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Audiophile Changer: Cool or Hopeless Compromise?

Hello again everyone. It is great to be back to this site. Having owned and sold a Levinson 31 (sounded fine but didn't REALLY do it for me) I am finally going back to analogue and perhaps, a SONY SCD-1.

For general every day listening of my 2-300 CDs, however, it would be wonderfully convenient to have them in a changer. Is anyone taking a digital output from one of these things and running it through an external D/A, for example an ARC DAC-1 or DAC2 with decent results? Which changer transport is the best? CD or DVD/multi? And can someone please explain "upsampling"? In my experience, I have never really been transported by anything digital. I am waiting to be converted but in the mean time, would just love to conveniently enjoy a few hundred CDs without getting a migraine or thinking that reading a magazine or watching cable would be more satisfying. Thanks for you ideas and advice. Happy holidays to everyone.
cwlondon
kira
83 posts
 
I use a Sony 333es changer as a transport (with Dan Wright mods) feeding the Perpetual Tech boxes. The Sony as a transport is the equal of any transport I have had in my system including Sonic Frontiers SFT-1, Audio Research CDT-1, Muse Model 5, etc. My experience with transports has been that differences are marked by quality ranges i.e. up to say $2500 msrp they all sound pretty much the same. This is just MY experience. To improve you would need to step way up in quality to the $5,000 to $10,000 msrp range.
I think you can find a perfectly good changer as a transport for not a whole lot of money. Look at the Sony's and you can get SACD thrown in.
ljgj
955 posts
 
I also use the Sony 333ES with the SACD in analog and redbooks in digital through a Kora Hermes. There was a Cal Audio Labs unit the CL10 I think that was a very good transport as a 5 disc changer - I am not sure it is still made - it has various digital out options including XLR. I had one and sold it to go to the SACD unit.
dwpc
27 posts
 
There are now several units (HP, Encient) available that will store a number of cds on hard drives in compressionless formats (i.e., not mp3), link to your audio system and operate via wireless keyboard. They're pricey ($1000+) and won't store a sizeable collection, but I believe that's changing. Provided that the copy-protection issue doesn't render this technology stillborne, I think this is going to be a popular part of audio systems in the near future as multigig storage gets cheaper and cheaper. I even got some tips on making one myself with computer parts that would hold at least 50 cds worth of music for about $600.
3728slingshot
102 posts
 
CW - I think that you're looking for a really big changer? Pioneer's Elite unit put out a big one (100+?) that I have heard good comments about ... I have always liked the Elite stuff that I've had the oppertunity to use.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
You will have to look around for a left-over new one (they not making anymore currently) or a used one; but the best changer of use with a DAC is a $100 Aiwa XC-35M or the latest XC-37M. Stan Warren will modify it for another $125 into a killer transport (optical out). Don't believe me? Go the Chicago Audio Society website www.chicagoaudio.org; The Aiwa is their reference transport for comparison purposes.
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