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Whats the deal with CD players?

I have a hard time telling the difference between CD players, even ones that are cheaply made vs. 'hi-end', or even CD's vs. DVD players. I couldn't even notice a big difference between tube and solid state outputs. When i get a player home i'll set up a double blind a/b test vs. my inexpensive dvd player and have yet to find a player that i could honestly say was a marked improvement. When i read reviews, both amateur and professional, people make it seem like it's night and day. And what do people mean by jitter? Amps and speakers to me can be night and day, but Cd players? I currently use a pair of dynaudio 1.8's and some H/K separates and I'll admit I skimp on cables and use those plastic ones that came with my vcr and dvd player, but despite that, shouldn't I be able to at least tell which player i'm listening to? I'd upgrade my cables, but I don't think cables are to blame. I know this post will piss a lot of people off, but honestly, what is it that you hear that can make you drop tons of cash on a cd player?
128x128perkadin

Showing 1 response by tobias

tobias
1,534 posts
 
You should be able to hear a difference between players at the lower and higher ends of the scale, but without knowing which ones you've actually listened to it's hard to guess what might help. Even with crap downstream, you should notice a difference between, for example, a made-in-China Japanese mass-market model and a decent Adcom, Vecteur, Roksan or...

HK separates and "free" interconnects won't let you hear all of what you pay for, though. Even less-expensive audiophile cables are a must when you get your first good player.

Are you seriously looking ? If you are, go to a decent store and ask them to let you hear a high-end player through really good speakers and electronics. Most stores will do this for you once even if you don't buy anything, just in case you get hooked. Then ask them how to get from what you have now to a system like the one you heard.

If you still can't hear anything worthwhile, try another hobby.
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