Is A CD Player Really Better Than A DVDP For Stereo Music?

[square_wave]

Dear Mr SW, unleash_me,

I assume that OP wasn't merely asking for an info ( CD vs DVD quality). He seriously wants to 'buy' a product, I guess. So we need to consider few parameters like affordability, value for money ( Do you have such terms exist in High-End equipment world?? ) & quality of course. IMHO, unless you have the best speaker, a fantastically recorded CD & an acoustically treated room, a so called high end CD player may not give anything extra over a cheap DVD player. ( It may 'give', but most of us won't notice it ! ).Probably I may not have golden ears, but that's what I found after owning some serious electronics & couple of ( relatively ) expensive speakers. Some of the gentlemen in this forum may have a different experience & opinion. I respect that.

On the other hand, if cost is not an object, a dedicated CD player like a WADIA or KRELL makes more sense.

I had to rewind (?? !! ) Tracy Chapman CD countless times to detect the quality difference when I compared an Aragon amp against a Forte 4 A amp ( Class A ). Well, in real life, we ( or most of us ) notice only a punchier BASS from Aragon !! I even compared Bel canto against Forte 4A & I could live with even a switching amp !

Regards

Hi Manoje,

The OP had asked thus :

Is CD Player really make difference over DVD Player for Stereo Listening?

Can I not buy a DVD Player which can also give better sound for my Stereo System (B&W Speakers and NAD Stereo Amp)?

The answer I guess needs to pertain to "quality ". Remember he has B&W speakers and a NAD amp which can be considered as entry level hifi. In such a setup, cd player will make a difference over an entry level dvd player. All other matters like placement, cables and room is in his domain. It is unto him to tweak his setup.

Completely agree with your views on hi-end audio though

 

[KDM]

I have a Sony BDP-370. I wanted to bitstream the 2 channel audio through HDMI to my AVR. Is there a menu option to do that in BDP?

You cannot bitstream PCM Audio, which is an exact replica of what's on a CD. Trust me, your AVR is doing the DAC job properly.

It does have an option to set bitstream the movie track. But audio channels come only as PCM in AVR. That means BDP already have done the DAC. I want the AVR to do the DAC job.

It's doing EXACTLY what it has to do. Bitstreaming only works when compressed digital audio is involved. PCM is uncompressed digital sound and does not require bitstreaming. It only needs to be converted to analogue.

 

[alexanish]

So it's not possible at all for us to configure the setup in such a way so that AVR does the DAC?

I bought a optical cable a few days back and connected the BDP to AVR. There is a little difference in sound produced via optical and HDMI. I guess both are transmitting same analogue PCM. Then why is it sounds different?

 

[KDM]

So it's not possible at all for us to configure the setup in such a way so that AVR does the DAC?

I bought a optical cable a few days back and connected the BDP to AVR. There is a little difference in sound produced via optical and HDMI. I guess both are transmitting same analogue PCM. Then why is it sounds different?

The AVR IS doing the Digital to Analogue Conversion.

The digital music data is stored on the CD in PCM which IS a digital format.

When you connect a digital cable (HDMI, optical or Co-axial) cable to the receiver, the PCM digital stream which is on the CD is sent to the AVR. The AVR then decodes the PCM digital signal into an analogue signal, which is then amplified and sent to your speakers.

 

[prithivi]

cd player is must consider high end brands

 

[alexanish]

@KDM, If so I am relieved

 

[alexanish]

One more question, How much am I going to gain, interms of SQ, if I use a good quality CD player like the one you have over my BDP, given rest of the set-up as same. You can find my HT list in my signature.

 

[KDM]

One more question, How much am I going to gain, interms of SQ, if I use a good quality CD player like the one you have over my BDP, given rest of the set-up as same. You can find my HT list in my signature.

Well, nothing as far as sound quality is concerned if you plan on connecting it to your receiver via HDMI, optical or co-axial . However, playing back CDs using a CD player is much more convenient because

- The display of the CD player is much more informative than the one on your BD player.
- Also, you cannot directly go to tracks using the numeric keypad on an S-370. This means that while Sony offers CD/SACD playback on the BD unit, perhaps playing CDs on the unit is only meant for listeners who will not use it much for music playback.

The difference in sound between the BD unit and a dedicated CD player will only be apparent if

- you are using an analogue cable (usually RCA-RCA stereo)
- your receiver is capable of resolving differences between DVD and CD players when playing a CD via the analogue outputs.

Some receivers are not, whereas others are - you'll just have to use your speakers/amp and your BD player and compare them with different CD players and see which one suits you the best.

 

[spirovious]

CDp will sound better in most of systems than AVR doing DAC job.Its a dedicated player with better DAC circuitry.Secondly adding a stereo amp will give much better sound than that of AVR.

 

[alz_tcr]

Well, nothing as far as sound quality is concerned if you plan on connecting it to your receiver via HDMI, optical or co-axial .


The difference in sound between the BD unit and a dedicated CD player will only be apparent if

- you are using an analogue cable (usually RCA-RCA stereo)
- your receiver is capable of resolving differences between DVD and CD players when playing a CD via the analogue outputs.

Some receivers are not, whereas others are - you'll just have to use your speakers/amp and your BD player and compare them with different CD players and see which one suits you the best.

I've connected my A/V Receiver (Denon's AVR-390) both to my PC's Soundblaster (Audigy Value 7.1) card and my Rs.3K Sony DVD player(really cheap, I know) using only the Coaxial outs. Now, if I'm using only the AVR's DAC, then there shouldn't be much of a difference between the two - except that there is. The DVDp has more smoother highs and sounds much more cleaner. I am using MediaMonkey on my PC and this is the case even with all the DSP enhancements turned off & EQ set to flat. Why so? Won't a dedicated CD player give better sound even with the digital outs? (I am also thinking of buying a dedicated CD player, but was wondering if it would be worth the investment)

 

[KDM]

I've connected my A/V Receiver (Denon's AVR-390) both to my PC's Soundblaster (Audigy Value 7.1) card and my Rs.3K Sony DVD player(really cheap, I know) using only the Coaxial outs. Now, if I'm using only the AVR's DAC, then there shouldn't be much of a difference between the two - except that there is. The DVDp has more smoother highs and sounds much more cleaner. I am using MediaMonkey on my PC and this is the case even with all the DSP enhancements turned off & EQ set to flat. Why so?

I've got the same card and I'm not a big fan of it.

It should sound identical if the data stream is coming from the same music source. If it does not not, then there could be a problem with the design of the card or in some of the components used in the card. Perhaps something is interfering with the digital sound stream... there could be many reasons for this including interference from the internal components of the computer.

Won't a dedicated CD player give better sound even with the digital outs? (I am also thinking of buying a dedicated CD player, but was wondering if it would be worth the investment)

No. A dedicated CD player will not be doing any of the D/A work when it is connected to the AVR via the digital output. All it will be doing is reading the stream off the CD and passing it to the AVR for conversion to analogue sound. So, basically the signal stream will be the same whether it's coming from the CD/DVD/blu-ray player.

 

[srramanujam]

So, basically the signal stream will be the same whether it's coming from the CD/DVD/blu-ray player.

Very bold statement and i am sure this will be contested, as it has been in the beginning of this thread.

 

[alz_tcr]

Very bold statement and i am sure this will be contested, as it has been in the beginning of this thread.

Great! So, back to square one, just when i was thinking of settling down with my DVDp!! Anyways, can anyone please suggest a DVDp under Rs.20k with good musical playback and, to put things into perspective, a comparable dedicated CD player within the same budget?

 

[srramanujam]

I think this thread has clearly pointed out to Oppo as a versatile player with superior audio playback than others multi format players. On the CDP, Marantz 6003 has been recommended.

These two appear to be around your budget.

 

[cmsajith]

To me, Philips 5689 (if i remember correctly), was performing dull compared to the DAC. I had initially played directly from the analog out of the DVDP. The output was something very dull and flat. Then I tried the digital out to the Beresford Caiman DAC and there was a huge difference in SQ. Me, my friend and one of our forum member could also easily notice the drastic improvement. The test was done using my previous stereo amp, Nakamichi RE-10.

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

I've got the same card and I'm not a big fan of it.
A dedicated CD player will not be doing any of the D/A work when it is connected to the AVR via the digital output. All it will be doing is reading the stream off the CD and passing it to the AVR for conversion to analogue sound. So, basically the signal stream will be the same whether it's coming from the CD/DVD/blu-ray player.

May be right.What I observed is when my DVD player connected to my AVR it sounds very crisp, punchy and clear and vice versa when connected to Int.Amp.though th DVD player had 192/24 DAC. May be my ears deceive me because of change of place of hearing.

Regards

 

[KDM]

Very bold statement and i am sure this will be contested, as it has been in the beginning of this thread.

Bold statement? It's the plain and simple truth.

May be right.What I observed is when my DVD player connected to my AVR it sounds very crisp, punchy and clear and vice versa when connected to Int.Amp.though th DVD player had 192/24 DAC. May be my ears deceive me because of change of place of hearing.

Regards

Well, it's not only the DAC that matters. It's the analogue section that also matters. They quality of the components used there is critical to the quality of the sound produced. DVD players aren't designed for audio playback.

 

[KDM]

Great! So, back to square one, just when i was thinking of settling down with my DVDp!! Anyways, can anyone please suggest a DVDp under Rs.20k with good musical playback and, to put things into perspective, a comparable dedicated CD player within the same budget?

If you're going to connect it digitally to your receiver, you might want to check first to see if you can hear any difference in sound quality before you pay 20 grand for upgrades. Just my 2 paise.

 

[unleash_me]

....All it will be doing is reading the stream off the CD and passing it to the AVR for conversion to analogue sound. So, basically the signal stream will be the same whether it's coming from the CD/DVD/blu-ray player.

An eyeopener indeed Wonder what these people were thinking! Not to mention the foolish components that make up this awful stack.

 

[magma]

^^^
one of our forum members ( a good friend too) actaully HAS the entire STACK by DCS
the dac, the upsampler and the master clock! ( not sure if hes got the cdp though since hes now moved onto computer transports)
he used to have the top pf the line meridians though
a mind boggling 80,000$ on Source

he'll probably get a heart attack if he sees this thread