Best Source For Audio. Pandora Oppo? CD? Media Player?

[krazystang]

Hello Everyone.

I'm confused at what method will give me the best quality audio?

I currently use Pandora on my OPPO BDP-93. To me this actually sounds better than most standard CD's that i play in the OPPO. SACD's sound very good, but there are barely any out there.

Is there something out there that has better sound quality than Pandora? ( I do not have the Pay subscription, would this help? )

I've heard stuff about Media Player's and streaming from your PC? I have a Macbook Pro, not sure if this would be a better method of enjoying music.

Either way, i'm kinda confused at which method's available will give me the best sound quality. If you guys have any opinions or suggestions, brands and models would be nice. Please let me know.


My Gear is in my signature.

Thanks in Advance!

[sahmen]

Dec 4, 2013 20:33:49 GMT -5 krazystang said:

Hello Everyone.


I currently use Pandora on my OPPO BDP-93. To me this actually sounds better than most standard CD's that i play in the OPPO. SACD's sound very good, but there are barely any out there.

Is there something out there that has better sound quality than Pandora? ( I do not have the Pay subscription, would this help? )

Not an expert, but here's what I can tell:
For ripped music: - Rip them lossless into the highest bit rate possible in FLAC,  or ALAC (Apple lossless) file formats,  whatever applies in your case.  For internet services such as Pandora, it looks like MOG presents its music in the best lossless-hence best sounding-- file formats (I don't know what Pandora offers for paid subscription).

I am not sure what to say regarding the comparison to CD, or whether it can be decided in the abstract, before the fact, without considering related factors such as the quality of the original recording, and that of the cd or media player, or htpc, and the stereosystem that one might be using etc etc  

My 2 cents

[Kent]

Hello,

I would consider purchasing the new Emotiva ERC-3. It is a great price for the level of quality you get and it appears to be well designed. I would love to A/B it against my current player. My personal favourite source is vinyl. There is just something magical about it! However, I do love my cd player too. Both vinyl and cd provide a much more realistic sound compared to downloaded/streamed sources IMHO. 

Best of luck!
Kent

[hemster]

I agree with others regarding FLAC etc. Have you tried MOG as users have good things to say about it.

The ERC-3 is pretty well unbeatable for the price.

[krazystang]

Thanks for the replies!

I have not tried MOG, but i've heard a few people mention it.

Regarding the ERC-3, are you guys saying the ERC-3 would be a better Player than my Oppo BDP-93 I have for CD's? And when i say better, i'm talking sound quality wise?

I've actually been thinking about upgrading my BDP-93 to the BDP-95. I've heard the Sabre DAC's are really nice.

[GreenKiwi]

Good recordings are most important... Far beyond anything else.

Hdtracks.com

Has high resolution downloads.

As for what to use for a source, on a Mac use apple lossless and iTunes, but you will want an external dac. Don't know whether you have one already. The DC-1 is awesome and on sale now.

[moko]

Dec 4, 2013 23:17:31 GMT -5 krazystang said:

Thanks for the replies!

I have not tried MOG, but i've heard a few people mention it.

Regarding the ERC-3, are you guys saying the ERC-3 would be a better Player than my Oppo BDP-93 I have for CD's? And when i say better, i'm talking sound quality wise?

I've actually been thinking about upgrading my BDP-93 to the BDP-95. I've heard the Sabre DAC's are really nice.

mog streams 320 kbps so that's not lossless. i think you should keep the bdp-93 and adding a dedicated dac. the erc-3 uses same dac chip as stealth dc-1 dac so it's likely sound more or less the same.

 play your cd's or put your lossless flac/alac albums on internal storage of oppo then connect to dc-1 using optical or coaxial. then from dc-1 connect to avm-20 using xlr connetion. (the avm-20 has xlr input right ?). that way you can select the source from your processor. if you live in the US, the 30 days money back guarantee is very tempting.

but if you still insist on sabre dac you should check my previous posts. i posted a link to a dac that uses sabre chip with better power supply and analog output than oppo and costs less (500$)