Jim Lesurf wrote:

Afraid I don't know anything about the DVD/CD player you have, so
can't really comment on it as such...

Silver-fronted jobbie. Asda were flogging them for £100 a few months ago.
Last seen at 70 quid before disappearing.


If there is a serious problem with the transport, then it may be
losing data. Having a nicer DAC isn't likely to help with that.

However if the problem is that the DACs and following analogue
circuits in you player are poor, then an external DAC may improve
things. Can't say for sure as I don't know anything about your player.

I don't think it's losing data, but then I don't know what that sounds like.
There's no scratchy/jumpy digital noise, it just sounds dull, soft, mushy,
indistinct compared to my mate's Arcam.


FWIW I have a cheap DVD/VHS combo. I use this with a Meridian 263
DAC. The results from the Meridian seem to me to be audibly much
better than via the DVD player's own analogue output. They also
measure very differently, with the Meridian having much lower levels
of noise, hum, etc.

Hence you may find that an external DAC improves the sound, but it is
hard to predict this, so you'd have to try it to decide.

Assuming that the data stream is okay, I'd imagine that almost any external
DAC would be an improvement. The difference between my player and the Arcam
was big. It occurs to me, though, that some of the cheaper DACs on eBay
might be quite early models (late 80s, early 90s, perhaps). How would these
typically compare with modern mass-market domestic kit?


FWIW I'd recommend considering Meridian DACs like the 263 and 563.
These sound fine to me, and seem to work very well in my experience
with a wide range of sources.

How would you rate them against the Meridian 203? Is there a particular spec
of DAC that's worth looking out for, like that oversampling stuff?


However they are stereo only, so not
suitable if you require multichannel surround sound from DVD's.

Stereo's fine - not into all that surround sound stuff. DVD playback is very
rare. I bought the player because the previous cheapie packed in - the new
one was chosen mainly because it had digital out (for putting stuff on
minidisk).


--
Wally
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk
Latest work: The Langlois Bridge (after Van Gogh)