[tvad4]

Its just that you get so much more in terms of performance and ease of use with hard drive based audio that CD players can't compete.

Here is where I disagree, although I'm open to being educated. First, it's imperative to know what your experience is with CD players when discussing performance.  I assume when you say performance, your are discussing sound here, yes? Which players specifically have you owned? I'd be willing to put a couple modded Denon 3910 machines up against any hard drive based system and compare performance.

Then, in terms of ease of use, I'd argue that this criteria is completely user dependent. Personally, I don't find assembling a computer based system easier to do than plugging in a CD player. I don't consider file management easier than pulling a CD out of a shelf and putting it in the player. But, this is my perspective.

I will say the Olive players are right in the sweetspot of ease of use, convenience and one-box design. As soon as the DACs in these machines are compared favorably with the best stand-alone DACs, or with the DACs that are available in some one-box modded machines...like the APL Denon 3910, then I'll begin to look seriously at them as replacements for my modded universal player.

[ZooDog]

I'll throw in another vote for a computer based system.  There are many good ways to do it, Sqeezebox included.  Definitely not plug n' play like a regualr CDP, but once it is set up and you've experienced the convenience of having your entire library at your fingertips there is no going back.

IMHO, in a couple of years there will be a lot of high-end CDP's listed on Audiogon for a fraction of their original price.

[tvad4]

IMHO, in a couple of years there will be a lot of high-end CDP's listed on Audiogon for a fraction of their original price.

That sounds reasonable to me, and it'll give the industry sufficient time to produce some world class one-box hard drive/CD based systems. I look forward to that.

[WerTicus]

i have a pc based audio system

wouldnt be able to go back to a dvd/cd based system again, what a pain!

[tvad4]

Are you guys who have PC based audio systems married? If so, do you have dedicated audio rooms? If not, where is your system located?

[shokunin]

Are you guys who have PC based audio systems married? If so, do you have dedicated audio rooms? If not, where is your system located?

If using a squeezebox then the pc can be located anywhere in the house upstairs in a closet, in the basement, in the garage, as it's all networked, either wirelessly or through traditional ethernet.  If you're not using a squeezebox, then almost any simple PC using a good soundcard or a USB digital out device can be used.  A laptop, mac mini, an Aopen mini-pc, or any other DIY computer can be used.

I still use both, a traditional CDP going into my DAC as well as PC based playback.  Personally, I would not buy a stand-alone CDP if it did not have a way to access the dacs through S/PDIF or AES/EBU or some other digital connection.

[tvad4]

If using a squeezebox then the pc can be located anywhere in the house upstairs in a closet, in the basement, in the garage, as it's all networked, either wirelessly or through traditional ethernet.  If you're not using a squeezebox, then almost any simple PC using a good soundcard or a USB digital out device can be used.  A laptop, mac mini, an Aopen mini-pc, or any other DIY computer can be used.

I still use both, a traditional CDP going into my DAC as well as PC based playback.  Personally, I would no ...

Thanks, but you didn't answer any of my questions. Perhaps I need to be less circumspect.

IMO, PC based systems do not blend well into a home's decor...specifically living rooms and common areas other than kitchens, offices and dedicated audio rooms.

I suspect most people with PC based systems are either single, or they have dedicated audio/media rooms and the issue of decor is not so important.

[shokunin]

Thanks, but you didn't answer any of my questions. Perhaps I need to be less circumspect.

Hmm, married, 2 wonderful kids, non-dedicated, all-in-one home theater & 2-channel system that has basically taken over the living room.

I mean a PC based system can look just like any other piece of equipment.  A squeezebox looks like a stylish Alarm clock, a diy PC can look fancy by using an A-tech Fabrication case, a silverstone tek case, a mac mini, or some other HTPC-type case.  If going the PC route, then the PC can be remotely controlled through a wireless PDA (Dell Axim), a laptop, a Sony PSP, etc.  

Better yet, just hide the damn thing inside a cabinet or somewhere near the stereo and use a remote control.  I used a dell axim, but ended up selling it since I almost always reverted back to using my laptop.

[lonewolfny42]

IMO, PC based systems do not blend well into a home's decor...specifically living rooms and common areas other than kitchens, offices and dedicated audio rooms.

If your using a SB...as wireless, the computer can be anywhere in the house....thats my understanding.[/list:u]
That said...I had a hard time setting my SB up....so I shipped it out...on "loan".[/list:u]
Its great if your into computers....and understand how things work. If not....then its easy to open the cdp draw...drop in a disc...and hit play. No computer crashing...no backing up files....no fixing the software.[/list:u]
Use whatever you like for a source....SB....computer....cdp....its all good. [/list:u]

[WerTicus]

what does married have to do with anything?

i live with my girlfriend so its more or less the same... i have my audio setup in my office which is the second floor of my house.

basically 3 metres behind my monitor i have my speakers and i work all day from home thus i can listen to my setup all day..

however i do miss having a lounge type stereo room sometimes.

[bhobba]

ok now i got ya Bill,Vinnie at red wine sells these.i have to do a little  reading on them,embrace technology,or reject it.something new....        

Sorry - forgot to include the link.  Check out
http://www.redwineaudio.com/Olive.html

With these beauties you can connect them to a computer - or not - whatever takes your fancy.  But either way studies have shown playback via a hard drive is more accurate and is wthout a doubt the future.

Thanks
Bill

[PorkpieHat]

If you are still looking for a player after all the pro-computer pressure here, I'd second the Ayre CX-7e. I have one of these and it really is a superb player. Ayre supports it with a transferrable 5 year warranty, and rather than produce new models every year, they upgrade the current unit. Can't promise it will always be that way of course, but this has been their approach in the past. In fact you can buy an earlier edition and send it in to Ayre for an upggrade. If you get the serial numnber from the seller, Ayre will tell you what version you have and what the cost will be to bring it up to date.

I myself have looked into a computer-based playback system and all I can say is that I barely have time to listen to what I have, never mind ripping thousands of CDs to a hard drive, label all the tracks, what have you.

[WerTicus]

also keep in mind dvdaudio has been cracked and you can copy these to your hard drive in full quality 24bit 192kh wav files.

and the FLAC format can store these wav's compressed and lossless.

[PhilNYC]

I will say the Olive players are right in the sweetspot of ease of use, convenience and one-box design. As soon as the DACs in these machines are compared favorably with the best stand-alone DACs, or with the DACs that are available in some one-box modded machines...like the APL Denon 3910, then I'll begin to look seriously at them as replacements for my modded universal player....

The Olive Opus uses the same top of the line Burr-Brown DAC as many of the highest-grade audiophile CDPs...it uses 4 of them (2 per channel) in a balanced design similar to the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and BAT VK-D5 (all designed in part or in whole by Jeff Kalt, btw).  If Jeff was involved, I'm pretty sure it's going to sound pretty awesome...

[guest1632]

ok now i got ya Bill,Vinnie at red wine sells these.i have to do a little  reading on them,embrace technology,or reject it.something new.... :)  :)  :D  :)  :)

Hi 2bigears,  Something I would keep in mind, I have trouble with the notion of buying used gear and paying almost 2 grand or more for it. You have no warranty. So if something goes wrong you gotta find a place to get it fixed. If you were in a city, that wouldn't concern me so much. I've heard good things about the Musical Fidelity A5, and the Constance, (spelled it wrong) droplet. Don't think you'd go wrong with any of them. That AIR CX7 is good too. I'll see if I can dig up a review of the A5.

Ray

[tvad4]

The Olive Opus uses the same top of the line Burr-Brown DAC as many of the highest-grade audiophile CDPs...it uses 4 of them (2 per channel) in a balanced design similar to the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and BAT VK-D5 (all designed in part or in whole by Jeff Kalt, btw).  If Jeff was involved, I'm pretty sure it's going to sound pretty awesome...

That's good for a consumer product. Having just come off a player with 4 AKM DACs per channel, I've been spoiled.

[tvad4]

Hi 2bigears,  Something I would keep in mind, I have trouble with the notion of buying used gear and paying almost 2 grand or more for it. You have no warranty. So if something goes wrong you gotta find a place to get it fixed.

That's a valid concern. Dan Wright's service is as good as gold, and he has an unwritten but implicit policy of honoring his warranty to owners of his used gear. Worst case scenario is he charges for parts, and his labor is free. 2bigears' location is serviced be FedEx. There should be no concern about buying a used Modwright.

[guest1632]

The Olive Opus uses the same top of the line Burr-Brown DAC as many of the highest-grade audiophile CDPs...it uses 4 of them (2 per channel) in a balanced design similar to the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and BAT VK-D5 (all designed in part or in whole by Jeff Kalt, btw).  If Jeff was involved, I'm pretty sure it's going to sound pretty awesome...

That's good for a consumer product. Having just come off a player with 4 AKM DACs per channel, I've been spoiled.

Which one was that. On a cheaper note, JVC was using these AKM Dacs, and they are suppose to be rather good. But as usual, they are getting cheaper, and can't find the good ones any more. So that was why my question on which CDPlayer are you referring to. Thanks.

Ray

[tvad4]

Which one was that. On a cheaper note, JVC was using these AKM Dacs, and they are suppose to be rather good. But as usual, they are getting cheaper, and can't find the good ones any more. So that was why my question on which CDPlayer are you referring to. Thanks.

Ray

Ray, the player was an APL Denon 3910, which uses AKM4396 DACs. The latest version of the APL now uses 8 AKM DACs per channel.

[guest1632]

Which one was that. On a cheaper note, JVC was using these AKM Dacs, and they are suppose to be rather good. But as usual, they are getting cheaper, and can't find the good ones any more. So that was why my question on which CDPlayer are you referring to. Thanks.

Ray

Ray, the player was an APL Denon 3910, which uses AKM4396 DACs. The latest version of the APL now uses 8 AKM DACs per channel.

Hey thanks for the info. How much is that player? and how much does Dan charge to do his mods. He's primarily working on his preamp these days.

Ray