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If the DAC is the same, how different do CD transports sound?

One interesting topic of discussion here is how audible the differences are between CD players when they are used as transports only — or when they are only transports to begin with.

In other words, in a comparison which keeps the DAC the same, how much difference can be heard between CD transports?

This recent video by Harley Lovegrove of Pearl Acoustics provides one test of this question. It may not be the ultimate test, but he does describe the experimental conditions and informations about the qualifications of the listeners.

He comes to the main conclusion here: https://youtu.be/TAOLGsS27R0?t=1079

The whole video is worth watching, I think.

hilde45

Showing 1 response by kraftwerkturbo

kraftwerkturbo
333 posts
 

With my GREAT (top flight, best ever) sounding office system (considered junk level for most here) where I rotate through lots of equipment and do my casual listening, I finally connected my office laptop to the receiver. Then did a simple comparison:

A) laptop, ripped CD (FLAC), 25 ft cheapest USB C to Shiit DAC, DAC expansive ($15 RCA to receiver.

B) Panasonic using above CD, same RCA to receiver

What blew my mind (initially): the laptop sounded SO MUCH (not even close) better. Granted, my fancy system (no component was more than $500, all used) is very revealing, still the difference was astonishing. The laptop just sounded so much more ALIVE, staging was a lot better. 

Further rethinking made it obvious: I was comparing a great (Shiit) and modern/new DAC with a really shitty, cheap and decades old (build into the lowly Panasonic CD) DCA. 

I am still a big believer that the ANALOG portion of any music chain is having by far the greatest impact (room, speakers, DAC, amps). 

 

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