Music Hall MMF CD-25 vs. Rotel RCD-1072

[coonmanx]

I don't trust AI at all. It is not an actual entity. All it does is scrape the internet. If you want specifications then look them up. Frankly for me, my favorite CD player is a Panasonic SL-S160 portable CD player from 1995. Has the MASH DAC and sounds great. I listened to a CD on it today. Do you really think that an internet robot is going to tell you what sounds better? Also do your really think that you can "instruct" AI? AI is the garbage that the tech bros are trying to sell us because they have invested so much money in it. Let your ears decide, not a robot...

 

[Beave]

That's a good idea. I have a few people who'd be willing to do it.

It would only be a good idea if both players have the same output levels, within about 0.1dB. That's unlikely to be the case, meaning a listening comparison wouldn't be properly level matched.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

Having set up an HDCD library, I have some experience in this matter. The biggest advantage of HDCD is NOT better sound, but rather that SOME HDCD's have a greater dynamic range when played on a compatible CD player. Many HDCD's are no different sonically than regular CD's. The HDCD light will come on because it was mastered with a Pacific Microsonics machine. https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=List_of_HDCD-encoded_Compact_Discs is a useful reference for which HDCD's have a greater dynamic range. As for which player to use, listen to the mechanism with sound off and use the one which is quieter.

If some discs mastered in HDCD have greater dynamic range when played on a compatible player than standard 16 bit Red Book CDs, wouldn't that equate to better sound from those discs than the sound from standard 16 bit Red Book CDs? And when you say, "Listen to the mechanism with sound off and use the one which is quieter.", I don't know what you mean. Are you saying to turn on the CD players (one at a time, obviously) but don't have a disc playing and turn the volume up on the amp and see which one is quieter? Please clarify.

 

[Mnyb]

Rotel sounds like a good idea , ive had the typical experiences with cottage manufacturers , i'll go with a solid well known Japanese brand name company if possible .

 

[Gordon Tanner]

I don't trust AI at all. It is not an actual entity. All it does is scrape the internet. If you want specifications then look them up. Frankly for me, my favorite CD player is a Panasonic SL-S160 portable CD player from 1995. Has the MASH DAC and sounds great. I listened to a CD on it today. Do you really think that an internet robot is going to tell you what sounds better? Also do your really think that you can "instruct" AI? AI is the garbage that the tech bros are trying to sell us because they have invested so much money in it. Let your ears decide, not a robot...

Well, as I said, using AI is only a starting point. It's certainly far from infallible. I see it as a source of information, albeit not always reliable.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

It would only be a good idea if both players have the same output levels, within about 0.1dB. That's unlikely to be the case, meaning a listening comparison wouldn't be properly level matched.

True. But I don't think I have many options.

 

[Putter]

If some discs mastered in HDCD have greater dynamic range when played on a compatible player than standard 16 bit Red Book CDs, wouldn't that equate to better sound from those discs than the sound from standard 16 bit Red Book CDs? And when you say, "Listen to the mechanism with sound off and use the one which is quieter.", I don't know what you mean. Are you saying to turn on the CD players (one at a time, obviously) but don't have a disc playing and turn the volume up on the amp and see which one is quieter? Please clarify.

To me, better sound is improved frequency response or less distortion, but certainly better sound can also be increased dynamic range. As far as determining the better player, I was an educated guess that the player which had a quieter mechanism was better built.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

Rotel sounds like a good idea , ive had the typical experiences with cottage manufacturers , i'll go with a solid well known Japanese brand name company if possible .

I'm leaning towards the Rotel. I've had two of their RCD-951 CD Players in the past and I was very happy with them. I'm also really impressed with the RCD-1072, but I'm wondering if the Music Hall would be a better choice, hence my original post. Oh, well, I should stop being so OCD and get a life.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

To me, better sound is improved frequency response or less distortion, but certainly better sound can also be increased dynamic range. As far as determining the better player, I was an educated guess that the player which had a quieter mechanism was better built.

Right, but how do you determine which one has a quieter mechanism? That's what I'm unclear on.

 

[Beave]

Right, but how do you determine which one has a quieter mechanism? That's what I'm unclear on.

Play CDs on both and see if you hear any mechanical noise from either one.

 

[Beave]

Since you have both, why not keep both? Or if you have to decide on keeping only one, choose based on looks, price, remote control feet, whatever floats your boat. There's probably no technical/sound quality reason to select one over the other, but gear preference can include lots of things beyond that.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

Since you have both, why not keep both? Or if you have to decide on keeping only one, choose based on looks, price, remote control feet, whatever floats your boat. There's probably no technical/sound quality reason to select one over the other, but gear preference can include lots of things beyond that.

I've decided to keep the Rotel in my main system and have the Music Hall as a backup.

 

[jsrtheta]

If some discs mastered in HDCD have greater dynamic range when played on a compatible player than standard 16 bit Red Book CDs, wouldn't that equate to better sound from those discs than the sound from standard 16 bit Red Book CDs? And when you say, "Listen to the mechanism with sound off and use the one which is quieter.", I don't know what you mean. Are you saying to turn on the CD players (one at a time, obviously) but don't have a disc playing and turn the volume up on the amp and see which one is quieter? Please clarify.

I don't go near HDCD. I tried it when it came out. The HDCD signal consistently sounded worse than the original. I recall that Peter Aczel found the same. And what I read about the HDCD process put me off my feed.

 

[Gordon Tanner]

I don't go near HDCD. I tried it when it came out. The HDCD signal consistently sounded worse than the original. I recall that Peter Aczel found the same. And what I read about the HDCD process put me off my feed.

Interesting. One would assume that HDCD discs would sound better than Red Book CDs, because of the four extra bits of resolution. I'm not dismissing what you're saying, but the only way to know for sure would be to conduct a well designed, blinded A/B/X test comparing HDCD and Red Book versions of the same album.