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[USAFRetired]

+1 on the BDP 93.

[briancv83]

The Integra does do both of those things. I have heard great things about OPPO though.

[Deleted]

I looked at the specs for the Integra and it does not appear to support DVD-Audio or SACD. Did I miss something?

The Oppos support ALL of the shiny disc formats except HD-DVD of which there are precious few...

-RW-

[briancv83]

Dammit, I think you are right. I could have sworn that it did. How the F can a $700 "top of the line" player not do those things. I'm depressed now. Oh well...

Question still stands though. Is a high end bluray player as good as a dedicated CD player?

[DYohn]

Jun 1, 2012 10:48:35 GMT -5 briancv83 said:

Question still stands though. Is a high end bluray player as good as a dedicated CD player?

They can be. But there is no such thing as a universal answer to this question. What makes one disc player better than another is not what formats it plays or how much it costs, it's how stable is the transport speed, how good is the laser tracking, how powerful is the power supply, how accurate is the digital clock, and if it has analog outputs how does the DAc sound?

[briancv83]

It has analog out, but I am using the digital out to Emotiva's UMC-1 (for stereo through speakers). I also have an Emotiva XDA-1 which I also use for my headphone amp. I like the sound quality that I am getting. But I haven't played with any other equipment to compare it to. That's why I'm asking before I just start spending money.

[Pauly]

If you're using digital out, then it doesn't really matter what player you are using.

[DYohn]

My advice is to try it. Connect a set of RCA cables from the left and right outputs from the player to an analog input on the UMC-1. Compare the sound using the same track on a CD between what you get using the digital connection and what you get using the analog connection. Also try connecting the optical or coax digital out from your player to the XDA-1 input, and then to the analog ins of the UMC-1. See how each sounds. Stick with the one that sounds best to you.

[Pauly]

Are the digital outs and analog outs both active at the same time? That would be ideal so you quickly switch between the two.

[briancv83]

Lots of good info, thanks guys. I am going to try some different things tonight. Also will play with using the analog and digital at the same time. I agree that that could help with going back and forth with ease.

[briancv83]

Jun 1, 2012 11:13:25 GMT -5 Pauly said:

If you're using digital out, then it doesn't really matter what player you are using.

I'm not sure I follow. Wouldn't you still want a high-end player no matter what output you use? Sound can only ever be as good as the source...

[Pauly]

If you use digital out from the player, you are not really hearing the source. The CD player is sending the signal to your UMC, and your UMC is doing the processing using it's own DAC.

If you take a $50 Walmart special DVD player/CDP, and a $500 dedicated CDP and use their digital outs, you likely wouldn't hear much (if any) difference with the UMC-1 in "stereo" mode. That's because you are using the DAC and the processing of the UMC, and not the DACs in the players. If you hook them up via analog and set the UMC to direct, you will likely hear a big difference between a cheap player and a mid to high end player, because then you are hearing the DAC in the player, and the signal is not being touched by the UMC.

[DYohn]

The problem with a $50 WalMart player is it lacks the things I listed above as important: a stable transport, low-jitter digital clock and a good power supply. So, in the case of cheap source components, you get what you pay for and its digital output is not going to sound the same as a better player's digital output.

[Pauly]

However, I suppose things like transport speed, laser tracking, digital clock etc could also affect a CDP's performance when using digital out, but it certainly wouldn't be as big of a difference compared to using the analog outs.

[Pauly]

Damn, you beat me to it.

[Pauly]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everybody should just cheap out on their CDP and just use the digital outs to the pre/pro or AVR. It always pays to get quality gear.

[roadrunner]

Jun 1, 2012 13:17:47 GMT -5 briancv83 said:

Lots of good info, thanks guys. I am going to try some different things tonight. Also will play with using the analog and digital at the same time. I agree that that could help with going back and forth with ease.

You will need to be sure that you are comparing the competing sources at the same volume level. If you don't ensure the volume is the same, the one with the higher output level is going to sound better even if it is really not as good as the other unit.

In my own testing for playing CDs, I have found that the Emotiva ERC-1 sounds better than any of the tested DVD/Blu-ray players. Some of the units I tested against the ERC-1 were Denon 2910/3910/2930, Oppo 980H/983/83/93, and various Panasonic and Sony DVD/Blu-rays. I was surprised to find that the ERC-1 outperformed all of DVD/Blu-ray players.

I also had several different brands of high-end CD players in the shoot out. Most of them also sounded better than the DVD/Blu-ray players. If you have a sizable SACD or DVD-A music collection you may find going with one of the Universal players is a better route to take.

In my main system I use the Emotiva ERC-1 for my CDs and HDCD encoded albums and the Sony 3100 ES for my SACDs. In my bedroom I use the Oppo 980H for CDs and SACD.