upgrade

[glenbo]

is it time for wholesale change,my system is a mission 775sm turntable zeta arm & audio technica AT 5 cartridge
cyrus cd6,cyrus interconnects audiolab 8000 c chord chameleon interconnects to a pair of denon 4400 monoblocks
kimber 8 speaker cable to neat motive one speakers
the turntable sounds better than the cd player,would a dac like a linn numerik help or should i swap the cd
i would probably be looking secondhand ebay or similar,hoping to make a noticeable difference for approx £600 ish, any suggestions.also been cnsidering the likes of a naim unitiqute

 

[alexs2]

is it time for wholesale change,my system is a mission 775sm turntable zeta arm & audio technica AT 5 cartridge
cyrus cd6,cyrus interconnects audiolab 8000 c chord chameleon interconnects to a pair of denon 4400 monoblocks
kimber 8 speaker cable to neat motive one speakers
the turntable sounds better than the cd player,would a dac like a linn numerik help or should i swap the cd
i would probably be looking secondhand ebay or similar,hoping to make a noticeable difference for approx £600 ish, any suggestions.also been cnsidering the likes of a naim unitiqute

I wouldn't bother with something like a Numerik now,unless you really have to.

Something like the DacMagic,Arcam Dac or MF would easily perform as well if not significantly better now.

I've owned a Numerik a few years ago,and it's a decent DAC,but the DacMagic is better by miles.

 

[glenbo]

thanks for that,but i am surprised i thought the linn dac was a top end one & the dacmagic was more of a buget dac.
do you think a dacmagic would make a worthwhile difference,or is a dac worth having at all ?
should i just upgrade the cd player

 

[Mr Pig]

Getting CD to beat your turntable may not be easy, or cheap. Vinyl at its best is a hard act to follow.

 

[glenbo]

i have been into hifi for over 30 years but haven't made any big purchases in the last 15 so i am not bang up to date with the latest gear but with the pace new technology moves on i find it hard to believe that my turntable from 1985 with its technology from a time when my dad was a lad can not be matched by some sub £2000 cd player
thanks for the reply anyway

 

[steveledzep]

Getting CD to beat your turntable may not be easy, or cheap. Vinyl at its best is a hard act to follow.

I am of the same opinion. Sure, the cd hardware has developed over the years, but the major problem in my opinion is the software. Of course there are some wonderfully produced cds, I have some myself. However, generally I have been very disappointed in the quality of cds. There's duff vinyl too of course, I have a number of those too. It may be to do with the fact that my preferred music is from very late sixties to mid seventies. Vinyl's heyday I believe !

 

[glenbo]

i was hoping someone out there was going to give me a simple straight forward this is what you need to do answer
but i don't think i'm going to get that
a dacmagic has been suggested,never having tried a bac of any kind i am a little sceptical that something from richer sounds costing just £200 is going to be the answer,but at that price its not a big risk so i might give that a go,it dose get a good write up.is it possible this dacmagic could outperform a linn product costing more than three times the money?

 

[Mr Pig]

I find it hard to believe that my turntable from 1985 with its technology from a time when my dad was a lad can not be matched by some sub £2000 cd player

Whether you believe something or not doesn't alter the facts. There's a guy on here who asked a similar question a few weeks ago, and I gave him a similar answer. No, CD sound quality has not moved on that much in thirty years. He has an early Phillips CD player, a basic but solid quality one. I suggested he take it to a few dealers to try against new players. He found the new players better than his ancient Phillips but only slightly, and some were not as good.

And that's against other CD players! Yes, vinyl is old technology but technology and quality are not the same thing. You've got a very good turntable with a killer arm on it. Find some local dealers and arrange home loans of some good CD players, it's the only way you'll be convinced.

 

[glenbo]

so i reckon my question is now is it worth me trying a dacmagic or dacmagic 2,over the years i haven't found many worthwhile upgrades for that sort of money!

 

[Mr Pig]

So I reckon my question is now is it worth me trying a dacmagic or dacmagic 2

Everything is worth trying. Although CD performance hasn't moved on much that does not mean that all CD player/DACs sound the same. You might find a player or DAC that gets closer to the analogue sound you clearly like.