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How Important Is The Cdp?


Hi,

My current set-up includes PSB Stratus Mini's speakers, Cambridge AZUR 540 A and a Toshiba 3950 DVD which i use for cd playback only. I know this is a mismatch of gear, but i originally hadnly planned on using this equipment with each other, then shortly after had some money troubles so im stuck with this gear for awhile.

My system sounds OK at times, its somewhat musical but alot of the time the sound is jsut too harsh and fatuiging- guitar harmonics are especially grainy and shimmery, vocals seem to be yelling at me way too much and overall the sound seems unfocused and veiled.

My room is pretty small, about 10x10 with an open closet and Jon Risch acoustic treatments directly behind each speaker, side walls arent really treated at all. I know my room isnt the greatest, but somehow i get the sence that the room isnt the main problem im having, sure it could use alot of improvement but the bad sound seems to be coming directly from the speakers.

Im sort of confused on what is causing the harshness, some people say its my cdp, others say my amp and then theres a few who think its my speakers interacting with the room.

This brings me to the question on how important is the cdp? Ive heard many people say that the cdp makes very little to no difference and wont tame the harshness i speaker of. Others say the source is most important and that what im hearing is my speakers producing the crappy sound my cdp is feeding them.

Would a better cdp, or say a 1000$ DAC improve my system to the point where the harshness i speaker of will be mostly eliminated, or will it just show more weaknesses of my amp. Or will a better cdp just make my system only slighty less harsh by only taming some of the digital glare of cdp's?

What do you guys think? cdp causing the harshness, or is it the amp?
dave123456

Showing 2 responses by rar1

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,803 posts
 
Buying a $1000 DAC to use in a $800 system ... is a little extreme. The harshness is most likely coming from the CD player. Without getting into the whole Toshiba giant killer discussion ... combination CD/DVD players, especially in a budget system, can be harsh sounding with CD's ... noteably in the treble region. The real question is ... given your budget concerns, what CD player would work out best for you? Off the top of my head, for CD only players, look at the NAD 521BEE or the Music Hall MMF CD25 or a (used) Rega. I am sure that there are others.

Regards, Rich
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,803 posts
 
Dave & Clo:

Since I wrote my response about 2 months ago, I have been on a bit of a journey with my systems. In my bedroom, I was pairing a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver with a Music Hall CD 25 cd player and Omega Super 3 speakers. The Omegas are high efficiency, single driver speakers ... the types that are normally paired with tube and SET amps. I was using Signal Cable interconnects and speaker cables.

The set-up sounded pretty good with most types of music, but when I was listening to some 50's era Sinatra, at the point where the brass fanfare would kick in ... the music would start screeching and sound almost cartoonish. I tried a number of things ... first I replaced the Marantz receiver with an Arcam receiver ... it made a neglible difference. So, I sold the Arcam and re-introduced the Marantz. Then I replaced the Signal Cable interconnect with an IXOS 1001 Silver Gamma interconnect ... a $ 200 copper/silver hybrid cable that Accessories4less has for $50. The sound cleared up a bit, became fuller, and increased in detail. Then I replaced the Signal Cable Classic speaker cables with Signal Cable Silver Resolution speaker cables. The honkiness disappeared and the sound really started to click.

So, what made me focus on the cables? It was because most music sounded pretty good, but some music sounded off. So, I had a system that was mostly OK , but needed tweaking, not a make-over. I went with silver hybrid cables, because I have had good luck with them (Better Cables & IXOS) for use with digital sources. The Silver Resolution speaker cables were a pleasant surprise and mated well with the IXOS. Fortunately, the cost was also fairly low ... $50 for the interconnect and $200 for the speaker cable.

I just wanted to relay my experiences, as it sounds like we have similar situations. Hope this helps.

Regards, Rich
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