Should I buy 2 CD palyers: HDCD & SACD/DVD-A
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Anonymous | I am thinking about buying: NAD CD541i for CDs CDRs and HDCD and Denon DVD-2200 for DVD, DVD-A, SACD, and CDs 2 CD players... Is this dumb? Thanks! |
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Silver Member Username: Two_centsPost Number: 188 Registered: Feb-04 | No, it's not dumb if you have a lot of CDs and you care about sound quality. CDs played on the NAD player will sound better than on the Denon. I use the Denon 2200 for DVD-V/DVD-A/SACD and a CAL dedicated CD player for CDs. |
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Anonymous | How do you like the 2200? I have read a lot of reviews in the past couple of days. Some people like it and others say it has problems. |
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Silver Member Username: Two_centsPost Number: 190 Registered: Feb-04 | I couldn't be happier with the 2200. It offers great picture quality and very good SACD and DVD-A performance. You might find better players, but none that provides all-around solid performance at its price point. As you may have read, there have been some reports of it not playing some DVD-R/+R discs (limited to certain brands of discs), audible transport noise, and vibration caused by some CDs. I personally haven't experienced these problems, although I haven't tried playing any DVD-R/+R discs. |
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Bronze Member Username: MaroonmikePost Number: 11 Registered: May-04 | This is good news. I am about to trade out my NAD T532 DVD player for a Denon DVD-2200 so that I will have an internal DTS decoder. I will also probably pick up a NAD C541i or C542 since the Denon does not play CD's very well. I am glad to hear someone else is doing this! |
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Silver Member Username: Two_centsPost Number: 192 Registered: Feb-04 | MaroonMike, Actually there are a lot us. Check out this thread of one person's well-thought-out journey to the same conclusion https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/17833.html |
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Gold Member Username: John_aPost Number: 1156 Registered: Dec-03 | Anonymous, Surely the thing to do is add together the prices of the separate players and see which single player you could get, instead. Then try them out. MaroonMike, I would be interested in the comparisons you can make between those players. I have recently moved from T532 to T533. Lack of an internal DTS decoder is certainly a consideration, but I am not sure whether it would make enough difference to justify extra cost. Certainly the internal Dolby AC-3 decoder, which only the T533 has, seems to do a much better job than the one in the receiver. I wonder whether this would also be true for DTS. I get the impression from the box and the badges on the T533 that it was planned, but not implemented. However, the main difference, for me, is DVD-Audio. That overshadows everything else. I cannot find any problem with CD performance on either of those players. Like Anonymous, I suspect, I wonder whether a CD-only player would sound much different. Any views? |
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Bronze Member Username: MaroonmikePost Number: 12 Registered: May-04 | I really am into DTS music CD's and think the Denon would resolve the issue I currently have with the T532... https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/27684.html I would also like DVD-Audio and SACD which is supported by the Denon DVD-2200. I really love my NAD stuff, but wish they supported the internal DTS decoder. The T533 is an excellent DVD/DVD-Audio player. The Denon does not rate very high on CD playback; thus the need for a stand alone CD player. I have read that the NAD C542 sounds super-sweet and would be a good fit for my system. |
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Bronze Member Username: Black_mathPost Number: 90 Registered: Dec-03 | I have posted this before, but my Arcam CD92T trumps my pioneer DV45 with CD's. It becomes a toss up when comparing hybrid SACD's. Of course I am comparing a $1900 player with a $300, so the deck may be stacked against the Pioneer. |
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Gold Member Username: John_aPost Number: 1160 Registered: Dec-03 | Maroon. Thanks. The other thing missing completely in my set-up is DTS channel delays. Ben, Thanks, too. That is the kind of the kind of thing Anonymous (first post) should consider, I think. Getting everything from one player and still keeping high quality all round is bound to be expensive. |
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New member Username: YamahaPost Number: 2 Registered: Jul-04 | No its not dumb. Unless you pay megabucks for a DVD player, dedicated cd players do a much better job than the dvd players for cd. Suggest you look at Rotel's midline stuff new and old back to the 90's 855 955, 970, 971 990 are great). Stan |
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uncle meat Unregistered guest | the denon 2910 supports hdcd,sacd and dvd audio, I am considering buying one, any feedback on this. |
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Bronze Member Username: MaroonmikeDixie, USA Post Number: 30 Registered: May-04 | Get one. SACD and DVD-A playback is excellent. |
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Bronze Member Username: Frank_lTimmins, On, Canada Post Number: 14 Registered: Dec-04 | HDCD??? Good grief ... this is the third format of impoved CD quality ... I'm wondering which will come out as the dominant format (re.: VHS, Beta Max, U-matic) - one thing is for sure - it looks like a gamble to either buy a unit like the Denon 2910, jack of all trades - master of none (?!?!?!?!) or go with separates .. hmmm |
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Bronze Member Username: Frank_lTimmins, On, Canada Post Number: 15 Registered: Dec-04 | Maroon Mike Your T532 drop out issue (closed thread) - I had a similar experience some time ago when connecting my DVD player to the receiver via coax cable. The cable was low quality and every now and then the sound woud drop out for a few seconds. I purchesed a good quality cabel and that solved the issue. Coming back to your case - it's a fibre connection - have you checked for dust or other contamination on connecting surface of the patch cord? Potentially a greasy patch can cause a similar simptom.... |
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Bronze Member Username: Frank_lTimmins, On, Canada Post Number: 16 Registered: Dec-04 | Mon dieu! My spelling is not waht it used to be!!! lol |
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Bronze Member Username: CanuckinapickleTorontoCanada Post Number: 14 Registered: Jan-05 | HDCD is an encoding technique (now owned by Microsoft) to encode audio in 20bits (I think I'm correct in saying that). It has been around for quite a few years now. HDCDs will play in any cd player at regular resolution but can be decoded with an HDCD player at a higher resolution. Its not as good as SACD or DVD-A but it is more convienent. A number of CDs I had in my collection turned out to be HDCDs even though there was no marking on the packaging saying so (going back to discs I bougth 5 years ago). Two Years ago I bought a NAD541i CD player which is HDCD compatible. This player is wonderful and I hope the fellow who started this thread in May bought one! A little red LED illuminates to tell you when an HDCD disc is playing Oh! One more fun note. If you like making compilation CDs from other discs in your collection the HDCD encoding is preseved when you copy individual tracks. I.E. when you put your compliation in yuor cd player and it hits a track that is HDCD encoded it will switch on the HDCD processor and led to tell you so. HDCD is decoded track-by-track and not by-disc. |
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Bronze Member Username: Ca_convertCardiffUK Post Number: 57 Registered: Jan-05 | Canuck, I have just discovered HDCD through the NAD 542 i have recently acquired. It technology developed by pacific microelectronics, who have a tie up with Microsft. It does encode the disc with 20 bit data as opposed to the CD audio standard of 16 bit PCM I only have one HDCD encoided disc (keb Mo - Slow Down) and it is a noticeable improvement. The CD's cost no more than regular discs, and they are 100% compatible with non HDCD enabled CD players. |
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Unregistered guest | A little off topic....but I'm in the market for a new single disk CD player. I currently have an NAD 5000 that is pretty old (at least seven years). I've been very happy and cannot complain about the life. Looking to repalce with a new NAD or possibly Music Hall CD payer. Trying to keep under $600.00. Any thoughts out there? THANKS! |
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bumblebee Unregistered guest | if you're using a player's digital outs, just get a universal player  |
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Gold Member Username: John_aLondonU.K. Post Number: 2957 Registered: Dec-03 | My two cents: nothing has happened to improve CD-only players in the last seven years. "If it works, don't fix it". HDCD offers the industry copy protection, missing from standard CD. I do believe that is all there is to it, and may explain Microsoft's interest. DVD-A and SACD is another story. Copy protection has been hastily cobbled onto DVD-A, at least for some discs. It was not part of the original plan, as with SACD. Why, Mr g, for $600 you could get a very nice turntable... |
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Gold Member Username: MyrantzThe Land Dow... Post Number: 1647 Registered: Aug-04 | "HDCD offers the industry copy protection, missing from standard CD. I do believe that is all there is to it" Sorry John, but you are giving wrong information. Many redbook cd's now have cp (copy protection). HDCD offers 20 bit data min instead of normal 16 bit. Some of these may have cp others may not. |
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Gold Member Username: John_aLondonU.K. Post Number: 2958 Registered: Dec-03 | Thanks, My Rantz. I stand corrected. However, I looked all through the HDCD spec and came to the conclusion it was not true 20-bit. Also, you can only write HDCDs if you sign up, get the approved gear, are a company, and pay a hefty licence fee. That has nothing to do with sample size or sound quality. I have not come across a protected regular CD. It was not in the "red book". Can you name one? I could be behind the times, I readily admit! |
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Gold Member Username: MyrantzThe Land Dow... Post Number: 1650 Registered: Aug-04 | John Off the top of my head - Van Morrison's "What's Wrong With This Picture" on the Blue Note label. Browsing the stores I am noticing more and more cd's with cp. I have few HDCD's with no copy protection. I don't have equipment with the decoder so I can't say from experience whether they are of a better resolution. But many later cd's are now made with data up to 24 bit without necessarilly labelling them so. |
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Gold Member Username: MyrantzThe Land Dow... Post Number: 1651 Registered: Aug-04 | John http://www.hdcd.com/about/index.html |
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Gold Member Username: John_aLondonU.K. Post Number: 2962 Registered: Dec-03 | Thanks, MR. This was the part that worried me: http://www.hdcd.com/partners/tech_partners/licensing.html especially the "IP" requirements. However if there are "in the clear" HDCDs then I am wrong, and thanks, again. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 651 Registered: Dec-03 | There are some surround receivers with built-in HDCD. Some Marantz, Harman Kardon, and Rotel come to mind. You wouldn't even need an HDCD cd player if you had or bought one of these receivers. |
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Gold Member Username: MyrantzThe Land Dow... Post Number: 1656 Registered: Aug-04 | Gregory Long time no talk. Yes, you are correct. I have the Marantz sr-7300, unfortunately it did not have the decoder. My next purchase was the Denon DVD-2900 - it too did not have the decoder - the later models in the same price range do. John A "This was the part that worried me: . . . " Why should that worry you John? Are you intending to manufacture audio gear to accommodate HDCD? People are in business to make a profit you know LOL! |
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