Need advice on Source for my system

[vartakavi]

Hi Folks:

Normally, I understand people buy their source (CD Player) first, then the Amp and then the Speakers. I seem to have done things in reverse - I bought a demo NAD355BEE amp, then a set of EPOS 12.2 (used) speakers through this forum.

Now I have to decide on how I am going to feed in music into this setup.

My music collection of nearly 30 years is on cassette tapes, which I plan to discard in the near future (quality of the recordings is anyway not very good). I have about 50 or so CDs, but now a days, I listen to music mostly on my PC or on my Ipod. I use the CDs in my car.

My future collection I suppose is going to be fully digital.

I plan to buy a DVD / Blueray player for watching movies, and I can play CDs on this. But I did read in this forum that the quality of sound will be much better with a dedicated CD player.

Given that I have only a few CDs and my future source is going to be digital, what equipment should I buy to feed in music into my setup?

Does a Marantz CD 6003 make sense for me, because I can connect my Ipod or a Pendrive to this and play digital music as well?

Look forward to your comments and suggestions on this. Thank you.

 

[Kittu]

Try an external DAC or upgrade your PC sound card with audiophile graded soundcards(ESI@Juli, ASUS XONAR) ...

 

[murali_n]

Hi vk,

If your future collections are going to be in CDs, then CDP is the way to go. As suggested by you Marantz CD 6003 is surely a good choice, with its USB input, convenient to connect pendrive. It can also play MP3s and WMA formats. I have CD 5003 and the details it is able to extract from CDs is very good.

N.Murali

 

[dillihifi]

Well considering your position I would venture an opinion on an external DAC capable of accepting USB inputs and with digital inputs and should be able to connect to cheapo DVD players. Here the sound quality will be good and will be able to play audio CDs through the DAC from the DVDp as well as accept inputs from the PC or play music off the USB sticks via the DVDp.

The CD 6003 would cost approx 20k. I think you can manage a beresford DAC and DVDp in that budget.

 

[iaudio]

Vartakavi, the Cd6003 would be a good choice if you plan to use a lot of cds and some digital music. Though it has usb playback of wav and mp3, it is not anywhere as convenient/flexible as playing from your laptop/pc through a dac. As for a dac, there are many many options but no real consensus as in what sounds good or say as good as a budget cdp. Start auditioning some, and keep us posted too!
What is your budget?

 

[sups]

The CD 6003 would cost approx 20k. I think you can manage a beresford DAC and DVDp in that budget.

CD6003 is quoted as 27K by many dealers in Chennai and Mumbai.

 

[dillihifi]

CD6003 is quoted as 27K by many dealers in Chennai and Mumbai.

@sups - I got the CD 6003 for 22k around 7 to 8 mths back so estimated that the current prices would have gone down. Well how do you find the Oppo for CD palyback ?

 

[sups]

@sups - I got the CD 6003 for 22k around 7 to 8 mths back so estimated that the current prices would have gone down. Well how do you find the Oppo for CD palyback ?

May be some hard negotiation needed for CD6003. The oppo 981 is running smooth. But I am yet to comapare back to back with a Marantz entry level CD player. Will do it soon and let you know.

 

[TaureanBull]

How about a setup based on logitech squeezebox? AFAIK there wont be any need for a DAC as the inbuilt DAC suffices.

 

[vartakavi]

I'm sorry - I think a clarification is needed. My PC and Music System are in different rooms - I was not planning to use the PC as a source. I listen to music while I work using a small 2.1 speaker system. I transfer music from my PC to my Ipod Touch when I want to listen to music on the go. Now that I am setting up a proper music system in our living room, I would like to use the Ipod as a source.

I was thinking of a budget around 20K - may be spending another 10K for a blueray player.

 

[asliarun]

You can also consider skipping the CD player entirely and going for a solid state device. There are good quality iPod docks like Wadia (which I haven't heard) and devices like Squeezebox that will stream audio from the internet or from your computer (which I have, and like it a lot).

My napkin logic is that high end CD players are expensive because they have spent a great deal of money on high quality engineering so that the moving parts and the DAC reproduce music faithfully to the best extent possible. With a solid state device, there are no moving parts, so all that budget can be used for something even better. IMHO, I think CD players will become extinct fairly soon. Anecdotal example: I have a 16GB pen drive full of music that is permanently attached to my car audio system. Due to this, I haven't felt the need to play a CD in the last couple of years or so. Now add ubiquitous internet connectivity (3G etc) and the case for CDs becomes even weaker. At least LPs and tapes can boast of being analog. CDs and LDs cannot even claim that advantage.

 

[kaushik]

TEAC CDP650 fit the profile , it takes 'digital out' from ipod touch , provide remote control and also plays CDs as well ... check the discussion here
http://www.hifivision.com/cd-players/15772-cd-p650-cdp.html