DVD player for CD's

[charles17]

Hi,

I am quite new to this great forum, and already have to say thank you to many for help and input.

At present I am upgrading from a Denon 1602 to a Rotel RSX 1056. One of my main reasons is I love 2 channel music too, and with the Denon do not listen to it. I am a Rotel fan from many years back, and have decided to be financially foolish by buying the Rotel, but hey...

My question. I have a Denon 2900 DVD player which is great, but should I get a seperate CD player to get the most out of my CD's? I have been recommended and HK CD player by my dealer. I will be totally broke after doing this, but there is a part of me where I feel if I want to go the music route I must do it properly.

Anyone had to face a similar decision?

Thanks for all the help

[aud19]

The Rotel 1072 CD player is quite nice as well :T

Another route you may want to entertain is to connect your Denon to a Benchmark DAC1.... :yesnod:

[charles17]

I would love the Rotel CD palyer, but costs about twice the amount of the HK.

I am quite technologically challenged so do not know what you mean by connecting to a DAC. Sorry

[Burke Strickland]

The Benchmark DAC is an external Digital-to-Analog signal Converter, or DAC, meaning it is a separate component from the receiver or pre/pro and it gets connected into the system to provide the digital to analog signal conversion instead of using the internal DACs built into the receiver or preamplifier/processing unit (pre/pro). It is used because the Benchmark has high quality signal conversion devices in it which many people find superior in performance to the internal DACs in their receivers or pre-pros.

The outcome of that comparison depends a lot on the other equipment. The Benchmark certainly has specs and real world performance that beat out most lower end gear. But the over all value of such an investment is a subjective matter that must be weighed against a lot of other priorities not limited to HT and music playback. Adding an outboard DAC would be a "sound" investment that may be worth considering when you feel you are in a better financial position to add "bells and whistles" to your system without undue financial strain.

In the meantime, no need to bankrupt yourself to get decent CD playback. Quite a few owners and several reviewers have said the Denon 2900's CD playback rivals separates. Your Denon 2900 should play your CDs quite nicely.

I faced a similar decision and decided to stick with my Denon universal player for CD playback instead of springing for a separate CD player. From side-by-side comparisons with CD separates ranging in price from about the same as what I paid for my Denon to much more expensive separate CD players (than the cost of my Denon), I realized that I would have to spend around $20,000 on a CD player to notice a really significant difference, and that wouldn't happen even if it wouldn't bankrupt me. :>)

Enjoy the music!

Burke

[charles17]

Thanks Burke, I appreciate the explanation and advice.

Budget is a major issue, so I am leaning towards getting the amp and seeing how my Denon does. I can always borrow a CD player later for the weekend and see if there is a noticeable difference.

Cheers

[aud19]

Thanks Burke, I appreciate the explanation and advice.

Budget is a major issue, so I am leaning towards getting the amp and seeing how my Denon does. I can always borrow a CD player later for the weekend and see if there is a noticeable difference.

Cheers

Now that sounds like a good idea :T

[Claude D D]

The Rotel RCD-1072 is a very good CD player for the money and can easily out perform most DVD players. There are a lot of system dependant variables that come into play and your system is only as good as its weakest link.But if you really want to hear digital done right check out the Wadia CD players. Much more money but worth every penny. I've been playing around with a Wadia 302 and 861b in numerous systems at our store and they are great players. :T I'm saving my pennies for the 302.

A guy can even try different tweaks such as chassis dampening, isolation devices, mass loading, cable variations, power conditioning, etc. All of these things can a have profound effect on how your DVD/CD player can perform. Plus some of the tweaks can be accomplished for little or no money. Play around and have fun. :T

[Kemp]

Charles, a nice budget cd player is the Marantz CD5400 (good reviews), but it sounds like a wise decision to stick with the Denon for now until funds allow for a proper upgrade if needed.

[gianni]

Charles,

As Burke mentioned, the 2900 is not a bad CD player. If you are not happy with this you can also use the coax digital output from the 2900 and use the DAC in the 1056 - it does a pretty decent job (I've compared it to my RCD-1072) and you'll get HDCD decoding. I'm sure one of these 2 connections will keep you happy until your budget will allow an upgrade - don't break the bank now.

Also, the 1056 purchase is anything but fiscally irresponsible. Actually it provides great bang for the buck. Compared to other expenditures it will provide incredible enjoyment - you will be surprised how much more music you listen to v your old Denon. A yaer from now you'll look back and think "what a great investment".

[MarkR]

A friend of mine has the 2900 and you should be able to strangle some pretty good music out of it. I have a Rotel 1055 and added a 1080 not long ago, needless to say I think a nice 2ch power amp should be your next consideration.

[whoaru99]

My brother and I did some listening recently to the DAC1 and a few other CD and or DVD players.

Here is the stuff we listened to.

Music Hall MMF-25, Pioneer DV-578A, Sony DVP-S360, Denon DVD-2900, Denon DCD-1560 (when it was working).

We listened to all these using the internal DACS and the Benchmark DAC1, except the Denon DVD-2900 where we used only the internal DAC.

FWIW, this is what I thought...

IMO, the Music Hall CD player sounded the best of all combinations using it's internal DAC. In particular, the soundstage width and depth is what drew me to this one. It seemed to have fine detail, but yet not edgy or fatiguing to listen to. With the DAC1 connected, the soundstage seemed to be a bit more narrow, a bit less deep, an perhaps just a touch "cooler" tone overall.

I thought the Pioneer DV-578A sounded the next best. Very difficult to tell any difference between the internal DAC and the DAC1. If anything, the internal DAC seemed like it might have just a touch more bottom end than the DAC1. Soundstage on this player seemed pretty good too, but not as good as the Music Hall.

The Denon DCD-1560 with and without the DAC1 connected I thought sounded pretty much the same. At times I thought I could pick one way or another, but too close to call. I'd classify the sound as a neutral to slightly cool tone with either internal DAC or DAC1 connected.

The Denon DVD-2900 was not tested with the DAC1. When we played this one, it had a similar neutral to cool tone as the DCD-1560. We thought perhaps that's the Denon house sound and the results with DAC1 would be similar.

The DAC1 really helped the old Sony DVP-S360. I always thought this sounded OK, but in comparison to the others it sounded kind of flat (as in lifeless) and seemed to have little soundstage compared to any of the others we listened to. When it was connected to the DAC1, it really opened up and also took on some musicality, however it also took on the DAC1 house sound which I'll say is very clean, very neutral, almost clinical (not to be confused with harsh - it was never harsh). A very pure sound might be the way to put it.

So, at the end of the day, I'll be sending back the DAC1 after 25 days of trial. Versatile, yes, good sound, yes, in fact excellent sound. BUT, I have determined I can find sound I'm satisfied with for much less than the cost of DAC1. YMMV...