[Norton]

From time to time I miss having  a disc player  in my system, not least when I  just want to play a cd that I have never bothered ripping.

In the absence of a BOT, I hooked up a Plextor bluray drive to my BDP1.  The results are impressive, playing the CD just has that little bit more sharpness, detail, decay on notes  etc, compared with any other playback options I’ve tried (Network shares, Roon, direct attached storage etc) .

I have plenty of HiRes PCM and DSD in my library, but the results I’m getting from plain old CD now make me question whether we need anything more than 16/44.

Anyone else enjoying actual CD playback on their BDP?  I wonder if a BOT would improve things further?

[martydmnt]

I've played a handful of CDs back through my recently-acquired BDP-Pi and a LG blu-ray usb drive. I haven't picked up on any differences between the BDP-Pi and the Rega Apollo-R I normally use for CD playback (other than the Pi doesn't choke on the slighted disc imperfection). I listen mostly to rock (with is typically compressed) and jazz, not classical.

I've purchased or downloaded a few dozen high-resolution files and albums from Linn, HD Tracks, and a few others. Most I couldn't tell a difference, and the few that I did (only through headphones could I hear it), I could hear just the slightest difference for a few seconds here and there, but nothing that made it better. IMHO, well recorded and engineered CDs have fantastic sound and I don't sit around and wonder what may be missing from a high-resolution version other than $$ in my pocket. My caveat is I don't listen to classical music, but for the rock and jazz, I don't see how to justify it.

James recently posted a link to realhd-audio.com, which is an enlightening read on high resolution recording, mastering, and distribution.

[Nordkapp]

I'm not, however you've peaked my interest now. I will hook up my drive to my BDP3 and give it a try.

[CanadianMaestro]

Nope.

My BDP + BDA sound better than my BCD.

Ripped Flac from rbCD (redbook CD) sounds better than the orig rbCD played back thru a spinner  like BCD.

cheers

[zoom25]

How are we hooking up these CD players to the BDP? Is the playback happening in real time or first it rips to one of the BDP-1's external storage?

[gbaby]

From time to time I miss having  a disc player  in my system, not least when I  just want to play a cd that I have never bothered ripping.

In the absence of a BOT, I hooked up a Plextor bluray drive to my BDP1.  The results are impressive, playing the CD just has that little bit more sharpness, detail, decay on notes  etc, compared with any other playback options I’ve tried (Network shares, Roon, direct attached storage etc) .

I have plenty of HiRes PCM and DSD in my library, but the results I’m getting from plain old CD now make me question whether we need anything more than 16/44.

Anyone else enjoying actual CD playback on their BDP?  I wonder if a BOT would improve things further?

If you miss a CD player after owning the BDP1, then something is wrong with the way you import your music as the BDP1 playback is superior to just about any CD player. I agree with Canadian Maestro. But, you do have a point in noting whats the point of anything past PCM 44.16. I own number hi res albums, but I find well recorded PCM at 44.1/16 sounds more natural. I am buying more red book CDs than ever since owning my BDP2.

[NorthMac]

Nope.

My BDP + BDA sound better than my BCD.

Ripped Flac from rbCD (redbook CD) sounds better than the orig rbCD played back thru a spinner  like BCD.

cheers

+1 to this.  Plus, my CDs reside as the ultimate back-up in boxes stored off-site; I absolutely don't miss the mess, clutter, impossibility to find music I knew I had, etc.  No going back I'm afraid. 

[CanadianMaestro]

I agree with northmac and gbaby above, and also empathize with norton. I too still buy CDs....just not as much as before. And the first thing I do when receiving CDs, is rip them to Flac, for my BDP/BDA.

I suspect that many ripped Flacs sound better (thru my BDP/BDA) than the orig CD in my BCD-1, in my system, is because:

1. No disc spinning.
2. No laser.
3. Nothing going on in the "background"
4. Better power filtering in BDA-1/BDP-1 combo.

These might add up to totally zero "jitter", minimal mechanical "flutter", or something similar. Not that I can hear it....but every bit helps. That's my hypothesis. Unproven.

Either way, BCD or BDP, it's still fantastic SQ.

cheers

[Norton]

How are we hooking up these CD players to the BDP? Is the playback happening in real time or first it rips to one of the BDP-1's external storage?

I believe the BDP1 reads something like 20  secs of music into a RAM buffer before playing - music continues to play  for some time  after  ejecting the disc (from drive not  MM).  As I recall there are other playback options using prev/next buttons which load the whole  disc into memory - which work with 2&3 but not with 1 with its limited RAM

[zoom25]

I believe the BDP1 reads something like 20  secs of music into a RAM buffer before playing - music continues to play  for some time  after  ejecting the disc (from drive not  MM).  As I recall there are other playback options using prev/next buttons which load the whole  disc into memory - which work with 2&3 but not with 1 with its limited RAM

Thanks. So, how is the BDP-1 being connected (which input?) to this CD player?

[Norton]

Thanks. So, how is the BDP-1 being connected (which input?) to this CD player?

USB cable from drive into any port on BDP (same as BOT).  But note it’s not a CD player, just a blu ray drive.

[zoom25]

USB cable from drive into any port on BDP (same as BOT).  But note it’s not a CD player, just a blu ray drive.

Got it.

Your first post impression now make senses. I always find USB sounding more sharper than using the ethernet connection w/ Roon. Whether it's a USB flash drive, portable hard drive, external desktop hard drive, USB Wifi adapter dongle, or the combination of those with AQ Jitterbug, they all sound sharper and more energetic than the network connection.

In the past I've flip flopped between different connections and storage devices, but have settled with the network connection as my preferred one for both convenience and SQ. It's the smoothest sounding, least bright/zing, and least fatiguing to my ears. It took me awhile to get used to the laid back sound AND soundstage/presentation of Roon/network coming from the 'exciting' USB sound, but now can't go back. I haven't felt the need to tweak my setup at all in the past 4-5 months. Highly satisfied.