Anyone still claim to be an audiophile or anyone actually still use a CD player? I rediscovered my old Marantz CD63 mkII KI Signiture the other day.. loading a CD into it and pressing play seemed so satisfying waiting for the spin up -- we used to laugh at the people who talked about vinyl this way. Anyone others feel this way?
I don't use a CD player but I do use CDs as my source. I buy CDs and rip them to a lossless format either FLAC or ALAC depending on which device it will be used.
yea i would say that if the songs were sourced off a cd would sound better. but having said that you need decent player and headphones in order to hear the high quality.
That Marantz CD63 mkII KI Signature was some serious audiophile stuff. I ordered a Topping D3 DAC (£140/US$220) , should arrive within days. I am hoping to re-live my CDs (probably via flac). We have a Topping TP32 T amp +DAC (£90/US$150) and was stunned (still are) with its musicality. The D3 DAC is much more expensive than the TP32 so I am expecting wonders (for its money's worth).
Can you let me know what you think of your DAC? I was looking for a reasonable DAC recently, mostly to take advantage of an old old Marantz CD52 I've and also my TV only offers digital output so I need a DAC to plug this into my amp. I've seen recommendations for Cambridge Audio DACmagic or the Beresford Bushmaster in the ~200GBP range but not heard them. I had a college buddy who bought a Music Fidelity DAC take the output of his Marantz (I forget, it may have been a CD67) and the output was amazing.
My DAC did not come! Seller did not have immediate delivery. So I just wait for a week or two more. Any £100+ DAC with good review will probably be an improvement. I go for the Topping brand because they have a good reputable from users. The Topping D2, still available, is generally good with comments from users. But I am going for the Topping D3 as it is an improvement over the D2 which is already excellent. Audioquest Dragonfly and DacMagic at £100 are excellent, ARCAM and NAD at about £400 are excellent. But I think the limiting factor is your ears so I would not spend more than £100-£150 for a DAC and I have decided to go with Topping brand.
I had a pair of Studio Beats by Dre as starters, they look really good and I've yet to use them again. That said... I can't go back to anything else at the moment now that I am using Shure 535 in ears. Though I listen to ALOT of RAP and R&B and Chinese music, and there's really no need for FLACs because there isn't a lot of complexity in production unless you are talking about Dr Dre stuff. That said, I was listening to Nine Inch Nail and Juno Reactor FLACs when I first got my 535s and my lord, they change the entire song and take it to another level. I want to retry Audio Technicas next, I tried them one time and was impressed.
audio technica's are good but find that their price fluctuates a lot more compared to other brands.all my audio technica's went up at least $50 since i bought them and they sometimes drop around $10 since but quickly rebounded
I own a Sony F887. I have a few FLACS on them that are 24 bit 96hz. The size of them are around 94mb. Rest are FLACs ripped uncompressed from my CD collection of Chinese Music with MediaMonkey. I really wish there were more 24bit music to download out there. I particularly like Korean Drama Music (haven't come across any yet). I listen with Sony MDR-1R and also Sennheiser HD25. Does any one own a Sony NWZ-ZX1 together with a Sony F887 or F886? Is there much difference between the sound quality? Thinking of getting one in the next couple of months. Any one rich enough to own a Astell & Kern ak240 priced at $3,600?
Thank you godslayer. Great website recommendation. Seems the ZX1 has subtle differences to the F887. It has better bass and clearer mids according to one person in the forum.
