CD player's D/A convertors or Elite receiver's?

[Jonathan]

This is my dillema. I am looking for a high-end 5 disc cd player, and am not sure if I should be concerned about the DACs it has or not. If I use a players digital out it bypasses the DACs anyways right? I recently purchased a Pioneer Elite VSX-24tx receiver which I am enjoying. I bellieve it already has good Burr Brown DACs. And attached to the receiver are my Klipsch KG5.5s/KM6 speakers which still amaze me.

Basicly I need to know if I need to look for a good cd player, like a sony es model, or just a basic cd player with a digital out. If I picked up a Sony es cd player on ebay would the D/A convertors be better, in that I would want to use the analog outs on the cd player?

I know that I could spend ungodly ammounts of money on a cd player, but I dont want to spend more than $300. I already have a single disc Sony DVD player that I have been using for playing cds besides DVDs. One final thing; do I need to worry about HDCD, I want the best sound I can afford and I have one Dire Straits HDCD, but am not sure if it is worth considering.

I hope all this rambling makes sense, but I dont want to throw dollars in the wrong direction.

-Jon

[jdm56]

Whether to use the CD player DACs or the receivers, comes down to whether or not your receiver is going to do any DSP, in my humble opinion. If it is, you may as well use the digital output from the CD player to the receiver to avoid the extra analog to digital conversion that the receiver would have to do. I think that would probably have more audible consequences than just the difference in converters in comparably priced equipment.

As for which CD player in that price range, I like the Sonys. Particularly the ES models. But I don't think there would be that much audible difference between similarly priced gear.

And finally, I wouldn't personally give a second thought to whether a player had HDCD capability or not. Especially for one disc.

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JDMcCall

[RossVTaylor]

Jon,

I just went through a similar decision in another thread. I did an A/B comparison of my Denon HDCD player, switching between the player's DACs and my receiver's DACs. I couldn't tell a difference, even on HDCDs. I've owned the VSX-27TX and the 29TX. Both did a great job, soundwise - at this price level, I wouldn't get hung up on the CD player's DACs. I'd use the Pioneer's digital input, myself.

Ross

[Jonathan]

Thanks guys, that helps. I think I may try to find a 5 disc Sony ES or a good Denon on Ebay. Do you guys have any suggestion on superior models in each brand?

[jdm56]

I think you'll find as the price goes up, build quality, performance and feature count goes up, too. I always just compare the different models in those three areas and find where I'm comfortable. I usually end up somewhere towards the middle of the line.

Sonys almost always negotiate disc flaws better than the average CD player. Denons have tended to not be as good in this respect, but there are a lot of happy Denon owners on this BB, so perhaps good enough is good enough. Other than that, and perhaps DAC linearity, I would say Denons are competitive with Sony.

My opinions stated above are just the result of years of reading every review in Audio, Stereo Review, Stereophile and whatever else I could get my hands on. They are not necessarily going to apply to any particular model, but just represent an impression of the brand as a whole. In other words, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY!

But FWIW, buy a midline Sony ES model and you will be a happy camper.

-Blind Melon

[Cruzer]

The Denon DCM-370 is the best performance/features/price bang for the buck cd player out there. Paid $187.00 for mine, a steal IMO.

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Cruzer

[dougdrake]

I'll vouch for the durability of Sony ES changers. I bought a Sony ES 5-disc changer in the late 80's. In 12-13 years I've never had a problem of any kind with it, including the carousel, which is highly subject to failure because it is just so darn mechanical!

[Jonathan]

Thanks again guys. How do you think Rotel CD players stack up to Sony ES specifically the C7ESD (Sony). I know nothing of Rotel, just thought that I have heard some good things.

[jdm56]

I've read a lot of good things about Rotels, but they undoubtably use a Japanese or Dutch transport anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't be afraid of one, but I'd have more confidence with a Sony. Or to put it another way, if I had a Rotel system, I certainly would not hesitate to add a Rotel CD player. But otherwise -- well, Sony's are just so well engineered. The fit and finish is superb, yada-yada-yada... But I'm prejudiced; I've got two. Both purchased in 1990. A CDP-X33ES and a CDP-C9ES 10 disc changer. The X33 has had almost daily use and the changer only limited use, but both still function flawlessly and sound as good as new.