Hello Readers! It's Update Time!!
I went back to my local hifi shop again yesterday. I had left my BDP-1 and the BDA-1 there the last time I had visited. Took along all my matching interconnects, wi-fi router, tablet and a hand full of cds (some "audiophile" recordings, some not). The cds I had been ripped onto two 16g flash drives (a Kingston and a Verbatum). The one flash drive was cds ripped in 16bit 44k, but using various software to repeatedly rip each cd, so there were multiple copies of the same music cd, only difference being the software used to rip them. I had a folder of a certain ripped cd. Inside that folder were files each labeled according to what software I had used.The purpose of this was to test if, or how much of a difference ripping software can make. (I had used windows media player 11, nero, dbpoweramp, clone cd, and alcohol120).The other flash drive was those same cds all ripped using just one ripping program. This flash drive was to be used to directly compare against the actual cd.
At the hifi shop the listening room I used was similar in size to that at home, as were the components (as I do all my hifi component shopping here.........coz of the good service. Mind you, they are the only local company to carry or order Bryston for you if they dont have any in stock). Speaking of service. There are very few high end hifi dealers around here. At the begininng of the year the council did a head count of sorts,and figures indicated there are about 6 million people residing in and around this city (last head count was 3 468 086 in 2007). So we have tons and tons of people, but 5 high end hi-fi shops. So thats why I once said variety and choice of components and brands are rare. You would think that some of these same hifi shops would be more interested in your business, but some give you snooty attitude like your hard earned money is of a lesser value than others. Anyhow. Moving on.
So I am at the hifi shop. We hook up the BCD-1 via xlr AQ Sky interconnect to an Anthem D2v (it has a semi-decent separate stereo preamp in there), and the BDP-1 was connected via xlr AQ Wild to the BDA-1, which was connected via xlr AQ Sky to the D2v. The D2v was connected via xlr AQ Sky to an Anthem P2.The P2 was connected via AQ Mont Blanc speaker to Paradigm S8's.
The cd ripping software test did not reveal too much of a difference between one copy program and the next. It was difficult to choose which, if any, was the better program to choose.
Comparisons between the BDP-1 & BDA-1 and the BCD-1 were interesting. We agreed for standard cd playback the BCD-1 was much better than the BDP-1 & BDA-1 combination. The cd player was so much more open and clearer. The BCD-1 gave you that "live" feel to the music. The BDP-1 is very good, but on the same cd track it sounded a little lifeless in direct comparison to the BCD-1. Since I sold my cd transport I have had this naggy feeling my system hasn't been "right". Something was missing or different in a negative way. Now I know why. From this my opinion is, if you are looking for as much detail and life that the cd disc can provide, cds should be played on dedicated cd players. BUT!! Play a hi-def download piece of music and the BDP-1 steps forward and holds center stage. The sound stage and presence of the musicians within the hi-def music is truly awesome. And this led to us chatting and concluded that maybe the cd reader/writer within our computers - you can buy a cd / dvd writer for just over R200 (25 US dollars) - is probably the weak link in the data transfer process. How can something so cheap deliver the fullness and detail we as audio people love and enjoy. If I could transfer my cds to hard drive without audible loss then I honestly would not bother with getting another cd transport of sorts.
Afterwards I did a brief comparison of the BCD-1 internal dac vs the BDA-1. Direct comparison showed the BCD-1 and BDA-1 combination was more musical sounding than the BCD-1 alone.
