[Mathew_M]

Hello,

Does anyone own this CD player?  I did a search and despite the glowing reviews on Amazon I don't see any mention of it here on AC.  I would think for under $200 there would be at least some interest in it. 

I'm personally burnt out on trying to achieve good sound with my laptop (13" MBP).  My current CD player sounds better and is almost 20 years old (a Sherwood Newcastle changer).  However it doesn't read some discs including those burned onto CD-R.  I don't want to invest in DACs.  I just want to be able to pop in a CD and listen. 

[mvwine]

I have had one playing in my study system for a couple of months now, and I am very pleased with it. It sounds better than the Rotel RCD-955 it replaced, although not quite as "analog - like" as the Rotel with a Scott Nixon DAC. Build quality seems to be very good for the price also.

[Noseyears]

A friend replaced his old player with this. The overall SQ was pretty good for the price, works good with low impedance headphones and female vocals sound very natural.

[opnly bafld]

I have been happy with the one in my bedroom system.

[yeldarb]

Bought one yesterday and, after a few hours, am very pleased with the way it sounds.  It took 2 hours for the bass to tighten up, but player has great detail, without sounding clinical.  I expect that it will get even better with some more time on.  It will replace my old faithful Denon DCD1500, which is getting tired (27 years) and give me another transport to my V. 2 Ack dac.
And, no, the Onkyo doesn't sound better than the Ack, but it is very decent.

[Mathew_M]

Well I purchased the Onkyo and have let it burn in over the past few days.  My overall impression is very positive this Sunday morning.  To put it into perspective, I had previously been using the headphone output from my Macbook Pro as a source.  Definitely room for improvement.  Comparatively the Onkyo presents a much bigger, detailed, spacious and "musical" sound.

What gets me is that I had previously used external DACs such as the Nuforce UDac2 and was never happy with the sound quality even with high quality rips.  And here is the Onkyo which offers a high quality Wolfram *sp?* DAC along with a hefty case and transformer for $175 shipped.  I guess another question is "Why are DACs so overpriced for what you get?" But I should save that for another discussion.

If you don't mind spinning discs then I can definitely recommend the Onkyo. 

[lacro]

Dumb question: This unit looks like it would fit the bill for a stand alone 2 channel system. I would like to use it with a PE DT100A "T" amp, but I am not sure what will control volume. The T amp has a gain control, but will that control volume from the CD player? Do I need a Preamp too? Also, I have a separate question: The player has both digital and analog out. Is the on board DAC canceled when digital out is used?

Thanks,
Larry

[srb]

I would like to use it with a PE DT100A "T" amp, but I am not sure what will control volume. The T amp has a gain control, but will that control volume from the CD player? Do I need a Preamp too?

The DT100A will control the volume from any analog source plugged into its inputs.  You would only need a preamp if you have more than two sources or needed remote control.  The DT100A has two analog inputs, a stereo pair of RCA jacks on the rear and a stereo 3.5mm phone jack on the front panel.  There is no input select switch though, so plugging a source into the front panel input selects it as the current input and it must then be unplugged to listen to the rear panel inputs (in the same way as plugging in headphones mutes the speakers).

The player has both digital and analog out. Is the on board DAC canceled when digital out is used?

Yes the digital outputs bypass the internal DAC.

Steve

[mvwine]

Just another note to anyone reading this thread that may be considring this player - I had a CD that my car player would not play the last track without major skipping. I played it in the Onkyo and it worked perfectly. My car player has always played CD's very well, so the Onkyo must be pretty darn good with difficult discs.

[yeldarb]

I have the digital output hooked through an external dac and the analog output hooked up, too.  It is interesting to flip the preamp selector and listen and compare the CD dac to my Ack.  Big output difference, so I have to adjust volume, but makes comparison easy.  Ack is battery powered, so background is "blacker", sounds more detailed, more in "control", but.....Onkyo is pleasant, non fatiquing and, at this time, seems to have better bass.  If I were to make a general conclusion, I think the Onkyo's mids and highs are more "tubey",  and it may still be settling in.  Nice piece of kit, as the Brits might say.   

Decades ago, I sold Onkyo (among other brands).  Internally, the wiring was a mess, apparently because Onkyo kept critical signal paths as short as possible.  And their mid line products always sounded better than the "big boys", Pioneer, Kenwood, Yamaha, etc. 

[lacro]

The DT100A will control the volume from any analog source plugged into its inputs.  You would only need a preamp if you have more than two sources or needed remote control.  The DT100A has two analog inputs, a stereo pair of RCA jacks on the rear and a stereo 3.5mm phone jack on the front panel.  There is no input select switch though, so plugging a source into the front panel input selects it as the current input and it must then be unplugged to listen to the rear panel inputs (in the same way as plugging in headphones mutes the speakers).
Yes the digital outputs bypass the internal DAC.

Steve

 I have owned a DTA-100A almost since they came out. It sure sounds pretty good to me. I use it in a desktop setup. I normally set the volume/gain to the mid point, and use the PC to control volume. I wasn't sure exactly what the control does. Is it actually a volume control? I know about the 2 inputs, and that the front 3.5 input cancels the rear RCA inputs. That's actually kind of handy when I want to try different input sources such as MP# player or laptop, with this little amp.
 If the DAC in the CD player is decent, do you think this little amp is up to the task if paired with my yet unfinished XL-S Encores? I believe they are 87db efficiency.

Larry
 
 

[srb]

When you use the PC as a volume control you are using a digital volume control that uses bits for attenuation.  Some digital volume controls are better than others, depending on how many bits are used and the dithering algorithm.  iTunes has a 24-bit volume control (if that's what you're using), so if you are only playing back 16-bit files, you should have 8-bits (or 48dB) of attenuation without affecting the music.

That being said (and math aside), when listening at lower volumes using the PC volume control, I still find the music loses dynamic range and sounds pretty flat.  When I crank iTunes (or any of my other software players) all the way up and use my amplifier to control the volume, the sound seems punchier and more dynamic and alive.

So try it for yourself, but most people will set the PC (or Mac or Squeezebox) volume at 100% and use the analog volume control on their amp/preamp, if they have one available.

The DTA-100A is listed at Parts Express as a "50WPC" amplifier, but that 8 ohm rating is with a fairly high 5% total harmonic distortion and the power output is a more realistic 30W/ch at .01% distortion.  If you were listening to those speakers in a medium to large room at loud levels, you would run out of steam and probably drive the amplifier to clipping.  For a nearfield desktop application or a small room at moderate levels, they should probably work pretty well.

Steve

[lacro]

That being said (and math aside), when listening at lower volumes using the PC volume control, I still find the music loses dynamic range and sounds pretty flat.  When I crank iTunes (or any of my other software players) all the way up and use my amplifier to control the volume, the sound seems punchier and more dynamic and alive.

So try it for yourself, but most people will set the PC (or Mac or Squeezebox) volume at 100% and use the analog volume control on their amp/preamp, if they have one available.



Steve

Steve,

Wow!  I tried your suggestion, and it does sound better. I tried it multiple times as a blind test with my wife doing the switching. I do have a question though. When streaming Pandora, what is the relationship between the music player volume control, and the keyboard volume control that is controlling the integrated sound card? Should they both be at 100%?

Larry

[srb]

When streaming Pandora, what is the relationship between the music player volume control, and the keyboard volume control that is controlling the integrated sound card? Should they both be at 100%?

The keyboard volume control is a Master volume control and each application in use also has a volume control.  For music, ideally they would both be at 100%.  If you click on the volume control icon in the system tray area on the taskbar, and click on Mixer at the bottom of the control, you will open the Volume Mixer control panel.

You will see the sound Device volume slider for the internal soundcard on the left which is the Master volume control, and volume sliders for individual applications to the right.  If using the Pandora desktop application, you should see a volume slider for it, or if using Pandora through a web browser you should see a volume slider for the browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).

You can set the volume slider for System Sounds independently so that system sound notifications are not too loud and the setting will be remembered.

Steve

[lacro]

The keyboard volume control is a Master volume control and each application in use also has a volume control.  For music, ideally they would both be at 100%.  If you click on the volume control icon in the system tray area on the taskbar, and click on Mixer at the bottom of the control, you will open the Volume Mixer control panel.

You will see the sound Device volume slider for the internal soundcard on the left which is the Master volume control, and volume sliders for individual applications to the right.  If using the Pandora desktop application, you should see a volume slider for it, or if using Pandora through a web browser you should see a volume slider for the browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).

You can set the volume slider for System Sounds independently so that system sound notifications are not too loud and the setting will be remembered.

Steve

Thanks Steve, Now I get it.
 One last question, does all this apply to both analog out and digital out (optical) from the PC. The analog out from the PC is currently going to the DT100-A for a nearfield sound system. However, I have digital out from the PC feeding a receiver. Should that signal be driven at 100% also?

Thanks,
Larry

[srb]

However, I have digital out from the PC feeding a receiver. Should that signal be driven at 100% also?

Yes.

Steve