[Elito11]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^He says its semi decent cos he has an external dac which is way way better... . Its very good for the price you pay. If you want something cheaper, check the sonodyne cd player.

Well i kinda think that the source and speakers are possibly the two most imp things for good music and the rest follow!

So don't wanna spend much on the CD player! else i feel i rather get a good external DAC and play the nusic from my HDD! What do u say?

@bottle - 1. You mean there is not much diffrence when use/not use the external DAC with your setup?

2. Also do u ADD the external DAC to the setup or REPLACE the CD player with the DAC (offcourse the souce would change from the CD to say Hard disk)

3. just very slightly cold/lifeless with my speakers - u mean too much SQ kya or u prefer a warm sound?

@Determinus - Thanks! 15K for a CD player! waayy outta my budget buddy!

Sometimes i think even of i had the budget i just woudn't have the ear or logic for spending money on some of the 'Audiophile' stuff!

Elito

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by Elito11

So don't wanna spend much on the CD player! else i feel i rather get a good external DAC and play the nusic from my HDD! What do u say?

Well, based on my rather limited knowledge, apart from kit/DIY, am not sure you'd easily find a external DAC that costs less than an entry level audiophile CD player and sounds as good or better...ROC - any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Elito11

Sometimes i think even of i had the budget i just woudn't have the ear or logic for spending money on some of the 'Audiophile' stuff!

Best way to test that hypothesis IMHO is to listen to as many setups as you can using your favourite music and with an open mind Reviews/other's opinions are useful but can also lead to bias.

Also tastes and preferences w.r.t. music & audio are rather subjective, so at the end of the day, if something SOUNDS good to YOU and makes YOU HAPPY, then IMHO that's the end of the story. But its good to make an informed choice after exposing oneself to a sufficient number of options

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by Elito11

So don't wanna spend much on the CD player! else i feel i rather get a good external DAC and play the nusic from my HDD! What do u say?

@elito11:

This is something I remember reading up about many months ago:

Firestone Audio Fubar II DAC

Costs $250

Here's a review of Firestone products on 6 Moons:

6moons audio reviews: Audio Candy from Audio Magic, BPT, Eastern Electric, Firestone Audio & Skylan

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

Best way to test that hypothesis IMHO is to listen to as many setups as you can using your favourite music and with an open mind Reviews/other's opinions are useful but can also lead to bias.

Also tastes and preferences w.r.t. music & audio are rather subjective, so at the end of the day, if something SOUNDS good to YOU and makes YOU HAPPY, then IMHO that's the end of the story. But its good to make an informed choice after exposing oneself to a sufficient number of options

I know I know! But this is India and Demoing all this would take forever!!!!

Still i have made up my mind..not to rush in..rather listen and learn! Thanks!

Elito

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by navin

Given the budget you might try and include Indian brands like Lithos, Norge, Sonodyne, on your list. They offer more VFM at this price range.

Wharfdale has speakers that will cost you about 7K per pair, add a small 2 ch. amp from Yamaha for 10K and a CD player for 7-8K and you will have crossed your budget.

Please include a pair of good RCA wire as well as speaker wire with this system. reignofchaos has alteady listed one such system. The Monitor Audio - Marantz combo is excellent. Sooner or later you will the need to upgrade the Philips DVD player to something better like a Marantz CD player.

Navin Sir....any suggestions for the same?

Elito

[bottle]

Originally Posted by Elito11

Well i kinda think that the source and speakers are possibly the two most imp things for good music and the rest follow!

So don't wanna spend much on the CD player! else i feel i rather get a good external DAC and play the nusic from my HDD! What do u say?

elito you are right about having a good source. I learnt the hard way when i got a oppo dvd player as a transport but it wasnt all that good. If you use a pc and have a good quality collection say flacs etc then pc + dac is the best way to go. there are new usb dacs so all you have to do is plug it in and you are good to go
me i prefer convinience of cds so i went in for a cd player. with pcs you dont have to deal with jitter thats present on cd players

Originally Posted by Elito11

@bottle - 1. You mean there is not much diffrence when use/not use the external DAC with your setup?
2. Also do u ADD the external DAC to the setup or REPLACE the CD player with the DAC (offcourse the souce would change from the CD to say Hard disk)

there is a huge difference between my external dac and using the cd player stand alone. basically you are bypassing the dac on the cd player by adding a external and possibly better dac.
so from cd player - amp - speaker it becomes cdp - dac - amp - speaker
but some high end cd players come with some excellent dacs so there is no need for an external dac in that case
its the same case as a pc rather than relying on the d/a conversion on sound card you connect a dedicated dac. the fubar you mentioned is quite good and is getting better with each revision. but still i would not recommend buying without hearing first otherwise it just becomes a costly exercise :(

Originally Posted by Elito11

3. just very slightly cold/lifeless with my speakers - u mean too much SQ kya or u prefer a warm sound?
Elito

i prefer it a bit warm. sq is there but just feels like singer just woke up from slumber

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by bottle

elito you are right about having a good source. I learnt the hard way when i got a oppo dvd player as a transport but it wasnt all that good. If you use a pc and have a good quality collection say flacs etc then pc + dac is the best way to go. there are new usb dacs so all you have to do is plug it in and you are good to go
me i prefer convinience of cds so i went in for a cd player. with pcs you dont have to deal with jitter thats present on cd players

Righto. But then again its very difficult to get that sort of collection!

there is a huge difference between my external dac and using the cd player stand alone.

So which is better. And is it really audibily better?

basically you are bypassing the dac on the cd player by adding a external and possibly better dac.
so from cd player - amp - speaker it becomes cdp - dac - amp - speaker
but some high end cd players come with some excellent dacs so there is no need for an external dac in that case

Yup i knew that..just was not sure if you meant the same

its the same case as a pc rather than relying on the d/a conversion on sound card you connect a dedicated dac. the fubar you mentioned is quite good and is getting better with each revision. but still i would not recommend buying without hearing first otherwise it just becomes a costly exercise :(

Yeah..that is one thing i realise and will definately try and do!

i prefer it a bit warm. sq is there but just feels like singer just woke up from slumber

Thanks Bottle!

ELito

[Elito11]

I know this thread has stretched a bit, but just wanted to Thank you all for your precious time and effort!

As indicated by the title, it was not just about the equipment, but me wanting to learn a few things!

Thanks
Elito

[Elito11]

I am looking to team up my A5 with this >

Amazon.com: Onkyo DXC390 6 Disc CD Player: Audio & Video

ANy opinions?? cause i can get these asap as a friend is coming from US!

At $150 is sure is in my budget than this dream machine > http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-DX7555-A...6406383&sr=1-4


Why Onkyo? Well for starters, its the only one i have actually heard! and really liked!

OT > How come we have a CS 515 (A/V reciever + semi-decent speakers), which in my opinion is excellent! going for 20K and Just a CD player like DX7555 for the same price!!!!

I mean they both have the exact same DAC! too much premium IMO!!

Elito

[bottle]

hehe saw the 2nd link and was wondering how they could offer something like that for $150

not sure about the 1st one sinc i couldnt find too many details but looks ok. do wait for one of the experts to have a look first

[revvedup]

Now coming back to the digital speakers thing what I have understood from the wikipedia link is that the least significant bit drives the drivers which finally ouput analog sound waves but what I am not able to understand is that the signal that reached the drivers was digital square wave where did the conversion into analog sine wave take place.

[Elito11]

Marantz CD5001

This one is also in the fray! Marantz America | CD5001 Single Disc CD Player

Elito

[bottle]

that one is $h1t stay away from it. i heard a couple of good speakers sound horrible when they used that as source

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by bottle

that one is $h1t stay away from it. i heard a couple of good speakers sound horrible when they used that as source

Hmmmmm

I guess i will audition the Onkyo DX-C309 and CV 515 (the CS 515 reciever) with the same speakers and if thier is not much diffrence..i would go for the DX-C309 for the A5's!

ELito

[navin]

Originally Posted by Elito11

Navin Sir....any suggestions for the same?

I saw a Yamaha 395 or 396 selling for under 10K.