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Blu Ray player as main CD Player?


jfjacques

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Hey folks - 

 

I am trying to simplify life - in our living room system we have an older but still working (and pic is beautiful) Sony ES series blu ray player - the only shortcoming of this player is that if we use it as a CD Player the sound is lackluster - I temporarily installed my circa 1990 Denon 5 disc player and it blows it away - are the newer Blu Ray players like the Oppo units up to par with CD play? Just curious what other peoples experience has been. 

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If 4K is not a must, look into an Oppo BDP-95, 105, or even a BDP-83SE.

 

I have a Cambridge Audio 751BD that sounds incredible with CD's.

 

Here is the next generation 752BD which can also be used as an outboard DAC.

 

http://hifiheaven.net/shop/Products/Video-Components/Blu-Ray/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-752BD-Universal-Blu-ray,-DVD-and-CD-player

 

HifiHeaven has a great trade-in program so look around for some unused components in good condition that would help with the cost of the Cambridge Audio.

 

Bill

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Modern bluray players are MORE THAN capable... so the answer is yes.

They play multiple formats, process multiple formats and even play movies.

Its slightly funny that there is still a question in this day and age.

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Thanks it is more of a question of sound quality over capability my Sony absolutelynos capable of cd playback but there is a noticeable difference in quality when I use my older denon CD player instead and I am trying to simplify and have less components. 

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2 hours ago, Schu said:

Modern bluray players are MORE THAN capable... so the answer is yes.

They play multiple formats, process multiple formats and even play movies.

Its slightly funny that there is still a question in this day and age.

That is a excellent point on modern blu ray player.  They have to play all the complex stuff in movies and are most likely better than most stand alone CD players.

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Are you using the analog outputs from the Sony ES and Denon?  I assume that's why you're hearing a difference.  

 

Have you tried a digital connection via HDMI or spdif to the AVR?  

 

This way, you are only using the AVR's DAC and are avoiding an A-D conversion in the AVR if you use bass management or any other AVR processing for CDs.

 

 

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Some blue ray players have "audio" settings. They will filter the life out of music of they are set incorrectly. I have a yamaha blue ray player that has these options only one setting sounds correct. It would default back to the filtered setting occasionally and I would have to set it back. That player has been demoted to the bedroom system and I replaced it with an erc-3. Much happier.

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2 hours ago, derrickdj1 said:

That is a excellent point on modern blu ray player.  They have to play all the complex stuff in movies and are most likely better than most stand alone CD players.

While many BD/universal players do play CD's very well, I believe the majority could not hold a candle to most well built dedicated CD players built within the last 10 to 12 years.

 

Bill

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I have a 5.1 HT setup in our great room for programming and movies. Despite using the same speakers as my wife's music room stereo-only, Infinity Primus P363's driven by a Sony stereo receiver and CD changer, my Onkyo 7.1 AVR and year old Sony BRD player 5.1 HT - in stereo mode - just doesn't sound as clear as the dedicated stereo. Stop by my office and listen to an Onkyo C-7030 CDP feeding my Emotiva A-100 mini-x and it feeds my Heresys and you'll hear the best music playing system in my home. I tried to like our original Sony BRD player, the only one in the house with analog audio outputs, but compared to the C-7030 CDP, but recycled in my bonus/hobby room it just sounded flat - so I bought a second C-7030 to be used with my bonus/hobby room's system, which includes an Onkyo TX-8020 stereo receiver and a pair of R-15M speakers on my workbench. The C-7030 has pretty good D/A converters considering it's <$170 street price. A decent, albeit plastic, transport, too - my main one has seen daily use for two years without a problem.

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30 minutes ago, willland said:

While many BD/universal players do play CD's very well, I believe the majority could not hold a candle to most well built dedicated CD players built within the last 10 to 12 years.

 

Bill

Most of the GTG's that I've been to have an Oppo 103 or 105 and they don't sound any better than my Sammy.  They do have a couple of other features that my BDP dose not like a separate volume control.  Many of the BDP's have excellent DAC's and do music very well IMHO.  I'm sure there are some excellent CD players.  I don't think you have to spend a fortune to get something that plays music well.  Bill, I know first hand that the stuff you recommend is very good.:)

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3 hours ago, jfjacques said:

thanks everyone - first step is to try the settings in the Sony Blu Ray player - it is connected through HDMI to my NAD. 

I have the same Sony BD player are there are a few audio settings (like audio filter), but that would not apply to a digital output like HDMI or spdif.

 

You might also want to try the Sony's optical or coax spdif digital output for CDs.  Technically, the HDMI and optical/coax should output the same 16/44.1 PCM signal for CDs, but might be worth experimenting with the optical/coax output for CDs.

 

Interesting that the Denon sounds better to you.  Assuming the Denon only has analog outputs and assuming you use bass management in the NAD, the NAD is most likely converting the Denon's analog signal to digital for DSP manipulation of the signal for bass management, channel delays/distances, etc.  The NAD would also have a digital to analog conversion prior to amplification.  In this case, the signal is ultimately converted to analog by the NAD's DAC, as is the case when the signal comes from a digital output like HDMI and optical/coax.

 

Now, if you use some type of direct mode on the NAD for CDs that eliminates the analog to digital and digital to analog conversions (no bass management or any other processing), you would be hearing the Denon's DAC only, as the NAD's ADC and DAC would not be in the signal path. This could certainly explain differences in sound quality with the Denon.


 

 

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On 1/25/2017 at 7:03 PM, jfjacques said:

I temporarily installed my circa 1990 Denon 5 disc player and it blows it away

Funny you have this experience also.  I have owned 3 or 4 multi-disc carousel CD players(Onkyo, Denon, Adcom) from the 90's and early 2000's and all have sounded pretty darn good through their stereo analog outs and through their digital outs.   I am selling my neighbor's Sony CDP-CE375 5-disc and it too sounds pretty good.

 

Bill

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I have the Oppo 93 bluray player which has been designed to be used as a stand alone preamp if desired, with its own 100 step volume control. it is supposed to put out over 1 watt of power to drive an amp properly.  Sometimes I bypass my receiver using RCA to XLR interconnects and hook it up directly to my Crown K2 power amp as I am doing now as I type this.   I think it is a great cd disc player whether using its digital outputs to receiver or its RCA connections and as an added bonus also does quite well playing Pandora.  Oppo to 500 watt K2 to my Epic CF3's. John Lee Hooker is singing the Blues at the moment off of Pandora, Nice!  

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On 1/26/2017 at 7:47 AM, Schu said:

Modern bluray players are MORE THAN capable... so the answer is yes.

They play multiple formats, process multiple formats and even play movies.

Its slightly funny that there is still a question in this day and age.

I would never use a blu-ray player as my redbook CD player, yuck!  Unless it is something really, really special.  I use an analog DBX DX-5 and a Nakamichi OMS-7AII for that purpose and can guarantee they will sound better than any blu-ray player for CD playback.  If it sounds good to you fine but I have owned many and they don't even come close to a stand alone dedicated player (Denon 2910, 3910, Nakamichi DVD-10s, some Marantz units, my current and past Sony's and an older OPPO to name a few).

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On 1/29/2017 at 1:50 AM, Frzninvt said:

 

I would never use a blu-ray player as my redbook CD player, yuck!  Unless it is something really, really special.  I use an analog DBX DX-5 and a Nakamichi OMS-7AII for that purpose and can guarantee they will sound better than any blu-ray player for CD playback.  If it sounds good to you fine but I have owned many and they don't even come close to a stand alone dedicated player (Denon 2910, 3910, Nakamichi DVD-10s, some Marantz units, my current and past Sony's and an older OPPO to name a few).

 

 I would have to agree with this.

i bought all the high end DVD players in Best Buy once and none of them compared to my Shanling CD T80 CD player with tube output stage for music reproduction. Horns sing sweetest with at least one tube somewhere in the line.

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If you're using digital out (HDMI or SPDIF) to a receiver, pre/pro, or DAC, then any disc player will do.  It's all 1s and 0s and while people obsess over jitter and other esoteric things, that's all they are. Same with lasers "optimized for ____ discs" and expensive digital cables.  It's all a bit silly because as long as you are getting a clean signal, you're getting it.  

 

If you're using analog outputs, however, the DAC in the player is critical and the analog output stage can greatly affect the sound.  Spending more and getting a dedicated will get you better sound in that case.

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