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no difference between 4k meridian & 400 DVD?

hi,

i am really starting to doubt this whole damned industry. today, i tried a little experiment. i burned a copy of my favorite k. jarrett CD. i put the CDR into my 508.24 and the original into my 2-year old sony DVD player. i cued the players up simultaneously and did an extensive A/B for about an hour.

guess what? the differences in sound quality were so minor as to be almost inaudible. if anything, the 508 had SLIGHTLY better response at the frequency extremes and SLIGHTLY better dynamics. i'm not sure if i honestly could tell them apart in a double-blind test.

i always believed my main system was fairly transparent. meridian 508 CDP & 502 preamp, bat vk-75, AZ silver reference IC's, decent copper speaker cables (forget what kind), avalon arcus speakers. the IC connected the DVD to the 502 is cheap audioquest copper. i am using a monster hts-5000 power conditioner with vibrapods under the front end and BDR cones/pucks under my amp.

given that the 508 COSTS 10 FRICKING TIMES MORE, i wanted to hear a major improvement over my cheapo DVD but there just wasn't one. my ears are fine...for example, i heard substantial improvements after installing the pods and especially the BDR cones. so...wtf is going on here?
s2k_dude

Showing 1 response by seandtaylor99

seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
Did you try swapping the CDR into the DVD player and the original in the 508 ? That would ensure that the 508 was not being compromised by having to play a CDR. Ideally the comparison should use two original CDs.
Also what recording were you using ? Many pop/rock CDs are terribly recorded and will not bring out the best in the stereo.
Finally I have to say that I have long suspected what you report. I have favourably compared my Marantz CD67SE to an expensive Meridian player and heard only minute differences.
I concluded that digital sources are not worth more than 1/2 the cost of the amp or speakers, unlike turntables. Of course there are many who post here who prefer high end players ... perhaps their system is much better (and more expensive) than mine.
I'd be interested to hear more details of your test.
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