hi, i just got very interested in the discussion here...right now i am using a Japanese DVD player called Elekta as a source that feeds into a NAD C 325 BEE amps....is it possible to use the Beresford thing that you are talking about between my DVD player and the amps to improve the quality of the sound??..actually this sounds like a very tempting option (if it could work that is) especially since I have a relative coming over from the UK in a fortnight's time....please kindly advise me on this issue..thanks in advance..
CD player or ext. DA-converter?
- Thread starter spirovious
- Start date
hi, i just got very interested in the discussion here...right now i am using a Japanese DVD player called Elekta as a source that feeds into a NAD C 325 BEE amps....is it possible to use the Beresford thing that you are talking about between my DVD player and the amps to improve the quality of the sound??..actually this sounds like a very tempting option (if it could work that is) especially since I have a relative coming over from the UK in a fortnight's time....please kindly advise me on this issue..thanks in advance..
I don't kow about your DVD player, so can't give you exact advice. Check whether your DVD player has a optical or digital coaxial out. If yes, then you can use the DAC.
~dich
thanks Dich.
the DVD does have a digital coaxial output...the larger question i wanted to ask was in the spirit of the original post...will i be compromising too much on the SQ if i went for a DAC like this one and then used the services of an existing DVD player instead of going in for a dedicated CD player (i had the NAD C 515 BEE in mind)...i am not an audiophile ..just somebody who wants to enhance my listening pleasures of jazz (mostly) ...in fact i am perfectly happy with the sound that i am getting through the DVD player and the NAD amps (though purists may cringe)...but felt i was now ready for an upgrade...
as far as i can tell with the DAC a number of sources could be used and even if this DVD player dies i can replace it with a cheaper DVD player with its other uses which would keep the non-music listening half of the family happy..the half that watches movies ...
lastly since i am a complete technical novice..i noticed that the DAC in question has two coaxial inputs...what is the reason for having two of those since i think the coaxial cable is a single strand that comes out of the DVD....would like to thank everyone who could help me make up my mind and make that confusion about the two inputs clear...
the DVD does have a digital coaxial output...the larger question i wanted to ask was in the spirit of the original post...will i be compromising too much on the SQ if i went for a DAC like this one and then used the services of an existing DVD player instead of going in for a dedicated CD player (i had the NAD C 515 BEE in mind)...i am not an audiophile ..just somebody who wants to enhance my listening pleasures of jazz (mostly) ...in fact i am perfectly happy with the sound that i am getting through the DVD player and the NAD amps (though purists may cringe)...but felt i was now ready for an upgrade...
as far as i can tell with the DAC a number of sources could be used and even if this DVD player dies i can replace it with a cheaper DVD player with its other uses which would keep the non-music listening half of the family happy..the half that watches movies ...
lastly since i am a complete technical novice..i noticed that the DAC in question has two coaxial inputs...what is the reason for having two of those since i think the coaxial cable is a single strand that comes out of the DVD....would like to thank everyone who could help me make up my mind and make that confusion about the two inputs clear...
thanks Dich.
the DVD does have a digital coaxial output...the larger question i wanted to ask was in the spirit of the original post...will i be compromising too much on the SQ if i went for a DAC like this one and then used the services of an existing DVD player instead of going in for a dedicated CD player (i had the NAD C 515 BEE in mind)...i am not an audiophile ..just somebody who wants to enhance my listening pleasures of jazz (mostly) ...in fact i am perfectly happy with the sound that i am getting through the DVD player and the NAD amps (though purists may cringe)...but felt i was now ready for an upgrade...
as far as i can tell with the DAC a number of sources could be used and even if this DVD player dies i can replace it with a cheaper DVD player with its other uses which would keep the non-music listening half of the family happy..the half that watches movies ...
lastly since i am a complete technical novice..i noticed that the DAC in question has two coaxial inputs...what is the reason for having two of those since i think the coaxial cable is a single strand that comes out of the DVD....would like to thank everyone who could help me make up my mind and make that confusion about the two inputs clear...
the DVD does have a digital coaxial output...the larger question i wanted to ask was in the spirit of the original post...will i be compromising too much on the SQ if i went for a DAC like this one and then used the services of an existing DVD player instead of going in for a dedicated CD player (i had the NAD C 515 BEE in mind)...i am not an audiophile ..just somebody who wants to enhance my listening pleasures of jazz (mostly) ...in fact i am perfectly happy with the sound that i am getting through the DVD player and the NAD amps (though purists may cringe)...but felt i was now ready for an upgrade...
as far as i can tell with the DAC a number of sources could be used and even if this DVD player dies i can replace it with a cheaper DVD player with its other uses which would keep the non-music listening half of the family happy..the half that watches movies ...
lastly since i am a complete technical novice..i noticed that the DAC in question has two coaxial inputs...what is the reason for having two of those since i think the coaxial cable is a single strand that comes out of the DVD....would like to thank everyone who could help me make up my mind and make that confusion about the two inputs clear...
persiflage
Member
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The short 'non-audiophile' answer is yes. A decent external DAC should give you better sound than the inbuilt DAC in a DVDP. You should find that the sound will be more organic, less digital, and there will be more texture to instruments (strings and woodwinds). On complex/ busy recordings, you may be able to hear a few instruments that were buried in the mix previously.
The single coaxial cable coming out of the DVD should go into any one of the coax inputs on the DAC; select the same input on the DAC and you should get stereo sound.
A DAC may have more than 1 coax input to enable multiple sources to be connected at the same time.
Hope this helps.
Persiflage
spirovious
Well-Known Member
So you say Parasound is better than CA DAC magic?check this-
Discontinued Products > D/AC-1100 Ultra Digital to Analog Converter
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/AP239051DacMagicUserManual01English.pdf
Secondly in ideal condition with similar specifications-
Which is better in two options?
1.Dedicated CD player
2.Budget DVD player & DA converter combo
Which will sound better or both may be equal?
moserw
New Member
If you are perfectly happy with the sound then why are you looking to add something??? Perfection cannot be improved upon and there is no guarantee you will be happy with the new additions. Why not look to investing it on something you don't have like a PlayStation (Nintendo Wii means hours of fun for the entire family) or a Plasma/LCD TV? Or might be a Home Theater System?
A dedicated CD player (of good quality) will surely improve the sound, but it does not make sense unless you have a good Audio CD collection. If your music collection consists of primarily mp3s and other such formats then investing in good speakers or going the route of the DAC will be better. Also, this way you will be adding equipment that will also come in handy for the movie watching experience for the remaining members of the family too.
Sound is a subjective matter. Expensive equipment does not always guarantee great output. Also, I subscribe to the theory "Don't fix it if it ain't broken", so if you are already very happy with the present setup there is no guarantee spending more will really give the desired effect. It will surely improve the quality, but it might not give you the desired bang for the buck since you are already happy with your present output. My suggestion is to invest on something else (audiophiles are going to kill me for this probably). Audio nirvana will not be achieved no matter what, this I have seen from friends who have invested 40 lacs on Focal JMlab speakers, but yet are looking for that something more to further improve...
Hope you are getting the point. Not my intention to confuse you further.
thanks every one for your inputs...
i guess saying that i was 'perfectly' happy with the sound of my present set up was a bit of an overstatement...( i guess that was what i felt with my boom box too until a new window to a much richer sound was opened to me by the amps that i have in possession now..)...
so what got me really curious with this DAC route is the claim made by some friends in the forum that they have heard sounds they had not heard previously with just their DVD players...so i guess my wanting to spend a little more stems from this desire to hear the sounds that are presently buried by my player...(and just anticipating what hidden sounds of ernette coleman will be 'revealed' to me seems a very tempting musical prospect indeed)....but i also agree with the general tenor of MOS. post that high end audio purchases may also be aspirational exercises not always dictated by 'sound' logic... if i may be permitted to use a very bad pun...
anyway my last query is this:
...the DAC will cost 100UK pounds..the CD PLAYER about 160UK pounds...will the (about) Rs5000/- cost differential justify the 'superior' sound that one may get from the latter purchase or does it make more musical and economic sense to buy the DAC and then use it to get more juice out of my existing DVD player...
thanks in advance to all of you who have been very kind...
i guess saying that i was 'perfectly' happy with the sound of my present set up was a bit of an overstatement...( i guess that was what i felt with my boom box too until a new window to a much richer sound was opened to me by the amps that i have in possession now..)...
so what got me really curious with this DAC route is the claim made by some friends in the forum that they have heard sounds they had not heard previously with just their DVD players...so i guess my wanting to spend a little more stems from this desire to hear the sounds that are presently buried by my player...(and just anticipating what hidden sounds of ernette coleman will be 'revealed' to me seems a very tempting musical prospect indeed)....but i also agree with the general tenor of MOS. post that high end audio purchases may also be aspirational exercises not always dictated by 'sound' logic... if i may be permitted to use a very bad pun...
anyway my last query is this:
...the DAC will cost 100UK pounds..the CD PLAYER about 160UK pounds...will the (about) Rs5000/- cost differential justify the 'superior' sound that one may get from the latter purchase or does it make more musical and economic sense to buy the DAC and then use it to get more juice out of my existing DVD player...
thanks in advance to all of you who have been very kind...
Last edited:
Well said. If you are happy with the sound, why bother to change anything.
That said, many DACs take multiple input so you can use multiple sources. My primary reason was that transport technology is evolving pretty fast. CD->DVD--> USB-->network-->PC. By using a cheap transport, I can upgrade it without much impact on my wallet.
Today I use a cheap DVD player with wav files on a DVD disc. Am looking for a way to play directly from a hard disk. Options today are build a HTPC, or buy one of those hard disk players recently discusses on this forum or pick up one of the USB2.0 DVD players.
With the DAC, the conversion part becomes relatively future proof.
~dich
moserw
New Member
A DAC with multiple inputs will make more sense so you can spike multiple sources. Also, from my limited experience I have seen the high end DAC's work more magic than a standalone CD player in terms of improved performance, but I will leave this to others with more experience in this area on this forum to guide you. A DAC will make more sense if your audio collection is not just limited to Audio CDs too. A standalone CD player (at least the good premium ones) will only play Audio CDs and not mp3s or other formats that a budget DVD player will play. So take a call based on what your music collection consists of and also what are you looking to build in the future.
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
hey reignofchaos....can you tell me what the better options are among the chinese DACs? and how much they cost and how on earth I'd get hold of them in India?
moserw
New Member
The best options to play from your HDD are to build a HTPC (i.e. just get a sound card that supports digital out) and connect to the AVR or maybe explore analog connections from PC to AVR or you could explore the possibility of a network media player. Try to build something with constant connectivity which will not require transfer or copying of files. With a USB DVD player you will still be looking at copying files to the USB and it will get to be cumbersome after a while (speaking from experience here).
reignofchaos
Well-Known Member
Some of the good ones out there:
Zhaolu D2.5
Citypulse DA7.2x
Lite DAC-AH/DAC-60
Diyeden Great March
There are some more as well. Depends on your tastes. diykits, pacificvalves.us, cattylink.com are some of the sites that ship to India.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Hi, I did'nt get the attached file correctly.
Is oversampling & upsampling same?
Is it like processore speed in PC(3 Ghz)?
Pls check my PM.
The problem with that is I will need to connect to a TV/monitor. I primarily need this for music. The TV has been moved to another room.
~dich
spirovious
Well-Known Member
moserw
New Member
I really don't know. What I do know is upmixing i.e. taking 2 channel streams and pumping them into 5.1 or 7.1 or even taking 5.1 and outputting in a 7.1 system. Its all done by the AVR. From what I understand oversampling is a more complex process which my engineer wife should understand more easily...
In plain English (from what I know and I am not really an engineer so if someone knows better they should be able to better explain)...
Upmix - Take stereo and output in 5.1 or 7.1. (i.e. anything higher)
Downmix - Take 5.1 and output in stereo (i.e. anything lower).
I am open to correction here and also willing to learn if someone has anything more to add...
spirovious
Well-Known Member
I asked this regarding DAC.My main Q is not answered.
moserw
New Member
Oops sorry!
Hi, pls find your answer at the site as below:
Upsampling vs. Oversampling for Digital Audio — Reviews and News from Audioholics
GoodLuck
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