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How Important Is The Cdp?


Hi,

My current set-up includes PSB Stratus Mini's speakers, Cambridge AZUR 540 A and a Toshiba 3950 DVD which i use for cd playback only. I know this is a mismatch of gear, but i originally hadnly planned on using this equipment with each other, then shortly after had some money troubles so im stuck with this gear for awhile.

My system sounds OK at times, its somewhat musical but alot of the time the sound is jsut too harsh and fatuiging- guitar harmonics are especially grainy and shimmery, vocals seem to be yelling at me way too much and overall the sound seems unfocused and veiled.

My room is pretty small, about 10x10 with an open closet and Jon Risch acoustic treatments directly behind each speaker, side walls arent really treated at all. I know my room isnt the greatest, but somehow i get the sence that the room isnt the main problem im having, sure it could use alot of improvement but the bad sound seems to be coming directly from the speakers.

Im sort of confused on what is causing the harshness, some people say its my cdp, others say my amp and then theres a few who think its my speakers interacting with the room.

This brings me to the question on how important is the cdp? Ive heard many people say that the cdp makes very little to no difference and wont tame the harshness i speaker of. Others say the source is most important and that what im hearing is my speakers producing the crappy sound my cdp is feeding them.

Would a better cdp, or say a 1000$ DAC improve my system to the point where the harshness i speaker of will be mostly eliminated, or will it just show more weaknesses of my amp. Or will a better cdp just make my system only slighty less harsh by only taming some of the digital glare of cdp's?

What do you guys think? cdp causing the harshness, or is it the amp?
dave123456
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Eventually you will need to upgrade the source. This is were some of the harshness is coming from. A BVaudio SR 10 sound refiner will help. These do work and keep the op amps in the cd player from being over worked. The speakers are also part of the harshness as well. Not sure of your musical taste.But if you really want to hear your gear go with a crossover less speaker. You will be surprised at what resistors ,caps ..etc can do to the music!!

Good Luck!
lazarus28
339 posts
 
while gmood's advice isn't without its benefits, i wouldn't go with a single-driver speaker without being intimately familiar with the sound of them first.

there are those who believe that only single drivers reproduce music accurately, just like there are those who fear all things transistor and/or digital.

the truth is that crossovers, caps will only audibly affect the sound in a poorly designed speaker. these days, especially with active crossover design, these problems are pretty well nullified and i believe that a quality milti-driver speaker is capable of truer musical reproduction than a single-driver speaker.

this isn't to say that sing;e-drivers are no good, though. i've heard some amazing lowther-based designs that do things in the midrange that amaze me.

but, bottom line - it's not the technology, it's the implementation. oh, and to keep this on-topic - i subscribe to the linn system of hierarchy when it comes to audio equipment: the source is THE MOST important part.

think of it like this - nothing in the audio chain can improve the signal. all it can do is degrade it as little as possible. so, you want to start with the best possible signal you can.

also, i second the rega recommendation. a used rega planet 2000 is an excellent cd-player. the more expensive jupiter even more so. their electronics are also very, very good for the price. i can't comment on your current electronics or speakers, as i have no real experience with them.

also, having a square room like yours is a nightmare acoustically. i'm glad to see you're using some treatments.
gregadd
574 posts
 
both.there is nothing worse than a bad cdp driving a bad ss device. no offense intended. the good news is there is an explosion of good integrated amps and cdp's in the low price area. tubes are a little more expensive but they almost never sound harsh. Get out to a real hi fi store and lsiten to some NAD etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money. Check the magazines. Most give ecomendations for budget or entry level equipmnet. Sounds like you have beeen bitten by the audio bug. Good luck.
xiekitchen
819 posts
 
I've had one of the Toshiba 3950 DVD players used in my "quasi-home theatre" system.. I replaced it with a Toshiba 4900 and was surprised at the level of improvement.. I paid only $90 for the 4900, if you can find one, it's only $90, may be worth trying out to replace your 3950. I tried a little A-B test comparing the Toshiba 4900 vs. my Rega Jupiter, surprisingly you would have to listen closely to discern the Jupiter's improvements over the 4900(the Jupiter was noticibly better but I was surprised how close the 4900 came). Also there's a company on a-gon advertising mod's to the 3950.
aroc
760 posts
 
Some good advice here. BTW, I thought the Toshiba was a smooth player? Granted I've never heard one so I can't be sure. For a cheap experiment you could try to get a $150 used Adcom GDA600 DAC. That's a pretty smooth operator. I had one for a while back when I had a peaky, trebly system. the Adcom was a good synergetic match. If you still have treble problems, then the problem will lie else where in the system or room. You may need different speakers. Good luck!
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