Optimizing input to Audiolab 8200CDQ?

[John R Leddy]

I can cancel all my other holiday plans and read this thread... At last... a revised Audiolab CD/Q thread. [Archive] - pink fish media

 

Watch out for bigots; pfm attracts them like flies to dung!

[John R Leddy]

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Lynette,

 

Abandon dreams of doing this wirelessly?

 

Probably. Drop-outs can be seriously irritating.

 

Find a forum of 8200CDQ users who talk about this kind of thing?

 

Why not bring it here instead?

 

You should at least get something resembling the CD performance.

 

I think iago may be too polite here. You should easily achieve better performance than CD replay.

 

Just after posting I saw this thread and was afeared that my simple request might start a war: Can changing my USB cable Improve sound from Audiolab 8200CD?

 

Computer Audiophile isn't immune from the inevitable cable thread, but unlike other forums it's more like handbags at dawn, rather than personal diatribes against each other. Hmm... maybe.

 

Is ripping CDs to something other than the lossless a better choice?

 

Shouldn't be necessary. ALAC should be perfect.

 

I do have some faint hope of getting bits from my desktop on the third floor catwalk down to the stereo without buying (yet) another computer just for playing audio. If it's not possible now would be a good time for me to hear that!

 

If I'm picturing your set-up correctly, desktop upstairs to laptop downstairs should be possible via network cable or powerline adaptors.

 

All the best,

 

John.

[John R Leddy]

Okay, this is the best advice yet. In order to get really good sound from your CDQ in a computer-based system, take the alac file from your computer, burn it on a CD, and go put it in the CD tray of the player!

Audiolab 8200CDQ CD Player with Built-In Preamplifier - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

 

 

Lynette,

 

There are two solutions to your unhappy experience with network replay. There are no shortcuts with my suggestions. They cost money. However, if you allow me to suggest generic systems, we can keep it cheap and simple. Some of the guys here have pretty sophisticated set-ups, but KISS works for me. Also, you'll need to accommodate assumptions on my part as I work my way through these general solutions, and adapt things where applicable to yourself. Here goes.

 

Your player/renderer can take the form of either a laptop or a network audio player/renderer.

 

The laptop would then be connected via USB to USB (24-bit/96kHz), USB-S/PDIF Convertor to Digital Input COAX1 (24-bit/192kHz), or from TOSLINK output to Digital Input OPT1 (24-bit/96kHz) if available.

 

A network player would be connected to either Input AUX, or Digital Input COAX1 if the network player facilitated Digital Out, and if the external DAC possessed a preferable sonic presentation. A network renderer would be connected to Digital Input COAX1.

 

A basic and cheap consumer-type NAS used as a back-up device would then be chosen as the default source for your music files.

 

These two components would be connected with network cable or powerline adaptors via the integrated switch within your router, or external switch if required.

 

I must admit to personally preferring network audio players, but it should be said this is by no means the only solution, and can lock the system into a set specification, which a laptop to DAC set-up tends to circumvent more readily.

 

I choose to use such a basic set-up because it possesses rock-solid stability and reliability, and I just happen to abhor over-sophistication for its own sake. However, some own the perfectly valid point of view this half the fun, but to be honest I'm only into the music.

 

This is just my personal approach to network replay.

 

Hope these suggestions help.

 

All the best,

 

John.

[John R Leddy]

`

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2012 : Music Streamers

 

Best Streamer up to £600 : Pioneer N-50

 

Best Streamer £600 - £1,000 : Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 (Product of the Year)

 

Best Streamer £1,000 - £2,000 : Naim NAC-N 172 XS

 

Best Streamer £2,000 + : Cyrus Stream XP2-QX

[John R Leddy]

`

Streaming Audio Players

 

Asynchronous USB 2 DACs

 

DSD over USB

[John R Leddy]

Okay, this is the best advice yet. In order to get really good sound from your CDQ in a computer-based system, take the alac file from your computer, burn it on a CD, and go put it in the CD tray of the player!

Audiolab 8200CDQ CD Player with Built-In Preamplifier - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

 

"In comparing CD vs DAC I was surprised by the results. First comparison was a CD against the ALAC file of the same track played back via either iTunes or PureMusic on a Mac. Sometimes I preferred PureMusic over iTunes, other times the opposite. Versus the CD I found any differences to be subtle and attributable to the USB cable being used. Don't ask me why, in theory all USB cables should sound the same. They don't. Using the Oyaide D+ Class A USB cable I could not reliably tell a difference between the original CD and the ALAC file. Through speakers it was impossible, using a pair of Denon AH-D2000 headphones via the class A headphone amp, a slight difference could be heard at times. Sometimes I preferred the CD, other times the USB input, more often I could not distinguish a difference. Out of curiosity I decided to burn the same ALAC files to an audio CD. I wasn't expecting what I heard. In every single case, the CD made from the very same ALAC files sounded better. Better than both the original CD and the ALAC files played via USB or Toslink. The added dimensionality was palpable. Subtle details in the timbre of instruments were rendered more clearly from the CD-R. Odd indeed. If you're after the truest listening experience I highly suggest this unorthodox method. As a DAC it's safe to say the Audiolab equals the performance of the built in CD player if you compare the original CD to a lossless or uncompressed file from the same CD."

 

Brian Alvarez - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity - 30th May 2011

[John R Leddy]

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USB to SPDIF Converters

[John R Leddy]

Must be a pretty good internal CD unit...

 

My weekend testing did lead me to think this must be some good CD player.

 

The Audiolab 8200CDQ CD Player uses a Sony KHM-313AAM CD Mechanism.

 

 

 

 

Audiolab 8200CDQ CD Player (Early Type)

 

Audiolab 8200CDQ CD Player (Late Type)