Hey All,
How are we all? Today I had a hi fi guru come to visit and he was appalled to learn that I use a dvd player for my 2 channel hi fi setup. Ive been using the DVD player to date as it matches its silver finish matches my solid state collection and for space reasons. He was absolutely addiment that the sound quality would be impacted using a DVD player as opposed to a quality cd player made in japan. Can anyone shed any thoughts on this? Does it make any difference? Is it subtle or significant? would be curious to get some feedback! Cheers, Andy
How are we all? Today I had a hi fi guru come to visit and he was appalled to learn that I use a dvd player for my 2 channel hi fi setup. Ive been using the DVD player to date as it matches its silver finish matches my solid state collection and for space reasons. He was absolutely addiment that the sound quality would be impacted using a DVD player as opposed to a quality cd player made in japan. Can anyone shed any thoughts on this? Does it make any difference? Is it subtle or significant? would be curious to get some feedback! Cheers, Andy
Tough question. Over here it's almost impossible to buy a traditional non-carousel player, unless you go to the upper price ranges. There are a couple Marantz players, which is what I picked up. IMO, the Marantz CD5001 is somewhat better than almost any DVD player, but the difference isn't as much as you might hope for. The higher end players are closer to $1k and up, and are certainly better than the Marantz, but are modern CDs really worth it? Lately I've been spinning old vinyl.
Hi jerishi,
Consider that a DVD player must do more in providing video signals. Add to that more audio channels. The DVD player's servos are optimized to DVD speeds and mass (in case there is a difference).
A CD player would have more money available to provide better audio D/A converters and signal stages. The transport also runs slower and the servo constants can be optimized for CD's. This excludes the possibility of excess profit in the CD.
My direct experience is that cheap CD players last longer than cheap DVD players of similar cost on average. Everyone will be able to recall someone with a different experience. 'Tis the way of cheap to have high failure rates.
My affinity for more expensive players does not include the "high end" rip-offs. Audio Alchemy comes to mind.
-Chris
I don't know why it would be expected to.
Consider that a DVD player must do more in providing video signals. Add to that more audio channels. The DVD player's servos are optimized to DVD speeds and mass (in case there is a difference).
A CD player would have more money available to provide better audio D/A converters and signal stages. The transport also runs slower and the servo constants can be optimized for CD's. This excludes the possibility of excess profit in the CD.
My direct experience is that cheap CD players last longer than cheap DVD players of similar cost on average. Everyone will be able to recall someone with a different experience. 'Tis the way of cheap to have high failure rates.
My affinity for more expensive players does not include the "high end" rip-offs. Audio Alchemy comes to mind.
-Chris
cd player vs dvd player
sounds all interesting..without knowing the technical side, i guess it seems logical that a cd player has more research and development and money invested in delivering the best possible sound! dvd players these days are so cheap and have to focus on video and audio...hence audio quality may be impacted....i dont think i'll go overboard and invest mega $$$$ in a cd player...but a few hundred wont hurt! I'll let you all know how it pans out!
sounds all interesting..without knowing the technical side, i guess it seems logical that a cd player has more research and development and money invested in delivering the best possible sound! dvd players these days are so cheap and have to focus on video and audio...hence audio quality may be impacted....i dont think i'll go overboard and invest mega $$$$ in a cd player...but a few hundred wont hurt! I'll let you all know how it pans out!
Hi,
the early CD players were dire.
They could not even achieve 16bit initially and gave 14bit output.
But, progress was fast and affordable players at 16bit started to play music.
We have had 20years to develop the technology and considering that we have had to work with 16bit 44.1ks/S the sound is pretty good.
DVD is still very new in comparison. All the effort is going into how to make the systems work with the fewest number of chips.
Some time, hopefully soon, the research will move towards extracting good sound from the higher resolution stored in the data at prices that are affordable.
I am quite impressed with the sound that comes off a movie sound track. The compression seems less obvious when starting from the high resolution data than mp3 starting from CD standard.
When will they start using DVD-A as the sound standard and MPx that to give us good downloadable music? I would even pay for a good standard like that.
the early CD players were dire.
They could not even achieve 16bit initially and gave 14bit output.
But, progress was fast and affordable players at 16bit started to play music.
We have had 20years to develop the technology and considering that we have had to work with 16bit 44.1ks/S the sound is pretty good.
DVD is still very new in comparison. All the effort is going into how to make the systems work with the fewest number of chips.
Some time, hopefully soon, the research will move towards extracting good sound from the higher resolution stored in the data at prices that are affordable.
I am quite impressed with the sound that comes off a movie sound track. The compression seems less obvious when starting from the high resolution data than mp3 starting from CD standard.
When will they start using DVD-A as the sound standard and MPx that to give us good downloadable music? I would even pay for a good standard like that.
anatech said:
On my cheapo DVD player, when playing a CD it spins way faster than a CD player would, and buffers a certain amount of sound. When the buffer runs low it reads a bit more of the disc. Unlike a data CD, or a DVD for that matter, a Redbook audio CD does not have any exact way to index a particular position on the disc, the player just makes it's best guess as to where it was previously. Often I can hear the slight skip in the sound as the new reading takes place.
In short - lift the lid and watch how fast the CD spins compared with a standard CD player. That will tell you something.
While there is more going on under the lid of a DVD player, economies of scale must come into play which will reduce the manufacturing cost of the DVD player. Hifi CD players sell in far fewer numbers.
From experience of retail, the dealer will make 25-35% margin on a CD player but half that on a DVD player.
Both these influences would suggest that the consumer gets more for their money with a DVD player. Whether this offsets the other differences, I cannot say.
I guess my model works best if you compare a £150 NAD CD player with a £150 Japanese manufactured DVD player....
From experience of retail, the dealer will make 25-35% margin on a CD player but half that on a DVD player.
Both these influences would suggest that the consumer gets more for their money with a DVD player. Whether this offsets the other differences, I cannot say.
I guess my model works best if you compare a £150 NAD CD player with a £150 Japanese manufactured DVD player....
Hi Circlotron,
Hi sharpi31,
I think there is some magic number for retail pricing where you start seeing good machines. There will always be those terrible junky machines with high price tags.
There is a very real quality increase as the actual quality of the machine goes up. Even the audio path design makes a huge difference.
-Chris
Actually, it has time code built in. Depending on the software running the player, it should return t the same spot. Should.
Hi sharpi31,
That is pretty low end all right! Likely a VAM1202 transport, so it's also the luck of the draw when considering digital errors.
I think there is some magic number for retail pricing where you start seeing good machines. There will always be those terrible junky machines with high price tags.
There is a very real quality increase as the actual quality of the machine goes up. Even the audio path design makes a huge difference.
-Chris
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