basic CD Player is DAC and Transport, sometimes also include streaming and digital in/out...many believe there are inherent low jitter advantages in an all in one player...
Cambridge Audio CD Player Has Died
I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 840C CD player that is roughly 15 years old. A year ago the left channel went dead & was subsequently repaired. However, yesterday the audio output completely died (no sound whatsoever). Although the unit has served me well, I am reluctant to continue to put more money into repairs of an older unit.
That being said, I have a question for those of you who have more expertise than I. Is there a discernible difference in sound quality between high-end CD players & those more moderately priced? Although I do have a high-quality audio system, I would prefer not to spend a lot of money on a new CD player unnecessarily.
Thank you so much.
Kit
That being said, I have a question for those of you who have more expertise than I. Is there a discernible difference in sound quality between high-end CD players & those more moderately priced? Although I do have a high-quality audio system, I would prefer not to spend a lot of money on a new CD player unnecessarily.
Thank you so much.
Kit
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Ha!Same thing happened to me with my nine year old CD player.The parts are no longer available to repair it.So reluctantly I've decided to go with separates-Benchmark transport and a very well reviewed but inexpensive Parasound dac to start.It gives me a baseline that I can compare other dacs to.The new components will be up and running tomorrow so I'll post my first impressions then. |
Yes, there is a discernible difference in the audio quality of CD players but my experience has been that the difference in the quality of the DACs inside the players has considerably more to do with that than the transport. So, you might approach this in different ways, buy a new player, buy a separate DAC and transport, or buy a DAC first, connect it to your Cambridge's digital output and determine whether the problem with the Cambridge is the analog output or the DAC. If it works with the external DAC you're done. If it doesn't you could buy a transport for your new DAC and also be set up to use the DAC with streaming devices. There are a lot of very good DACs out there at reasonable prices. I recently got a Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital for $400 that sounds very nice, has an integrated headphone amp and can be used as a preamp. But there are lots of options you could explore. I agree that putting more money into the Cambridge probably isn't a good idea. |
Since CA has served you well, have you looked attheir inexpensive transport? https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/cx/cxc Using a dac within your budget, it might be an even nicer sounding combination. I have an aging 550C that is plugged into one of these: https://www.denafrips.com/ares Without it listenable, but not emotionally engaging. I'm more of a record guy. The Ares gives CD playback a nice boost, close enough to my table system. CD use appears to be dwindling activity with all the streaming and NAS stuff becoming more mainstream. I personally don't see it becoming part of my system and listening habits. |