Denon 2900 for CD music or dedicated CD player

[springer49]

I just purchased a Denon 2900 for the dvd-audio capabilities, the picture is incredible too but my CD's sound a little off. Do I go for a dedicated player and are they that much better?

[JonMarsh]

Well, you might find you get where you want to be just with an outboard DAC....

[springer49]

Jon I am fairly new to the mid higher end of high fidelity can you explain briefly what a DAC will do that a better CD player won't do, thanks for your input.

[Andrew Pratt]

A better CD player would do the same thing as an external DAC...but you'd be spending a lot on parts you already own and would need another shelf for the CD player vs just adding a neat little box like the Benchmark DAC1. Really the Benchmark is a very easy way to get a stereophile class A sounding CD player for under 1K USD.

[will1066]

Extremely simplified, a CD player is composed of a transport section and a digital/analog converter (DAC) section. There are external DAC products out there that are designed to improve performance. You would connect a digital cable from your Denon to such a device, and stereo L and R cables would go out from that device to your receiver or preamp/processor.

I also have a Denon 2900 and found the CD sound, while very smooth, to be a little soft dynamically. Thus, I have a dedicated CD player.

[Bill Blank]

I'll echo will1066's sentiments regarding the flavor of the 2900's CD Playback. I'm using an Arcam DiVA CD73 for CD playback and the Denon for every other format.

If you're thinking of a dedicated player in the $1000+ range, I'd seriously take a look at an external DAC like the Benchmark DAC1. If your budget for a dedicated player isn't that high, take a look at the Arcam I've got along with others in the sub-$1k range from Marantz, Cambridge Audio, and Rotel.

Bill

[JonMarsh]

Andrew, Bill, and Will have covered it pretty well. In particular, the Benchmark has exceptionally high jitter rejection, as well as very good electronics, so it even measures and sounds quite good with things like a PC card SPDIF output, which gives a lot of DAC's fits. (by that, I mean the jitter as measured can be 3X to 5X higher).

The advantage on paper of a well designed single peice player is that they will use the same clock and if it's low jitter, there shouldn't be any of the interface issues.

The trick is just finding a complete combo player that meets your needs at a reasonable price point if you go that way. Then, there's the extra shelf space.

I use my DAC1 with both my Sony SACD player (SCD777ES) and a Philips CD player that I"ve modified into a DAC transport only. BTW, I also have built a few DACs (I'm an EE), and for now, the Benchmark has me out of the DIY biz in that area, as the bang for the buck is quite high. I'm only considering getting a second to facilitate my system configuration (media server in progress).

For a lot more details than you probably ever want to read, see the thread on the Benchmark.


Benchmark DAC1 Thread

~Jon

[springer49]

Thank you all for your responses. I am learning quickly that my new hobby is a never ending process in finding the ultimate sound (or whatever I can afford at the moment). I will definitely check out the Benchmark DAC and the stand alone units. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.

[Jason R]

Bit of a belated reply, but since i had been doing some experimenting after my proceed cdd started to develop drawer issues, i started using my marantz 8400 as a transport to see what it sounded like these are my finding using a rotel 1098 processor and levinson #36 DAC, all were conducted using either stereo mode for digital inputs and bypass for analog:

I will rate the CDD/36 combo as 10/10 fo this reference as it was the benchmark sound i was looking for in this test.

Scenario 1 - Marantz digital into 1098

Good, but nowhere near the CDD/36 combo, had i not been spoilt by the seperates i might have been happy but music had a hard edge and all the warmth of Sarah Mclaughlan - ok i spelled it wrong - was gone having a hard edge i was not used to, it is one of my favourite cd's so i know it well.

Rating 5/10 due to it's bright naure not being to my taste. By no means bad but not close.

Scenario 2 - Marantz digital into 36

This was surprising as i had not expected the Levinson to be so much better than the 1098. It was exactly the sound i liked and the reason why i love the Levinson, warm, wide soundstage and exceptionally detailed, but not fautiging, pretty close to the cdd.

Rating 8/10

I am certain that using a dedicated DAC you will achieve a much better sound, the transport is important, but using a good quality universal player and a good quality stero dac you can ac"hieve far better sounds and at a lot less cost than having a seperate cd and dvd player.

Hope this helps.

[will1066]

Rotel 1098, a pre/pro, versus a Levinson, a dedicated DAC that actually costs more. Not really a fair fight.

[Jason R]

Not a fair fight at all i have to agree, i never expected the 1098 to be close, but tried it out anyway. The levinson might have cost more when new but can be picked up on the second hand market for far less than a 1098, and assuming that you are happy with your processors movie performance and wanted to improve stereo sound the cheapest option would be to keep the universal player and run it through an outboard DAC of superior quality to the processors.

[shokhead]

Thank you all for your responses. I am learning quickly that my new hobby is a never ending process in finding the ultimate sound (or whatever I can afford at the moment). I will definitely check out the Benchmark DAC and the stand alone units. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.

Dont try to find the ultimate because it will either change or you'll go broke. Imo,a $1000 cd player is,well i dont have a good word to use.

[David Meek]

Dont try to find the ultimate because it will either change or you'll go broke. Imo,a $1000 cd player is,well i dont have a good word to use.

Be careful here. You're discussing levels of financial comfort/system acuity, etc. which will vary from member to member. Some may consider a $1K player/transport a quite reasonable piece of equipment.