[Rick[_4_]]

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.

[Audio Empire]

On Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:44:13 -0700, Rick wrote
(in article ):

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.


They are. for all intents and purposes, the same.

[Arny Krueger[_4_]]

"Rick" wrote in message
...
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.


Sound is fine. The two things to watch out for is disc loading time and
usuabiilty if you don't attach a video display.

[Rich Teer]

On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make sure
the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are better than
others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the main reasons for
the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player (BD-83?).

--
Rich Teer, Publisher
Vinylphile Magazine

www.vinylphilemag.com

[Audio Empire]

On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:22:04 -0700, Rich Teer wrote
(in article ):

On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make sure
the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are better than
others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the main reasons for
the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player (BD-83?).



But the analog sections of Blu-Ray players don't vary from unit to unit any
more than do the analog sections of regular CD players. That they do vary is
beyond the scope of Rick's question. The fact that Blu-Ray players will play
most any thing makes them a better buy than a stand-alone CD player. For
instance, the latest Sony Blu-Ray players will even play SACD discs and DSD
downloaded files transferred to DVD.

But Arny Kruger is correct. The most import considerations are disc startup
times (which can be maddeningly slow) and the ability to operate the player
without the need of a video display turned on (especially if you are using
the player as audio-only).

[Arny Krueger[_4_]]

"Audio Empire" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:22:04 -0700, Rich Teer wrote
(in article ):

On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make sure
the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are better than
others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the main reasons for
the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player (BD-83?).



But the analog sections of Blu-Ray players don't vary from unit to unit
any
more than do the analog sections of regular CD players. That they do vary
is
beyond the scope of Rick's question. The fact that Blu-Ray players will
play
most any thing makes them a better buy than a stand-alone CD player. For
instance, the latest Sony Blu-Ray players will even play SACD discs and
DSD
downloaded files transferred to DVD.

But Arny Kruger is correct. The most import considerations are disc
startup
times (which can be maddeningly slow) and the ability to operate the
player
without the need of a video display turned on (especially if you are using
the player as audio-only).

I've seen players that address both problems. Every sample I've checked of
recent (introduced last fall or later) of mid-fi Blu Ray player has had
under 10 second load times for all kinds of discs. The human engineering
problem is less frequently solved, but the key features I've see on
occastion include more elaborate displays and a separate set of pushbuttons
laid out like they belong on a CD player. On balance small LCDs TVs are
becoming cheap and common, and do the job very nicely. Some Blu Ray players
have very artistically designed menus for playing CDs and music files off of
flash memory.

One other blu ray player feature to look for is called DLNA which allows the
player to access computers on your home network as music and video servers.

[Arny Krueger[_4_]]

"Rich Teer" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make sure
the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are better than
others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the main reasons for
the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player (BD-83?).

In fact its hard to imagine that the analog section of a blu ray player
would have audible colorations. I've done measurements on $39 DVD players
and their performance was such that there was no question about the adequacy
of their analog sections. The analog section of a digital player is pretty
simple - usually an analog switch for muting and a op amp that is running at
close to unity gain.

OTOH, many of us get a laugh over high end optical players that are just
relabeled or reboxed mid fi equipment, perhaps with a vastly overbuilt
analog output stage and corresponding laughably overbuilt power supply. It
is all for show.

[Audio Empire]

On Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:55:00 -0700, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article ):

"Rich Teer" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make sure
the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are better than
others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the main reasons for
the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player (BD-83?).

In fact its hard to imagine that the analog section of a blu ray player
would have audible colorations. I've done measurements on $39 DVD players
and their performance was such that there was no question about the adequacy
of their analog sections. The analog section of a digital player is pretty
simple - usually an analog switch for muting and a op amp that is running at
close to unity gain.

OTOH, many of us get a laugh over high end optical players that are just
relabeled or reboxed mid fi equipment, perhaps with a vastly overbuilt
analog output stage and corresponding laughably overbuilt power supply. It
is all for show.



Like the MSB "Universal Media Player"? Merely a re-packaged Oppo BSD-93 with
a fancy power supply in a separate chassis, and "proprietary" audio stuff
which MSB sells for $4000! Of course one still will need an external DAC and
MSB will gladly sell your a DACIV for $14000 or more....

[Gary Eickmeier]

Audio Empire wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:55:00 -0700, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article ):

"Rich Teer" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make
sure the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are
better than others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the
main reasons for the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player
(BD-83?).

In fact its hard to imagine that the analog section of a blu ray
player would have audible colorations. I've done measurements on $39
DVD players and their performance was such that there was no
question about the adequacy of their analog sections. The analog
section of a digital player is pretty simple - usually an analog
switch for muting and a op amp that is running at close to unity
gain.

OTOH, many of us get a laugh over high end optical players that are
just relabeled or reboxed mid fi equipment, perhaps with a vastly
overbuilt analog output stage and corresponding laughably overbuilt
power supply. It is all for show.



Like the MSB "Universal Media Player"? Merely a re-packaged Oppo
BSD-93 with a fancy power supply in a separate chassis, and
"proprietary" audio stuff which MSB sells for $4000! Of course one
still will need an external DAC and MSB will gladly sell your a DACIV
for $14000 or more....

I just bought a Sony BDP-SX1000 portable Blu Ray player. It has a 10 inch
screen that has a 1080 x 600 resolution and it can output to your large
screen with HDMI. This little thing can play anything, from CD to Blu Ray,
and also regular DVDs with hi def MPEG files, MPEG-4, Windows Media Video,
MP3 music files, WAV files, JPEG photos, and most any video files from a
portable hard drive that you can attach via the USB port. It was this player
that I used as a video screen to view my receiver from another room, via the
composite video in jack.

In addition to being a fantastic test bench for any kind of disc I want to
see after authoring, it can access the Blu Ray with breakneck speed, much
better than my component Panasonic. Has a LAN for BD Live too.

Gary Eickmeier

[Rick[_4_]]

"Gary Eickmeier" wrote in message
...
Audio Empire wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:55:00 -0700, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article ):

"Rich Teer" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Jul 2011, 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.

If you're planning to hook it up via analogue interconnects, make
sure the Blu-ray player has a decent analogue section (some are
better than others). Analogue section upgrades were one of the
main reasons for the Special Editions of the recent Oppo player
(BD-83?).

In fact its hard to imagine that the analog section of a blu ray
player would have audible colorations. I've done measurements on $39
DVD players and their performance was such that there was no
question about the adequacy of their analog sections. The analog
section of a digital player is pretty simple - usually an analog
switch for muting and a op amp that is running at close to unity
gain.

OTOH, many of us get a laugh over high end optical players that are
just relabeled or reboxed mid fi equipment, perhaps with a vastly
overbuilt analog output stage and corresponding laughably overbuilt
power supply. It is all for show.



Like the MSB "Universal Media Player"? Merely a re-packaged Oppo
BSD-93 with a fancy power supply in a separate chassis, and
"proprietary" audio stuff which MSB sells for $4000! Of course one
still will need an external DAC and MSB will gladly sell your a DACIV
for $14000 or more....

I just bought a Sony BDP-SX1000 portable Blu Ray player. It has a 10 inch
screen that has a 1080 x 600 resolution and it can output to your large
screen with HDMI. This little thing can play anything, from CD to Blu Ray,
and also regular DVDs with hi def MPEG files, MPEG-4, Windows Media Video,
MP3 music files, WAV files, JPEG photos, and most any video files from a
portable hard drive that you can attach via the USB port. It was this
player
that I used as a video screen to view my receiver from another room, via
the
composite video in jack.

In addition to being a fantastic test bench for any kind of disc I want to
see after authoring, it can access the Blu Ray with breakneck speed, much
better than my component Panasonic. Has a LAN for BD Live too.

Gary Eickmeier



Thanks for all your input. I found my solution in the back of a closet. I
had an old Pioneer dv 578a tucked away. No blu-ray, but it plays every thing
else. Most of my videos are dvds anyway.

[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.