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DAC vs CD Player for cd playback with computer audio - Help old timer out

Getting back into the game after along time away.  So much has changed!

I think I want to stick with Audio Research for a number of reasons, nostalgic and otherwise.

I want to play CDs and also to play files from my computer. Streaming would be nice.  How would that work out with the following setups?

1. If I have a CD player is it POSSIBLE that I could use the DAC in THAT CD Player to play my computer audio?  For example an Audio Research CD 8 from 2008.  

2. Can I use a CD transport (like the Audio Research CD2 from 2002) with an Audio Research DAC 8 (from 2012) AND run computer audio into that DAC?

Which option makes more sense for CDs and Computer audio?  How about CDs, computer audio AND streaming?

I have a headache just writing all of this out.  

Thanks in advance!

kublakhan
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,203 posts
 

Kublakhan WELCoMe Back . Where have you been? I am glad to see you back. So many changes happen since you left.

Post removed 
brge
10 posts
 

I used to own a PS Audio Directstream DAC MK1 to play streamed music from an Innuos Zenith Mk3: it is a great DAC, but I noticed that over time, I could get some listening fatigue. At one point, my old Micromega CDF1 CD player gave out - I was only using it very sparingly with most of my listening being done through the DSD MK1 DAC. After some shopping around for a new CD player, I was intrigue by the Marantz SACD 30n: it was both a CD player and a DAC accepting USB input, and was doing a DSD conversion (which I found much smoother than PCM when properly implemented) using the Marantz Musical Mastering (MMM) digital-to-analog converter as a lesser version than the one available on their Reference SACD and CD Player SA-10. To this day, I have not found one single PCM implementation that did not cause me listening fatigue (be it DAC chips, R2R, Chord pulse-array). To my surprise, after some serious listening, I found that the Marantz SACD 30n provided me with more details, more natural tones, and warmer/richer medium frequencies than the DSD MK1 DAC, so much so that I sold the DSD MK1 DAC and replaced it permanently with the Marantz 30n.

I warmly recommend the Marantz SACD 30n.

Note: I listen almost exclusively to Sacred Choral chants and listening fatigue can come very quickly if the high frequencies (sibilance) are too present. I am now retired, bought my Marantz 30n back in March 2022 (Capitalsound.ca for CAD$3,800), and do not plan to upgrade my sound system any time soon.

wturkey's avatar
wturkey
795 posts
 

To utilize your existing setup without breaking the bank, buy a WiiM Pro or a Bo6 if money is tight. 
 

Download Plexamp on your phone or tablet. 
 

Download the Plex server to your computer. 
 

Add your music libraries to the Plex server. 
 

Sync everything up and enjoy. 
 

Your total cost about $150 for the WiiM Pro $50 or so for the other unit. 
 

The Plex software is free although there is an upgrade path with more features. 
 

Is it as super duper as the $2500 units? Probably not.
Will it get you started and familiar with the process at a minimal cost? Oh yes. 

kublakhan OP
718 posts
 

Thanks everybody!  Lots to investigate.  Here I go again!

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