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DVD or CD Player best for music play back?

For CD music play back, I use a ……..

  • Total voters
    91
Herr Eickhorn

Herr Eickhorn

Born again Alien
Hello everyone. As usual, I am confused. Therefore, I will solicit advice from everyone.

I have heard that the average DVD player is better at music play back than the average CD player. By this I mean Better Sounding. Is this true and why?

My experience is yes. My DVD player has a 192/24 DAC in it. I figured this was the reason for its superior sound, although I can’t explain why technically. I did A-B sound tests and it trounced my Sony CD player. So, I got rid of the CD player and use the DVD player for CD music play back.

I am asking this question because I thought that may be a highly rated CD player, such as the Rega Apollo, might sound better than my DVD player. But I sure don’t want to waste $1,000.00 to find out.

I am interested in any and all opinions on this. I will also post a poll so we can see what the majority of folks are doing.
 
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Although I use a DVD player for music, it is simply an interim measure while I save for and decide on a decent CD player.

My Yamaha DVD player sounds good, but I sincerely doubt that it could even approach a nice Rega, Rotel or Cambridge CD player sonically.

- Dave
 
Avocado Dream said:
Although I use a DVD player for music, it is simply an interim measure while I save for and decide on a decent CD player.

My Yamaha DVD player sounds good, but I sincerely doubt that it could even approach a nice Rega, Rotel or Cambridge CD player sonically.

- Dave
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i'm with dave; just saving and researching....
 
I use a Pioneer DV-563A-S DVD player. It plays SACD as well as DVD-A, and its audio section is well known for being truly superb for its price bracket. You woudl have to spend several hundred dollars more to beat the ausio section of this model. I now own 3 of them.

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
many variables will influence the outcome....

Age, price range, condition of unit, DAC design/architecture, etc

In general, newer units within a given price range will tend to outperform older units within a comparable price range.

In some cases the technical advances in the new units enable them to outperform older units that cost considerably more.

It is a much tougher call predicting the differences between a brand new DVD and a brand new CD player within the same price range.

Best to let your ears tell you if possible!
 
I use my Cambridge Audio Azur 540D for cd playback. I cant afford both a good dvd player and a good cdp, so this works fine for me.:yes: Im very happy.
 
Dusty Chalk said:
No, go for a dedicated CD player.

This is an overgeneralization, but that's what was asked for.
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I'm always happy to overgeneralize (an overgeneralization itself, I guess :)), and I agree.
 
Although I haven't ested 100's of cd players I have had the experience with a few models to compare to dvd players. I own a McIntosh MCD7007 of which I have compared to many different cd players including high end Denon and Sony ES series units. I found the Mac to be warmer and to have less grain. I also compared it to a Marantz SACD unit and found the Mac to be better, until I purchased a California Audio Labs dac. It outperforms the Mac in a few ways. It has a tighter bass, but most importantly much more detail. It has more focus and a better sense of depth for placement of instruments. I am going to a/b it against my buddies high end over 5K Linn unit at the end of the holidays to see where it stands to high end units of today.

My vote is for a good cd player!!!
 
I listened to a few CD players before plunking down my money on the Rega Apollo. I did hear a better player but it was about 2X the money and I didn't want to spend that much. Whether it's better than your DVD player???

You might want to try contacting some dealers to see if you can demo a unit. Or...if you buy used, you should be able to get back most of your money on a resale if you weren't happy.
 
Herr Eickhorn said:
... have heard that the average DVD player is better at music play back than the average CD player. By this I mean Better Sounding. Is this true and why?
Click to expand...

Andrew Marshall said:
In fact, many of these new players (like the Panasonic DVD-L10 and the Pioneer DV-09) have turned out to be sleeper CD players, their 24 bit, 96 Khz DACs often outperforming single-box "audiophile" players costing significantly more. Conveniently I just happened to have perhaps the most surprising sleeper of them all, the Samsung DV-905, on hand for comparison. [AIG 99 Issue]
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A large part of the solution is that jitter that accumulates over many cycles (cumulative low frequency jitter) is a bigger issue...especially on large screen TVs veiwed from about 3 feet. This is seen as a wavy vertical line in the image. The quote from Andrew Marshall was from 1999 and things have only gotten better due to the stricter jitter requirements for HDTV...the result is lower jitter transport streams.

You still have to get the DAC output buffer section right for great results. The benefits of low jitter...some call it "soul"... could even be appreciated in heard in reaved Toshiba DVD players (3950/3960) with compromised output sections using single supply (+12 only) powered op-amps and their lossy coupling caps. Things have gotten better in lastest generation 3990 with complimentary supplies allowing direct coupling
 
I believe that at the margins, a proper CD player will best a DVD player.

However I have no interest in spending lots of money on this format...would much rather invest in turntables. So I have three Toshiba SD-39XX series DVD players that do the job...and I didn't pay more than $50 for any of them.
 
PeAK said:
A large part of the solution is that jitter that accumulates over many cycles (cumulative low frequency jitter) is a bigger issue...especially on large screen TVs veiwed from about 3 feet. This is seen as a wavy vertical line in the image. The quote from Andrew Marshall was from 1999 and things have only gotten better due to the stricter jitter requirements for HDTV...the result is lower jitter transport streams.

You still have to get the DAC output buffer section right for great results. The benefits of low jitter...some call it "soul"... could even be appreciated in heard in reaved Toshiba DVD players (3950/3960) with compromised output sections using single supply (+12 only) powered op-amps and their lossy coupling caps. Things have gotten better in lastest generation 3990 with complimentary supplies allowing direct coupling
Click to expand...


Thanks for the thought stimulating post. If folks take the time to read the links you provided, they might think twice before dismissing a DVD player for CD play back. A good DVD player with a 24 bit/192 kHz DAC can compete with any audiophile CD player out there. It’s probably a secret that the CD player manufacturers don’t want to get out.
 
There's NO DVD player that can sound even close to a high end CD player such as my Audio Research CD7. I have found that a good DVD player can sound as good or better than most CD only players in the under $1,000 or so range. Many audiophiles have tried DVD players in their system and although the SACD on a DVD player can sound nice nothing can beat a good CD player. I have a Denon 3910 DVD player that has very nice audio but there is no comparison to a well built and designed CD only player.
 
My cheap old CDX-450 Yamaha sounds better than the DVD players and my old CDX-1050 and Accuphase DP70 simply blow away the DVD players and also my Yamaha S-2300 SACD ( in CD mode ).
 
It's often pot luck when it comes to electronics. A lot of manufacturers will compromise a perfectly good design by cutting corners to save money. My 20 year old Sony CDP-302 is a case in point. It sounded very flat and uninteresting out of the box, considering it had (and still has) one of the finest transports ever made. The electronics looked adequate too, but I had to make extensive mods, replacing slow chips and cheap caps, adding servos, and even installing a regulated power supply for the motors. Can't do much of that these days as most of the electronics is on one chip, so there's not a lot of leeway for making improvements.

Bryan
 
I have never heard a really high-level CD player, so I'm not sure if they have much better sound, but when I was looking for something to replace my mid-level Onkyo DVD player about a year ago (I was dissatisfied with the sound of CDs, from it), I did some research and came across a lot of rave reviews for the Sony DVP-S7000 (Sony's top of the line, first-generation DVD player, with twin lasers—one for DVD, one for CD). When I checked eBay, I found this originally $1000 dollar unit could be had for less than $150 (sometimes less than $100 for units with cosmetic problems). I purchased one and was immensely impressed. It had the best DVD picture quality I have ever seen and the CD sound quality was just as good. The first unit had a slight glich in DVD playback, but it just got me to purchase another (now I have parts unit). Total cost, less than $200 for both. I recommend this unit for anyone seeking an exceptional, dual purpose DVD/CD player. You'll not only get a great DVD player, but also a great CD player. And you can buy several for less than the price of one high-end CD player.
 
if you are looking at budget components then a cheap dvd player will usually outshine a cheap cdp. However, if you look at quality components you can get better cd playback from a designated redbook player
 
soloz2 said:
if you are looking at budget components then a cheap dvd player will usually outshine a cheap cdp. However, if you look at quality components you can get better cd playback from a designated redbook player
Click to expand...


Ok,

What about utilizing an outboard DAC and an older cdp? Like the PS Audio. or Benchmark DACs?
 
As described in another post, I just got a Pioneer CLP-HF9G, the Japan-market equivalent of the CLP-99 LD+CD player. [TOTL in 1994.] Since is has direct out so I can use an external DAC, I plan to use it as a CD transport. Strong motors, high speed, narrow laser... am I wrong to think that as long as the DAC is good, this should make an excellent CD transport, as good or better than most DVD players?
 
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