[Kele]

On Jul 17, 4:44=A0pm, "Rick" wrote:
Hi, I'm looking to add a blu-ray player to my system. Can someone give me
some insight to the audio cd player quality vs. a stand alone cd player.

Based on responders, sounds like you mean universal player vs cd-only
player. My best player is both the Pioneer Laserdisc/DVD/CD player's
digital out to my preamp's D/A converter. It's better than my
dedicated CD player (an Integra) as a transport using the same D/A
converter in the preamp. In my system, none of my silver disc players
with their own DAC or using the DAC built into the preamp sounds as
good as the Laserdisc/CD player and preamp D/A converter combination.
The better combination sounds to have more dynamic range, is snapier
and less muddy. The sound difference isn't huge, but it's
consistant. However, the worst sounding player (using its own DAC or
the one in the preamp) has the best picture... It's a cheapo Philips
rebranded as a Sony DVD/CD player. The disc players are two entities,
a transport and DAC. In my case, I don't have a player that is the
best at both.

Obviously I'm talking about mass-market level stuff. The preamp is a
little above... a "C" rating in Stereophile. It makes sense the DAC
in the late-model preamp helps. Comparing just the Onkyo CD player
with a Pioneer DVD/CD player (not the laserdisc), using their own
DACs, the Onkyo wins. It sounds clean but not harsh, and not bloated
like the Pioneer. As a transport only, these two players sound about
the same... but for CD playback, the old dedicated CD player has
better functionality for doing that - direct track access on the front
face, etc.

At the mass-market, I think some brands have a priority or know-how,
sound or video. Basically, the brands that have a long history
producing audio equipment seem to provide components with decent
sound. While those brands that have a history with video have better
video. That might be why I don't have a player that excels at both.
I havn't had a high end digital source component so this general
observation may not apply to better gear.