The DAC You Need for Your CD Player

Upgrade your listening experience with the perfect DAC for your CD player. Find out what a DAC is and why you need one for your CD player in this video!
Get my CD shirt here: bit.ly/3OFLRah
DACs Featured:
SMSL SU-1: amzn.to/4a8CnNc
FiiO K7: amzn.to/3VbzhUt
iFi Audio Neo iDSD: howl.me/clPfTDoHvyH
Schiit Modius E: amzn.to/4acmnKg
Denafrips Pontus II: amzn.to/3vbP2Aa
Other options:
Under $500:
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M: howl.me/clPfW4NFjTs
iFi Zen DAC V2: howl.me/clPfXOmdxeC
iFi Zen One Signature: howl.me/clPfYme2oIf
Schiit Modi 3E: amzn.to/43dOXIT
Over $1000
Denafrip Ares II: ebay.us/lncYYe
Holo Spring DAC: ebay.us/66Syq2
Join my NEW Patreon and get access to "After Filming Commentary": bit.ly/41Qpnc6
🔗 Connect with Me 🔗
📸 / _mykandrew
🐦‍⬛ / _mykandrew
🎧 / discord
🎥 My Filming Gear
Camera: howl.me/cjleFAKXxQx
Microphone: howl.me/ck2vClRJawu
Lighting: howl.me/ck2vCTVva4K
Check out the full list of my gear:
bit.ly/47CQN6Y
🔔 Subscribe and Stay Updated 🔔
Love the content? Subscribe and hit the bell icon to get notified about my latest videos. Your support means everything!
📧 Contact Me
For business inquiries or collaborations, please email me at [e-mail]
Full Disclosure:
Some of the links in this description are affiliate links, which means if you purchase through them, I'll earn a little commission to keep this channel running. Think of it as a little tip for a job well done, and thank you for supporting the channel 🤙
0:00 Intro
0:39 What is a DAC?
5:00 SMSL SU-1
5:48 FiiO K7
6:51 Schiit Modius E
8:30 iFi Neo iDSD
10:30 Denafrips Pontus II
12:33 Final Thoughts
#dac #cdplayer #cds

[@carravagio16]

You left off the best bang for the buck - Geshelli Labs J2

[@VirusForPrez]

@carravaginio Actually it's the SMSL Su-1 @79$

[@mikecampbell5856]

You're so right Michael. Paul from PS Audio said that the DAC is way more important than the transport. He said in a pinch he bought a cheap Blu Ray player for a show to use for his DAC and it sounded great. I have a couple of Schiit Audio Modi 3+ DACs and I love them.

[@jamesfarrow6752]

Just watched Michael's video from 11 months ago about the difference transports can make. These differences appear to be quite subtle but from my own experience when upgrading my streamer, this resulted in a significant improvement.

[@nc3419]

If you want the cheapest way to connect and get great sound, alot of bluray (and some DVD) players sound fantastic for audio. Better than alot of entry level dacs. Used players from panasonic, sony, etc can be found cheap and may be preferable to many CD players as well.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

I have a blu ray LG player but the only output is an hdmi and my dvd player samsung only has rca output, but hdmi is only for video and cannot find a dac with rca input, also dvds get stuck in those players and cannot get them out

[@gauravLDH]

​@@user-oh6ev7mj5qthe reason you can't find one is because it doesn't exist, DAC mean digital to analogue converter, rca out is already analogue and hence cant sent to a DAC

[@kathrynhulme1942]

Dude I love the way you talk, provide imagery to highlight your communication intentions. Wicked !

[@mykandrew]

Thank you so much 😊

[@kathrynhulme1942]

No way.....thankyou!! 😀

[@jimalbruzzess2445]

Hey Mike, great video. I ❤my Pontus 2 as well. It sounds freakin awesome. Can't see going to anything else any time, for several years anyways. Have a great week.

[@stephenbailey9969]

I tried a number of dacs and ended up with the SMSL VMV D1se. Clear but not glare, nice analog warmth through single ended out. If a person keeps looking, they'll find one that will satisfy.

[@carminedesanto6746]

GM ☕️❄️ I went with rebuilding my cd systems. Audiolab 6000cdt I went with the Denafrips Ares 12-1 the latest version and I’m very happy indeed 😊. The Pontus was just to pricey..but who knows maybe go to the Venus later in the future. Have a great Sunday

[@fascination.sound.and.groove]

Hello Andre, try the *Musical Paradise MP DX ES9068 DAC.* I tested it in a video. And I'm happy. Many greetings from Hamburg, Andre 🤠

[@rmzidann]

I agree about the Pontus 2… great DAC. I have listened to the Terminator plus and it really is a reference grade DAC, but too expensive for my budget

[@J.J.C.JR.]

Back about 30 years ago, you could take a decent size step forward. Not a big step, not a small step. You could go from any $200 to $400 cd player and they were all crap. Take a step and move to a Philips cd80, and now you have a huge improvement in sound. Liking the difference, you take a huge step to a Denon Das1 , with the transport $15k. Now we are a little disappointed because the sound isn't much better than the cd80. Lets call it diminishing return. An extra 200 bucks makes a huge difference but an extra 8 thousand doesn't. Fast forward 35 years and a smsl sounds about as good as a das1. Technology, go figure So we know the smsl sounds ok but where is that 1st step, and does it still exist? that makes the big difference, but before you're just spending stupid money? Thanks to anyone that can give me some insight.

[@maidsandmuses]

Funny you mention the Philips CD80; I have two Marantz CD80 players which are essentially the same machine as the Philips but with a few Marantz-specific component upgrades and different cosmetics. I fully recapped them and rolled the I/V conversion and output opamps, and these machines still hold up very well against the significantly more expensive modern players I have heard as well as against my Marantz SA15S2. I can't give specific examples but that first "affordable" improvement step likely still exists. Like in the 90's, you will probably find that first improvement step does not involve a different DAC topology or different DAC chip(s), but an upgrade in power supply topology as well as better quality components and better analogue output amps. The scope for sound differences between different DACs attributable to what happens _after_ the actual DAC (i.e. the "A" bit) is often under-appreciated.

[@J.J.C.JR.]

@@maidsandmuses Clearly, you get it. Thanks much. I'll keep that in mind.I don't know much about the digital world but did think it was more about the chip. I still have my cd80 and would like to get it fixed. As dumb as it sounds, screw the Denon. It may look nice but way overpriced and that transport is nowhere near as special as they say. The thing doesn't even have the power to lift the door. I miss the cd80.

[@ibisman1593]

LIKE your T shirt man.

[@mykandrew]

Thanks! I sell them on my online shop!

[@phreak1118]

I have the Schiit Bifrost 2. I like it a lot but I wish it did DSD.

[@jp93309]

A used combo dvd/cd/sacd player combo unit will have an excellent dac along with very good SNR and dynamic range. This is because sacd playback mandates using the internal dac and outputting through rca analog connections. Given the higher demand for quality sacd sound, the internal dac is usually superior than what’s oem in standard cd players.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

that would be very hard to find or need maintenance, I could never find one when they were in market. What about dac of bluray?

[@inlikeflynt56]

I took a Schiit Bifrost 2/64 coupled with the Schiit Urd cod transport and got Sonic nirvana.

[@carlsitler9071]

Based on your budget, look around and buy what catchers your fancy. The $70 smsl su-1 sounds as good as anyone would want. I have had the $110 smsl Sanskrit 2 for years and it is AMAZING!!! Or you can spend $13,500 for a 1% or 2% improvement.

[@nc3419]

I think the improvements are alot more than 1 or 2% however incremental or not, everything else in the system has to work in tandem. Still, if someone is willing to pay more to achieve those improvements across the board in speakers, amps, etc in addition to a dac is the question. I have two dacs which together cost under a grand. Alot still for many but still budget in this wacky hobby. Are they better than the one in my Hegel? No. Different, close in some ways and I could prefer one depending on music, but overall, the built in dac with the hegel amp is typically preferred and better as its pretty well implemented. But some wouldn't necessarily hear much at first listening. Either way, they perform well enough, and spending more gets a little here and there. With a smaller amp and speakers, it isn't worth it, for me at least to spend more money. Each system I have performs well. I guess that's synergy. And yes, too many dacs with ever so slight differences. BTW, some of the older CD players with the old, cheap but desirable chips sounded great too.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

do you know one that has headphone plug input or rca input? My cd player only has headphone output and my amp has only rca input. I need a dac between those two

[@jamesschneider3828]

Great info on dad's. I have a question. I'm looking for a compact CD transport or player, front loading, with either optical or coaxial output. I would like to keep it at $200 or less. I want to use it for my ifi Zen signature plus can and DAC stack. Any recommendations would be nice. Most compact DVD players only have HDMI outputs but are about the box size I'm looking for.

[@ericelliott227]

Ha ha, like the culinary analogy Mike. I use culinary analogies all the time to describe audio to folks. It just works. I have a Marantz ND8006 player I use now ( I also have an older Marantz CD player with less than 20 hours on it in the closet waiting for use). I don't know if they have the same built-in DACs or not. The ND8006 has a couple of filters for it's DAC, but there is absolutely no difference in sound between them. Anyway, I have been thinking about trying an outboard DAC with the ND8006. It's not that it sounds terrible or anything like that, it's fine, but I am not sure I would notice any difference, especially in the improvement direction, but I am curious. Normally I can't hear any difference between Delta Sigma DACs or R2R DACs among themselves. I have not had opportunity to put DS DACS against R2R DACS, but there is likely a notable difference in sound. One problem I have in looking at DACs is that they all offer the exact same supported resolutions and sampling rates. The only difference I see is marketing such as "DSD" support and or "MQA" support, the latter of which I do not need or want. (I believe one doesn't need anything beyond 44.1 kHz sampling rate as even the person with the most exceptional hearing can't detect beyond that). I'm personally not sold on the examples you gave, except maybe the FiiO K7, big maybe. I think it would work in my "high-end" two channel system. I'm thinking of trying the Geshelli Labs J2 someday. Getting an outboard DAC is last on my list though as it is just an experiment. I would rather try before buy if possible because I don't believe I would notice any improvement. I'd love to be proven wrong on that though. I'm told that the output amp(s) is a big part of the sound quality from DACs as well.

[@patrickgeorge141]

I own 3 Schiit dac's, a modius e and 2 gungnir. Great dac's for the money and I also own an RME ADI-2 PRO FS R BE. Not the dac version the pro version. The RME is awesome!

[@tonyvaldiconza3914]

I have a Schiit load of DACs. Went from Modi 3 > Modius > Bifrost 2/64 with a Cambdridge CXC transport. Using a Modi Heretic and Magni on my headphone standalone setup.

[@user-gd710]

Curious how much more you like the bifrost than the Modius. I have the Modius now and would like to upgrade to the Bifrost, but is it worth the $800 (+$600 over the Modius) price tag? Is the SQ worth the add’l $ when I’m not playing/streaming hi-res?

[@fastlanerc5551]

@@user-gd710it’s worth

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

I purchased the newest Pontus ll recently. Your review was helpful. I listened to a CD box set by Pink Floyd the 'Wall live' yesterday. The air around the performance and the depth of the recording in my room I've never heard before. I'm using XLR output as my integrated has a balanced input. Just WOW. Thanks 👍. Greg

[@joecharpentier6636]

I still cant find anything that beats my cec tl51xr balanced out to preamp input. Most analog sounding player that has TRULY balanced outputs. Just wow!!!

[@prterhorst6204]

I have a sizable number of SACDs and have an Oppo BDP-83SE to play them. But with all the improvements in DACs over the last decade, I am wondering if I would be better off SQ-wise getting a new CD transport and routing the Redbook layer through a high quality DAC.

[@krrajandran4565]

Be careful using external dac with your cd player. Some are just not compatitble and will not work. A case in point is the SMSL SU1. It doesn't work with marantz cd players. But works fine with made in China cd players like Emotiva.

[@theno1deejay]

I use a cheap Topping DX3 pro+ for my vintage Pioneer PD-9300 but think it sounds better than the original, 35 years of evolution....

[@david-xg6zl]

Michael, Thank you for the video. I have the Denon DCD 2560. How does the Schiit and IFi compare?

[@rfeldman1]

I picked up a DCD 1520 about 6 mos ago with a stuck tray. Easy fix and it sounds amazing.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

My cd player (Sony Discman) only has headphone output and I need a DAC for it which I would also use for my android phone. The dac would then be connected to my amp which is a FosiTB10D. I thought that would be simple but I guess its a pain in the arse to find a good solution.

[@zsbata]

old tda dac vs modern dac? experience?

[@roberthart9886]

The outboard dac is just one part of upgrading cd sound. The cd player outs play a huge roll (toslink is mediocre), as does the choice of coax cable, power cord and iso devices

[@pfm10000]

hey Michael. Just found your channel! Been scanning through your vids but was wondering if you have any recommendations for a good sounding player or transport (I have the K7) that's ~~~small + affordable~~~ ? Moondrop Discdream looks great but impossible to find one for sale? Thanks in advance..

[@mykandrew]

I’ve been checking in with Moondrop for the DiscDream because I wanted to review it. They never have one in stock for review and it’s been probably 6 months of trying so I will comfortably say we can move on from them. K7 is a fantastic device, I use it every day. If you want a good sounding player that won’t break the bank, get the Cambridge AXC35. Best budget CD player out there. I did a video about one, check it out!

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

You schould try the dCS Scarlatti.

[@mikepsychles]

Some CD players come with quality dacs - my Audiolab came with ESS Sabre32 9018 DAC.

[@ericelliott227]

It is not the brand of the DAC chip, but how it is implemented. ESS, Texas Instruments, Burr-Brown, all are and sound the same by themselves. The overall build of the DAC is what makes the difference, especially the output amps.

[@davestevens4193]

Not true. The chips do not sound the same. What is true is that the implementation (power supply, analog output stage, etc. make or break how the DAC will sound). ​@@ericelliott227

[@thinkIndependent2024]

Mr Mike I want to help you build a no noise power supply for your PI , no fanless motor less playback is the pure sound source ( because garage in is still garbage out) Music oversampling is the option for PCM because a Ferrari runs on a freeway without other cars( Trust Me)

[@mykandrew]

That would be fun let’s work on it!

[@joecharpentier6636]

Nad m51 is amazing with cd players inho.

[@silver33]

What DAC should I get for a computer? Thank you.

[@mykandrew]

The K7 I reviewed works great with my PC

[@silver33]

@@mykandrew Thanks. I'm a beginner and just starting to get into this. What headphones would you recommend with the K7. I just want to make my music sound better. Thank you again

[@stevenshadrach3182]

How do you bypass the inbuilt dac on cd player to use external dac?

[@mykandrew]

Absolutely, that's a great question! First you need to check if your player is equipped with a coaxial digital output, which resembles a single RCA connector, or an optical output. Then, use the corresponding cable to connect the player directly to your DAC. This method effectively uses your CD player solely as a transport mechanism, bypassing its built-in DAC and leveraging the superior quality of your external DAC instead.

[@stevenshadrach3182]

Thank you very much for explaining this..Really appreciate it..Also CD>>>Vinyl any day!!!

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

@@mykandrew if cd player (Sony discman) has only headphone output? And my amp has only rca input? (Fosi TB10D)

[@couchpotatter]

So ideally, we should be ripping MP3s from CDs at 88.2kHz?

[@mykandrew]

You should be ripping FLAC. MP3 is a forgotten format in my opinion

[@obtainiumgaming4472]

Topping e50. All you need.

[@davestevens4193]

All YOU need.

[@user-jk8wc2ib1n]

Could you use a DAC with a Blueray player

[@danmarjenka6361]

It's terrible......The SMSL SU-1. If your system currently soundstages well, that DAC will make the instruments fly all over the stage as the pitch of the notes they are playing increases and decreases. In that price range, the Schiit Modi's soundstage properly.

[@davidtennien39]

Most adults don't even hear above 15khz.

[@gomi350z]

No comment.......

[@yannisgk]

@@gomi350z lol

[@deanbull7767]

Funny ain't it really that the music buying public were all lied to about the wonderful sound that CDs offer, then they start selling you better players and upgrades on something that couldn't be beat. These sort of salesmen tricks have put folk off and stops People from going for the top end when it comes to hi fi.

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

A load of BS.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

Then they came with SACD but you could never find them (the equipment or the discs), then complained they didnt sell. I dont know if they did sound better than CD or it was just the 5.1 audio which I didnt care acout.

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

Hi-res audio is pointless.

[@barlow2976]

And so are unexplained comments like yours.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

why?

[@maidsandmuses]

Indeed a new DAC can upgrade an aged CD player, using that just as a transport. Be aware though that the transport in that CD player needs to be a good one; using the SPDIF connection to the DAC you will still inherit the various layers of error correction implemented in the decoder & filter used in the CD player. 3:55 you make a very common mistake where Nyquist is often misunderstood: according to the Nyquist theorem the sampling rate needs to be at least twice the highest _harmonic_ _frequency_ _contained_ _in_ _the_ _source_ , not twice the highest frequency _you_ _want_ _to_ _capture_ . This may sound like semantics but it isn’t; it is the primary reason why prior to sampling the original source first needs to be low-pass filtered, sometimes very sharply so as when sampling at the 44.1kHz used on CD.

[@user-oh6ev7mj5q]

How do you find out if the dac is good or the transport is good on a cd player. For example I have an old Sony Discman. Dont know because it doesnt sound very good because of the headphones (sound very very tiny on my big headphones , or very flat or high treble on my horrible inside-the ear headphones) or the player itself.