CD player for $400 - Page 2

Then anything that spins digital disks will work, and work just fine. (No matter how you connect it, BTW.)

Doesn't matter at all burned or store bought. Be careful burning that you actually burn a music cd and not some data format. MP3 cds should also work in most anything.

You can find the original Rega Planet for that kind of money. Very few CDP's will be more musical than that...

I don't believe you.

I may. Look sat it this way, if all good CD players sound the same, then none of them are more musical than any of the rest. ;-)

Sorry, but you can produce a CDP (or any other piece of audio equipment) that measures perfect, but sounds like cr*p... Sound quality is really up to the listener (and synergy to the rest of the equipment used as well as the room). The Rega Planet does sound amazingly musical (to me).

In other words, it's not the CD player. Ok, now I believe you. According to you, that must be because "synergy to the rest of the equipment used as well as the room".

That is a statement widely believed but contradicted by a mountain of scientific evidence.
There' definitely some truth to that. But it has nothing to do with the equipment.

I've heard that story a number of times but every time I ask for any klnd of backup for it besides the say-so of some internet troll, I get nothing.

If sound quality is entirely up to the listener, why does equipment quality mean anything at all?

Why aren't you listening to AM radio over a 1926 Atwater Kent and loving it?



Bad attitude? ;-)

A little testy there... :-)

Let's reverse it the question... can you design a CDP that sounds remarkable, but measures bad? That's quite common with non-oversampling CD players (see the measurements for the AN CD-4 1x in the Stereophile link below).
http://www.stereophile.com/content/audio-note-cd-41x-cd-player-measurements

And let me explain with that I meant with "the sound quality is really up to the listener". The perception of what sounds good and what sounds bad is with the listener. There's people that love the Bose sound and there's quite a few that absolutely hate it. So who's wrong? I would say neither... if you like how something sounds and it makes you "feel something", then obviously that is good quality for YOU. I may completely disagree, but that would then be my perception of what sounds good and what does not. That DOES NOT mean that equipment is completely meaningless, but rather, it's the listener that decides what equipment sounds good and what does not.

It's certainly possible for some individual to like the sound of a bad component. Takes all kinds. But the best evidence we have is that listeners generally prefer accurate sound reproduction, not inaccurate sound reproduction., when given a choice in head-to-head comparisons. So I'd say the answer to your question is no.

That is a vacuum tube output CD player. It's intentionally designed to "color" the sound. You don't know if it sounds remarkable or not, do you? Even if you listened to it and liked the sound of it, that doesn't mean someone else will feel the same.
You need to understand the difference between "preference" and "reference". In hi-fi world, "preference" takes the back seat. If you are unsure of what "hi-fi" means, do a search on Google.

Well, we could argue this the entire day... First of all, I have had the pleasure of living with an AN CD-4 for a while, so I DO know that it does sound remarkable to ME (which is exactly the point I was making to start with). And honestly, a tube in the signal path DOES NOT mean colored.

And you don't need to assume that I don't know the different between preference and reference.... no need for Google. In the hi-fi world (and yes, I've been part of that world for many years), preference doesn't need to take a back seat to reference. The opinion of the listener will in the end decide if a specific item is the right choice or not.

Now, let's get back to the topic... for $400, what CD player would you recommend. I've already voiced my opinion.

Looks like AN CD-4.1x does: Looks like I don't need to assume. With that statement, you've shown that you don't. That's called "preference". Which $400 range CD player have you recommended? What you are doing isn't arguing. It's called "denial".

The above review makes the point that with sighted equipment evaluations anything is possible by means of the decoupling of opinion and performance.

If you don't want the audible sonic coloration of a tube, why put it into the signal path?

Remember that there are no such things as tubed CD players and never have been. A tubed CD player would have to be the size of a house and use enough power to heat the place. All of the so-called tubed CD players (or DACs) are SS gear with a tube added for who-knows-what if not audible coloration.