Cd / Dvd Player To Compliment My System

[Arry74]

Hi

Next week hopefully I shall have my home theatre almost complete.

I have recently bought Paradigm Monitor 11v6 fronts, Paradigm cc290 centre, Velodyne Sub, Speakercraft in ceiling rears and Oasis Mirage Omni 6 outdoor speakers.

My receiver which is on its way is the new Denon AVR3808A.

In all of my research and discussions I have completely forgotten about a player. I currently have a $250 Pioneer 696AV DVD/DIVX Player.

I haven't even budgeted for one and the missus will not be too happy for me to splash out more dosh.

To complement my system does anyone have any recommendations?

Should I get a dedicated CD player or go for something like a PS3?

I mainly like watching music dvd's but also like listening to cd's etc...

As the Denon has network capability should I just make use of that and stream mp3's or wav files to it etc?

I bought a new PC a few months back that I was going to use for a home server but I could easily have it as my music server I guess.

Perhaps a Popcorn Hour, would this be a good addition, would this be better than a pc connected via network to the Denon?

Any suggestions / recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Arry

Edited November 7, 2008 by arry

[Jliang70]

Hi

Next week hopefully I shall have my home theatre almost complete.

I have recently bought Paradigm Monitor 11v6 fronts, Paradigm cc290 centre, Velodyne Sub, Speakercraft in ceiling rears and Oasis Mirage Omni 6 outdoor speakers.

My receiver which is on its way is the new Denon AVR3808A.

In all of my research and discussions I have completely forgotten about a player. I currently have a $250 Pioneer 696AV DVD/DIVX Player.

I haven't even budgeted for one and the missus will not be too happy for me to splash out more dosh.

To complement my system does anyone have any recommendations?

Should I get a dedicated CD player or go for something like a PS3?

I mainly like watching music dvd's but also like listening to cd's etc...

As the Denon has network capability should I just make use of that and stream mp3's or wav files to it etc?

I bought a new PC a few months back that I was going to use for a home server but I could easily have it as my music server I guess.

Perhaps a Popcorn Hour, would this be a good addition, would this be better than a pc connected via network to the Denon?

Any suggestions / recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Arry

Arry, I would say no to to the CD upgrade and if you have not got a Bluray player then get a PS3 or dedicated Bluray player like the new Pioneer unit I saw one in JB yesterday it is well featured and build like a tank. It will also make an easy case for your wife to agree with you on the new purchase. Your current player will play the cd just fine and buying a good cd player can potentially lead to upgrade of other part of your system which you may like to avoid particularly if your CFO is tough on the budget. I have gone through the path of try to bring the stereo playback to a level I like but end up spending more than I like. HT and Hi-Fi are both costly habbit to get into.

[Arry74]

Thanks, so you think my unit will play cd's ok then?

I thought as it was a relatively cheap unit that it wouldn't be too good.?

[POV]

considering the amount of dosh you have handed over for that system i reckon you'd be silly to let it all down at the source.....i reckon you should consider a universal player such as the denon dvd-1930 if budget is a concern especially if you like your audio discs and think you might get into dvd-a and sacd. Just my 2 cents.

[Jliang70]

Thanks, so you think my unit will play cd's ok then?

I thought as it was a relatively cheap unit that it wouldn't be too good.?

I think your current player will sing the tune and it is a decent player for cd playing and if my memory is correct it will also spin sacd and dvd-a but if you are looking at upgrading cd player you need to look at players from Rotel or possibly Cambridge Audio. You will probably look at spending $450 upward for a good budget player. If you are going to spend that sort of money on a cd player you might as well get a bluray player which you don't have at the moment and you will find it will be easier to get your wife's approval on a Bluray player after all to your wife your current dvd player will spin cd too. Another alternative is to look out for 2nd hand bargains I got my entire two channel system that way and all the stuff I got were less than 12 months old, my cd player was three months old when I got it, speakers about 9 months old and amp about 12 months old. I paid about 1/3 of the rrp for all 3 items I bought.

[POV]

I currently have a $250 Pioneer 696AV DVD/DIVX Player.

Sorry jliang70 i just took this on face value...didn't realise this player already plays dvd-a and sacd.

Arry........why not take your player into the retailer you bought your stuff from and do sum side by sides and see if you think it's worth spending the money.............alternatively after that sought of outlay you might be able to negotiate an at home audition even.

[Arry74]

Thanks guys, yes my player does play SACD etc but I am not really into that....

Would be most likely playing music dvd's ie that contain video as well and just normal cd's.

I was just wondering as I bought my player about a year and a half ago and was wondering if it was useless or not as up to know I have never played a cd through it.

If you were going to use a popcorn hour and music server etc is it even worthwhile buying a dedicated cd player?

Its true, my new setup will be nice and I have bought quality HDMI cables from foxy and quality cables from PSR audio so I guess I don't want to let the system down starting at the source.

Thanks

[Jliang70]

Thanks guys, yes my player does play SACD etc but I am not really into that....

Would be most likely playing music dvd's ie that contain video as well and just normal cd's.

I was just wondering as I bought my player about a year and a half ago and was wondering if it was useless or not as up to know I have never played a cd through it.

If you were going to use a popcorn hour and music server etc is it even worthwhile buying a dedicated cd player?

Its true, my new setup will be nice and I have bought quality HDMI cables from foxy and quality cables from PSR audio so I guess I don't want to let the system down starting at the source.

Thanks

It is really hard to say if it is worthwhile getting a dedicated cd player. You should take Roxy's advise and compare your player with a dedicated cd player. In my opinion in two channel stereo a dedicated cd player will always beat the sound quailty of a DVD or Bluray player when it comes to sound quality of playing CD. You really need to weigh up the pro and con and also getting a cd player can also lead to future upgrade such as power amp, stereo pre-amp or even a dedicated two channel system as many forum members had already gone through this sort of the upgrade path. Music server is good for providing continuous music in a party but I doubt it will ever provide the best two channel music. I listen to MP3 myself personally I found it drain the music of its emotion and compressed sound of mp3 lacks clarity and dynamic compare to the original CD.

[POV]

It is really hard to say if it is worthwhile getting a dedicated cd player. You should take Roxy's advise and compare your player with a dedicated cd player. In my opinion in two channel stereo a dedicated cd player will always beat the sound quailty of a DVD or Bluray player when it comes to sound quality of playing CD. You really need to weigh up the pro and con and also getting a cd player can also lead to future upgrade such as power amp, stereo pre-amp or even a dedicated two channel system as many forum members had already gone through this sort of the upgrade path. Music server is good for providing continuous music in a party but I doubt it will ever provide the best two channel music. I listen to MP3 myself personally I found it drain the music of its emotion and compressed sound of mp3 lacks clarity and dynamic compare to the original CD.[/b]

agree %100...........mp3/compressed music leaves me feeling the same way.

[Arry74]

I have always wondered that....ie if the human ear can tell the difference between an mp3 or uncompressed music...

If you do a high quality mp3 do you really think that you can tell the difference between that an a original cd?

What about say, if you copy a cd or dvd, should they sound 100% perfect?

[Jliang70]

I have always wondered that....ie if the human ear can tell the difference between an mp3 or uncompressed music...

If you do a high quality mp3 do you really think that you can tell the difference between that an a original cd?

What about say, if you copy a cd or dvd, should they sound 100% perfect?

I have a hard time telling the copied cds or dvds from the original but picking out the difference between a high quality mp3 and a cd original is not so difficult.

[phreek]

Consider the Toshiba XDE500.

Under $200 amazing picture quality.

[Gutty]

Consider the Toshiba XDE500.

Under $200 amazing picture quality.

*SLAP* he already has a DVD player... He's asking about CD.

[Juicester]

try brands like cambridge audio, NAD or marantz for budget cdps. prolly pick up a good one for around $500...

[Garincha]

I have recently added a Pioneer DV410 DVD player (clearly not as good as yours) and until I make a new cabinet I had to disconnect my old Yamaha 5 disk CDP. I have been quite surprised at how different the SQ is with the Pioneer & the yamaha CDP. To my ears it's way too harsh and almost unlistenable for CDs.

I have been considering a CDP upgrade as I my aged yamaha 575 is far from perfect and I have been looking at models from NAD, Marantz and Cambridge Audio. I also plan on eventually sneaking a PS3 into my system for BR, but for me having a quality source CDP is more of a priority as I would like to one day be able to get the most out my speakers.

[Juicester]

and i can vouch that the CDP playback of the PS3 is woeful...

[Jliang70]

I have recently added a Pioneer DV410 DVD player (clearly not as good as yours) and until I make a new cabinet I had to disconnect my old Yamaha 5 disk CDP. I have been quite surprised at how different the SQ is with the Pioneer & the yamaha CDP. To my ears it's way too harsh and almost unlistenable for CDs.

I have been considering a CDP upgrade as I my aged yamaha 575 is far from perfect and I have been looking at models from NAD, Marantz and Cambridge Audio. I also plan on eventually sneaking a PS3 into my system for BR, but for me having a quality source CDP is more of a priority as I would like to one day be able to get the most out my speakers.

PS3 is not a good cd player but it is a reasonable dvd player and a pretty good bluray player with a lot of upgrade flexibility. If you want a decent cdp look at the brand suggested such as Cambridge Audio, Rotel, HK and Marantz for around $500+ and if you want better player under $1000 checked out Opera Consonance 120. Getting most out of your

speaker can be very expensive specially if you are going down the path of two channel stereo together with your HT. I have done most people in the forum have gone through that is add a power amp to AVR and this really improve both HT and I thought I was getting most out of my speakers until I borrowed a integrate valve amp. If you want a better compromise between HT and 2 channel my advise would be to keep you existing AVR to run your HT and spend another money you saved up for power amp on a Opera Consonace CDP and a valve integrated amplifier such as I34 from Melody brand or similar to run the stereo system.