Is it unwise to buy a state of the art CD player at this time?

[Mdp632]

Although to each their own. Getting off topic here but, I never understood why someone would "Tube" up a such a clean and high resolution system as a Spectral one. Do you find the resolution fatiguing ? In the end I guess let your ears decide but, I'd stick with the SL or go SV and then pursue the Spectral DAC. When and if that ever comes out.

 

[thedudeabides]

4. And you'd let the ability to play SACD determine any part of your decision? Really?

Why not if that's a priority for this person? SACD playback capability is also critical to me.

With all due respect, how do you know what's important for that specific individual to justify your apparent judgement / criticism of his "decision"?

No one in this hobby is the arbiter of truth.

 

[Rodney Gold]

Based on what you say re your hearing etc.. I would try a simple solution first .. a digital parametric like one of the miniDSP products to tweak the system to ameliorate your hearing imbalance .

 

[thedudeabides]

Cochlear implant surgery?

 

[bonzo75]

Although to each their own. Getting off topic here but, I never understood why someone would "Tube" up a such a clean and high resolution system as a Spectral one. Do you find the resolution fatiguing ? In the end I guess let your ears decide but, I'd stick with the SL or go SV and then pursue the Spectral DAC. When and if that ever comes out.

Law of diminishing returns. Too much of one thing, not enough of what is missing. And no, I did not find Spectral fatiguing at all. I know some SS I have found fatiguing, not spectral. Just not enough involvement, decay, and soundstage in an all SS system. As soon as the valves were in it the bloom, decay, soundstage, realism increased. I am wary of getting the wrong valves in which muddy up the resolution (which is what happened with VTL S400 compared to Spectral), but did not in this case.

Btw I started investigating spectral because of Marty's system, and have been only impressed in it so far, and he used VTL pre to drive the power, also has the room to let the dynamics and bass flow through

 

[prerich]

It has been unwise for quite some time....

Agreed!!!!!

 

[prerich]

Hi

I don't see this as a wise investment. Get the DAC you like and rip away. I The best would be to be able to rip while you're listening and that can be accomplished by a number of devices . The most available being your PC. I know we're audiophiles and eternalize on little things but keep in mind that for the most part the money we make, the money we use to make all our purchases is increasingly a bunch of files and those files "get there" reliably and accurately ...without losing a cent or a trillionth of a cent so, transferring the digits to a closeby HDD is a trivial task with available technologies nad ... The time of transports is the past. Some companies will continue to reap revenues from our OCD and sell us updated, optimized CD transports that , of course, sound better than files, it won't stop what is happening : Soon the majority of audiophiles will only listen to files.

Agreed again!!!!!

 

[prerich]

A frind of mine dumped her CD player when she ripped all her Cd's to computer. Now she never uses her system any more and deeply regrets the switch. Keep the Spectral if computers are a PIA. Switch to a PC or a streamer if you are a geek.

Well...you actually make sense....as I'm a geek!!!!

 

[YashN]

There are lots of advantages of ripping rather than using a CD player, convenience being just one of several.

On the other hand, I heard an Esoteric through a couple of Conrad-Johnson Tube pre+amps and it was better than streaming the ripped file on my MBP through the iFi iDSD Nano and the same couple of CJ gear.

I think nowadays my streaming setup is on par or has bested it, but I'd have to haul my SET Tube amp over to my friend's place to perform the comparison again.

So, I wouldn't matter-of-factly dismiss players.

However, if you do get a player, you may want to dig for Lucasz Ficus's old Lampizator documents and perform some mods, or just trust the player (like Esoteric's) to do its best and feed it through great SET Amps and very efficient speakers.

 

[PeterA]

Sorry for the late reply Russ. Went on a weekend trip .

Go to any audio show and maybe, maybe one out of 20 demos are done using CDs. The rest are from digital servers. Talk to the manufacturers about CD players and completely and irrevocably say it is a dead format with respect to player marketability. Resell on CD players is going to become really poor if it has not already.

If you want to keep spinning CDs, you can do that. I think I read that you had an Oppo. Get a great DAC and use that as a transport.

There is a great line in the old movie Wall Street:

"You know, at one time there must've been dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I'll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company? "

So, no, you don't want to buy the last flip phone just because it is about to go out of production. CD is a dead format. It just doesn't know it.

Download a copy of Roon. Rip a few CDs on your computer and listen and use it on the computer. If that doesn't change your outlook on this purchase, I don't know what would!

Amir, what do you think about books and all of those lovely private libraries around the world with beautiful, physical books on their shelves? Are physical books a dead format that just doesn't know it yet, too? Serious, not rhetorical, question.

 

[microstrip]

There are lots of advantages of ripping rather than using a CD player, convenience being just one of several.

(...)

Some people will tell you there are lots of advantages on using solid state equipment rather than using tubes, convenience being just one of several ...

 

[Al M.]

There are lots of advantages of ripping rather than using a CD player, convenience being just one of several.

It may be convenient once you have ripped all your CDs to file. But to get there you have to spend quite some time -- a lot of it. One of the many reasons computer audio does not entice me at this point.

 

[bonzo75]

It may be convenient once you have ripped all your CDs to file. But to get there you have to spend quite some time -- a lot of it. One of the many reasons computer audio does not entice me at this point.

Effort is optional. You can plug and play, but some choose to be computer audiophiles. In this hobby people go through phases...tube rolls, cartridge rolls, cable swaps, software...but some are just plug and play

 

[mullard88]

I totally agree with post #113.

 

[Al M.]

I totally agree with post #113.

... a post which I don't understand. How does ripping CDs not involve effort? How can it be plug and play? If streaming is meant, that's one thing, ripping CDs is another. And how can you not be a computer audiophile if dealing with files?

 

[still-one]

... a post which I don't understand. How does ripping CDs not involve effort? How can it be plug and play? If streaming is meant, that's one thing, ripping CDs is another.

What effort? I ripped my CD's to various servers over the years while I was listening to music. It was done concurrent with listening to other music. No hassle there.

Now I never ripped every disc I own, only those that still I listen to. I am not one of those "music collectors" that needs 10,000 titles of which 90% he will never listen to again.

 

[Al M.]

What effort? I ripped my CD's to various servers over the years while I was listening to music. It was done concurrent with listening to other music. No hassle there.

Well, it's still an effort and a hassle. You will not convince me otherwise. I know too well from ripping CDs to CD-R for my car some years ago.

 

[YashN]

It may be convenient once you have ripped all your CDs to file.

Done.

 

[YashN]

Some people will tell you there are lots of advantages on using solid state equipment rather than using tubes, convenience being just one of several ...

Perhaps, but there's no need to launch a Tube amp vs SS amp discussion in this thread...

 

[YashN]

... a post which I don't understand. How does ripping CDs not involve effort? How can it be plug and play?

Not plug and play?

I put in the CD, it is automatically recognised and tagged and ripped properly in an auto-named folder in my Music directory, with each song having the album thumbnail, and after that the CD is ejected automatically as well. It just took 146s approx for a Simply Red collection I just inserted.