Using DVD Player as CD Player

[Dan Driscoll]

The CD player still has to convert the digitial information to analog to sent it out to the receiver via analog connections. That is even before it gets to the receiver.

Yes, and if the CD player has better DACs that how I want it to be. Assuming the receiver has an analog pass-thru, the analog audio signal is inputted to the receiver, amplified and sent to the speakers, without being re-digitized.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Whether digital or analog, for redbook CDs, the bass management is still done at the receiver.

What bass management? Redbook is a 2 channel format, main left and right speakers only. There is no provision in the Redbook spec for bass management and if you have fullrange main speakers, you don't need it.

If you really want to send the low frequencies to a sub-woofer, you could have the receiver apply bass management to the digital signal. But I would suggest that an analog solution, such as the Outlaw Audio ICBM, would be a much better option.

 

[shokhead]

Hey there everyone. I just had a quick question. Currently, I'm using my DVD player as my primary CD player. Is this "ok" to do? Am I getting the proper sound out of my CD's? To me, it seems logical to use a device with digital outs to play a digital format. Any thoughts on this? Sorry if this has been covered before.

If not "ok", do you recommend my purchasing a CD player with digital outs? or should I just purchase a plain-jane cd player?

Not sure if this is relevant, but my current setup consists of: Onkyo TX-SR602, Energy XL-250's, XL-150's, XL-C100, and Energy S8.3 sub.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

LOL Got all this? Look,using a dvd player for cd's is fine and its one less thing to have.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Hook up your DVD player to your onkyo AVR with a digital connector.

Now also connect your DVD player to your AVR with the red & white RCA stereo cables (put it on input "CD").

Play CD in your DVD, once listening to Onkyo's 'DVD' input, and once listening to Onkyo's 'CD' input.

You can now make an informed decision as to which DAC you like better.

You may purchase/borrow a new CD player later and try again at a later date.

Continue trying until you find a CD player with a DAC you like better than your AVR's.

Now decide if the upgrade is worth the cost of the new player.

 

[Geno]

I have a Denon 2910 for DVD-A, SACDs and DTS audio discs, but got a Pioneer Elite 300 disc megachanger for regular redbook CDs. I can't tell the difference between the changer and Denon player, but the convenience of having my entire redbook CD collection in the changer is worth its weight in gold. I can program playlists to fill my home with music all day and still listen to hi-rez stuff when the mood strikes.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

For a site called "Audioholics" I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of interest in in high quality music playback, particularly 2 channel stereo. From what I've seen here the emphasis is overwhelmingly on HT audio, rather than on music. I'm not talking about spending ridiculous sums on uber-expensive gear or esoteric cables, just investing in good quality, high value equipment and getting the most out of it.

 

[shokhead]

For a site called "Audioholics" I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of interest in in high quality music playback, particularly 2 channel stereo. From what I've seen here the emphasis is overwhelmingly on HT audio, rather than on music. I'm not talking about spending ridiculous sums on uber-expensive gear or esoteric cables, just investing in good quality, high value equipment and getting the most out of it.

Right. A good DVD Player. Now you get it.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Right. A good DVD Player. Now you get it.

Problem is, I've never heard a DVD player that could match a quality dedicated CD player for stereo playback. Throw in a good outboard DAC and it isn't even close.

Hey, if music isn't your thing or you're more interested in home theater, that's fine. Or maybe ease of use and simplicity is important to you. But if you're serious about music, there are better options than a DVD player and they don't have to be overly expensive. The used market is your friend when searching fo high quality, inexpensive audio (or HT) equipment.

 

[shokhead]

I'm much more music then movies but my dvd player plays just as good, cd's then any cd player in my price range but really that isnt much of a factor while most use the dig connection anyway for cd's.

 

[j_garcia]

What bass management? Redbook is a 2 channel format, main left and right speakers only. There is no provision in the Redbook spec for bass management and if you have fullrange main speakers, you don't need it.

If you really want to send the low frequencies to a sub-woofer, you could have the receiver apply bass management to the digital signal. But I would suggest that an analog solution, such as the Outlaw Audio ICBM, would be a much better option.

Even for 2ch, many will still listen with the sub, and if your receiver is doing bass management on the signal, it will be applied to 2ch regardless of analog or digital is what I was getting at.

There are few manufacturers that make full range speakers and even fewer who own them.

FYI: The ICBM has been discontinued and is no longer available except used.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Even for 2ch, many will still listen with the sub, and if your receiver is doing bass management on the signal, it will be applied to 2ch regardless of analog or digital is what I was getting at.

Most decent receivers have analog pass-thru, which means the receiver will NOT apply digital bass management. Some of the Outlaw receiver/processors, have what is basically an ICBM built-in. However, that's analog bass management, not digital. I think a few other high end receivers and proceesors have something similar, but other than Outlaw, I'm not aware of any in the entry level or mid-fi range.

There are few manufacturers that make full range speakers and even fewer who own them.

You are joking, right? Or are you only familiar with HT companies? I'll agree that few HT electronics compaines (Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo, Panasonic) make full range speakers. But even their bookshelf and satellite speakers suck, so I wouldn't be buying any speakers from them, regardless of type.

In the music world there are quite a few companies that make full-range speakers and quite a few people who buy them. Some names that immediately come to mind are Vandersteen, Totem, B&W, VMPS, KEF, RBH, Tannoy, Thiel and Joseph Audio, just to name a few.

BTW, full-range speakers are also available from a number of companies often considered to be HT speaker manufacturers, such as Paradigm, NHT, PSB, Monitor Audio, among others. Paradigm alone has a half a dozen different full range models, at various price points.

FYI: The ICBM has been discontinued and is no longer available except used.

Ah, I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the update. I checked the Outlaw forum and the impression I got was they feel a lot of the newer players have decent bass management built-in, so they don't need an ICBM type device. That's probably true, even my S-N SD-860 has excellent bass management and time alignment, better than what's available in most mid-fi receivers on the market right now and much better than almost any receiver or processor even just a few years old.

 

[j_garcia]

Most decent receivers have analog pass-thru, which means the receiver will NOT apply digital bass management. Some of the Outlaw receiver/processors, have what is basically an ICBM built-in. However, that's analog bass management, not digital. I think a few other high end receivers and proceesors have something similar, but other than Outlaw, I'm not aware of any in the entry level or mid-fi range.

I have "source direct", which is essentially passing pure analog through the receiver, and it does bypass tone controls and bass management. Basically, the only time I use it though, is to listen with the sub turned off with 2ch. The majority of the time I want the sub on so the receiver handles the x-over.

You are joking, right? Or are you only familiar with HT companies? I'll agree that few HT electronics compaines (Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo, Panasonic) make full range speakers. But even their bookshelf and satellite speakers suck, so I wouldn't be buying any speakers from them, regardless of type.

Interestingly, my friend owns some Sony tower speakers and I have to say I was quite surprised at how good they sound.

In the music world there are quite a few companies that make full-range speakers and quite a few people who buy them. Some names that immediately come to mind are Vandersteen, Totem, B&W, VMPS, KEF, RBH, Tannoy, Thiel and Joseph Audio, just to name a few.

When I say few, I'm referring to the general public. There are always people who are looking to buy true full range speakers, but they are definitely NOT the majority of the market. These are people who are after great music performance in my experience (I would probably call them "purists"), and those are usually the higher models from most of those manufacturers; and cost wise that puts them out of the league of the average person. When I say "full range", I mean a speaker that is truly capbable of mid-20s response, and those would be few. That was why I made the comment - because many consider a tower speaker to be a full range speaker, and in most cases that is not true.

Joseph Audios are some of my favorite speakers

 

[Buckle-meister]

Even for 2ch, many will still listen with the sub...

I agree as I am one of them. I used to be of the opinion that 2-channel material should be played only through two channels. Period. Then I got over my ignorance and appreciated that with my sub properly integrated, I obtained a frequency response at the listening position far flatter than I otherwise could've, and my speakers are by no means poor.

There are few manufacturers that make full range speakers and even fewer who own them.

In terms of truly full-range speakers, again I agree. Such speakers typically cost a small fortune and I've little doubt there's a good reason for it.

...full-range speakers are also available from a number of companies often considered to be HT speaker manufacturers, such as Paradigm, NHT, PSB, Monitor Audio...

Monitor Audio? Monitor Audio were making speakers long before Home Theatre became the fashion.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Monitor Audio? Monitor Audio were making speakers long before Home Theatre became the fashion.

Hence the use of the phrase "often considered to be HT speaker manufacturers". When you're main outlet is through the Good Guys and similar stores, you're going to get labled as an HT speaker.

BTW, who's Monitor retailing through on the West Coast now that GG has gone under?

 

[nibhaz]

Hook up your DVD player to your onkyo AVR with a digital connector.

Now also connect your DVD player to your AVR with the red & white RCA stereo cables (put it on input "CD").

Play CD in your DVD, once listening to Onkyo's 'DVD' input, and once listening to Onkyo's 'CD' input.

You can now make an informed decision as to which DAC you like better.

You may purchase/borrow a new CD player later and try again at a later date.

Continue trying until you find a CD player with a DAC you like better than your AVR's.

Now decide if the upgrade is worth the cost of the new player.

This will only work if you first level match the outputs of the player. It is quite common for there to be a several dB difference between the digital and analog outputs on a given player, and research tells us that we perceive the louder output as better. So in order for this to be a worth while test you must level match the outputs and devise a means to switch between the two without your knowledge and then if you can consistently pick one over the other will you have a valuable result.

PS using your DVD player is fine!

 

[nibhaz]

I would love to see an affordable 20-20k speaker….if a set of speakers cost as much as a new compact car I don’t think it’s reasonable to call them affordable, at least not for the common man.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

For a site called "Audioholics" I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of interest in in high quality music playback, particularly 2 channel stereo. From what I've seen here the emphasis is overwhelmingly on HT audio, rather than on music. I'm not talking about spending ridiculous sums on uber-expensive gear or esoteric cables, just investing in good quality, high value equipment and getting the most out of it.

http://www.hometheateroholics.com takes too long to type into a browser. There are a number of websites I check before this one for all my music-related information (I like Head-Fi and don't even own good headphones).

I would love to see an affordable 20-20k speaker….if a set of speakers cost as much as a new compact car I don’t think it’s reasonable to call them affordable, at least not for the common man.

Paradigm Monitor 90P's hit low 20's and costs under $2000 (which I'm considering for my next upgrade).

 

[mfabien]

Hey there everyone. I just had a quick question. Currently, I'm using my DVD player as my primary CD player. Is this "ok" to do? Am I getting the proper sound out of my CD's? To me, it seems logical to use a device with digital outs to play a digital format. Any thoughts on this? Sorry if this has been covered before.

If not "ok", do you recommend my purchasing a CD player with digital outs? or should I just purchase a plain-jane cd player?

Not sure if this is relevant, but my current setup consists of: Onkyo TX-SR602, Energy XL-250's, XL-150's, XL-C100, and Energy S8.3 sub.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

I have the same Front and Center channel speakers as you have. My rear speakers are Energy Take 2.2. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V540 and the sub is a SVS PB12 ISD.

Using a Sony 5 disc DVD player, CDs and DTS music discs sound great.

My suggestion is as follows:

If you like to shuffle music selections with CDs, get a CD carousel player.
If you like to play DVD Concerts and music, a DVD changer with 6 disc "resume memory" is the way to go. In this latter case, you will not have CD shuffle ability.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Paradigm Monitor 90P's hit low 20's and costs under $2000 (which I'm considering for my next upgrade).

I used to have 90Ps, with the built-in subs they were excellent HT speakers. But they weren't very good for music (IMO), so I eventually replaced them with a pair of used Vandersteen Model 2C's. The Vandy's don't have the bass punch of the 90Ps, but they do get down to the upper 20's and are much more musical than the 90Ps could ever dream of being.

BTW, a new pair of the current Model 2C Signatures cost less than $1800. But I will admit the 90Ps are a much prettier speaker.

 

[westcott]

Paradigm Monitor 90P's hit low 20's and costs under $2000 (which I'm considering for my next upgrade).

I considered Paradigm before I bought my speakers last year but the 90P's were difficult to place acoustically (subwoofer placement is an art unto itself) and physically (power requirements).

I also thought that it was not the ideal solution if you are going with a 5.1 system or greater using bass managment and a separate subwoofer(s).

I think the 90's are much better suited for two channel listening where a subwoofer may not fit or may not be wanted. They do sound good though.