CD transport vs.streaming

rvpiano

another reason I posted my ’better player quest’ is because many people have gotten rid of or stopped using their CD players, stopped playing their actual CDs. Your subject implies re-discovery to people who stream. Even though I don’t stream, I had to re-discover my CDs. I suppose there is a category who have never actually owned/played CDs.

Like me, those people are not inclined to spend a heck of a lotta money to rediscover actual CD’s.

After spending 2 years exclusively LPs, I decided to try for a better sounding CD player. It can be done I found, now I don’t hesitate to enjoy my CDs as well as my LPs. To the point that I buy used LPs or used CDs now, expecting the CD to sound really good. Or not, content/engineering is always an issue.

So much technology is involved, either can sound superior, yet a few changes, the other could be superior, either ’preferred’ or ’better’.

Looking for help or someone to share their experience if you have already been down this road. I started to revamp my home theatre music set up and I joined the B&W group with a set of CM10 S2 towers and center. I then swapped out my two paradigm defiance subs since I was moving away from paradigm with two SVS PC 2000 Pro subs. I have also purchased some DS3 surrounds and I still have paradigm in the ceiling for the Atmos channels. Everything has been an improvement. However I also wanted to up the game and gain more convenience streaming music and loading my cd collection I went ahead and purchased a blue sound vault 2. I hooked it up to my Yamaha A8A with the optical pcm to bypass the dac in the blue sound since the dac in the Yamaha is rated much higher. After ripping a cd to the blue sound playing it back the volume is probably 25% less compared side by side to my Yamaha S1000 CD player playing the same song same time and switching back and forth. I then hooked up the blue sound RCA analog and the volume came up and added more bass low end. I then played the same song on my phone through air play to my Apple TV and that is the closest to the Yamaha cd player. I love the idea of ripping my cd’s into the blue sound but now with Apple Air Play lossless quality I can download all of my old cds so not sure which is the best way to play my music while avoiding Bluetooth for sure. I contacted Crutchfield and blue sound and Audio Advice and they all claim that different electronics will send different volume based on voltage they are set up at and although I would have to turn up the volume to match the Yamaha CD player I shouldn’t be losing any quality but the soundstage is definitely different. So now I called my local stereo speaker shop and they recommend the B&W formation streamer? Or perhaps the Cambridge streamer? What is the best avenue? How do I get my cds into my music library. The new I mac doesn’t have a CD player to load them? Thank you anyone that can assist much appreciated.

@mofojo save the pennies the project rs2 made me me sell my sacd player as the cds on that sounded better than same album on sacd. Made no sense... Now going i2s (HDMI) into rs2 dac which reclocks it to even better quality.

And I am buying second hand cds now at charity shops.... Yesterday 4 for £1.... That is value

why are the best sounding turntables belt drive and all cd players and transports direct drive....oh wait...I just purchased a belt drive cd transport. Slide the glass door back and it looks like a mini turntable. You see the belt itself....The sound you say....well you'll have to audition one to experience a totally new sensation. CEC TL5.