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In Reply to: RE: Confused by the NY Times posted by tketcham on December 03, 2016 at 18:27:11
I am with you! I have bought quite a few CD, since people started dumping their collections in favor of downloads. Great music is available for next to nothing, much of it not available on vinyl. I also still prefer LP, but CD's have made huge leaps from the 80's when I considered them unlistenable.
Dave
Follow Ups:
Hi, Crazy Dave,I have been enjoying CD playback much more since I added a tubed buffer stage and stand-alone DAC to the CD signal path. The DAC allowed me to choose which filter sounded best with my setup and the buffer stage added an ambience that was missing from the CDP/DAC alone. It would undoubtedly fail the "straight wire" concept in music reproduction but it my opinion, the added euphonics from a tube buffer stage is far more important to music enjoyment than absolute resolution. All things (with affordability paramount) considered.
Regards,
Tom
Edits: 12/06/16
Hi Tom,
I remember Gizmo saying that the signal is so messed with that anything that brings you to better sound is fair game. (I'm paraphrasing. It was quite a few years ago!) I actually have been considering a tube buffer for my less than SOTA CD player. I have been wanting to get into DIY tube building, and that would be a good place to start. Plus, I have a lot of vintage 6SN7 tubes, which would be a good tube for that application. I am of the "enjoyment uber alles" school. I prefer accurate reproduction of the musical event over the encoded signal.
Dave
Dave, your comment that you "prefer accurate reproduction of the musical event over the encoded signal" is something that I've been working on for the last 10 years.Lately I've been experimenting with a second pair of "ambience" speakers (Audio Engine A2+) that sit on the floor next to the stand-mount main speakers. They are angled up off the floor aimed backwards but parallel to the mains. The are running off the two powered subs using the high-pass crossover line outs. I'm impressed with the resulting sound and will post my thoughts on the Speaker Asylum one day soon.
A DIY tube buffer sounds like a fun project. I bought a demo Mini-max BBA from Eastern Electric years ago. It uses a EZ90/6X4 rectifier and a pair of ECL82/6BM8's. The volume control on the BBA allows me to set overall gain so the integrated amp runs in its sweet spot at normal listening levels.
Regards,
Tom
Edits: 12/05/16
That is a very interesting setup! Where did you get the idea for it?
Dave
Setting up speakers in a wide range of rooms over the past 45 years. '-)
I guess I'm balking at the notion that front and side walls have to be quiet and that resolution and detail are the prime objectives in "the absolute sound". I've been thinking about this more and more while attending concerts in theaters, taverns, churches, and living rooms and really listening to the sound and trying to figure out why it sounded that way. I came to the conclusion that echo/reverb was key. Music doesn't come at you from a wall; it envelops you from the entire room. With that in mind I've been working with the acoustics of my listening room rather than trying to turn it into an audiophile speaker chamber.
I've been sitting up late listening to music the past few nights because it sounds so good. I've made comparisons in the sound with and without the ambience speakers and I'm keeping them in place.
Tom
So you came up with the idea yourself. Fascinating! My setup is quite different. I am in a paneled room (lots of reflection) but my 2 Ikea record shelves and manny records are behind the speakers, acting as diffusers. I listen to the Spendor BC-1's near-field and also have a subwoofer. It sounds great to me. There is more than one way to skin a cat!
Dave
or is it the playback equipment?
Or maybe a combination of the two.
When my ancient Pioneer CD player was replaced with a Samsung DVD/CD player CD's sounded much better. I can only imagine what they'd sound like if played on a high end CD unit.
Hi, DRam,
It's the chicken or the egg debate. CD recording and mastering has improved over the years and that has made a huge difference in digital playback. But the improvements in DAC technology have also contributed to the overall enjoyment of CD sourced music.
I'd love to hear a high end Parasound or Esoteric or Meridian or Ayre or any of the latest and greatest CD players as an example of how far CD playback has come. But I can't afford the really good stuff so I found a way to make CDs sound as good as they can within my budget. No complaints. :-)
Regards,
Tom
I misspoke. I was meaning more of the gestalt of CD playback. I think both CD's and CD players have both improved greatly. I have CD's from earlier and later releases and I cannot think of an example when the earlier CD sounded better. The machines have come a long way from the horrid sounding first and second generation machines that I found unlistenable. Now, with my modest NAD player, I find the experience very enjoyable, but not up to vinyl standards. (I think here, my vinyl playback system would be considered modest too.)
Dave
I also would love to hear my CDs played on top level equipment, but enjoy listening to the best I can afford. No complaints here either.
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