Strictly music- cd or BD or DVD??

[mattsk8]

I just finished building some speakers for my music area. I purchased a Harman Kardon HK-3490 stereo receiver (haven't even received it in the mail yet).

Right now I'm using my older than dirt Denon cd player. The thing skips on scratched cds terribly, and even worse if it's bumped or someone sneezes or even coughs too loud (maybe a little exaggerated but it's pretty bad!). Anyhow, I'm in the market for a new player and I'm curious what to look for.

I use my ipod a lot when I'm not in 'strictly listening' mode. My system is set up near my pool table, so if I'm shooting pool it's tough to argue w/ ipod's shuffle even though sound quality is extremely compromised. BUT, when I am in 'strictly listening' mode, I'm looking for something that'll deliver quality sound w/out breaking the bank. I'm really hoping to find something new or used and try to stay under the $200 mark. Cd changers never really appealed to me, when I'm listening I don't mind going through a whole cd. As dvd players go, believe it or not I've had great luck w/ Panansonic, considering another Panasonic but I'm looking for advice!! I used to be die hard Denon, but I've had 2 of their dvd players over the last 10 years and they seem to be garbage @ more than double the money of a Panasonic. Any ideas on what might work well in that price range? Am I too low and should save some more money?

 

[markw]

I'm a bit confused when you say "music only"

Are you dissatisfied with the DAC in your 3490?

If not, virtually any unit with a digital out should be able to act as a transport and feed a digital signal to your receiver where it can be converted internally to analog.

If you don't like it's sound, then we get involved with the discussion of which CD/SACD player sounds best when using it's internal DAC, and that can open a can of worms.

I'm sorry you've had problems with your Denon. I've been using their DVD 1940CI universal (except for Blu-ray) player for my digital audio sources for years now. It also does great with up-scaling DVD's but with the addition of a Blu-Ray player, it's use there has been rendered moot.

 

[GranteedEV]

What to look for?

Low mechanical noise!!!!

In fact i don't listen to CDs anymore. I'd rather rip them and listen to the flac because i don't have to hear the disc spinning.

 

[mattsk8]

Are you dissatisfied with the DAC in your 3490?
If not, virtually any unit with a digital out should be able to act as a transport and feed a digital signal to your receiver where it can be converted internally to analog.

If you don't like it's sound, then we get involved with the discussion of which CD/SACD player sounds best when using it's internal DAC, and that can open a can of worms.

I'm sorry you've had problems with your Denon. I've been using their DVD 1940CI universal (except for Blu-ray) player for my digital audio sources for years now. It also does great with up-scaling DVD's but with the addition of a Blu-Ray player, it's use there has been rendered moot.

Going back a few years now, I think I had the Denon DVD 557. I think there was something wrong w/ it the whole time I had it. The picture was terrible, and the sound was less than stellar. I ended up giving it away and buying a Panasonic. My wife broke the Panasonic because my son (very young at the time) put some toy in it and closed it. The door wouldn't open so she tried to open it w/ a butter knife (didn't go well!). After that I tried a Harman Kardon dvd and that was another turd. The pic on the hk was good, but the thing froze all the time! Gave that away and now I'm on my second Panasonic (BD this time) player and it's been 2 years and great so far.

I actually don't even have the 3490 yet, should get it by Friday. Also, are you referring to the sound while played through my ipod; based on what I said about compromised sound? If so, before I knew anything about downloading music I just kind of let itunes do it's thing. Now I have about 5k songs of bad recordings, many of which I purchased on itunes so there's no undoing that .

As far as the cd player goes, I'm just looking for something that'll play my cds. I'm not ready to the route GranteedEV is referring to yet. The sound quality through my old Denon cd player seems decent; but I'd like to upgrade mainly to get away from skipping for the most part. It's tough to stomach when I put a Fleetwood Mac disc in and it'll go about 20 seconds into a song, then skip back to the end of the song before .

Even if or when I do get into listening to music via my computer hooked to my stereo, I'd still like a decent cd player just in case someone brings a disk or something like that over. It's just easier to me.

Considering a used Oppo. Good, bad, indifferent??

 

[j_garcia]

If they are scratched, then the care of the discs is the problem. Even the most expensive player on the market won't fix that. A far less expensive solution is to replace the disc.

 

[markw]

I don't think you understand what I said.

What do you mean a "good" CD player? Mechanical or sound wise?

Mechanically, when you stick to the know brands, it's pretty much luck of the draw. I got stuck with a dog of a Panasonic Blu-ray player that Panasonic couldn't get right, even after sending me three (refurbed)replacements. Now, I'm kind of leery of them, not because of the initial problem but their inability to correct it,but others swear by them.

But my Denon universal player and receiver (2802) are going gangbusters.

But, sound-wise, what I was saying is that your H/K receiver has a built in DAC that obviates the need for the DAC in whatever disc unit you buy. That will determine the sound, not the disc unit. All that will do is spin the disc, read it, and send the digital stream to your 3490. Oppos are great but may be overkill. Any $30 DVD player can handle that.

Dunno about the Ipod. I don't have one but you may need a separate dock to improve on the headphone output. I don't think Ipods output a digital signal but you should be able to get a line-level signal that bypasses it's internal amp. But, if you saved the stuff on the Ipod at the lowest bit-rate possible, there ain't nothing you can do about the sound quality without going back to ground zero again.

I hope this helps you clarify your query.

 

[markw]

What I use on scratched CD's and DVDs is the turtle wax car polish that comes in the green squeeze bottle applied to the shiny side of the disc. A few drops buffed around (not across) the disc (with a soft cloth, like an old undershirt or towel) and then COMPLETELY removed with another spot rag can cure a lot of problems. Not all, but most. Obviously, it won't repair deep scratches gouges, or scratches on the opposite/label side of the disc, which is where the actual information resides

I learned this when renting discs from Blockbuster and I use on on mine when they need it, which is rare..

 

[GoFastr]

^^ Agreed, or even try the spray on furniture polish with lemon wax.

Spray it on, wipe excess off.

I guess it coats the scratches and smoothes out the laser reads so it doesn't skip. CD's smell great too!

 

[gmichael]

What I use on scratched CD's and DVDs is the turtle wax car polish that comes in the green squeeze bottle applied to the shiny side of the disc. A few drops buffed around (not across) the disc (with a soft cloth, like an old undershirt or towel) and then COMPLETELY removed with another spot rag can cure a lot of problems. Not all, but most. Obviously, it won't repair deep scratches gouges, or scratches on the opposite/label side of the disc, which is where the actual information resides

I learned this when renting discs from Blockbuster and I use on on mine when they need it, which is rare..

This may sound crazy but, my wife uses peanut butter to repair scratched DVD's. At first I tried to stop her, but it did work.

 

[j_garcia]

Plastic polish. Works great. The only issue I have with wax is the potential to get some residue in the player.

 

[markw]

This may sound crazy but, my wife uses peanut butter to repair scratched DVD's. At first I tried to stop her, but it did work.

I hope you stopped her before she put on the jelly and started eating it.

Seriously, Peanut Butter works well also. It's mildly abrasive, which is what's needed. Note the "mildly". That's what I used to use but I found the Turtle Wax cream worked better because it was easier to apply and buff, and it didn't make me hungry.

As for the residue, ya just gotta make sure you get rid of all of it when buffing it out. If you just use a few drops and keep it to that one side, that's not difficult.

 

[mattsk8]

Thanks for the replies. Automotive polish works really well too (like 3M). The biggest prob w/ the Denon I have now is the skipping. I'm not entirely certain it's totally related to scratched cds. I can play a disk in the Denon and it skips, then I play it on my Panasonic and it's fine. Bass from the speakers will make the Denon skip; where as my powered sub is about 5' from my Panasonic w/out an issue. It's just an old Denon and due for replacement.

So the bottom line is it doesn't really matter what cd, dvd or br player I get becuase the DAC is in the stereo. Thanks!!

Just out of curiosity, why do they make ones like these- Krell, if a cd player is just a cd player? Or is that a whole new can of worms??

I hope you stopped her before she put on the jelly and started eating it.

Seriously, Peanut Butter works well also. It's mildly abrasive, which is what's needed. Note the "mildly". That's what I used to use but I found the Turtle Wax cream worked better because it was easier to apply and buff, and it didn't make me hungry.

Now that was funny!

 

[j_garcia]

I have a dual 15" sub about 2ft from my player and it has never once caused a skip.

The difference is in analog. If you hook up a Krell via digital, the sound will be identical to any other player connected that way on your receiver because the receiver's DACs are processing the signal. Via analog, a player with better DACs than the 3490 will potentially sound better.

 

[markw]

Amplifications.

I have a dual 15" sub about 2ft from my player and it has never once caused a skip.

The difference is in analog. If you hook up a Krell via digital, the sound will be identical to any other player connected that way on your receiver because the receiver's DACs are processing the signal. Via analog, a player with better DACs than the 3490 will potentially sound better.

"better" - Not to be confused with "change". Many things can be designed to change what we here. As we've witnessed over the past few years, change does not always equate to better.

and

"Potentially" does not mean it will. It might. Even then, there's the PODM* effect to consider. Personally, I would have used the word "can" as opposed to "will" in the original statement.

* PODM = Point of Diminishing Returns. IMNSHO, for the difference in price between a Krell and a run of the mill quality player, it better make a heckuva noticeable difference, not an "I think I can hear a difference". But, for some strange reason, many people will choose to but a Rolex when a Time keeps better time.

 

[mattsk8]

"better" - Not to be confused with "change". Many things can be designed to change what we here. As we've witnessed over the past few years, change does not always equate to better.

and

"Potentially" does not mean it will. It might. Even then, there's the PODM* effect to consider. Personally, I would have used the word "can" as opposed to "will" in the original statement.

* PODM = Point of Diminishing Returns. IMNSHO, for the difference in price between a Krell and a run of the mill quality player, it better make a heckuva noticeable difference, not an "I think I can hear a difference". But, for some strange reason, many people will choose to but a Rolex when a Time keeps better time.

I totally follow you on this. Not to go here too, but I'm guessing it's like cables. I've never been one to pay a fortune for cables. I'll spend a little because better cables have better joints and they just look better, but I can't hear the difference. Especially w/ digital; it either works or it doesn't.

 

[j_garcia]

"better" - Not to be confused with "change". Many things can be designed to change what we here. As we've witnessed over the past few years, change does not always equate to better.

and

"Potentially" does not mean it will. It might. Even then, there's the PODM* effect to consider. Personally, I would have used the word "can" as opposed to "will" in the original statement.

* PODM = Point of Diminishing Returns. IMNSHO, for the difference in price between a Krell and a run of the mill quality player, it better make a heckuva noticeable difference, not an "I think I can hear a difference". But, for some strange reason, many people will choose to but a Rolex when a Time keeps better time.

Exactly why I said *potentially*

My phone tells me the time, date, weather, news, etc... what do I need a watch for? Haven't owned a watch in about 15yrs.

 

[mattsk8]

Exactly why I said *potentially*

My phone tells me the time, date, weather, news, etc... what do I need a watch for? Haven't owned a watch in about 15yrs.

Chicks dig em (not that it matters to me, I'm married!). Plus it's nice if you're at a show or something and don't want your bright phone, just look at your watch.

 

[j_garcia]

Chicks dig em (not that it matters to me, I'm married!). Plus it's nice if you're at a show or something and don't want your bright phone, just look at your watch.

If I need to check what time it is, then I probably don't care about the show anymore (other than disturbing others)

 

[markw]

Watches do have a an efficiency advantage.

I just turn my wrist a bit, turn my head a little and bingo, there's my answer. I don't have to fish out my phone from my pocket. ...and they don't have to be recharged.