CDP - why?

[MontyW]

Hi,

I have been looking for a CDP or transport to hook up to my Benchmark DAC1 for a while, until today when I borrowed a Denon DN-C640 Network Cd player from a friend. Indeed it was this friend who introduced me to the Benchmark.

When hooked up to the DAC1 this CDP to my ears sounds 'amazing'! This got me thinking, why is it we often don't consider pro recording studio kit, especially as the Denon CDP costs around £500?

Cheers,

Monty

[RobHolt]

Audiophile snobbery - simple as that.

[rollo]

Hi,

I have been looking for a CDP or transport to hook up to my Benchmark DAC1 for a while, until today when I borrowed a Denon DN-C640 Network Cd player from a friend. Indeed it was this friend who introduced me to the Benchmark.

When hooked up to the DAC1 this CDP to my ears sounds 'amazing'! This got me thinking, why is it we often don't consider pro recording studio kit, especially as the Denon CDP costs around £500?

Cheers,

Monty

IMHO, just a lack of exposure to what is available. My buddy uses a Tascam CDP as a transport and an Art DIO as a D/A. Sounds dam good to me. The active crossovers from Rane are the real deal as well.
You don't know until you try. The best part is the pricing seems fair for the Pro gear. No high end salons I guess.



rollo

[cooky1257]

I don't know-probably is snobbery.
People should though!
Open up some high end kit and you'll laugh or cry depending on wether you've forked out a fortune on it or not.

[MontyW]

Well I was amazed at how good the Denon/Benchmark combo was... and in my view excellent value for money!

I have spent many years buying hi-fi kit and have never (until recently) considered pro studio gear - I will from now on.

Monty

[George Sallit]

Some is good and some just average.

A lot is designed to withstand a real bashing so it has to be very resilient. This is not normally a problem at home. Sorting the wheat from the chaff is the problem.

Also some equipment is designed so you can hear all the problems with a recording. You don't want people to hear the air-con unit because your speakers missed them. This tends to mean some gear has an incredibly forward sound so you can hear it all.

As most is played very loud then that is also important but maybe not as much for home users.

Still I can talk with Tannoy speakers...

[fox]

Finishing also adds a lot ot the cost of gear.With pro audio monitors no one's going to care about a pair of speakers finished in sticky backed plastic but in the living room its going to maybe look a bit out of place, hence veneer finishes with high gloss two-pack laquers which can take a long time to apply (trust me on this) and cost an absolute bomb to do right. This trend is changing however and you will see really exquisite finished speakers being used.

Sounds wise pro-audio gear tends to be very even handed. Good recordings sound excellent but poor recordings are hard going. Audiophile systems tend to be comparatively very generous to poor recordings with audiophiles taking great pains to mix and match, tailoring the sound the way they want it -- pro audio tends to aim for neutrality.

Also everyone listens differently. Pro audio gear allows me to analyze the music. Unravel bits, hear what is going on, really get behind a sound and drill into something. Audiophiles (as a huge huge generalism) are very different and attach more importance to emotional attachment and the artifice of suspending disbelief listening to "a performance". Pro audio gear more readily exposes the recording for what it is -- a recording made up from the sum of its parts.

[BlueMax]

I have used cables and interconnects made for the pro audio-market. eg. Van Damme direct from VDC Trading.
Found that they are top quality stuff without the 'hi-fi' price tag. So I guess CDPs and other gear made for use by recording companies, broadcasting stations, etc will be just as good. But where do you find them?

[MontyW]

Contact these guys:

http://www.d-mpro.eu.com/index2.php?CID=5&lang=eng

For either Denon or Marantz pro kit.

[Tenson]

There is also snobbery in the pro market, so don't be fooled in to thinking its all worth the money. I think in general though, the more affordable pro kit is better sounding than the affordable domestic kit.