Rega Isis reference (CD Player)

[Frank Dernie]

Who here has ever actually done one or properly?

I have and was surprised to find when I was not knowing which DAC and the levels were matched (this made the biggest difference IME) I couldn't reliable pick out which was which. I -could- hear the difference of some of the reconstruction filters on the dCS where they were switchable.

Placebo effect is the only scientific explanation why some people may hear differences between level matched DACs as long as the laws of physics aren't repealed

 

[voodooless]

Let us remember that we can't rule out the possibility that he really is hearing a difference - because the newer one he hates is defective and not performing as intended.

Without measurements, we don't know.

Another reason could be the Bluetooth codec doing things it should not. It’s way more likely that any actual audible difference would stem from this, rather than the DAC chip used. The lower latency capabilities of the newer device is one clue in that direction when using aptX adaptive, for instance.

None of this has any bearing on the CD player at hand. No CD-player should be this expensive, no matter how many veils it lifts. You can get a pair of extremely good speakers for that price. I’d suggest to waste your money on that and get a cheap player.

 

[BlueTunes]

I have, it is revelatory, but a bit of a kerfuffle, but worth it if you really want to know.
Keith

I tried but found it difficult to get something approaching a repeatable affair and gave up.

The hardest bit without actually having two sources playing level-matched at the time time was remembering what one source sounded like when listening to the other. This of course tells you that either source in my attempt were reasonably similar anyway.

 

[BlueMeanie]

Not sure if that's relevant here, but some years ago I got a Rega Apollo, their smaller (and much cheaper) CD player and ended up hating it.

That CD drive was so damn sensitive, I kept a microfiber cloth next to the stereo because every tiny speck of dust or fingerprint would mean the player skipped and quite often hang at some point. Some of my oldest CDs which had collected some scratches wouldn't play at all. Others on the net reported similar problems.

I finally switched to a Rotel CD14 and never looked back. Considering how I felt about the Rega it's probably no surprise the Rotel sounded so much better to my ears - but I wouldn't be surprised if the Rega engineers had designed the player to sound "analogue" or something.

Anyway, I'll never again consider buying a Rega CD player.

Oh, looks like they only offer the Isis these days - that things way out of my budget anyway. (But there's valve version...)

 

[LTig]

Who here has ever actually done one or properly?

I did. It was a very humbling experience.

 

[Toni71]

This man wasted a lot of savings on (good) expensive speakers. I have tried so hard in the past listening to and buying cd players so I could perhaps join the audiophile society, but unfortunately I could not hear any differences. So, now I (Moron?) am just on my own with my speakers, sigh...

 

[JeffS7444]

Who here has ever actually done one or properly?

Not exhaustively, and not with transducers, but it was enough to convince me that CD-quality sound, and inexpensive audio electronics can pretty much deliver all the sonic goodies. But we "hear" with our other senses too!