June 14, 2001
I've been thinking about upgrading my system,
but I'm unsure how to go about it. Currently, my system consists of a pair of Polk Audio
RT8 speakers, NAD312 integrated amp, Marantz CD46 CD player, Nordost Blue Heaven speaker
cables, and Nordost Black Knight interconnects.
I suspect the weak link is the CD player.
Question is, what would be the way to go: new CD player or maybe a DAC? Your thoughts
please.
Kind regards,
Donald Slot
I'm never in favor of scrapping functional
electronics, so the DAC avenue seems the most attractive upgrade route. The MSB Link DAC
III is the budget champ at $399 and received a Reviewers' Choice nod from our sister publication SoundStage!.
Is "the new digital CD player" you mention a SACD or DVD-A machine? If so, I'm
still underwhelmed by the availability of software and would advise to stay put until this
has changed.
June 14, 2001
I read your response to Tony's question about
budget carousel CD changers. I was wondering if you've encountered the Harman/Kardon
FL8370. It has HDCD decoding and dual 18-bit Burr-Brown 1702 DACs. Sounds good on paper,
but I've also heard that Harman/Kardon CD players are unreliable. Any information you
could offer would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Travis
I'm not on top of the current crop of
Harman/Kardon products, but they're on my list as GoodSound! contenders. You're
right -- the specs look impressive. To investigate reliability, you might want to check
with some local audio service techs -- most cities have numerous of these. Ask them
whether Harman/Kardon changers come in for repair more than others, and if so, which
models are worst in this regard.
June 13, 2001
I recently discovered your site and I think
it's great. I've been in the process of upgrading my stereo equipment, and I'm wondering
if I should do anything with my CD player. I notice a large price difference between the
low and high ends of the spectrum. Is there really that much of a difference in the sound
quality?
Thanks,
Rick
As a particular medium in the audio arts
matures, the sonic differences between the affordable and ultra-expensive price ranges
grow smaller. CD technology never sounded better than it does now. This even holds true
for very affordable players. Yes, there are improvements to be had as you go upscale, but
they become more subtle. While you may appreciate them in a dealer demo or A/B comparison,
would you care enough about them to hand over the long green? That's the question. Next
time you visit a local dealer, have him demo for you his very best system, cost no issue.
Then ask him to substitute the CD player with something in your budget. This would be a
great way to find out how you feel about the incremental improvements.
June 13, 2001
I am now listening to Axiom M3Tis with a
Cambridge A300. This is a truly awesome setup! Thanks for the recommendations. My CDs are
coming alive. The bass is enough where I can definitely live without a subwoofer for a
long time. I thought I had my sub plugged in for a minute. My Ben Harper CD has enough
bass where it was shaking my entertainment center. I now see why I could use some stands.
Anyway, I'm sure glad I got this setup!
Bryan Donovan
Glad you concur that these products work
well together. Happy tunes.
June 12, 2001
Your website is really a big help to audio
enthusiasts like me. I have a Classé CA-101 power amp and also a Cambridge Audio P500
power amp. I want to ask you if the sound will improve if I biamp with these two, Classé
on the low frequencies and Cambridge on the mids and highs. Your help is greatly
appreciated. Thanks,
Joel
Depends on how you do it and what speakers
you have. Here are some general biamp rules for everyone's benefit.
Unless you have an outboard crossover
(Paradigm makes some excellent ones) or one of the amps has input-level trim pots, you
need identical amps from the same maker. Even if the power rating of the Classé and
Cambridge amps were identical, their input sensitivities most likely won't be. This means
that for a given signal, one amp will play louder than the other and cause a level
imbalance in your system that you can't address.
Biamping two-way speakers is generally a
waste of money -- you dedicate one power amp to just drive a tweeter. It's more
advantageous with biwirable three-way speakers that allow separate access to the high/mid
and bass circuits, especially if these speakers are seriously extended in the bass. Still,
you either need identical amps, input-level controls/attenuators on one of two dissimilar
amps, or an outboard crossover that allows independent level adjustments for each circuit.
But one possible problem remains: two
dissimilar amps most likely will be voiced differently. Using both to drive one speaker
can create timbral discontinuity. You may prefer such an effect, but it's fair to say that
the speaker probably won't sound like the designer intended.
June 12, 2001
Exactly what is an MSB Link DAC III? Pardon my
ignorance, but I am striving for better CD music and don't want to have to revert back to
records to get it. I have a Harman/Kardon AVR-510 with ribbon-tweeter speakers and a
powered subwoofer. Thanks kindly for your help here!
Dave
Functionally, every single-box CD player
can be divided into two parts -- the CD transport that spins and reads the disc, and the
converter that translates the digital 1s and 0s into an analog signal. Every single-box CD
player contains both parts. To obtain improved performance without scrapping an otherwise
working player, certain firms offer separate converters. Think of it as a computer-chip
upgrade for your CD player. To go off-board requires either a TosLink digital output on
the back of your CD player (the little square plug with the plastic cover) or the
equivalent RCA jack labeled "digital out." MSB Technology happens to make one of
the best budget converters, or DACs, on the market.
June 11, 2001
I (and, I suspect, other readers) would
greatly appreciate a few words on CD changers -- five- or six-disc carousel variety, not
the jukeboxes. It appears that my system will have to do double duty as a source of
continuous background music for a home office (primarily ambient electronic, but really a
bit of everything) as well as a means of dedicated listening, mostly for acoustic jazz and
classical. To that end, are there any CD changers that you feel stand out from the crowd?
For example, are you as fond of Onkyo changers
as you are of their receivers? Is the Denon DCM-370 still considered the reference budget
changer? Do changers from the few higher-end manufacturers that make them, like Adcom and
Rotel, worth the additional money? Or is it all six of one, half-dozen the other at this
level?
My current source, per GoodSound!
recommendation, is a single-disc Pioneer DV-343 DVD player. Would it make sense just to
replace it with the carousel version? I was intending to keep it for DVD functionality.
Thank you very much in advance.
Tony
Excellent question. I suspect that
sonically the Rotel, Adcom and Arcam CD changers do reside at the top of the carousel-type
heap. From my years in retail, the Onkyo changers always struck me as the most reliable we
sold, an important consideration with something that has a lot of moving parts. I'd go
after the most basic Onkyo with the features you need and then perhaps add an MSB Link DAC
III for outstanding sonics.
June 10, 2001
I really like the direction your website is
headed with its reviews. The sub-$1000 bookshelf/minimonitor market offers the greatest
values in audio today. I really hope you can review a pair of Phase Technology 4.5
bookshelf speakers. Like the Axioms, they are extremely well-balanced and musical speakers
at just $249 a pair. I have them combined with an NHT SW2pi subwoofer. The sound is so
well balanced and musical, with or without the sub. When I have a couple of bucks
available I will be trying the Axioms in my system as well.
Thanks,
Dennis
The next two reviews will be on the Hsu
Research VTF-2 ($500) and then the Adire Rava ($399) subwoofers. I've been looking to
identify overachieving, musical subwoofers that would mate well with affordable two-way
speakers. You're right -- a good sat/sub combo can be a highly effective way to get
maximum performance for a reasonable budget. With regard to the 4.5s, we've put in
requests with Phase Technology already. Once something arrives, we'll review it promptly.
June 10, 2001
I am a newcomer to this Internet magazine. How
are your review products selected? I don't own any of the gear, but I would like to see
some reviews of the Norh gear from Thailand. Generally, it's good value for the money.
I'm thinking about getting the Cambridge Audio
500SE CD player. One store owner told me that this player will give you good bass, but its
main strengths are its mids and highs. I would like to see that player stuck in a
different system to see how it really shines.
Thanks,
Ray
On GoodSound!, we're trying to
identify overachieving budget kings. Thus product is selected based on prior experience,
dealer and reader suggestions and generally good word of mouth. Certain companies already
have established themselves as leaders in the budget sector. Others still need to be
discovered. Then it's a function of sifting through the available product offerings and
obtaining review loans. After that it's listening, comparing and arriving at a sonic
"core signature" that we describe hopefully clearly enough to help you
understand whether it would suit your personal needs or not. And, of course, we're always
open to reader feedback. Norh has been suggested before, and we have contacted the
company.
The Cambridge Audio 500se player has been
returned, and a follow-up isn't planned. Ask your dealer to demonstrate this player in the
context of a system that is deliberately put together to mimic your own as closely as
possible. If you like what you hear, follow your ears.
June 9, 2001
If you don't mind, would you be able to guide me and
suggest some speakers that you think are great for home theater and music? I was leaning
toward a JMlab CC700 center. Also concerning a receiver, I was leaning toward the Denon
AVR-1801 or Yamaha RXV-596; any other receivers I should try? I just hope you can help me;
at least it will save me a lot of time rather than listening to all the speakers in the
hi-fi shop and still getting even more confused. I am really hoping you can get back to
me.
Thanking you in advance,
Joanne
My feeling on the movie/music debate is as follows: If
you're predominantly a music person, most of your speaker budget should go to the front
speakers, which will anchor your music system. The center-channel speaker should be by the
same company and preferably use the same tweeter and mid/woofers as the mains. This makes
for seamless sonic left/right pans across the screen. The rears are much less critical --
after all, the occasional helicopter chop-chop, bullet, cracking branch and ambient rear
effects are only "fill." Diehard videophiles will disagree, of course. It's all
a matter of priorities.
Many folks who own a combined movie/music system
believe they can use all of their HT speakers also for music. Not. Unless you had a very
sophisticated surround-sound processor (Meridian, Lexicon), most music surround modes on
home-theater receivers are very compromised. Simply, music sounds better in regular
stereo. Depending on how much music listening versus watching of major blockbusters you
do, this then answers how much of your budget to allocate to either. Also, if most your TV
watching concentrates on soaps, nature programs and older movies, you may not need the
full surround-sound effect (at least not right away) and really enjoy a good L/C/R setup.
If you have the physical space, you might like to keep
your two-channel system currently anchored by your Rotel gear separate. Not having a TV
between two music speakers that are sited for best soundstaging is usually a good thing.
From the home-theater speakers you list, I'd then concentrate on the JMlab and Tannoy
Mercury packages for your TV system. If your budget forces you to assemble things in
stages, get the home-theater front/center speakers first, then add the rears later. The
receivers you list are both good -- I'd also add the Onkyo TX-DS494 ($320) as an
alternative if it (or one of its larger siblings). It offers 55Wpc, is an update of an
earlier version, and now features Dolby Pro Logic II.
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