Hello everyone,
I just got my turntable in working order and now I get new questions about digital music... I'm still not sure what format (vinyl / cd / streaming) I prefer but I think I prefer both the turntable and cd player to a computerized audio system like the hifi-berry which I also own. (but still don't use...) I like the instantness of the turntable and cd-player together with the lack of peripherals.
I am wondering if it would have any benefit to invest in a good cd player? At he moment I (rarely) use a Denon DCD-F100 cd-player and I'm curious if there will be a clear audible difference between this old cd player and a newer / more expensive one. Would it make sense to update this device or is quality of all recent - not too inexpensive - cd players, DACs and soundcards about the same?
For instance, I compared my friends 400 euro iFi DAC to a cheap onboard sound card (probably < 10 euro) and we were not able to hear any difference between his iFi and onboard laptop soundcard on his audio system. (he has 1000 euro B&W loudspeakers). When we tested his iFi on my electrostatic loudspeakers we did hear a (small) difference in favour of the iFi, the male voices in the music sounded a bit warmer, more pleasant. So this test made me sceptical about expensive digital audio hardware.