Hi Christoph,
Sorry I’m a bit slow in replying.
The CDT I tried is a Meridian, Roon wins.
I’m waiting to get hold of an Allo Digi hat to try as an upgrade, they are all out of stock. When I get it I will report on any improvements.
Stay well, John
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If you have already ripped your CDs and use steaming services via Roon, then the best reason to buy a new CD player is if you just like the idea of the physical ritual of playing CDs and choosing one from the shelf - which should not be underestimated.
I’m looking to buy a Quad CD player at the moment because it has digital inputs for a Chromecast to stream with Roon and I can play a CD every now and again for nostalgic purposes, when the mood takes me.
Will it sound better/worse/different than streaming from Roon? Doubt it, and I’m not fussed really,
I have used Chromecast as an endpoint, it is good, however my Pi3B with HiFi berry digi HAT produces a much superior sound.
… well, I have to say that my perspective is starting to change. I had the opportunity to listen to some higher class CD Transports (Metronome Technologie 4 example) and the sound just blew me away. Also, after a few years of Vinyl only for active listening and streaming via Roon here and there, it was a pleasure to spin a CD. Further I love a physical music collection and I have thousands of Vinyl & CD Albums. I enjoy standing in front of my collection and going through it - feels so much better than trying to find something in the digital world. Don`t get me wrong, Roon ist great, I will keep using it for playing mixed playlist, for background listening in the living room and also for discovering new music, but as far as serious listening in my listening room goes, I am actually tempted to disconnect everything from the WiFi and just live with my real life music collection and spin music, CD wise oder Vinyl.
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… just picking up on this - I have now spent 3 weeks with an Esoteric CDP and there is no doubt to me that the CD still sounds superior. Quite by far, actually. I even compared some bought HiRes tracks from Qobuz and I still really prefer the CD - then again, I also prefer Vinyl over the CD… so each to their own, I guess. For me Roon is great in the living room and/or for playlists and background music - but otherwise Vinyl & CD anytime! Still love Roon for what it is though!!! Cheers
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Ditto. I had a Gold Note CD player in. It sounded better than my streaming setup, by quite a margin. Go figure (I haven’t yet).
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I bought a Cambridge Audio CXC V2 transport a couple of weeks ago and have been enjoying the hell out of it. It started out in my headphone rig (Schiit Bifrost 2, Blue Jean Cables Ethernet, Coax and RCAs, Asgard 3, Vali 2+, Audeze LCD2C) using several endpoints including RaspberryPi 4/Silent Angel, RaspberryPi 3/Allo DigiOne and an iPhone 6s+. My system is pretty well optimized and sounds great streaming via the endpoints listed. In critical listening the CXC V2 transport had a slight edge in SQ. It was noticeable but it wasn’t a night or day scenario that made me feel that my streamers were weak. Taking into account the ease of use of streaming with Roon/Tidal and to me it’s pretty much a wash from a user experience when sitting in my comfy chair listening to headphones. BTW, the flac files used in this test were made from the same CD’s played via the transport.
I moved the CXC into the living room HT rig and it sounds great via coax to my Marantz receiver which is funny because I felt the RaspberryPi 3/DigiOne didn’t sound it’s best in that configuration. I assumed that Coax may be sub optimal on the Marantz which probably favors HDMI but the CXC sounds much better on the Marantz coax. Go figure. Based on this experiment I would consider adding a smaller footprint CD transport to my headphone rig. Schiit has one coming out that I have high hopes for since it will be optimized for Unison USB into a Schiit DAC like the Bifrost.
The experience of pulling out a CD, remembering the times I’ve listened to it throughout the years is different than the convenience of streaming locally or via a service. I seek out good masters and discs without a lot of loudness wars compression. You don’t always know which mastering or pressing the streaming services use so it’s still nice to be able to load up a best in class CD and listen to an entire album and the bonus is that CD playback is a very mature technology that ekes out every last drop of SQ.
I also have a CXC, and it is a really excellent transport, especially for the money - one of the best value pieces of gear out there IMHO. However the SQ from my streaming setup is significantly better. This is not surprising I guess since I invested quite a bit of money in it - a Lumin T2, which is about 10x the cost of the CXC. It also exposes the limitations in the DAC in my Hegel H190, since the T2 is going in via XLR opposed to S/PDIF for the CXC. The result being that I haven’t listened to a CD in the almost year I’ve had the T2. I still buy CDs, e.g. if there is a specific master I’m after or if an album is not available as a digital download (or is significantly cheaper on CD), but they just get ripped straight to FLAC.
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… well - the plain fact that people have different preferences says a lot about the „digital is digital“ idea… I like the idea of actually owning a big physical music collection - so I am really happy with my vinyl and CD - but streaming also has it‘s arguments - in tje end it‘s all good 
… I went down the streaming road and fell straight back to CD and Vinyl for „pure listening“ and am flashed at how good a decent CD Transport can sound… if I were more into streaming I might have invested similar budget and found it to sound great too… but as said, I like my music in physical collection and I actually enjoy spinning discs, digital or analogue…
Probably says more about the “people are people” idea, I’d guess.
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Playing CDs gives a nice break from Roon’s annoyances and reduces screen time. Yes CD can sound better, sometimes trumped by better recordings, depends. @Christoph_Longree would suggest a player with SACD capability, there’s vast content out there still.
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Hi guys,
Reading this thread and wanted to give my thoughts about it.
All depends on how your endpoint handles the digital stream and sends it to the dac.
And, of course, it also depends on the cdplayer’s transport and digital circuitry etc.
We can not compare apples with pears.
My solution for example:
Streaming:
RPI + Allo isolator + Allo Kali reclocker + dedicated HQ linear PSU for Kali + dedicated HQ linear PSU for RPI connected thru I2S to dual AK4497 dac. Endpoint software used is Ropieee.
CDPlayer:
Sony CDP-X7-ESD with external (build-in) femtoclock with dedicated HQ linear PSU and R-Core transformer connected with Coax-SPDIF to the same dual AK4497 dac.
First I have to say my set is rather dissolving, have acoustic room treatment (basstraps etc.).
Before I replaced the standard clock in my X7 it didn’t come close to streaming (Tidal-Roon).
After building-in a much better clock including psu etc. it really comes close, but it’s still not as good
as the streaming solution.
Within a few weeks I will exchange all standard L78xx and L79xx regulators with TI TPS7A4701-3301 regulators. I hope it will gain in SQ and comes closer to the streaming solutions SQ.
I don’t think it can get better than my streaming solution, but we will see.
If a low cost cdplayer, connected digitally to your dac, outperforms your streaming solution,
there definitely is something wrong with your streaming solution.
I tried a lot SPDIF outputs from cdplayers but never found one that really sounded good without modifying first.
My Sony CDP-X7ESD, the last CDP manufactured with the famous KSS190A /BU1 transport mechanism, was the first who sounded really good without modifying.
Also, maybe good to mention, all SACD/DVD/DVDA transports which I tested sounded like garbage.
That said, if your streaming solution is good and up to its task, I think it is very hard to beat it with a conventional cd transport.
I will post my findings after regulators have been upgraded in my X7.
Cheers,
Alex
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I think for RB/CD ‘files’, CDP’s are obsolete. I get better results from streaming, and using an external DAC or integrated streamer.
However, I have a large SACD collection, and this is where a separate SACD player comes into its own.
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There is no reason a CD transport should sound better than streaming a rip to a quality Roon endpoint over Ethernet. None…nada….zero. Anyone who says different is perpetuating a myth.
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Well - as I started the thread I just wanted to let you know that I spent a lot of time comparing and finding out what suits me best, soundwise but also for other reasons, and I ended up with an Escoteric CDT ;-).
That said - I do still stream and love Roon - but for plain listening on the big system it`s just Vinyl (most of the time) and CD.
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The only justification for an Esoteric CDP these days is if you have an SACD collection.
Otherwise, with RB/CD files/rips, you’re better looking at streamers/DACS IMO.
Mind you, the later Esoteric X/XS/XD aren’t bad ‘one box’ solutions as you can stream to their DAC’s via USB rather than buying a separate DAC.
You ‘pays your money, you takes your choice’! 
… well - you see, I find its exactly the other way around... the only justification for streaming these days is, if you dont own a music collection or do not want to build such a collection. Given the quality I get out of Redbook via a decent CDP/CDT these days, it is so far advanced, that it can easily compete with streaming.
What I found is, that for the main part, differences result in the mastering. Never did I find that - equal files given - the CDT sounded worse.
The quality of built CDTs/CDPs and a good CD is so immense these days, that they are up to paar with streaming or in times even better. Streaming on the other hand is still in development.
As for me, I love my physical music collection and I enjoy using CDs (and Vinyl even more), so there is very little reason for streaming - especially when playing music in a dedicated listening environment and doing so because you want to enjoy an entire album - which is what I do.
Streaming has other advantages - but it does not outperform a good CD setup (at times I even found playing the CD more enjoyable even than streaming hi-res - and again, probably due to the different masterings).
So all I can say is - go and make up your own mind and see what gives you the best overall result!
Sorry Christoph, but I have to disagree with you on this.
I believe streaming via a decent streamer/DAC has the ability to, and does indeed outperform a good RB CD setup.
As had been before by @Speed_Racer:
It’s different with SACD. But for RB/CD files/rips, a streamer/DAC wins hands-down every time, for acknowledged technical reasons.
I’m not going to argue with you Christoph, if it works for you then that’s all that matters.
If an alien read all posts in here I don’t think he/she/it would ever make a decision on how best to get into this hobby due to all the conflicting ideas.
Me? No matter what I listen to I find a large measure always improves it, I keep having to repeatedly test it.
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… thats perfectly okay and I can totally understand why one would would go down that road - its just not for me. Don`t get me wrong, I do love Roon and enjoy streaming - just prefer the other sources more.
Then again I do belong to those, who prefer vinyl over digital - just like I tried getting as close an analog feeling with digital playback as possible and the Esoteric came close. Differences are smaller than one would think anyway - when setups are decent. I think CD or streaming can both be excellent and it does come down to a question of personal preference.