Best Universal player?

[ksrigg]

Is the Onix CD player at the top of the heap in terms of sound quality? How does it compare to other top of the line Universal Players, like the Oppo BDP-95 or 105? What represents the sweet spot for digital sources. I think that perhaps a thousand dollar Oppo might be overkill if you can get close to the quality of sound with a $100.00 player and perhaps an external DAC.

Just wondering what everyone else is thinking. I think we are pretty much at the pinnacle of amplification with the WOPL and also with the Klipsch KHorn as the speaker. What is the choice source?

I'd love to know what everyone is using and where they lie in relation to amps and speakers..

And then we need to nail down premaps, but I'm pretty happy with the Phase Linear 3300 Ser II that Lee built..

 

[BlazeES]

Is the Onix CD player at the top of the heap in terms of sound quality? How does it compare to other top of the line Universal Players, like the Oppo BDP-95 or 105? What represents the sweet spot for digital sources. I think that perhaps a thousand dollar Oppo might be overkill if you can get close to the quality of sound with a $100.00 player and perhaps an external DAC.

Just wondering what everyone else is thinking. I think we are pretty much at the pinnacle of amplification with the WOPL and also with the Klipsch KHorn as the speaker. What is the choice source?

I'd love to know what everyone is using and where they lie in relation to amps and speakers..

And then we need to nail down premaps, but I'm pretty happy with the Phase Linear 3300 Ser II that Lee built..

Oppo 103 spoken here !
Does it all and doesn't break the bank.

 

[Lazarus Short]

I'd love to know what everyone is using and where they lie in relation to amps and speakers..

Laz's main system:

source - Sony Blu-Ray player (but having doubts about it)

preamp - Acoustat PR2

power amps - Aiwa P30 (bridged to mono - poor man's monoblocks)

speakers - Vandersteen 2C

It sounds awesome to Laz, and that's all that counts.

 

[fitz43]

It sounds awesome to Laz, and that's all that counts.

Definitely!

 

[orange]

Laserdisc players, a Pioneer DVD player and my DVD drives in the computers.

Never even seen a Blu-Ray player in action, much less in person. I'm barely a DVD user.

 

[ksrigg]

I am still toying with external DAC's. I bought the HiFimeDIY mini Sabre, and it sounds really good with a cheap 7" Android tablet.

I wish I knew more about the new FLAC and other hi-rez formats, and about asynchronous and DSD and all the other new technologies so I would be better informed and able to utilize these to get the best possible combination of material, decoding, and storage of new music.

I have chased after CD, SACD, but now don't know enough to find the new best medium. I'm kinda confused by Foobar and Player Pro, and all this new technology.. Maybe it's not worth chasing after...

Anybody really into all this new high rez stuff?

 

[JustMike]

I am still toying with external DAC's. I bought the HiFimeDIY mini Sabre, and it sounds really good with a cheap 7" Android tablet.

I wish I knew more about the new FLAC and other hi-rez formats, and about asynchronous and DSD and all the other new technologies so I would be better informed and able to utilize these to get the best possible combination of material, decoding, and storage of new music.

I have chased after CD, SACD, but now don't know enough to find the new best medium. I'm kinda confused by Foobar and Player Pro, and all this new technology.. Maybe it's not worth chasing after...

Anybody really into all this new high rez stuff?

For what is worth............ A read on DSD


http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-abcs-of-dsd-downloads/

 

[Dazen1]

I wish I knew more about the new FLAC and other hi-rez formats, and about asynchronous and DSD and all the other new technologies so I would be better informed and able to utilize these to get the best possible combination of material, decoding, and storage of new music.

I have chased after CD, SACD, but now don't know enough to find the new best medium. I'm kinda confused by Foobar and Player Pro, and all this new technology.. Maybe it's not worth chasing after...

Sit tight and see how things evolve.

You can still get excellent sound from CD & SACD*. If you are looking to archive an existing collection, I would opt for FLAC files and a simple media player. Add an external DAC as required.

If on the other hand you are looking to download high-resolution audio, then I think the options are less obvious and dependent on what music you are looking to purchase.

* Yes I know - and other formats too.

 

[ksrigg]

I appreciate the link explaining DSD and all the information contained in the article. I will read it several times in an attempt to have some of it soak in. I guess there is no real easy answer to the question of what is the best format as it has gotten so complicated. It's simply not like choosing the best CD player. Now you must choose the format, the software, the DAC, the playback format.....jeez.

i signed up for Tidals free 7day trial yesterday, but am starting to wonder if it is really worth the chase. I'm beginning to think that Goggle Play or Spotify might be plenty good enough, and that the simplicity of an analog or conventional digital source might be as good as one needs.

The article is GREAT information. I will read and then re-read it over and over. One thing for certain though.........after reading it, I don't feel quite so dumb. This is complicated stuff. I do think I will update my DAC to the Schiit Modi Uber, to add to the $29.00 HiFiMeDIY Tiny Sabre Android DAC I already have....or the 9018D preorder...well, there I go again !

THANK YOU FOR THE FANTASTIC ARTICLE !!

 

[laatsch55]

My Oppo and Onix sound better than spotify....

 

[Miracle Mile]

Anybody really into all this new high rez stuff?

Yep!

My Oppo and Onix sound better than spotify....

It depends on what you play with it Lee.....

 

[laatsch55]

Absolutely Miles....the good is good....the bad is very bad....

 

[ksrigg]

I totally agree.

The Onix with the Phase Linear is the absolute best I have ever heard.

But to hear "new music" without paying up front, I'm just trying to find out what new music is available.

In terms of sound quality, I've heard nothing that sounds better than the Onix and Phase , but why are people talking about the hi-rez stuff?

I personally couldn't tell the difference in CD and SACD, but I did try it. Now I'm exploring the new formats, and trying to find something better. I just don't know if it exists.

Actually I though that CD sounded about the same as SACD. Maybe my ears are not good enough to hear "better"..

Streaming Spotify or Google Play does sound "alright", and it does introduce me to new music. Tidal is not that much better sounding to me, and as you said, The Onix blows it away. I've just thought that maybe I'm missing something...

 

[tivali]

VLC Media Player should be your choice if you want a player that plays practically all formats and does not install too many components into the Windows OS.
​

 

[tivali]

The Denon DVD-2900 (now superceded) is an excellent machine IMHO. We have had ours for 10 mths and it has been well used every day for cd, dvd's, sacd, dvd-a's and hasn't missed a beat. The sound quality is absolutely superb for the hi-res formats and even for cd's the playback is very, very good and better than most universal players. That said, you should examine other players also to be sure you get the 'sound' that suits you.

 

[laatsch55]

Welcome to Phoenix tivali !! I agree on vlc player. I have yet to run into something it wouldn't open or play..

 

[Bob Boyer]

...In terms of sound quality, I've heard nothing that sounds better than the Onix and Phase , but why are people talking about the hi-rez stuff?

I personally couldn't tell the difference in CD and SACD, but I did try it. Now I'm exploring the new formats, and trying to find something better. I just don't know if it exists.

Actually I though that CD sounded about the same as SACD. Maybe my ears are not good enough to hear "better"..

Streaming Spotify or Google Play does sound "alright", and it does introduce me to new music. Tidal is not that much better sounding to me, and as you said, The Onix blows it away. I've just thought that maybe I'm missing something...

Perhaps, perhaps not. Knowing just enough about recording to be dangerous but not enough to be good at it, I will say that what I have noticed is that SACD isn't the huge improvement for most rock and pop stuff but my guess is that's because of the way the music is produced.

I notice the greatest improvement between CD-quality sound and SACD or hi-rez material when it involves classical music, or particularly, live jazz. The Cannonball Adderly In San Francisco SACD is a prime example of a well-recorded and remastered SACD. With a recording like this you primarily notice the capabilities of the format (and the 24/96 and up hi-res files) by the amount of "air" around the instruments as well as an overall improvement in definition of the sound from individual instruments and the combo as a whole.

Which is to say that most of the info is there on a CD, just not that last "nth" degree of that which makes recorded music sound more like live music. For most studio-recorded rock and pop music with the compression/loudness wars going on, I'm not sure hi-rez makes a bit of difference over CD quality. For mp3, however, I can hear the difference instantly and not in a complimentary way.

 

[tivali]

VLC Media Player should be your choice if you want a player that plays practically all formats and does not install too many components into the Windows OS.