Please excuse my assumption, the PS5 DOES NOT support the CD format, however the Xbox still does. I am not sure why Sony would choose this direction, I don't support it and am honestly now considering selling it and buying the Xbox Series X.
I personally use a mid-2000s Sony DVD player that I found for 10USD in a thrift store. Very good when combined with a good DAC as it has both optical and coax digital outputs that don't get resampled and it has a display with physical playback controls.
I’m doing the same thing! I tested a lot of units (CD players, BluRay, and DVD) and found that the mechanisms of the BluRay players all made some distractingly audible noise, and I wasn’t able to jump to specific tracks. But a 10USB mid-2000s DVD player into a Schiit Modius bested most of the CD players I had tried at about 10% the price. Seemed to sound just as good as the Rotel RCD-1572 mkii to my ears on my system (which was very good).
I use a Sony DVD/CD/SACD 5-Disc Changer that I got for $25 at a flea market. I'm taking the digital outputs and running it to a pair of Meridian Digital Active speakers (through a Meridian 561 Digital Controller). The sound is tremendous and I only paid $25 for my source!
There is an objective way to test sound quality, double blind tests, the very mention of which offends serious audiophiles because it could prove they’ve wasted a lot of money and prices they care more about pretty and expensive gear than sound. 😂😂😂
I do not know any serious audiophile who doesnt do double blind tests :) Besides, all gear is more or less "pretty" these days, we've thankfully long moved past the tombstone-aesthetic of the '80s
Double blind test don't prove anything because they introduce too much uncertainty to the test. That will screw up your ability to hear. You need to do blind A/B test. You don't know what A and B are but you do know which one you are listening to. Double blind tests don't test the gear they test the people.
I used a JVC DVD player for my CD listening for years and I was happy until I walked into a proper HiFi dealer. I bought a PS Audio SACD transport with the Direct Stream DAC. Now I am truly happy!
I use my 4k ub420 blu ray player when I want to hear my music on my 7.1 which is a mix of Sony bookshelf & floor standing, and a Sony center, two vintage jbl floor standing and a sub. I play the same cd’s on a portable player and hear difference, though I think it also helps to have good speakers or headphones to hear a difference too.
Hi Mike, you missed a couple of CD player important points. 1. The player should play thru disc scratches & blemishes (many do not). 2. A stand alone player should have a display with track info (many Blu-ray players do not). 3. You may need to connect a Blu-ray player to a TV to do initial setup. 4. If you buy an expensive player make sure replacement drives are available for many years (many do not). Cheers!
Hi I'm in the UK and recently bought a Philips CD/DVD player from a local shop for £20 and the sound is great. I also have a Cambridge Amp and they go great together It's worth buying from shops like that
I think the guy who runs the channel is right it depends on what you can afford. There is some great second hand gear. On your CD player the biggest worries are vibration and noise on the power supply. Both of these you can fix fairly cheaply and see if you notice a difference. put a weight on the CD player (anything reasonably heavy hat you already have), buy a cheap power filter that both amp and cd player can use. However it sounds like your happy with what you have so dont worry you can spend thousands chasing perfection which is fine if you have it.
Unfortunately, Sony removed CD playback from PS4 and PS5, something the first 3 Playstations did wonderfully. You can load up a USB with AAC (FLAC on PS5) and play music while playing games. For CD playback, I've found that high-end DVD players from the early 2000s make excellent CD players. It was at a time when they were still focused on making good sounding CD playback and none of the ones I've used needed a TV to start playing. If you find one of these older players that don't have HDMI, they are pretty cheap because people now don't want anything lacking HDMI.
For CD listening, I just run my Sony Blu-Ray player's digital coax output into an SMSL SU-1 and then into my Vintage HK PM-645 amp. Sounds lovely. When I use the Sony to play a Blu-Ray to my TV (via HDMI) I use the digital optical output from the TV back through the SU-1. Works great...sounds great, too.
Sony made lots of combined dvd and cd players which are very cheap second hand. The model number is dvp, good because they have a display and a good quality audio stage and digital output built in.
I'm actually thinking about buying the new Moondrop Discdream 2 Ultra only because I want that old-school portable cd player feeling, but it also can serve as a standalone cd player for any room. I do love these videos talking about the awesome gear I experienced over the course of my life. Please, keep these coming!
@audioarkitekts Well, that just sucks. Seeing as 2024 is the year of the wallet, I will not be giving them any of my money if that's how they want to act. I only own one Moondrop product, the Joker, and it sucks. I think I paid 25 bucks for it.
I'm not an audiophile - I'm a music enthusiast. I haven't used a stand alone cd player in awhile. I use my 4K player in my main system for both movies and cd's and it sounds great. I have another smaller setup using an older Sony DVD player that also supports SACD's and it sounds great too.
I have both, but I normally use CD players for music playing. Most of the later DVD players have forgone analong connections for solely HDMI - which is a bad idea if you plan on playing it through your stereo system.
I was at the storage unit to get Halloween decorations and found a 5 disk Toshiba DVD player that I purchased years ago brought it home, connected it to the office setup and to say that I am happy would be an understatement.
Perhaps wrong to call my 2 Blu-ray players for being cheap but I love the sound of my Oppo BDP-95 and Oppo UDP-205 anyway so Blu-ray players can be good for music also.
I like your honesty. People need to find what works for them on their budget and if they get pleasure out of it then thats the main thing. I have a sony 390 that I bought for ripping SACS's for £11 and personally I find it a bit thin for CD's, for £200 I got a Marantz pi light SACD player which is miles better. However if £11 is your budget its going to be better than spotify, £200 is also not the 3K+ that some SACD come in at, so find your price and enjoy the music thats the main thing.
You can have the best of both worlds with the middle road. I bought the Onkyo DX-C390 6 disc carousel changer for $125 open box from Best Buy with a 4 year geek squad warranty. This player retails for $350 and has a direct digital path with a very nice Wolfson DAC in it. Sounds way better than the goodwill player. It’s worth the extra money but won’t break the bank. I was so happy with it I ended up buying a second one for the bedroom
@@audioarkitekts I will always wonder how much better a CD transport and separate DAC would be but at around $1000 for the two I’m good where I’m at. CD players break. I don’t want to spend $700 on one that only has a one disc tray
I know what I can hear, and I know what my system is capable of. You most certainly can hear a difference in players once you get to a certain level of hi-fi. Anyone who says otherwise is simply kidding themselves. Do what makes you happy, what you can afford, and what you like. Don't let anyone else tell you whether you're right or wrong. I've owned dozens of different players over the years, and there's a reason I chose the player I'm currently using (Yamaha CDS-2100). Do you need that kind of fidelity for a $2k total system? No. But when you start talking tens of thousands of dollars in other equipment in the rack/room, then $3k really doesn't seem like such a stretch. JM2CW.
I agree Michael, I love hearing the difference in my components. It just may not be important to other folks though. That’s why they go the Blu-ray route. As long as the listener is happy that’s all that matters!
I bought a Sony Universal player plays all formats even SACD and DVDA 5.1 and atmos ready for $300 paired with a SMSL SU-1 dac for $100 that even allows MQA discs....no $800 cd player can touch this
What about a more expesive blu ray player, that doesn't have money spent on streaming apps? The Pioneer UDP-LX500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player is a high-end model that benefits from, three-block structure designed to isolate its power supply from the analog and digital circuits. As a result, interference is drastically reduced and audio and video performance is optimized. It prevents the transfer of external vibrations to the inner chassis, guaranteeing superior disc playback. The player’s audio section also received special attention. It features a high-precision DAC and a direct mode on its stereo analog audio output.
😅 I very rarely see a bluray player in the thrift stores here. This format didn't take off at all, but there is indeed an endless supply of dvd players ... and you are more likely to come across a cd player than a bluray one around here. But I somewhat lucked out and found a Yamaha CDX-596 for ~$30 (€25) in pretty good condition with barely a scratch on it (most of the time they look like they've fallen down a couple stairs and got ran over on the highway as well on the way to the goodwill 😬)
GM☕️🍩 The best determinant as to where to go into the cd 💿 journey..look at the rest of the playback system …are you using a combo player for everything (including 2 channel audio) ..that’ll make your choice somewhat easier. If you’ve gone the audio “purist” at what ever level ..then a decent 💿player is a definite winner..abd if you’ve gone completely down the rabbit hole 🕳️ ( yes,I’m in the 🕳️🤣) an external DAC ..as a master digital hub …the end user is the best thing to consider. Have a great day.👍
The ONLY thing that turns me away from the Blu-Ray player (at least, all the ones that I encountered) is that you cannot set up program playback without turning on the TV. Some Blu-Ray players don’t even offer program playback.
When players like the UBP-X700 from Sony can play: CD, SACD 5.1 2.4 MHz x 1-bit, Bluray pure audio 7.1 in 192KHz x 24-bit, Bluray+dvd movies... All over a secured high bandwidth digital interconnect (HDMI) all for
Pioneer's noughties-era universal players are the best-kept secret in audio. I picked up a DV-575A and a DV-600AV for less than £20 ($26) each on eBay, and their DACs are stunningly good. They stand comparison to the best CD players I've owned, and leave their contemporary DVD players in the mud. Are they as perfect as a God-tier CD player from a bespoke manufacturer? Undoubtedly not. Are they close enough to perfect to satisfy anyone who hasn't invested heavily in a pair of golden ears? Reckon so.
In terms of a cd player, I'm still deciding between fiio, shangling, moon drop and schiit audio since they already have a built in hifi dac. For a desktop dac and amp, I'm leaning towards the fiio r7 since it runs android and I already use android. I can connect the fiio r7 running android to my 65 inch samsung curve qled 4k tv and my yamaha hs50m studio monitors with all the knobs set to flat with my 2 channel home stereo system with my tv audio settings set to pcm and my topping d10s dac that shows if the audio format is pcm or dsd with the sample rate. I currently have the schiit hel 2 dac amp and I use the volume knob to adjust the volume and my sennheiser hd 600 the original marble version connected to the front of my schiit hel 2 dac amp when I use my headphones when I'm not using my studio monitors. I listen to my audio near field and view content and play video games on my 4k tv near field just like my studio monitors. For myself it's about the experience of emulating a studio recording but for movies, music and video games environment. Each and every person use case scenario is unique and different, as long as each individual enjoys there hobby. That's what should really matter.
@@audioarkitekts it seems the price goes down if the product looks a bit bashed up but if its like a really good set of speakers that just a bit dirty they still wont buy it , its crazy
DVD, BR Players or whatever are fine choices for CD playback for the casual listener. I have experimented with this subject. Not being a casual listener I did notice some obvious differences in sound across the spectrum of CD player vs DVD player (with SACD ability) and BR player. I preferred the CD player every time. Part of the reason is purpose built design. CD players are purpose built for audio output. Attention is given to DAC implementation and output circuits. DVD and BR players are jack of all trades and master of none. So they say" as long as it puts out an audio and video signal call it done". Some DVD and BR players have two read lasers, one for video discs and on for audio discs. (Color and intensity are slightly different between CD, DVD and especially BR, but not enough to prevent one from playing different discs). That said one can club together a very good CD playback option if one uses an outboard DAC and just finds a player with a very good transport system, be it CD, DVD or BR (provided it has the required jacks in the back and is not strictly HDMI). While most don't have exceptional transport systems, there are exceptions such as the late Oppo. Marantz transports are very good as well. That said, I would not recommend Sony BR players or Sony any player. Every Sony I have ever had was problematic at best. I have a Sony BR player right now (I bought new for $150) I am strongly considering replacing with anything. It has not worked right from day one. I have an old multi-region Denon DVD/SACD player in the wings that works like it should and will play anything you throw at it except BR discs obviously. Problem is I have some BR discs so a BR player is a necessity if I want to watch those.
@@audioarkitekts Yes, Sony makes junk, period. Every Sony product I ever had has been garbage. Then they make their stuff very proprietary so if one loses a power cable or any outboard part say, breaks down or whatever, they try to tell you that either you can only get the part from Sony or just have to buy a whole new device. I was given a clean, not even dusty Sony BT speaker with it's case I almost refused because it was Sony, but then again it was free. It did not come with the power cord of course, so I decided to take it as a challenge. I first went to Sony to inquire about getting one (the BT speaker is long discontinued of course) and discovered one could be had from Sony IF one agrees to sign a bunch of documents protecting Sony and is willing to pay $149.99 for the power cable!!!!! I was going to throw out the whole thing (BT speakers are not important to me, I use one once per year) and decided to use my noodle and got all the specs for the cord and everything, then went direct to China via Amazon and picked up the cord for $12. Got it in, the plug fit, plugged it in, it charged and the whole thing works now. (I don't know what it sounds like as I have not played anything through it yet, but all functions indicated "working"). I expect it to sound like crap and last about 10 minutes max on a full charge and that is probably a fairly accurate assessment. I've had Sony DVD players, Turntable, speakers, receiver, walkmans, CD players, BR player, headphones and tape decks, all bought new from retail shops and none of them functioned correctly or sounded good. I would not trust Sony to make a piece of foam rubber. Perhaps they were far better back in the early 70s, most such products were, but from 1979 onward, nothing but junk. The only reason I use a CD player is because I am not a casual listener by habit (I do go casual on occasion though, I am human after all), but when I want to listen to music I like to give it 100% of my attention.
For someone on a budget and I don't mean someone with $40, you can still buy a good model of a second hand blu ray or even dvd player, in mint or good condition that has optical and/or coaxial outputs. Such very decent blu ray machines, are for example the Sony UBP-X700 and 800, the Panasonic DMP-BDT385, UB-424 DMR-BWT740, BCT835, DP-UB820 or 824 and the pro audio oriented blu ray recorder DN500 from Denon. If your amp has digital inputs, you're set. If at some point, you want to upgrade, you can always get a budget external DAC, but I wouldn't spend more than 130, tops 170 USD on that. A decicated CD player option, is of course second hand CD players. Models from Cambridge, NAD, Rotel, Marantz, Yamaha and Pioneer in good condition, can also cost little money and can be all you need.
Many cheap blu ray players are digital out only Aka a transport. If one is using an external DAC ( a receiver a pre /pro a DAC) the only thing people real have to worry about is functionality. Gapless playback? How quiet is the player when the sound is muted and unmuted. Does it support DLNA?
Difficult one to judge in my view. CD players are mechanical devices, and it has been my experience that the electronics have steadily improved over the years, but the mechanisms certainly haven't - modern ones are cheap, plasticky, unreliable, unserviceable and just don't perform as well as earlier stuff. And the problem with DVD or BD players, as others have pointed out, is the user interface. No or poor front display, no CD player "extras" like programmability etc that were part of the experience of using a CD, slow response to commands (I expect to be able to press track up five times during playback and have the music play within a second, not have to wait a second or two after every press of the button for it to respond as a lot of BD drives do), some features hidden behind menus etc. Oh, and they can be mechanically very noisy as they spin the disc like a DVD-ROM drive at 16x speed or higher). To miy mind the "ideal" playback device would be a new-old-stock CD player from the mid 1990s (peak Japanese era), coupled to a modern DAC but using i2s for the data transfer - SPDIF isn't ideal. But such a think doesn't exist unless you're willing to get the soldering iron out. I intend to frankenstein something like this in the future but for now I have a NOS (Philips) CD player used as a transport to a modern stereo Arcam amplifier with DAC built in. It's still "mid-fi" but it's good enough. I'm not one of these people who must have boutique equipment either - if the best product for the job is a Cambridge, I'll buy a Cambridge. If it's a supermarket off-brand piece of Chinese plastic for $20, that's fine too.
A PS5 can play audio CDs? My PS4 can't. I have been on the look out for an old used dedicated single disc CD player.. but yea, if you go to goodwill its all blu-ray and DVD players... one of the reasons I want a dedicated CD player is because I'd like to have an informative display on the front and not need to use a TV. I'm not an audiophile though and have just been using a portable CD player and 3.5mm TRS to RCA splitter... I'd just like to have something nicer. The kicker is that I helped my dad clear out his house a year ago and he had a bunch of CD players, but I didn't have the space to take them home (I live across the country from him). Alas.
It always amuses me when certain people are referred to as “serious audiophiles.” Like the rest of us who just dig good music are a bunch of jokers, just playing around with noises. The elitism is laughable. And I say (write) this as a musician and producer with my own recording studio and record label. 😁
Hmm the 2024 kidiwink choice... Na not that mean. Now My Gear is actually verry vintage nowadays. So my Turntable was better than my first CD player back in the 80's and the turntable that replaced that one is and still Awesome. My last CD player sold for $$$ in the early 2000's was replaced with a DVD player this one actually had a good DAC in it, that eventually got replaced with a Blu-ray player. (I still had a some nice external DACs) the last one I ended up buying in the 2010's every digital signal went through it. My main music source is the RIPed CD's (wav) on a local server with its own app, and a Raspberry Pi 0W in to the said DAC. So the music/entertainment room all you see is a screen and two speakers and a turntable on the side wall away from the speakers I can start the music traditionally via physical media or use an APP on the phone/tablet so you can just listen to music with all the screens off and with out distractions. P.S. The funny thing is my best DAC is in my audio interface that I use for recording multi track songs...
99 percent of people cant hear a difference. the dvd players last longer than the cd players which skip after a few years. i gave up on cd players and just use dvd players now for music.
So you buy a cheap Blu-Ray player and it plays sacds ...... how are you going To get the pure DSD signal into your DAC ? ,..... does your player have settings to stream DSD ? ...... does your DAC on the other end have HDMI inputs ............. if you get a black convertor box to I2S does your dac have a i2s input and does the dac chip even natively process dsd ...... many claim that the Sabre chips wont ,,,,,,,, so if I go out and get a Sony 800 4k player tell me the exact dac I need for native DSD processing ?
As I mentioned, if you want serious results you go get a serious player and pay the fare. Otherwise you have limitations. I personally don’t care for SACD because it’s a failing format that never really took.
the sound is far better out of SACD and as a jazz fan there are tons of titles with more being released each month ... if you have any of those nasty antiquated SACD jazz titles I would love to take them off your hands and you would get some pocket change in return for clearing out some space
What you got to remember is the so-called high-end CD transport as they like to call them who do you think actually makes the CD reader mechanism the actual important part because I can guarantee you all these so-called supposedly high-end manufacturers are using a certain amount of standard off the shelf parts. Yes they may make it look nice with a lovely solid cast aluminium body but that’s not how CDs work the weight of the aluminium body has got nothing to do with the audio signal. All you have to do is spin the disc at the correct speed the laser reads it and the computer does the rest. Yes the deck makes a difference that I agree with but when you look at some of the prices that you pay for these high-end CD transport you are being ripped off well and truly conned and ripped off because there is nowhere near the quality or the materials or value in parts that the price would. Lead you to believe.
Please excuse my assumption, the PS5 DOES NOT support the CD format, however the Xbox still does. I am not sure why Sony would choose this direction, I don't support it and am honestly now considering selling it and buying the Xbox Series X.
The PS4 used to support dvd, blu ray, cd and SACD. Later versions took sacd playback away.
If you have a coaxial output on the Blu-ray player then you can avoid its internal DAC and use your own.
Exactly right.
BuT ALL DaCs SoUnD ThE SaMe! (i'm being sarcastic and dont believe that, if it wasnt clear)
I think up to a certain price and past a certain price they do sound the same as their competitors@@CorneliusHolden
@@audioarkitekts Or the HDMI if your DAC supports it, an AV receiver would easily but don't always have the best audio DACs.
I personally use a mid-2000s Sony DVD player that I found for 10USD in a thrift store. Very good when combined with a good DAC as it has both optical and coax digital outputs that don't get resampled and it has a display with physical playback controls.
See!! I'm not crazy after all lol
I’m doing the same thing! I tested a lot of units (CD players, BluRay, and DVD) and found that the mechanisms of the BluRay players all made some distractingly audible noise, and I wasn’t able to jump to specific tracks. But a 10USB mid-2000s DVD player into a Schiit Modius bested most of the CD players I had tried at about 10% the price. Seemed to sound just as good as the Rotel RCD-1572 mkii to my ears on my system (which was very good).
I use a Sony DVD/CD/SACD 5-Disc Changer that I got for $25 at a flea market. I'm taking the digital outputs and running it to a pair of Meridian Digital Active speakers (through a Meridian 561 Digital Controller). The sound is tremendous and I only paid $25 for my source!
There is an objective way to test sound quality, double blind tests, the very mention of which offends serious audiophiles because it could prove they’ve wasted a lot of money and prices they care more about pretty and expensive gear than sound. 😂😂😂
Great points ! Rationalization......
Exactly! Some thing matter for audio quality, your CD player when connected to a separate DAC ultimately doesn't matter.
I do not know any serious audiophile who doesnt do double blind tests :) Besides, all gear is more or less "pretty" these days, we've thankfully long moved past the tombstone-aesthetic of the '80s
I would love to participate in one.
Double blind test don't prove anything because they introduce too much uncertainty to the test. That will screw up your ability to hear. You need to do blind A/B test. You don't know what A and B are but you do know which one you are listening to. Double blind tests don't test the gear they test the people.
I used a JVC DVD player for my CD listening for years and I was happy until I walked into a proper HiFi dealer. I bought a PS Audio SACD transport with the Direct Stream DAC. Now I am truly happy!
I’m glad you were able to find the right setup for you!
@@audioarkitekts I also use the Primare DD 15 for my Redbook CD'S thanks to you my friend! Keep up the good work.
I use my 4k ub420 blu ray player when I want to hear my music on my 7.1 which is a mix of Sony bookshelf & floor standing, and a Sony center, two vintage jbl floor standing and a sub.
I play the same cd’s on a portable player and hear difference, though I think it also helps to have good speakers or headphones to hear a difference too.
Hi Mike, you missed a couple of CD player important points. 1. The player should play thru disc scratches & blemishes (many do not). 2. A stand alone player should have a display with track info (many Blu-ray players do not). 3. You may need to connect a Blu-ray player to a TV to do initial setup. 4. If you buy an expensive player make sure replacement drives are available for many years (many do not). Cheers!
Agreed these are all great points.
Only #2 effects me...and I live with it.
I added a $25 Pasp-Pi 7" HDMI display to my Sony BDP-S1700 & I couldn't live without it.
Hi
I'm in the UK and recently bought a Philips CD/DVD player from a local shop for £20 and the sound is great. I also have a Cambridge Amp and they go great together
It's worth buying from shops like that
I think the guy who runs the channel is right it depends on what you can afford. There is some great second hand gear. On your CD player the biggest worries are vibration and noise on the power supply. Both of these you can fix fairly cheaply and see if you notice a difference. put a weight on the CD player (anything reasonably heavy hat you already have), buy a cheap power filter that both amp and cd player can use. However it sounds like your happy with what you have so dont worry you can spend thousands chasing perfection which is fine if you have it.
Unfortunately, Sony removed CD playback from PS4 and PS5, something the first 3 Playstations did wonderfully. You can load up a USB with AAC (FLAC on PS5) and play music while playing games. For CD playback, I've found that high-end DVD players from the early 2000s make excellent CD players. It was at a time when they were still focused on making good sounding CD playback and none of the ones I've used needed a TV to start playing. If you find one of these older players that don't have HDMI, they are pretty cheap because people now don't want anything lacking HDMI.
For CD listening, I just run my Sony Blu-Ray player's digital coax output into an SMSL SU-1 and then into my Vintage HK PM-645 amp. Sounds lovely. When I use the Sony to play a Blu-Ray to my TV (via HDMI) I use the digital optical output from the TV back through the SU-1. Works great...sounds great, too.
Sony made lots of combined dvd and cd players which are very cheap second hand. The model number is dvp, good because they have a display and a good quality audio stage and digital output built in.
I'm actually thinking about buying the new Moondrop Discdream 2 Ultra only because I want that old-school portable cd player feeling, but it also can serve as a standalone cd player for any room. I do love these videos talking about the awesome gear I experienced over the course of my life. Please, keep these coming!
I've tried to reach out to them for a review, they want nothing to do with me. Lol.
@audioarkitekts Well, that just sucks. Seeing as 2024 is the year of the wallet, I will not be giving them any of my money if that's how they want to act. I only own one Moondrop product, the Joker, and it sucks. I think I paid 25 bucks for it.
My Ebay Sony BluRay can play my SACD collection saving me big bucks on a SACD player. Thanks for sharing.
That's the way to go!
I'm not an audiophile - I'm a music enthusiast. I haven't used a stand alone cd player in awhile. I use my 4K player in my main system for both movies and cd's and it sounds great. I have another smaller setup using an older Sony DVD player that also supports SACD's and it sounds great too.
Exactly my point in the video, you find value in what you have and that's all that matters!
I have both, but I normally use CD players for music playing. Most of the later DVD players have forgone analong connections for solely HDMI - which is a bad idea if you plan on playing it through your stereo system.
Nice, I always use a separate CD player as well.
HDMI sounds fine to me
I was at the storage unit to get Halloween decorations and found a 5 disk Toshiba DVD player that I purchased years ago brought it home, connected it to the office setup and to say that I am happy would be an understatement.
Perhaps wrong to call my 2 Blu-ray players for being cheap but I love the sound of my Oppo BDP-95 and Oppo UDP-205 anyway so Blu-ray players can be good for music also.
Oppo's aren't cheap lol It's a shame they stopped making them it's a great player for all formats!
I like your honesty. People need to find what works for them on their budget and if they get pleasure out of it then thats the main thing. I have a sony 390 that I bought for ripping SACS's for £11 and personally I find it a bit thin for CD's, for £200 I got a Marantz pi light SACD player which is miles better. However if £11 is your budget its going to be better than spotify, £200 is also not the 3K+ that some SACD come in at, so find your price and enjoy the music thats the main thing.
You can have the best of both worlds with the middle road. I bought the Onkyo DX-C390 6 disc carousel changer for $125 open box from Best Buy with a 4 year geek squad warranty. This player retails for $350 and has a direct digital path with a very nice Wolfson DAC in it. Sounds way better than the goodwill player. It’s worth the extra money but won’t break the bank. I was so happy with it I ended up buying a second one for the bedroom
Agreed, the “compromise” area is a wonderful place to be!!
@@audioarkitekts I will always wonder how much better a CD transport and separate DAC would be but at around $1000 for the two I’m good where I’m at. CD players break. I don’t want to spend $700 on one that only has a one disc tray
I know what I can hear, and I know what my system is capable of. You most certainly can hear a difference in players once you get to a certain level of hi-fi. Anyone who says otherwise is simply kidding themselves. Do what makes you happy, what you can afford, and what you like. Don't let anyone else tell you whether you're right or wrong. I've owned dozens of different players over the years, and there's a reason I chose the player I'm currently using (Yamaha CDS-2100). Do you need that kind of fidelity for a $2k total system? No. But when you start talking tens of thousands of dollars in other equipment in the rack/room, then $3k really doesn't seem like such a stretch. JM2CW.
I agree Michael, I love hearing the difference in my components. It just may not be important to other folks though. That’s why they go the Blu-ray route. As long as the listener is happy that’s all that matters!
@@audioarkitekts Yep. Totally agree.
I bought a Sony Universal player plays all formats even SACD and DVDA 5.1 and atmos ready for $300 paired with a SMSL SU-1 dac for $100 that even allows MQA discs....no $800 cd player can touch this
Have same dac. Have a few dvd players I want to try out with the Su-1. Good listening.
That's a great setup! Thanks for sharing!
What about a more expesive blu ray player, that doesn't have money spent on streaming apps?
The Pioneer UDP-LX500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player is a high-end model that benefits from, three-block structure designed to isolate its power supply from the analog and digital circuits. As a result, interference is drastically reduced and audio and video performance is optimized.
It prevents the transfer of external vibrations to the inner chassis, guaranteeing superior disc playback.
The player’s audio section also received special attention. It features a high-precision DAC and a direct mode on its stereo analog audio output.
What "audiophiles" don´t want you to realize is that HiFi is a "mastered technology" pretty much since the mid 90's
😅 I very rarely see a bluray player in the thrift stores here. This format didn't take off at all, but there is indeed an endless supply of dvd players ... and you are more likely to come across a cd player than a bluray one around here. But I somewhat lucked out and found a Yamaha CDX-596 for ~$30 (€25) in pretty good condition with barely a scratch on it (most of the time they look like they've fallen down a couple stairs and got ran over on the highway as well on the way to the goodwill 😬)
At the end of the day, do what makes you happy.
That is all that matters and the message I hope I conveyed through this video.
GM☕️🍩
The best determinant as to where to go into the cd 💿 journey..look at the rest of the playback system …are you using a combo player for everything (including 2 channel audio) ..that’ll make your choice somewhat easier.
If you’ve gone the audio “purist” at what ever level ..then a decent 💿player is a definite winner..abd if you’ve gone completely down the rabbit hole 🕳️ ( yes,I’m in the 🕳️🤣) an external DAC ..as a master digital hub …the end user is the best thing to consider.
Have a great day.👍
I love the rabbit hole lol
@@audioarkitekts We (and my there are an awful lot of us in here) all do
The ONLY thing that turns me away from the Blu-Ray player (at least, all the ones that I encountered) is that you cannot set up program playback without turning on the TV. Some Blu-Ray players don’t even offer program playback.
Yeah to adjust any features the majority of the time you need to have it connected to a TV.
im old school. i have a cd player for cd's and dvd player for dvd's. you can find really great cd players for under $30 if you look around.
Agreed, I have entire videos about cheap CD players ;)
When players like the UBP-X700 from Sony can play: CD, SACD 5.1 2.4 MHz x 1-bit, Bluray pure audio 7.1 in 192KHz x 24-bit, Bluray+dvd movies... All over a secured high bandwidth digital interconnect (HDMI) all for
Pioneer's noughties-era universal players are the best-kept secret in audio. I picked up a DV-575A and a DV-600AV for less than £20 ($26) each on eBay, and their DACs are stunningly good. They stand comparison to the best CD players I've owned, and leave their contemporary DVD players in the mud.
Are they as perfect as a God-tier CD player from a bespoke manufacturer? Undoubtedly not. Are they close enough to perfect to satisfy anyone who hasn't invested heavily in a pair of golden ears? Reckon so.
Audio from BLU RAYS is very good, but a CD player is usually better for CDs imo
In terms of a cd player, I'm still deciding between fiio, shangling, moon drop and schiit audio since they already have a built in hifi dac. For a desktop dac and amp, I'm leaning towards the fiio r7 since it runs android and I already use android. I can connect the fiio r7 running android to my 65 inch samsung curve qled 4k tv and my yamaha hs50m studio monitors with all the knobs set to flat with my 2 channel home stereo system with my tv audio settings set to pcm and my topping d10s dac that shows if the audio format is pcm or dsd with the sample rate. I currently have the schiit hel 2 dac amp and I use the volume knob to adjust the volume and my sennheiser hd 600 the original marble version connected to the front of my schiit hel 2 dac amp when I use my headphones when I'm not using my studio monitors. I listen to my audio near field and view content and play video games on my 4k tv near field just like my studio monitors. For myself it's about the experience of emulating a studio recording but for movies, music and video games environment. Each and every person use case scenario is unique and different, as long as each individual enjoys there hobby. That's what should really matter.
i would say 100 quid cd player because it will be better made and be able to have more fetures that a blue ray player init
I would say 100 quid on the used market will take you really far as well!!
@@audioarkitekts yeah love buyin used for anything but def for cd player
@@audioarkitekts it seems the price goes down if the product looks a bit bashed up but if its like a really good set of speakers that just a bit dirty they still wont buy it , its crazy
DVD, BR Players or whatever are fine choices for CD playback for the casual listener. I have experimented with this subject. Not being a casual listener I did notice some obvious differences in sound across the spectrum of CD player vs DVD player (with SACD ability) and BR player. I preferred the CD player every time. Part of the reason is purpose built design. CD players are purpose built for audio output. Attention is given to DAC implementation and output circuits. DVD and BR players are jack of all trades and master of none. So they say" as long as it puts out an audio and video signal call it done". Some DVD and BR players have two read lasers, one for video discs and on for audio discs. (Color and intensity are slightly different between CD, DVD and especially BR, but not enough to prevent one from playing different discs).
That said one can club together a very good CD playback option if one uses an outboard DAC and just finds a player with a very good transport system, be it CD, DVD or BR (provided it has the required jacks in the back and is not strictly HDMI). While most don't have exceptional transport systems, there are exceptions such as the late Oppo. Marantz transports are very good as well.
That said, I would not recommend Sony BR players or Sony any player. Every Sony I have ever had was problematic at best. I have a Sony BR player right now (I bought new for $150) I am strongly considering replacing with anything. It has not worked right from day one. I have an old multi-region Denon DVD/SACD player in the wings that works like it should and will play anything you throw at it except BR discs obviously. Problem is I have some BR discs so a BR player is a necessity if I want to watch those.
I'm sorry you had trouble with your Sony, i agree, I love using CD players more!
@@audioarkitekts Yes, Sony makes junk, period. Every Sony product I ever had has been garbage. Then they make their stuff very proprietary so if one loses a power cable or any outboard part say, breaks down or whatever, they try to tell you that either you can only get the part from Sony or just have to buy a whole new device. I was given a clean, not even dusty Sony BT speaker with it's case I almost refused because it was Sony, but then again it was free. It did not come with the power cord of course, so I decided to take it as a challenge. I first went to Sony to inquire about getting one (the BT speaker is long discontinued of course) and discovered one could be had from Sony IF one agrees to sign a bunch of documents protecting Sony and is willing to pay $149.99 for the power cable!!!!!
I was going to throw out the whole thing (BT speakers are not important to me, I use one once per year) and decided to use my noodle and got all the specs for the cord and everything, then went direct to China via Amazon and picked up the cord for $12. Got it in, the plug fit, plugged it in, it charged and the whole thing works now. (I don't know what it sounds like as I have not played anything through it yet, but all functions indicated "working"). I expect it to sound like crap and last about 10 minutes max on a full charge and that is probably a fairly accurate assessment. I've had Sony DVD players, Turntable, speakers, receiver, walkmans, CD players, BR player, headphones and tape decks, all bought new from retail shops and none of them functioned correctly or sounded good. I would not trust Sony to make a piece of foam rubber. Perhaps they were far better back in the early 70s, most such products were, but from 1979 onward, nothing but junk.
The only reason I use a CD player is because I am not a casual listener by habit (I do go casual on occasion though, I am human after all), but when I want to listen to music I like to give it 100% of my attention.
For someone on a budget and I don't mean someone with $40, you can still buy a good model of a second hand blu ray or even dvd player, in mint or good condition that has optical and/or coaxial outputs. Such very decent blu ray machines, are for example the Sony UBP-X700 and 800, the Panasonic DMP-BDT385, UB-424 DMR-BWT740, BCT835, DP-UB820 or 824 and the pro audio oriented blu ray recorder DN500 from Denon. If your amp has digital inputs, you're set. If at some point, you want to upgrade, you can always get a budget external DAC, but I wouldn't spend more than 130, tops 170 USD on that.
A decicated CD player option, is of course second hand CD players. Models from Cambridge, NAD, Rotel, Marantz, Yamaha and Pioneer in good condition, can also cost little money and can be all you need.
Agreed, there are some great options out there!
Many cheap blu ray players are digital out only Aka a transport. If one is using an external DAC ( a receiver a pre /pro a DAC) the only thing people real have to worry about is functionality. Gapless playback? How quiet is the player when the sound is muted and unmuted. Does it support DLNA?
btw whats your fav album mines innuendo by queen
I'm too selfish to have a favorite album, there are just too many from too many genres!
@@audioarkitekts yeah fair enough
whats your fav headphones for comfort
What type of headphones are you looking for? Wireless or wired?
Difficult one to judge in my view. CD players are mechanical devices, and it has been my experience that the electronics have steadily improved over the years, but the mechanisms certainly haven't - modern ones are cheap, plasticky, unreliable, unserviceable and just don't perform as well as earlier stuff.
And the problem with DVD or BD players, as others have pointed out, is the user interface. No or poor front display, no CD player "extras" like programmability etc that were part of the experience of using a CD, slow response to commands (I expect to be able to press track up five times during playback and have the music play within a second, not have to wait a second or two after every press of the button for it to respond as a lot of BD drives do), some features hidden behind menus etc. Oh, and they can be mechanically very noisy as they spin the disc like a DVD-ROM drive at 16x speed or higher).
To miy mind the "ideal" playback device would be a new-old-stock CD player from the mid 1990s (peak Japanese era), coupled to a modern DAC but using i2s for the data transfer - SPDIF isn't ideal. But such a think doesn't exist unless you're willing to get the soldering iron out.
I intend to frankenstein something like this in the future but for now I have a NOS (Philips) CD player used as a transport to a modern stereo Arcam amplifier with DAC built in. It's still "mid-fi" but it's good enough.
I'm not one of these people who must have boutique equipment either - if the best product for the job is a Cambridge, I'll buy a Cambridge. If it's a supermarket off-brand piece of Chinese plastic for $20, that's fine too.
A PS5 can play audio CDs? My PS4 can't. I have been on the look out for an old used dedicated single disc CD player.. but yea, if you go to goodwill its all blu-ray and DVD players... one of the reasons I want a dedicated CD player is because I'd like to have an informative display on the front and not need to use a TV. I'm not an audiophile though and have just been using a portable CD player and 3.5mm TRS to RCA splitter... I'd just like to have something nicer. The kicker is that I helped my dad clear out his house a year ago and he had a bunch of CD players, but I didn't have the space to take them home (I live across the country from him). Alas.
If you are on a budget look for older CD players at the thrift stores!
It always amuses me when certain people are referred to as “serious audiophiles.” Like the rest of us who just dig good music are a bunch of jokers, just playing around with noises.
The elitism is laughable. And I say (write) this as a musician and producer with my own recording studio and record label. 😁
Hmm the 2024 kidiwink choice... Na not that mean. Now My Gear is actually verry vintage nowadays. So my Turntable was better than my first CD player back in the 80's and the turntable that replaced that one is and still Awesome. My last CD player sold for $$$ in the early 2000's was replaced with a DVD player this one actually had a good DAC in it, that eventually got replaced with a Blu-ray player. (I still had a some nice external DACs) the last one I ended up buying in the 2010's every digital signal went through it. My main music source is the RIPed CD's (wav) on a local server with its own app, and a Raspberry Pi 0W in to the said DAC. So the music/entertainment room all you see is a screen and two speakers and a turntable on the side wall away from the speakers I can start the music traditionally via physical media or use an APP on the phone/tablet so you can just listen to music with all the screens off and with out distractions.
P.S. The funny thing is my best DAC is in my audio interface that I use for recording multi track songs...
Old Sony PS-1 sounds great as a cd player.
I did an entire video about that!
99 percent of people cant hear a difference. the dvd players last longer than the cd players which skip after a few years. i gave up on cd players and just use dvd players now for music.
So you buy a cheap Blu-Ray player and it plays sacds ...... how are you going To get the pure DSD signal into your DAC ? ,..... does your player have settings to stream DSD ? ...... does your DAC on the other end have HDMI inputs ............. if you get a black convertor box to I2S does your dac have a i2s input and does the dac chip even natively process dsd ...... many claim that the Sabre chips wont ,,,,,,,, so if I go out and get a Sony 800 4k player tell me the exact dac I need for native DSD processing ?
As I mentioned, if you want serious results you go get a serious player and pay the fare. Otherwise you have limitations. I personally don’t care for SACD because it’s a failing format that never really took.
the sound is far better out of SACD and as a jazz fan there are tons of titles with more being released each month ... if you have any of those nasty antiquated SACD jazz titles I would love to take them off your hands and you would get some pocket change in return for clearing out some space
What you got to remember is the so-called high-end CD transport as they like to call them who do you think actually makes the CD reader mechanism the actual important part because I can guarantee you all these so-called supposedly high-end manufacturers are using a certain amount of standard off the shelf parts. Yes they may make it look nice with a lovely solid cast aluminium body but that’s not how CDs work the weight of the aluminium body has got nothing to do with the audio signal. All you have to do is spin the disc at the correct speed the laser reads it and the computer does the rest. Yes the deck makes a difference that I agree with but when you look at some of the prices that you pay for these high-end CD transport you are being ripped off well and truly conned and ripped off because there is nowhere near the quality or the materials or value in parts that the price would. Lead you to believe.
Buy an old CD player with a good Philips chip.
6:35 I don't believe you can play CDs on PS5. You can't on PS4.
See pinned comment
Ps5 doesn't play audio cds
See pinned comment
As far I know, the PlayStation 5 does NOT play CDs…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_5?wprov=sfti1#Storage_architecture
I stand corrected!!