really verify the issue right away. If my original cds are scratched/ screwed up, I would be very scared. I need a backup NOW! Or if it is the dvdp lens, I won't like a replacement/ servicing every year! BTW, I have tried lens cleaner dvd from philips and it didn't help

Another + for comp, dvd backups. But holding the CD cover in your hands while the CD is playing is heavenly.

Why not play on the PC and yet hold the CD cover too in yours hands. This way you get to hold, listen and also keep your music safe. Don't worry too much about the CDs not playing. I'm sure it's a minor issue and should be fixed easily, just call servicing.

BTW I called Philips the other day to fix my DVDP and they quoted Rs. 2200 as repair/servicing/fixing charges. I told my dad who took it to a local guy who fixed it for Rs. 70. The DVDP is working great now for the past month and playing all media and all formats without any issues. Just forewarning you about the servicing guys...

 

[psychotropic]

okay folks, one more candidate has cropped up, i have an offer for a used NAD C542 for 15k. 2 years old, mint condition......what should i do now?

 

[gobble]

@anm & @gobble

You guys are only talking of the joy of holding a CD/Vinyl cover in your hands which I agree is great. What about the despair/pain of holding scratched CDs/DVDs and even worse broken Vinyl in your hands with no backup and your favorite music gone??? Try and picture that too!

More than this my fellow brothers and music lovers... my greatest pain has been with friends (well at least so called ones) who've borrowed my CDs and books and never returned them even after so many years. That truly hurts even today.

Never broke a vinyl in the 10 years I used them. One learns to handle them like a precious baby, and its a joy not a pain.

The reason I am considering a portable HTPC like atom is the gigs of torrent downloads - I've burned some 40 CDs in the lst few months and like only a few. Playing directly from disk will reduce clutter and I can burn only those albums or tracks I want.

Cheers

cheers

 

[gobble]

okay folks, one more candidate has cropped up, i have an offer for a used NAD C542 for 15k. 2 years old, mint condition......what should i do now?

It has possible transport problems? Two reviewers have complained below

NAD C542 Reviews


You want to take atleast a few dozen CDR/CDRW and CDs and pop the tray open close play and check before you pick it up.

16 - 17K should get you a new Marantz so there ...

Regards

 

[moserw]

Cannot fault your logic here bro. Spot on...

Never broke a vinyl in the 10 years I used them. One learns to handle them like a precious baby, and its a joy not a pain.

The reason I am considering a portable HTPC like atom is the gigs of torrent downloads - I've burned some 40 CDs in the lst few months and like only a few. Playing directly from disk will reduce clutter and I can burn only those albums or tracks I want.

Cheers

cheers

 

[moserw]

okay folks, one more candidate has cropped up, i have an offer for a used NAD C542 for 15k. 2 years old, mint condition......what should i do now?

Old is gold does not apply in technology. Unless you know the person it's better to lay off. You're getting a new CDP at the same cost. I've not heard NAD personally but is the SQ going to be that much better?

 

[psychotropic]

The general feedback is that the C542 is a very good CD player, comparable or even better than the CA 640C. I did read about the transport issues, but I understand they've been resolved somewhere along the way. Of course I will test the damn thing with all kinds of discs and check as much as I can.

I also understand that buying a use CDP is more dangerous than buying a used amp or used speakers, due to the moving parts and the laser, but it does seem like a tempting price for a very good product.

 

[psychotropic]

Ah Dinyaar, i just saw your recommendation again. So would you rate the C542 over the CD6002? And is 15k a good enough price?

Hi
Am biased against CA so wont recommend.
The Marantz 6002 is the best sounding player upto 20K IMO. Have heard it in various set ups and its always a pleasant listen. If the budget is not too tight please go for this over the 5001.
The Nad cdps that i have heard were pretty good and a used C542 would be a good bet too. I sold mine for about 14/15K to a forum member and am sure u can find similar.
Rgds