Answered add cd player/ stream to cambridge topaz10

peteilk

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I have a Cambridge Topaz 10 amp. currently with some old pioneer speakers from midi system from 90's (may upgrade later).
I have an Airmusic box connected to mp3 socket on amp so i can play mp3 from iPad etc. wirelessly.
I wish to add a cd player for cd collection. If I go for something like Maranz cd6006 or similar with some streaming ability or sockets for such , will the quality of mp3 wireless playback be better than that through the Airmusic box. , or should I settle for a cd player without network and/ or any alternative network streamer ? Any other recommendations? Looking for better than medium quality without going overboard price wise. Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
I'm not sure what sockets will plug into the Airmusic box. Is it the veetop one and does it have a digital optical output? Are your mp3 files ripped from cds?

Your amp looks good. In your shoes I'd concentrate on cd player and keep the streaming seperate. I'm sure the cd6006 is great as marantz generally don't do bad cd players. I might be tempted to look for an open box or last years cd6005 model

Also, you can do miles better than midi speakers. I'm sure 120 quid on a set of q acoustic 2020i speakers would yield massive benefits
 
Thanks for reply.
I will probably pay a bit more for speakers at a later stage ( I also have a newish pioneer sub woofer connected at moment ). I presume the mp3 is converted by a DAC. Is this in the Cambridge amp. , airmusic box, or Maranz CD Player ? Which will provide or limit ultimate quality?
Alternative to the Maranz is maybe Yamaha cdn301?
 
The airmusic box, I think is the same as the veetop. It connects to Cambridge amp via front 3.5 mm plug into mp3 socket. It does have optical socket ,but amp does not have optical.
 
Ok. Your amp is very well regarded. Your speakers are questionable. You could buy a cd player with usb input that Apple device plugs into, and the DAC in the cd player would decide the output.

I would advise you to keep cd and streamer seperate. Say you bought a marantz cd5005 and a set of good budget speakers, say Q acoustics 2020i, mission lx2 , Cambridge audio sx60 or similar, it would upgrade your setup including cd player for the price of the more expensive cd6006.

See then if streaming quality is good enough, if not upgrade that streaming unit.

It's generally accepted that speakers and amp are most important for sound quality
 
Thanks for reply.
I have a pair of q acoustics 2020i on a Denon mini amp in another room . The existing old panasonics were from a quite expensive old pioneer system ,which appear to be reasonable ,coupled with a sub woofer,compared with the q acoustics.
When I buy speakers, it will probably be with a bit more cash later, for a better pair.
I am really after wireless streaming of mp3.
So my query is , will the DAC in the amp, cd player with streaming , or Airmusic box provide best mp3 quality?
Another cd player to consider :
Yamaha MusicCast CD-NT670D Review - Audio Appraisal
Any thoughts?
 
On the dac-

If you plug the apple into a cd player via USB etc the cd player DAC decides the sound. Whether or not that is better than the musicbox is completely down to your taste. People here have said they can't determine a difference that's noticeable between really cheap and really expensive ones.

I know that doesn't help, but not many would likely have made the comparison you ask, so it mostly be a guessing game
 
I'd agree. In fact I'd play any cds through an old DVD player before spending money on anything other than speakers.

Your current ones are a massive bottleneck. If you had a ten grand dac/cd player, you'd never be able to hear the benefit.
 
o.k. , I will properly test the QA 2020i from the other room on the amp.
Still looking for wireless mp3 best route with CD
 
Do you have a picture of the outputs of the air Box? Can't find one :(
 
Aha. I have one of those. They are quite good quality.

Whether or not an external dac or one built into a CD player would help is a good point.

MP3s can sound very good if the bitrate isn't too low and the recording is a good one. But the Neet has a decent dac.

However I certainly think it worthwhile to try to upgrade the sound and the Yamaha is likely to do that.

But it only gives you one digital input.

Perhaps a better idea might be one of these

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO DACMAGIC 100Black DAC

And one of these

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO TOPAZ CD5 V4Black CD Player

Or one of these as it has a digital output for the dac, which is a very good one.

MARANTZ CD5005Black CD Player

That way you get three digital inputs and a USB input, which should make your set up future proof (for tv, games consoles, laptop streaming ...).

Just a thought.
 
Thanks for input ,which gives food for thought.
However , I assume , with your option I would still need to use the Airmusic box to feed in wirelessly to the system, which would still be the prevailing DAC . (interestingly the Airmusic box and cambridge dacmagic appear to both have a Wolfson DAC).
I don't envisage any gaming or dvd inputs in future.
 
The airmusic box would be fed into either the dac or the CD player via its optical output thereby bypassing the dac in the air box and using the dac in the CD player, or any other dac you may choose to use.
 
Thanks for all suggestions. Will think a bit further. If one of the cd players you mention had a digital input ,this would probably suffice on its own, using air music box , but it seems this price range does not include them.
With the Yamaha 670 (on the net for £339.00), should be able to input mp3 from iPad or pc without using the Airmusic box , so digital input is spare for future use. It also has dab tuner and internet radio , probably via app (which may be its weak point), and one or two other options such as bluetooth.
 
An offside option.

Excellent Arcam irdac 2, 280 quid.
Feed music box to it.
It has built in blue tooth
Buy any good condition cd player with digital out, feed it to irdac 2, guess 50 quid.

Leaves you with usb input and a pair of spdif for options going fwd
 
Thanks for suggestions.
Re the Yamaha cdn 301, that was one on my list .
However I cannot easily connect a lan cable to router. To get internet connection wirelessly ,I think needs a Yamaha(or similar) dongle .Add in the price of this and you are getting near the 670 price, which has a lot more options ?
 
Story so far!.....
Thanks for all replies. Have tried the QA 2020i with the Pioneer sub woofer on the Cambridge amp and yes it does produce quite nice results. Have fed in mp3 music from MacBook/ipad via AIRmusic box into mp3 socket on amp and results good ,apart from the odd flutter if you move MacBook/ipad , or do something app heavy at same time.
So have decided to prioritise immediate purchase to the next grade up speakers , upto about £300.00. So any recommendations welcome...e.g. QA 3020,s ?
Regarding the cd player with streaming and/or other options , i have looked hard at many options, and there seems to be no clear option which will guarantee better wireless mp3 than the cheap Airmusic . The cheaper cd players that have a usb input , seem to use it just for storage devices or iPod direct connection ,rather than to take a wireless dongle. There does not appear to be any cheap cd players with a digital input (for Airmusic box).
Many of the bit more expensive cd players with streaming (and stand alone network streamers ) have poor apps which don't seem to get updated.
I will keep looking to see what I may have missed but back to most likely:
Yamaha cdn 301 , as suggested .approx £250.00 .It needs a wifi dongle as an extra to make wireless, quite costly for the Yamaha one, but may take a cheap generic wifi dongle .App appears to be quite usable.
Yamaha MusicCast CD-NT670D Review - Audio Appraisal
This is wireless and has plenty of options including Dab tuner ,air play, streaming etc which are nice, but not essential .Its app is built around its own Musicast system for different rooms in house, which I do not have much interest in. Approx £339.00 cheapest.
Could get a cheapo cd player off Ebay until make decision.
 

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