Thank you for giving a shout out to the poor beat upon CD. Ever since it was introduced back in the early 80's which is when I got my first CD player, an Hitachi DA-500 and I immediately fell in love with the format. 35 years and 1000's of CD's later I still love the media. Thank you for dedicating a video to this format!
I think this is a really, really good video. I had to watch and listen to it 4 times, plus skipping back to listen to portions of it even more. I am no expert or audiophile, just a casual music lover who has spent the past 15 years confused, frustrated and excited post vinyl and CD. Watching this video and then revisiting it after many others (plus some visits to my local audio shops) I finally feel like I know what’s going on now and where things are heading and are likely to settle. John Darko is perhaps the best modern day, non Jazz and Classical audiophile reviewer out there. Thanks John, if you’re reading this post. Excellent TH-cam channel. Keep up the brilliant work during these exciting and confusing times for music consumption and enjoyment.
Informative. Thnx. I am one who will not ditch my 1400+ cds. CD sound is good with a high quality player. Not all engineered recordings sound great as we all know. But having the music on hand matters. Very convenient and enjoyable when wanted.
CDs sound good even in the old school portable CD players. I use them all the time with audiophile headphones and they sound fantastic. Very low noise, excellent amplification, don't even need a headphone amp.
Wonderful Mr Darko, always enjoy waking up in the morning and seeing a new DarkoAudio video. Enjoy it with my coffee and then grab a playlist for my drive to work. You made me appreciate my CD collection from the 80's even more. Thanks
CD's may just be the optimal way to do digital audio. 16 bit and 44.1 is way better than any human being can hear which is exactly why that number was chosen in the first place, and it's not ludicrously oversized, data-wise. In fact, that "glare" (though the word kind of rubs me the wrong way, as do many audiophile terms) may well be the audible byproduct of all the stuff over 20KHz that pollutes the 32/96 or 32/192 material. The theory says that the inaudible stuff - which is useless for us - can actually cause detrimental effects in the audible spectrum, which is a moronic tradeoff. The only problem is that the mastering engineers out there in the world making CD's should basically all be lined up and shot as a warning to the next generation, considering how they compress all the recorded music now. There is literally the minimal possible dynamic range in any mainstream recording, including digital files like FLAC, which is a bloody tragedy. The CD format is capable of some pretty excellent dynamic range and sound quality, but in the name of the holy loudness war, they're turning the music into useless mush where a drum is as loud and impactful - as a flute...
Extremely underrated comment right here. Especially the part about mastering. But, to be fair, it's mostly the label's fault, not the engineers. And if it wasn't bad enough, the new high-res trend, (which, as you've stated, is just useless extra noise) is just adding insult to injury, plus more injury...
I've recently gone back to listening to CDs directly because I'm fed up of apps, computers and TV screens. I just want to get home, plonk a CD in without distractions and listen to music. I was surprised how good CDs sound. To be fair the medium is really good and it comes down to how much care was lavished during the mastering process as to how the same piece of music sounds on CD vs a hi res download or SACD. That said, even on my modest system the 24 bit 96kHz and above files I have, present a ridiculously rock solid sound stage compared to 16 bit 44.1kHz audio from any source.
exactly! CDs are so distraction free right? I have it right beside my computer, but if I have the disc I'll use it in a transport fed into my dac because I'd rather just put the disc in and pressing play than dealing with windows pop-ups, changing audio sources in windows, picking player that may (or may not) play that disc and THEN press play. The difference in terms of extra steps is small, sure, but the experience overall just feels more purposeful and streamlined.
I think that prices already went up 20+ % i last year or so :( I've being buying mostly used ones via eBay & Amazon and I can tell that it's getting more and more expensive.
Fintan O Brien Well, here in the Netherlands, CD’s are clearly rapidly increasing in price used! Still.. I bought CD’s for 50 to 85 cents each (really good ones, not the horrors that everyone leaves behind)..
I just got back into CD's, I had a few hundred stored away. Bought a cheap transport and have been amazed since. Yes I like vinyl and have albums but far more CD's. I had forgotten what I was missing
But majority of the reissues on CD have a bad remaster. It is hard to find a quality original sounding release. Second-hand CD`s? Not for me. Vinyl yes, bot not a CD.
I was going crazy buying those DG anniversary boxes these days... also got the 50 CD The DECCA Sound box for 38 bucks, wtf :) Very first thing, I copy them to my NAS as WAV files...
Reminds me of Vinyl people getting rid of that right and left. People will discover It really is a very good audio format. It's uncompressed and delivers the full range of sound
Finally someone talks about the CDs. For the past 3 years or maybe more I’ve been reading and hearing about Vinyl. I’ve been buying used vinyl too. I mean I like vinyl because it represents the history of how things were made and of course how did they sound in the 50s, 60s, 70s and the some part of the 80s but that’s the only aspect of vinyl I enjoy. Maybe some recordings were poorly mastered on CDs and they sound better on there original medium which is vinyl, I get it. But If you WANT to own something in a digital world like ours, and that something was recorded digitally there nothing better than a CD. The audio quality can be extremely high just like the Chesky records CDs or other audiophile labels. So the conclusion is simple really : CDs can sound fantastic, and if they don’t, the recording is to blame not the medium.
Yeah TH-cam is full of vinyl dedicated channel. I guess many just buy vinyl and Want to be in fashion couse vinyl isn't better than CD ( of course CD player on good HiFi not on computer drive or shit dvd player )
When you improve your front end sources, it makes perfect sense that your level of enjoyment increases. What these improvements offer varies, but sometimes we can get too caught up in one aspect of our listening. Rediscovering what any media has to offer matters a great deal. In high end audio especially, chasing those very important incremental changes, nuances, is all part of each person’s journey. It’s also important to realize what matters to each of us as to what is really important in bringing each of us that level of joy we get from our systems. The quality of the source matters. In the media itself and the hardware, if both or either is lacking in their quality, it deters our enjoyment of that experience. Only we can determine what our level of involvement is and that determines, along with our wallet, what we can achieve. We need to acquire that level as best we can given our means. There are many sources that can allow us to achieve our goal. There are always going to be problems to solve. Storing of our media is going to be an issue also. The greater the number of sources, the larger the space requirements will be. If we focus our efforts on what makes us happy regardless of what our source material is, we will be better off in our journey in this hobby. Sometimes we need to weed out the things that produce that less than ideal experience whether it is a bad recording or a piece of equipment that decreases your pleasure. This reduction of clutter will open up space and reduce the waste in your media and in your system. This should help increase your enjoyment in that system and your media. You did a very good job of explaining what I already knew. Your words are far more eloquent than mine. I agree about the CD player/DAC compared to the media streaming. What the physical players and media bring to the table maybe only fractionally better, but it is about fractions in high end! Nuances matter to each one. My money is on the media, transports and dacs. Let the people who stream keep streaming. I prefer the direct methods that yield the more pleasurable results. Go CDs! Never thought I would be doing that, hailing CDs!
It made complete sense to me. I’m a recent PS Audio DirectStream convert. However, before the Directstream, I used an Oppo BDP 95 in my 2 channel system. Though most of my CDs are in the basement, after having been ripped to an Aurender, I have several hundred SACDs and superior quality Red Book CDs within a hands reach from my setup. I’ve never given up on CDs and I identify with the ‘different’ sound and feel. To be frank with you, I oftentimes prefer SACD through the PS Audio transport and DAC to DSD through the same DAC. In their articulation of what’s on the disk, the SACDs, through the Directstream, seem to take much greater advantage of the sonic capabilities of my system.
If music is the drug, I really don't care much about the delivery system; as long as I get my fix. CDs deliver on the cheap, and continue to be a viable option for the masses. Nothing wrong with that.
John-- THANK YOU! I just listened to Weld after seeing this and it is now one of my all time favorites. So incrediblee, thank you for getting me into Neil
Proudly 🇳🇴 Goodonyamate... Brilliant review and a real eye opener, I am also taking out my CD collection now and putting my legacy Denon DCD 2560 tank of CD player back in commision 😀
I am really feeling my age now, CD to me is still the standard or the norm. I am based in HK and I am still complaining that HMV finally closed down at the end of last year. This is not just a music thing, all the big book shops (which also sold CDs) have long closed down too with places like Borders in Singapore or Page One in Hong Kong. Basically, absolutely everything is revolved around the smartphone platform these days. I don't like it, may be because I was a late smartphone adopter myself. My point is if everything is done via your Samsung or iPhone now, then quite frankly you don't need to step out of the house at all. I miss the days of auditioning CDs or talking to knowledgeable staff at certain CD shops and being recommended on acid jazz imports which I love. Also, it is nice to have something tangible and physical to hold on to as you listen to your new music, you read about the album on CD covers or even sing along to the lyrics if you feel like it. Going back to the tech, I am glad that hi-res music is still very limited because I am not there yet. I am still listening to my CDs. But, I know just like smartphones, I will have to get to it at some point...
I totally agree. I recently compared the Hegel CD and the ZenITH Mk3. The Innuos is incredible for the money but the Hegel takes it for naturalness and 3d space. This includes cd vs hi res files too, not just against cd rips.
Nice to see some praise for physical media. Too much emphasis on streaming these days. As an affordable CD transport I would suggest a Cambridge CXC with a good DAC. CD sales still many times vinyl, so far from a dead format.
I have over 600 CDs and love their sound. I have always preferred having something I can hold (and eventually pass on) and not have to pay for something every time I want to listen to something. Storage is no problem real and You have something you can read and refer to should you need it.
Agreed, John! . Uncompressed and high resolution digital audio, along with a well-designed DAC, is absolutely awesome... to me. It is amazing how the mechanics of the physical part of writing and reading digital data impacts the quality of a real-time digital file process. It was a revelation, some 20 years ago, when Craig Anderton mentioned to a group I was in that he had noticed how much less jitter he had in recording at 196KHz and mixing down to 96KHz or 44.1KHz. There was no extra audio dynamics or frequency added (obviously), but the percentage of jitter in a sample period was reduced by a factor of the rate reduction from the source frequency. The same happens during playback. That is just the digital transport!
Finally, an audiophile who recognizes that differences are not huge (i.e. Mickey Mouse record player to a mid fi system) but these differences are very important to the audiophile. A good video. I have another reason to hang on to CD's or vinyl, the music. What I want to listen to is right here on this media, I do not have to go buy it again when I get the yen to listen to a particular song.. In the end, the goal is to find pleasure in an artist performance, not how it got from the performance to my ears. Otherwise said, I am hear to listen to the concert and want to ignore the equipment.
hi john new to channel and new to this audio world,after watching video this is exactly my thoughts about keeping discs,i love vinyl but since buying my musical fidelity a1 cd pro,ive went back to disc,im still not stopping buying vinyl,its nice to have both,great video
It's my belief that the optical disc was one of most important inventions of the 20th century, be it for music, movies, or data. By 1980, the analog vinyl medium had pretty much outlived its usefulness. The music world was being digitalized, Ry Cooder's "Bop Til You Drop" and Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" were both digitally recorded and released in 1979. The problem was, that there weren't any consumer affordable digital hardware or software available to enjoy such early albums. Enter Sony/Philips and the Red Book CD. From lowly compact audio discs to Ultra Blu-ray, the optical disc has served us well. Why boomers born in '50s who enjoyed vinyl albums in the '60s & '70s, then went to CDs and now choose to regress to vinyl, is beyond me. Most will argue that sonically vinyl is superior, that's just nuts. How can they tell; their ears are sixty+ years old. Nostalgia apparently dies harder for some than others. Yada.
I think you got it John, simplicity, state of art approach to electronics and ultimately how we want close to source performance solution, no matter the format bickering. Appreciated your critique and ethics.
Hello from Melbourne! I suspect CDs will go throughout a revival like vinyl in 5 years. I recently got a very entry level tt (ProJect Elemental, OM5e) to play parents records from 70s and 80s, and while it’s a lovely experience to play vinyl (favs are Let It Be, DSoTM, Elvis haha) CDs are just so good for quality music. But Spotify is great for access to any song you want, it’s just obviously poor quality vs CD (the difference between Spotify Free on Xbox One S 160kbps vs red book is massive, even for a newbie like me). Zero DAC, NAD C326BEE, Monitor Audio BX2. Keep the awesome videos coming, even though I not sure how to feel about different sounding digital sources; I guess just enjoy the music at your budget 😀
I don't usually comment. The message that CDS are still a viable source for audiophiles is spot on. While I don't own a Hegel...I own a small footprint Marantz...CDS are to me a more enjoyable experience. I prefer to hold my product and build a physical library. Streaming seems more of a convenience for the self absorbed cell phone generation. Plus cds in general used or new have come way down in price. One can put together a sizable library for a fraction of the original cost from some years back in the audio marketplace world. Additionally I think CDS will have a resurgence similar to vinyl in a few years and when they do expect prices to soar. Thus building a library now is a sound investment.
I swear to cds. Have a large number of cds, and they have a small footsprint because I don't store them in cases, but in safe booklets. Just love them. Sound so great and has great dimension and depth.
I think the MP3 filled the need that non audiophiles had for ease of music discovery. Those who are truly sensitive to sounds, with perfect pitch, audiophiles continue to crave the “best” possible sound quality. Whatever that is, as it is highly subjective. What I always find fascinating about your videos, is how instructive they are, and how much fun you make gear discovery. Cheers brother
To my ears CDs are very musical compared to LPs and affordable. As an Audiophile who loves Classical Music, the catalog on ArkivMusic and Amazon is very extensive and a joy to find hundreds of wonderful forgotten composers that the public does not support in concert halls. Marantz SA10 and PS Audio Dac and Transport make unbelievable sound of upsampling to DSD at a middle of the road price point. John Darko is right ---- CDs are here to stay!
to people into music of a certain age cds are like family photographs , I'm never throwing either away. cds sound great , well worth the space they take up.
This is one important video, and one that I may produce myself in a few months. I’m just not sure how and when the Sound Quality of the digital disc playback format lost its respect in the world of Audiophilia , but no system I have had was ever without a Disc Player of some sort. You spoke in terms that, as you said…are the within the small details a High End Audiophile looks or better still “listens” for. Like “black” space, “wetness”. I grew up in the 60’s listening to vinyl…..I am as familiar with the sonic signature of vinyl as anyone. And when I listened to the first CD’s on my ADC Disc Player, through my Luxman Hybrid Integrated amp….I was instantly convinced in the superiority of the format. What I was hearing I knew was not possible for any Turntable Set-Up at any price!! I love any Music the great jazz pianist Bob James has to do with, and that’s a lot of collaborations!! That black space that allows the decay of the most gentle piano passages and any other instruments to fill is audibly holographic. I’ve always felt vinyl was on a “timeline” so to speak. But as you eluded CD playback just recreates music is “Liquid”….all instruments flowing all together, but separately. You very last line was the best I’ve ever heard you deliver!! And you could not be more right. The Bailey to hear the “wetness” of a horn being played, the dynamics…vinyl is simply not in the same league. The appeal to big expensive esoteric vinyl set-ups are appealing to many with deep pockets. But the reality is the Physical Limitations of vinyl are just that….a matter physics. It simply is not possible to achieve the sonic accuracy of Disc playback. This was mos-def one of your most important videos!! Well done!!
I have a big overbuilt Sony SACD player from a while back, and I swear it sounds better (more realistic) than playing the same tracks as lossless files. Never been able to put my finger on it, but been too scared of the backlash to ever mention it.
My DAC resamples all inputs to 24bit/384kHz. Dual differential DACs. There is virtually nil jitter regardless of source. You can feed it any nasty old CD/DVD player with horrible clock or USB from any computer - as long as it reads the 1s and 0s correctly it will sound as good as the transport the guy is using in this video.
Informative and thought provoking, I don't think you can ask for more from audiophile media. I can't bring myself to part with my CD collection, maybe it's time I dragged it out of storage and gave it new life! Cheers!
If you have any other high end hifi equipment sitting around dormant, I will happy take them of your hands. I won’t charge you for the service either 😏 For someone with a low budget system, I would be delighted to have some of your equipment. You are living the dream
Thumbs up. Being 41 I grew up in the era of the CD. In fact, my musical history is documented in 3 large Australian sized moving boxes of CD's (in storage). Thanks for the transport tips. Time to do some research, pull the trigger and relive my angsty teenage years.
i still have my dad’s technics five disc cd changer from the 90s and it works great to this day. love finding good used albums in the dollar section at a thrift store and still buy new cds from music stores and from amazon.
Thanks John. I agree about CD’s/SACD’s. So I picked up a PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player last month, one of the few still remaining on the market. I plan to add the DS DAC shortly. Sounds awesome!
Hi John. Thank you for another great video. I haven’t owned a “proper” CD player for years so connected a DVD player to my Chord Qutest and AVI ADM9.1 active speakers, and put on Haunted Dancehall by The Sabres of Paradise. I played the cd from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Coincidentally I have discovered the same phenomenon. I have put my tiny Schiit Modi multibit and Denon DCD-F101 back on my desk. My work area is littered with CDs and CD cases and my ears are better for it.
Living in the countryside has made me a little frustrated with unreliable download speeds for streaming. Perhaps I should get my Cyrus CDI and PSXR out of the garage for some uninterrupted listening.
Hi John, nice review! We've been led to believe by the "industry" that the higher resolution file formats sound better than redbook 16/44. As you discovered that simply isn't true. My system was setup for CD and my gear was purchased at the height of CD production. My 16/44 CDs sound "better" in my system and to my ears than my DSD files. And I'm not alone. I know it helps the manufacturers sell more gear but there are many people who have systems where their 16/44 simply outperforms all of the higher resolution file formats and set ups. And if you want to really have fun try adding a tube CD player. Thanks for the review, hope to meet you at AXPONA this year.
I remember when cd first appeared in the 1980's. They were considered a technical marvel. Everyone replaced all their existing tapes and vinyl with them.
Wow, quite the revelation! I primarily listen to streamed music, but still purchase CDs and use my Oppo as a source device (not as a transport) which is not network or Wi-Fi connected.
Very interesting information, I think cd’s or LP’s are great for entertainment. I never got rid of any of my music formats including cassettes or 45’s that I have collected even minidisc. It is great to hold something in your hands sit down and stand up. Yes, I have Spotify, it’s cool to listen in the car or on the go. If you have a great sound system plug all your formats and have fun. I can’t imagine if the internet goes down for few days and people relying on steaming will have a heart attack,...😂😂😂 I am with you I have a setup of speakers, receivers, CD players and turntables, cassette players, minidisc player around my house, just to listen music around the house.
Jose A Avellanet Jose, I’m with you. I have the same variations of music sources plus minidiscs with live taped music that I personally saw preformed live . And when / if the Internet goes down I still will enjoy great music and musicians.
100% agree 👍playing cd's in my Music Hall c-dac 15.3 cd player (which I use as a transport) connected to Holo Cyan Dac, is better than streaming Tidal. Only, lossless with Apple music just gets closer (as much as open, dynamic and more alive) to cd player most of the time. But still I prefer CDs more. I spent 50% my time with streaming, but continue with 20%vinyl and 30% CDs.
I'll take a CD over streaming or especially downloading any day, most I importantly because when your done with your cd, you can sell it for something where as the money you paid to stream or download is just gone.
I’m glad that you are talking about this John, because I’m not done with CDs by a long shot. The best player that I have ever heard is the Audio Research cd8, followed by the cd7. There are tubes inside and both sound magical with the cd8 being better with the upgraded power supply. On either of these you could listen for hours without fatigue, so I know what you are saying. The cd8 is the only player that I ever heard that made me put away vinyl for a week without missing it. So what you are saying John isn’t a fallacy, it’s a reality, especially on a revealing system.
Nice Review , in the 90s i had a top Lp12/ekos/troika combo which i loved , parked hifi for many years and got into the digital era in 2012. Experimented with Dacs/streamers (Weiss 202 ,Linn Akurate, chord hugo ,Mdac etc ) but kept coming back to my CD player .I purchased one of the last Naim CDS3(2012) paired with one of the last Naim 52(2002) Pre amps and this combo with a Dynavector power amp fed into Shahinian Ars sounds Fabulous , with warmth , dynamics , natural vocals , hard hitting bass and a soundstage to die for , i really cant see me changing my front end for at-least another decade , to sum up CD is definitely not dead and i will continue to buy as many as i can because currently they are as cheap as chips :)
I agree, CD can be very very good, having very recently picked up a Rotel RA-1412 amplifier, I currently have it Paired with a Rotel RCD-855 CD player, a pair of more modern Yamaha Soavo 3 speakers, and considering the amplifier is from around 1976, the cd player is from around 1991 and the speakers are 2008, I'm truly astonished with the sound I'm getting from this unlikely matching of components, everything sound just right, its turned out to be a very very revealing combination, with really great realism, at times, with a good live recording, you can close your eyes, and it really does seem that the band / musicians / singer are playing right in front of you, so, I really do agree that CD should never be overlooked, when you finally get a good matching setup, with well recorded albums on CD, you really can end up with an amazing sound.
I have been collecting CD’s since I was 7 years old and I now have over 300 CD’s today. I will never get rid of them because I like having a physical copy of my music. I don’t play them as much these days because I’m waiting to upgrade my system, going back to a traditional 2ch HiFi instead of a 7.1ch Dolby digital AVR. My current receiver doesn’t sound that great for 2ch music for some reason, so I have been finding myself listening to music on my headphones through my smartphone more these days. I just ordered my first piece of “audiophile” equipment and that’s the Audioquest DragonFly Black DAC/headphone amplifier. Can’t wait to hear how it sounds.
I started to rip my CDs and will get me an Innous Zen or Zenith Mark III in the future. But I will never sell my Einstein CD player. For analogue I don’t think I need an upgrade from a Rega P9 into an Einstein TTC preamp. Keep up the good work.
This a brilliant video like all of your output. Really enjoying each and everyone of them. I have learned a great deal from watching you and the quality of the videos is simply outstanding. A brilliant, informative and beautifully produced source of audiophile info which takes my mind away from the day job. Keep up the good work. Would love to see a review/comparison between the Naim Supernait and the Rega Aethos amps. Thanks again and take care.
Excellent points. Fabulous episode. I play Cd via a mac superdrive to MacBook with bitperfect installed that goes to a schitt dac. I am usually blown away at the sound.
I recently rediscovered CD playback with Cambridge Audio CXC through Schiit Modi Multibit. The CXC makes the difference over PC feed to the same DAC. CDs are great!
John, it’s not always easy to describe your own perception and translate it to someone else and hope they get your truth. Physical media has it’s place. I am old school. Grew up listening to 78s, 45s then 331/3 discs. I still record on reel to reel( Revox, Studer or Nagra), love my cassette tape recordings made off of vinyl or CDs. Physical media involves you into the experience of listening to what you love. Loving what we listen to is why we seek to hear it with clarity, detail and as you said, that wet quality. It involves you into and causes greater pleasure to come your way. It’s why we seek greater revealing equipment and media. Love of music regardless how it is described is our motivation. Stay safe my mates!😊👍🏻😷
Hi! love your take on different component, this time it was CD. Liked the video very much. Can you please do a video review on best buy CD player in Budget, Mid Range and Hi-End Segment. As always appreciate your time and effort to making this Videos. Keep it up... Cheers
I totally agree with your comments John. A well recorded CD is noticeably better than the same material played streamed. I am sure there must be a scientific explanation for this but, whatever it is, in my system at least the difference is quite clear. Fantastic commentary as usual, thank You.
I'm so glad someone agrees that cds do sound great. I'm 30 and obviously grew up with cds and I'm glad I kept Them all over the year. There's something about having a cd that I've listened a hundred or a thousand time over the year and rediscovering it on my hifi system. I've bought some friends collection too and pick cds for next to nothing at yard sale and goodwill. It's a hidden gem right now with the actual hype over vinyl IMO
First video I've watched of yours. Enjoyed it Thank You. It's always my fear, I don't want CD to sound better as I've banished my large CD collection to the garage on the insistence of my Fiancee! Roon and Tidal is just so convenient. I have a streaming NAD M12 and M22 V2 setup which I actually preferred to the Devialet Premier 220 and a few others. PS: PS Audio stuff is pretty sexy looking stuff!
Some 30 years ago, I discovered the importance of the digital source (compared with the DAC) when I swapped out my old CD player with digital output feeding my Wadia Digimaster DAC with an expensive Wadia transport. Total transformation. It amazed me then (still does, actually) that a piece of kit that is supposed to just output ones and zeros could make such a huge difference. Its not just the downstream processing. When we talk about digital audio, the source, not just the decoding, really matters. Just like with analogue audio.
At last! Someone said it, and it was you...CD IS STILL ALIVE!! Thank God! Everybody forgot it and stick on streaming and lossy or lossless files...OK, nice...but CDs still rule! Really interesting video, especially when 'storage space' & 'cost' entered into the CD Vs streaming comparison. A real good one John, thank you.
I never stopped buying CDs. I'm finished with vinyl and sold my Rega TT years ago. A mate of mine, who.listens only to vinyl, heard something familiar on my system a while ago and was amazed at how good it was. Then he realised he was listening to a CD.
I own a Bluesound Vault 2. It has changed my relationship to digital for the better for both stored CDs and streaming. I am now listening to records and digital almost 50/50.
Very interesting, thanks for all the thoughtfulness that went into this. With my Chord Mojo+Poly, I've often suspected that a network degradation effect, perhaps parallel to what you suggest here, could be responsible for how much more I enjoy listening to CD rips off the internal microSD card than streaming the same CD rip via Roon over WiFi. (Though I don't have the technical expertise to know how far that parallel goes to what you're discussing.) Meanwhile, however, I also can't help wondering if the observations here might be ready for reconsideration soon-perhaps as soon as later this year-once the currently emerging crop of audiophile network switches is fully in play.
I love having and buying CDs, for the same reason as vinyl. They tell a story as to where you were in your life when you bought and listened to them(with enjoyment), they mark a certain time in your life, your history, so to speak, that you will ALWAYS have fond memories of. Listening to them now can bring you back to that euphoric past, especially when you're not in such a great place while listening to them now. Those recordings can be uplifting, something "streaming" will never do for you. You need those "hard files" at your disposal to make you feel better right this second, the second you hear that favorite song from that favorite album. Streaming will never give this glee (at the moment you need it most, NEVER EVER)!
Plastic Man!? OMG, I'd totally forgot about Plastic Man! I think you and I share the same taste in music, especially electronic music. Definitely refreshing to see an audiophile with similar taste. You are quickly becoming my go-to for youtube audio content.
Streaming is an amazing feat, I am streaming music on my NAS back home to my iPhone while in a hotel overseas in another country and the music is coming through with no issue. But prefer buying music on CD and playing the music via a CD player. CD is a keeper and it sounds great, oh and new is half the price of vinyl for me.
Hi John, excellent video. I think the engineers had a good control of a CD player quality because everything was in one box. In digital environment, it's very easy to have something altering the sound quality. I recently added a industrial-quality Cisco switch in my audio system, and that lifted a veil there was... WTF ? a switch ? I think it may be more expensive to reach the same level of quality with a digital system, because you need to have ALL your elements of good quality. No bottleneck. You seem to like the sound of Hegel. I had H300 amp before, and swapped it for a Accuphase. I can now describe the differences. The Hegel sound is DARKER. The Accuphase has a more fruity medium. As I listen a lot to classical music I prefer the Accuphase. But I guess the guitar of Mark Knopfler would sound more attractive on the HEGEL. Enjoy your day.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 85 | คู่เอก "ยอดเหล็กเพชร vs ผึ้งหลวง"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qq_19bnnxEo/mqdefault.jpg)
![[LIVE] นาทีนี้ต้องพี่ทนาย | ทนายแก้ว vs ทนายไพศาล | #คุยให้เด็กมันฟัง EP.47 (02/11/67)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HmquaO-PL_M/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for giving a shout out to the poor beat upon CD. Ever since it was introduced back in the early 80's which is when I got my first CD player, an Hitachi DA-500 and I immediately fell in love with the format. 35 years and 1000's of CD's later I still love the media. Thank you for dedicating a video to this format!
I think this is a really, really good video. I had to watch and listen to it 4 times, plus skipping back to listen to portions of it even more. I am no expert or audiophile, just a casual music lover who has spent the past 15 years confused, frustrated and excited post vinyl and CD. Watching this video and then revisiting it after many others (plus some visits to my local audio shops) I finally feel like I know what’s going on now and where things are heading and are likely to settle. John Darko is perhaps the best modern day, non Jazz and Classical audiophile reviewer out there. Thanks John, if you’re reading this post. Excellent TH-cam channel. Keep up the brilliant work during these exciting and confusing times for music consumption and enjoyment.
Never threw my CDs, knowing I'll eventually come back to them. Same with my LPs and DVDs. Physical media, yeah!
Informative. Thnx. I am one who will not ditch my 1400+ cds. CD sound is good with a high quality player. Not all engineered recordings sound great as we all know. But having the music on hand matters. Very convenient and enjoyable when wanted.
CDs sound good even in the old school portable CD players. I use them all the time with audiophile headphones and they sound fantastic. Very low noise, excellent amplification, don't even need a headphone amp.
Wonderful Mr Darko, always enjoy waking up in the morning and seeing a new DarkoAudio video. Enjoy it with my coffee and then grab a playlist for my drive to work. You made me appreciate my CD collection from the 80's even more. Thanks
CD's may just be the optimal way to do digital audio. 16 bit and 44.1 is way better than any human being can hear which is exactly why that number was chosen in the first place, and it's not ludicrously oversized, data-wise. In fact, that "glare" (though the word kind of rubs me the wrong way, as do many audiophile terms) may well be the audible byproduct of all the stuff over 20KHz that pollutes the 32/96 or 32/192 material. The theory says that the inaudible stuff - which is useless for us - can actually cause detrimental effects in the audible spectrum, which is a moronic tradeoff.
The only problem is that the mastering engineers out there in the world making CD's should basically all be lined up and shot as a warning to the next generation, considering how they compress all the recorded music now. There is literally the minimal possible dynamic range in any mainstream recording, including digital files like FLAC, which is a bloody tragedy. The CD format is capable of some pretty excellent dynamic range and sound quality, but in the name of the holy loudness war, they're turning the music into useless mush where a drum is as loud and impactful - as a flute...
Extremely underrated comment right here. Especially the part about mastering. But, to be fair, it's mostly the label's fault, not the engineers.
And if it wasn't bad enough, the new high-res trend, (which, as you've stated, is just useless extra noise) is just adding insult to injury, plus more injury...
A CD in the HDCD-format, like Mike Oldfields Amarok, is so good so you never even think about needing anything better.
I've recently gone back to listening to CDs directly because I'm fed up of apps, computers and TV screens. I just want to get home, plonk a CD in without distractions and listen to music. I was surprised how good CDs sound. To be fair the medium is really good and it comes down to how much care was lavished during the mastering process as to how the same piece of music sounds on CD vs a hi res download or SACD. That said, even on my modest system the 24 bit 96kHz and above files I have, present a ridiculously rock solid sound stage compared to 16 bit 44.1kHz audio from any source.
exactly! CDs are so distraction free right? I have it right beside my computer, but if I have the disc I'll use it in a transport fed into my dac because I'd rather just put the disc in and pressing play than dealing with windows pop-ups, changing audio sources in windows, picking player that may (or may not) play that disc and THEN press play. The difference in terms of extra steps is small, sure, but the experience overall just feels more purposeful and streamlined.
Great video John as always..... but please don’t tell everyone how good cd’s sound or the charity shop prices will go up from 50p an album ;)
I think that prices already went up 20+ % i last year or so :( I've being buying mostly used ones via eBay & Amazon and I can tell that it's getting more and more expensive.
Buying charity shop CDs in 2019 is like crate digging for vinyl was in the 90s.
ha ha, agreed. u r just spot on.
It is a golden age for buying CDs as few people want them, but for us in the know it is great to be buying such quality for very little.
Fintan O Brien Well, here in the Netherlands, CD’s are clearly rapidly increasing in price used! Still.. I bought CD’s for 50 to 85 cents each (really good ones, not the horrors that everyone leaves behind)..
I just got back into CD's, I had a few hundred stored away. Bought a cheap transport and have been amazed since. Yes I like vinyl and have albums but far more CD's. I had forgotten what I was missing
All you need is a dac!day! Yeah!
Finally somebody has said this. I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for another absolutely wonderful video.
CDs are the cheapest they've ever been. Ill be scooping up as many as I can.
But majority of the reissues on CD have a bad remaster. It is hard to find a quality original sounding release. Second-hand CD`s? Not for me. Vinyl yes, bot not a CD.
I was going crazy buying those DG anniversary boxes these days... also got the 50 CD The DECCA Sound box for 38 bucks, wtf :) Very first thing, I copy them to my NAS as WAV files...
@@peterregorsek1504 That's ridiculous. CDs are much safer to buy used! They are turning and rising in value again too.
Reminds me of Vinyl people getting rid of that right and left. People will discover It really is a very good audio format. It's uncompressed and delivers the full range of sound
Scoop up all the brickwalled crap, it's a relieve to others who don't like brickwalling.
I love this. CDs are the best value.
Finally someone talks about the CDs. For the past 3 years or maybe more I’ve been reading and hearing about Vinyl. I’ve been buying used vinyl too. I mean I like vinyl because it represents the history of how things were made and of course how did they sound in the 50s, 60s, 70s and the some part of the 80s but that’s the only aspect of vinyl I enjoy. Maybe some recordings were poorly mastered on CDs and they sound better on there original medium which is vinyl, I get it. But If you WANT to own something in a digital world like ours, and that something was recorded digitally there nothing better than a CD.
The audio quality can be extremely high just like the Chesky records CDs or other audiophile labels. So the conclusion is simple really : CDs can sound fantastic, and if they don’t, the recording is to blame not the medium.
Yeah TH-cam is full of vinyl dedicated channel. I guess many just buy vinyl and Want to be in fashion couse vinyl isn't better than CD ( of course CD player on good HiFi not on computer drive or shit dvd player )
Well said closing statement "audiophiles should ignore CDs at their peril". Thank you.
When you improve your front end sources, it makes perfect sense that your level of enjoyment increases. What these improvements offer varies, but sometimes we can get too caught up in one aspect of our listening. Rediscovering what any media has to offer matters a great deal. In high end audio especially, chasing those very important incremental changes, nuances, is all part of each person’s journey. It’s also important to realize what matters to each of us as to what is really important in bringing each of us that level of joy we get from our systems. The quality of the source matters. In the media itself and the hardware, if both or either is lacking in their quality, it deters our enjoyment of that experience. Only we can determine what our level of involvement is and that determines, along with our wallet, what we can achieve. We need to acquire that level as best we can given our means. There are many sources that can allow us to achieve our goal. There are always going to be problems to solve. Storing of our media is going to be an issue also. The greater the number of sources, the larger the space requirements will be. If we focus our efforts on what makes us happy regardless of what our source material is, we will be better off in our journey in this hobby. Sometimes we need to weed out the things that produce that less than ideal experience whether it is a bad recording or a piece of equipment that decreases your pleasure. This reduction of clutter will open up space and reduce the waste in your media and in your system. This should help increase your enjoyment in that system and your media. You did a very good job of explaining what I already knew. Your words are far more eloquent than mine. I agree about the CD player/DAC compared to the media streaming. What the physical players and media bring to the table maybe only fractionally better, but it is about fractions in high end! Nuances matter to each one. My money is on the media, transports and dacs. Let the people who stream keep streaming. I prefer the direct methods that yield the more pleasurable results. Go CDs! Never thought I would be doing that, hailing CDs!
Long live to the CD. It's an amazing format, with outstanding sound quality.
Great video. Loved the radiohead nod. Can’t agree more... cds are still very relevant.
Brilliant . At last the truth, cds are fantastic ,great video
It made complete sense to me. I’m a recent PS Audio DirectStream convert. However, before the Directstream, I used an Oppo BDP 95 in my 2 channel system. Though most of my CDs are in the basement, after having been ripped to an Aurender, I have several hundred SACDs and superior quality Red Book CDs within a hands reach from my setup. I’ve never given up on CDs and I identify with the ‘different’ sound and feel. To be frank with you, I oftentimes prefer SACD through the PS Audio transport and DAC to DSD through the same DAC. In their articulation of what’s on the disk, the SACDs, through the Directstream, seem to take much greater advantage of the sonic capabilities of my system.
If music is the drug, I really don't care much about the delivery system; as long as I get my fix.
CDs deliver on the cheap, and continue to be a viable option for the masses.
Nothing wrong with that.
John-- THANK YOU! I just listened to Weld after seeing this and it is now one of my all time favorites. So incrediblee, thank you for getting me into Neil
Proudly 🇳🇴
Goodonyamate... Brilliant review and a real eye opener, I am also taking out my CD collection now and putting my legacy Denon DCD 2560 tank of CD player back in commision 😀
Just like there are albums that never got put out on CD, there are CDs that will never be put out on vinyl.
I have a library in my city (it's free) , it has almost every CD I could ever want... Amazing! Check out your local library and save money 😊
Ohhh boy. Thanks. A year ago I was close to throw all my cd’s away........ now they might get pulled out of the basement ! Love the approach to Hifi
Almost.."Throw all my cd's away"....glad you came to your senses.
I am really feeling my age now, CD to me is still the standard or the norm. I am based in HK and I am still complaining that HMV finally closed down at the end of last year. This is not just a music thing, all the big book shops (which also sold CDs) have long closed down too with places like Borders in Singapore or Page One in Hong Kong.
Basically, absolutely everything is revolved around the smartphone platform these days. I don't like it, may be because I was a late smartphone adopter myself. My point is if everything is done via your Samsung or iPhone now, then quite frankly you don't need to step out of the house at all. I miss the days of auditioning CDs or talking to knowledgeable staff at certain CD shops and being recommended on acid jazz imports which I love. Also, it is nice to have something tangible and physical to hold on to as you listen to your new music, you read about the album on CD covers or even sing along to the lyrics if you feel like it.
Going back to the tech, I am glad that hi-res music is still very limited because I am not there yet. I am still listening to my CDs. But, I know just like smartphones, I will have to get to it at some point...
Your reviews are like a breath of fresh air. Always enjoyed the sound of a well recorded cd over high res streaming
I totally agree. I recently compared the Hegel CD and the ZenITH Mk3. The Innuos is incredible for the money but the Hegel takes it for naturalness and 3d space. This includes cd vs hi res files too, not just against cd rips.
Nice to see some praise for physical media. Too much emphasis on streaming these days. As an affordable CD transport I would suggest a Cambridge CXC with a good DAC. CD sales still many times vinyl, so far from a dead format.
As stated the CXC is a very good transport without going bankrupt. I have it in mind while investigating others out there.
I still buy cds and i like it.Last week i bouhgt ritchie blackmore's rainbow.
I have over 600 CDs and love their sound. I have always preferred having something I can hold (and eventually pass on) and not have to pay for something every time I want to listen to something. Storage is no problem real and You have something you can read and refer to should you need it.
no matter how many times i plug in my connects, i can never get them to do that flashy thing your kit shows.
when I looked this for the first time, then after that I've bought myself cd player again and a big pile of cd disks
Agreed, John!
. Uncompressed and high resolution digital audio, along with a well-designed DAC, is absolutely awesome... to me. It is amazing how the mechanics of the physical part of writing and reading digital data impacts the quality of a real-time digital file process. It was a revelation, some 20 years ago, when Craig Anderton mentioned to a group I was in that he had noticed how much less jitter he had in recording at 196KHz and mixing down to 96KHz or 44.1KHz. There was no extra audio dynamics or frequency added (obviously), but the percentage of jitter in a sample period was reduced by a factor of the rate reduction from the source frequency. The same happens during playback. That is just the digital transport!
Finally, an audiophile who recognizes that differences are not huge (i.e. Mickey Mouse record player to a mid fi system) but these differences are very important to the audiophile. A good video. I have another reason to hang on to CD's or vinyl, the music. What I want to listen to is right here on this media, I do not have to go buy it again when I get the yen to listen to a particular song.. In the end, the goal is to find pleasure in an artist performance, not how it got from the performance to my ears. Otherwise said, I am hear to listen to the concert and want to ignore the equipment.
Yep I'm buying a lot of CDs. Ever since I found my Philips CD-80 for 10 bucks at a thrift store I've been buying so many CDs that I can't stop. Help!
hi john new to channel and new to this audio world,after watching video this is exactly my thoughts about keeping discs,i love vinyl but since buying my musical fidelity a1 cd pro,ive went back to disc,im still not stopping buying vinyl,its nice to have both,great video
It's my belief that the optical disc was one of most important inventions of the 20th century,
be it for music, movies, or data. By 1980, the analog vinyl medium had pretty much outlived its
usefulness. The music world was being digitalized, Ry Cooder's "Bop Til You Drop" and Fleetwood Mac's
"Tusk" were both digitally recorded and released in 1979. The problem was, that there weren't any
consumer affordable digital hardware or software available to enjoy such early albums. Enter Sony/Philips
and the Red Book CD. From lowly compact audio discs to Ultra Blu-ray, the optical disc has served us well.
Why boomers born in '50s who enjoyed vinyl albums in the '60s & '70s, then went to CDs and now choose
to regress to vinyl, is beyond me. Most will argue that sonically vinyl is superior, that's just nuts. How can
they tell; their ears are sixty+ years old. Nostalgia apparently dies harder for some than others. Yada.
I think you got it John, simplicity, state of art approach to electronics and ultimately how we want close to source performance solution, no matter the format bickering.
Appreciated your critique and ethics.
Hello from Melbourne! I suspect CDs will go throughout a revival like vinyl in 5 years. I recently got a very entry level tt (ProJect Elemental, OM5e) to play parents records from 70s and 80s, and while it’s a lovely experience to play vinyl (favs are Let It Be, DSoTM, Elvis haha) CDs are just so good for quality music. But Spotify is great for access to any song you want, it’s just obviously poor quality vs CD (the difference between Spotify Free on Xbox One S 160kbps vs red book is massive, even for a newbie like me). Zero DAC, NAD C326BEE, Monitor Audio BX2. Keep the awesome videos coming, even though I not sure how to feel about different sounding digital sources; I guess just enjoy the music at your budget 😀
Great video! But...Don't let people know how good CD's sound because then I won't be able to buy them as cheap as I do now. : )
I don't usually comment. The message that CDS are still a viable source for audiophiles is spot on. While I don't own a Hegel...I own a small footprint Marantz...CDS are to me a more enjoyable experience. I prefer to hold my product and build a physical library.
Streaming seems more of a convenience for the self absorbed cell phone generation.
Plus cds in general used or new have come way down in price. One can put together a sizable library for a fraction of the original cost from some years back in the audio marketplace world.
Additionally I think CDS will have a resurgence similar to vinyl in a few years and when they do expect prices to soar. Thus building a library now is a sound investment.
I swear to cds. Have a large number of cds, and they have a small footsprint because I don't store them in cases, but in safe booklets. Just love them. Sound so great and has great dimension and depth.
Almost 50k subscribers ! Dang hard work you put in is paying off ! You do a great job !
😆
I think the MP3 filled the need that non audiophiles had for ease of music discovery.
Those who are truly sensitive to sounds, with perfect pitch, audiophiles continue to crave the “best” possible sound quality. Whatever that is, as it is highly subjective.
What I always find fascinating about your videos, is how instructive they are, and how much fun you make gear discovery.
Cheers brother
Most audio enthusiast wouldb't use MP3's. My collection is FLAC, Tidal Hifi, and I have about 1000 CDs but lack a decent CD player.
Today I bought 40 CDs for 20€ because of this video. Thanks John! 😁
To my ears CDs are very musical compared to LPs and affordable. As an Audiophile who loves Classical Music, the catalog on ArkivMusic and Amazon is very extensive and a joy to find hundreds of wonderful forgotten composers that the public does not support in concert halls. Marantz SA10 and PS Audio Dac and Transport make unbelievable sound of upsampling to DSD at a middle of the road price point. John Darko is right ---- CDs are here to stay!
to people into music of a certain age cds are like family photographs , I'm never throwing either away. cds sound great , well worth the space they take up.
This is one important video, and one that I may produce myself in a few months. I’m just not sure how and when the Sound Quality of the digital disc playback format lost its respect in the world of Audiophilia , but no system I have had was ever without a Disc Player of some sort. You spoke in terms that, as you said…are the within the small details a High End Audiophile looks or better still “listens” for. Like “black” space, “wetness”. I grew up in the 60’s listening to vinyl…..I am as familiar with the sonic signature of vinyl as anyone. And when I listened to the first CD’s on my ADC Disc Player, through my Luxman Hybrid Integrated amp….I was instantly convinced in the superiority of the format. What I was hearing I knew was not possible for any Turntable Set-Up at any price!! I love any Music the great jazz pianist Bob James has to do with, and that’s a lot of collaborations!! That black space that allows the decay of the most gentle piano passages and any other instruments to fill is audibly holographic. I’ve always felt vinyl was on a “timeline” so to speak. But as you eluded CD playback just recreates music is “Liquid”….all instruments flowing all together, but separately. You very last line was the best I’ve ever heard you deliver!! And you could not be more right. The Bailey to hear the “wetness” of a horn being played, the dynamics…vinyl is simply not in the same league. The appeal to big expensive esoteric vinyl set-ups are appealing to many with deep pockets. But the reality is the Physical Limitations of vinyl are just that….a matter physics. It simply is not possible to achieve the sonic accuracy of Disc playback. This was mos-def one of your most important videos!! Well done!!
I have a big overbuilt Sony SACD player from a while back, and I swear it sounds better (more realistic) than playing the same tracks as lossless files. Never been able to put my finger on it, but been too scared of the backlash to ever mention it.
What model do you have?
the truth at last! cd players sound better than computers or streamers because they were made to play music
My DAC resamples all inputs to 24bit/384kHz. Dual differential DACs. There is virtually nil jitter regardless of source. You can feed it any nasty old CD/DVD player with horrible clock or USB from any computer - as long as it reads the 1s and 0s correctly it will sound as good as the transport the guy is using in this video.
That is what I found out repeatedly. The overall sound is better with a CD compared to a “good” stream.
Informative and thought provoking, I don't think you can ask for more from audiophile media. I can't bring myself to part with my CD collection, maybe it's time I dragged it out of storage and gave it new life! Cheers!
If you have any other high end hifi equipment sitting around dormant, I will happy take them of your hands. I won’t charge you for the service either 😏
For someone with a low budget system, I would be delighted to have some of your equipment. You are living the dream
Still rocking my Naim CD 3.5 on a daily basis I love it. My dad has a Naim streamer and so I grab his CDs after he rips them.
Fascinating and as always "brilliant". Certainly has made me think.
That's the idea: to make people think.
Thumbs up. Being 41 I grew up in the era of the CD. In fact, my musical history is documented in 3 large Australian sized moving boxes of CD's (in storage). Thanks for the transport tips. Time to do some research, pull the trigger and relive my angsty teenage years.
Great review and analysis. Really like the small touches, like flashing the inputs, etc. (add one subscriber)
i still have my dad’s technics five disc cd changer from the 90s and it works great to this day. love finding good used albums in the dollar section at a thrift store and still buy new cds from music stores and from amazon.
Thanks John. I agree about CD’s/SACD’s. So I picked up a PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player last month, one of the few still remaining on the market. I plan to add the DS DAC shortly. Sounds awesome!
CDs are sonically superior compared to other formats. Thanks for confirming it!
Great work on this video! So very interesting. I was glued to it from beginning to end.
Hi John. Thank you for another great video. I haven’t owned a “proper” CD player for years so connected a DVD player to my Chord Qutest and AVI ADM9.1 active speakers, and put on Haunted Dancehall by The Sabres of Paradise. I played the cd from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Haunted Dancehall? That's a great album!
Coincidentally I have discovered the same phenomenon. I have put my tiny Schiit Modi multibit and Denon DCD-F101 back on my desk. My work area is littered with CDs and CD cases and my ears are better for it.
Living in the countryside has made me a little frustrated with unreliable download speeds for streaming. Perhaps I should get my Cyrus CDI and PSXR out of the garage for some uninterrupted listening.
One of your best reviews so far. Thanks!
Hi John, nice review! We've been led to believe by the "industry" that the higher resolution file formats sound better than redbook 16/44. As you discovered that simply isn't true. My system was setup for CD and my gear was purchased at the height of CD production. My 16/44 CDs sound "better" in my system and to my ears than my DSD files. And I'm not alone. I know it helps the manufacturers sell more gear but there are many people who have systems where their 16/44 simply outperforms all of the higher resolution file formats and set ups. And if you want to really have fun try adding a tube CD player. Thanks for the review, hope to meet you at AXPONA this year.
I remember when cd first appeared in the 1980's. They were considered a technical marvel. Everyone replaced all their existing tapes and vinyl with them.
Wow, quite the revelation! I primarily listen to streamed music, but still purchase CDs and use my Oppo as a source device (not as a transport) which is not network or Wi-Fi connected.
Really hitting your stride John, content and editing have you pulling away from the pack.
Very interesting information, I think cd’s or LP’s are great for entertainment. I never got rid of any of my music formats including cassettes or 45’s that I have collected even minidisc. It is great to hold something in your hands sit down and stand up. Yes, I have Spotify, it’s cool to listen in the car or on the go. If you have a great sound system plug all your formats and have fun. I can’t imagine if the internet goes down for few days and people relying on steaming will have a heart attack,...😂😂😂 I am with you I have a setup of speakers, receivers, CD players and turntables, cassette players, minidisc player around my house, just to listen music around the house.
Jose A Avellanet
Jose, I’m with you. I have the same variations of music sources plus minidiscs with live taped music that I personally saw preformed live . And when / if the Internet goes down I still will enjoy great music and musicians.
100% agree 👍playing cd's in my Music Hall c-dac 15.3 cd player (which I use as a transport) connected to Holo Cyan Dac, is better than streaming Tidal. Only, lossless with Apple music just gets closer (as much as open, dynamic and more alive) to cd player most of the time. But still I prefer CDs more. I spent 50% my time with streaming, but continue with 20%vinyl and 30% CDs.
I still buy many CD's. It's a great time to buy used!
I'll take a CD over streaming or especially downloading any day, most I importantly because when your done with your cd, you can sell it for something where as the money you paid to stream or download is just gone.
I’m glad that you are talking about this John, because I’m not done with CDs by a long shot. The best player that I have ever heard is the Audio Research cd8, followed by the cd7. There are tubes inside and both sound magical with the cd8 being better with the upgraded power supply. On either of these you could listen for hours without fatigue, so I know what you are saying. The cd8 is the only player that I ever heard that made me put away vinyl for a week without missing it. So what you are saying John isn’t a fallacy, it’s a reality, especially on a revealing system.
Nice Review , in the 90s i had a top Lp12/ekos/troika combo which i loved , parked hifi for many years and got into the digital era in 2012. Experimented with Dacs/streamers (Weiss 202 ,Linn Akurate, chord hugo ,Mdac etc ) but kept coming back to my CD player .I purchased one of the last Naim CDS3(2012) paired with one of the last Naim 52(2002) Pre amps and this combo with a Dynavector power amp fed into Shahinian Ars sounds Fabulous , with warmth , dynamics , natural vocals , hard hitting bass and a soundstage to die for , i really cant see me changing my front end for at-least another decade , to sum up CD is definitely not dead and i will continue to buy as many as i can because currently they are as cheap as chips :)
I agree, CD can be very very good, having very recently picked up a Rotel RA-1412 amplifier, I currently have it Paired with a Rotel RCD-855 CD player, a pair of more modern Yamaha Soavo 3 speakers, and considering the amplifier is from around 1976, the cd player is from around 1991 and the speakers are 2008, I'm truly astonished with the sound I'm getting from this unlikely matching of components, everything sound just right, its turned out to be a very very revealing combination, with really great realism, at times, with a good live recording, you can close your eyes, and it really does seem that the band / musicians / singer are playing right in front of you, so, I really do agree that CD should never be overlooked, when you finally get a good matching setup, with well recorded albums on CD, you really can end up with an amazing sound.
I'm glad you still have the Kill three! 😍👍
I have been collecting CD’s since I was 7 years old and I now have over 300 CD’s today. I will never get rid of them because I like having a physical copy of my music. I don’t play them as much these days because I’m waiting to upgrade my system, going back to a traditional 2ch HiFi instead of a 7.1ch Dolby digital AVR. My current receiver doesn’t sound that great for 2ch music for some reason, so I have been finding myself listening to music on my headphones through my smartphone more these days. I just ordered my first piece of “audiophile” equipment and that’s the Audioquest DragonFly Black DAC/headphone amplifier. Can’t wait to hear how it sounds.
Ben Krake please tell us if you can hear a difference
I started to rip my CDs and will get me an Innous Zen or Zenith Mark III in the future. But I will never sell my Einstein CD player.
For analogue I don’t think I need an upgrade from a Rega P9 into an Einstein TTC preamp.
Keep up the good work.
This a brilliant video like all of your output. Really enjoying each and everyone of them.
I have learned a great deal from watching you and the quality of the videos is simply outstanding. A brilliant, informative and beautifully produced source of audiophile info which takes my mind away from the day job.
Keep up the good work. Would love to see a review/comparison between the Naim Supernait and the Rega Aethos amps.
Thanks again and take care.
Excellent points. Fabulous episode. I play Cd via a mac superdrive to MacBook with bitperfect installed that goes to a schitt dac. I am usually blown away at the sound.
I recently rediscovered CD playback with Cambridge Audio CXC through Schiit Modi Multibit. The CXC makes the difference over PC feed to the same DAC. CDs are great!
It has a Sanyo disc transport, and an AKM AK4490 32-bit digital-to-analog converter to decode the 16/44.1 CD data without upsampling.
John, it’s not always easy to describe your own perception and translate it to someone else and hope they get your truth. Physical media has it’s place. I am old school. Grew up listening to 78s, 45s then 331/3 discs. I still record on reel to reel( Revox, Studer or Nagra), love my cassette tape recordings made off of vinyl or CDs. Physical media involves you into the experience of listening to what you love. Loving what we listen to is why we seek to hear it with clarity, detail and as you said, that wet quality. It involves you into and causes greater pleasure to come your way. It’s why we seek greater revealing equipment and media. Love of music regardless how it is described is our motivation. Stay safe my mates!😊👍🏻😷
Hi! love your take on different component, this time it was CD. Liked the video very much. Can you please do a video review on best buy CD player in Budget, Mid Range and Hi-End Segment. As always appreciate your time and effort to making this Videos. Keep it up... Cheers
Meeraj Sarkar agree, i think best buy video would be very interesting
I totally agree with your comments John.
A well recorded CD is noticeably better than the same material played streamed.
I am sure there must be a scientific explanation for this but, whatever it is, in my system at least the difference is quite clear.
Fantastic commentary as usual, thank You.
I'm so glad someone agrees that cds do sound great. I'm 30 and obviously grew up with cds and I'm glad I kept Them all over the year. There's something about having a cd that I've listened a hundred or a thousand time over the year and rediscovering it on my hifi system. I've bought some friends collection too and pick cds for next to nothing at yard sale and goodwill. It's a hidden gem right now with the actual hype over vinyl IMO
First video I've watched of yours. Enjoyed it Thank You. It's always my fear, I don't want CD to sound better as I've banished my large CD collection to the garage on the insistence of my Fiancee! Roon and Tidal is just so convenient. I have a streaming NAD M12 and M22 V2 setup which I actually preferred to the Devialet Premier 220 and a few others. PS: PS Audio stuff is pretty sexy looking stuff!
Some 30 years ago, I discovered the importance of the digital source (compared with the DAC) when I swapped out my old CD player with digital output feeding my Wadia Digimaster DAC with an expensive Wadia transport. Total transformation. It amazed me then (still does, actually) that a piece of kit that is supposed to just output ones and zeros could make such a huge difference. Its not just the downstream processing. When we talk about digital audio, the source, not just the decoding, really matters. Just like with analogue audio.
At last! Someone said it, and it was you...CD IS STILL ALIVE!! Thank God! Everybody forgot it and stick on streaming and lossy or lossless files...OK, nice...but CDs still rule! Really interesting video, especially when 'storage space' & 'cost' entered into the CD Vs streaming comparison. A real good one John, thank you.
I love my cds….there's definitely a place for them in an audio system.....but DAMN!!!....Not on top of the turntable dustcover!!!! :-)
I never stopped buying CDs. I'm finished with vinyl and sold my Rega TT years ago. A mate of mine, who.listens only to vinyl, heard something familiar on my system a while ago and was amazed at how good it was. Then he realised he was listening to a CD.
The synths sounds you've used in this video are sublime
I own a Bluesound Vault 2. It has changed my relationship to digital for the better for both stored CDs and streaming. I am now listening to records and digital almost 50/50.
Very interesting, thanks for all the thoughtfulness that went into this. With my Chord Mojo+Poly, I've often suspected that a network degradation effect, perhaps parallel to what you suggest here, could be responsible for how much more I enjoy listening to CD rips off the internal microSD card than streaming the same CD rip via Roon over WiFi. (Though I don't have the technical expertise to know how far that parallel goes to what you're discussing.) Meanwhile, however, I also can't help wondering if the observations here might be ready for reconsideration soon-perhaps as soon as later this year-once the currently emerging crop of audiophile network switches is fully in play.
I love having and buying CDs, for the same reason as vinyl. They tell a story as to where you were in your life when you bought and listened to them(with enjoyment), they mark a certain time in your life, your history, so to speak, that you will ALWAYS have fond memories of. Listening to them now can bring you back to that euphoric past, especially when you're not in such a great place while listening to them now. Those recordings can be uplifting, something "streaming" will never do for you. You need those "hard files" at your disposal to make you feel better right this second, the second you hear that favorite song from that favorite album. Streaming will never give this glee (at the moment you need it most, NEVER EVER)!
Plastic Man!? OMG, I'd totally forgot about Plastic Man! I think you and I share the same taste in music, especially electronic music. Definitely refreshing to see an audiophile with similar taste. You are quickly becoming my go-to for youtube audio content.
Couldn't agree with you more and with the low prices of CD's at the moment collecting them has become a bit of an obsession!
Streaming is an amazing feat, I am streaming music on my NAS back home to my iPhone while in a hotel overseas in another country and the music is coming through with no issue. But prefer buying music on CD and playing the music via a CD player. CD is a keeper and it sounds great, oh and new is half the price of vinyl for me.
We have seen the same with UHD on physical media. Huge difference vs streaming of supposedly the same content.
That's just a silly comparison. The streaming equivalent of UHD is significantly different in the most basic form, specifically bitrate.
Hi John, excellent video. I think the engineers had a good control of a CD player quality because everything was in one box. In digital environment, it's very easy to have something altering the sound quality. I recently added a industrial-quality Cisco switch in my audio system, and that lifted a veil there was... WTF ? a switch ? I think it may be more expensive to reach the same level of quality with a digital system, because you need to have ALL your elements of good quality. No bottleneck.
You seem to like the sound of Hegel. I had H300 amp before, and swapped it for a Accuphase. I can now describe the differences. The Hegel sound is DARKER. The Accuphase has a more fruity medium. As I listen a lot to classical music I prefer the Accuphase. But I guess the guitar of Mark Knopfler would sound more attractive on the HEGEL.
Enjoy your day.