Toshiba HD-A2 Owners

[salad 419]

Hey, I'm in the market for a new source as my $39 DVD player may not be the best source for listening to CD's. Since the HD-A2 is only $98, lately I was wondering how it may do for CD playback.

For the record, I don't own any HD TV, so HD video and upconversion are useless at the moment. I'm in need of a "better" CD player but on a budget of ZERO, but may be able to trick the wife on this one????


PS(edit), The rest of the system is as follows:
HK AV-245
Quad 22L Mains, L-Center, Axiom QS-8 Surrounds

[L.J.]

Have you thought about ebay or audiogon for a CD player?

I assume your using a digital connection to your HK. You would need a player with better DAC's than your HK for an improvement in sound.

[salad 419]

I actually am using the Analog outs from the DVD player. I found HUGE improvements in sound quality when I switched from the Coaxial Outs to the analog outs.

I've thought about Audiogon and Ebay for a player. Just seeing if this was a "better/cheaper option"

[L.J.]

Interesting, I would assume that the HK would have higher quality DAC's. Hard to say if the A2 would give any improvements. Is it even still available for $98? Last I heard, that sell was over.

[pixelthis]

With a few exceptions DVD players have always been piss poor for CD playback.
They just arent made for it.
You can get a generic five disc changer for that much or less, you'd be surprized at how
good they sound (I was)
I was using a laserdisc for CD also, a friend got a cheap "teac" five disc, I couldnt beleive
how good it sounded. I got a yamaha five disc and it sounded great also.
If you get the HD get it for video, I doubt if CD playback is a major part of the design,
like most new "receivers" that have their entire tuner on a single chip

[PeruvianSkies]

With a few exceptions DVD players have always been piss poor for CD playback.
They just arent made for it.
You can get a generic five disc changer for that much or less, you'd be surprized at how
good they sound (I was)
I was using a laserdisc for CD also, a friend got a cheap "teac" five disc, I couldnt beleive
how good it sounded. I got a yamaha five disc and it sounded great also.
If you get the HD get it for video, I doubt if CD playback is a major part of the design,
like most new "receivers" that have their entire tuner on a single chip

Anyone who takes listening seriously when it comes to CD's wouldn't be caught dead with a carousel unit in their setup. And you would think that someone who claims to have your knowledge of things would know that firsthand, then again I doubt with your setup that you would notice how good or bad a carousel unit can be, but you certainly don't see high-end manufacturers selling carousels and there is a reason for that.

[Groundbeef]

Anyone who takes listening seriously when it comes to CD's wouldn't be caught dead with a carousel unit in their setup. And you would think that someone who claims to have your knowledge of things would know that firsthand, then again I doubt with your setup that you would notice how good or bad a carousel unit can be, but you certainly don't see high-end manufacturers selling carousels and there is a reason for that.

When you say "carousel" does that included cd players with "changers" in them? How would that affect playback. I honestly don't know, and just wondering how a changer/carousel would affect playback.

[PeruvianSkies]

When you say "carousel" does that included cd players with "changers" in them? How would that affect playback. I honestly don't know, and just wondering how a changer/carousel would affect playback.

Often the biggest problem is the time-alignment and the mechanical aspects inside them often times mis-align the discs to small degrees, which can result in problematic playback, this doesn't mean you are hearing a problem, but you are not hearing everything you could or should. A single-loading mechanism and high-end player puts lots of time, effort, and energy into developing a mechanism that allows the CD to balance properly inside the tray for accurate laser reading and time-alignment. Carousel units do not feature these things, they are made primarily as a feature that is convenient for people who like to play multiple discs in settings such as a party where you don't want to keep changing discs.

[s dog]

With a few exceptions DVD players have always been piss poor for CD playback.
They just arent made for it.
You can get a generic five disc changer for that much or less, you'd be surprized at how
good they sound (I was)
I was using a laserdisc for CD also, a friend got a cheap "teac" five disc, I couldnt beleive
how good it sounded. I got a yamaha five disc and it sounded great also.
If you get the HD get it for video, I doubt if CD playback is a major part of the design,
like most new "receivers" that have their entire tuner on a single chip

I have a denon 1600 dvd player that cost $550.00, It is a really nice player with a audio only button on the front panel for playing cd's, I also have a denon dcm 280 - 5 disc cd player that cost around $275.00. When it comes to playing cd's the 280 -5 disc cd player flat out sounds better than the more $ dvd player, The dvd player does not sound as warm and the bass is weak.

[Woochifer]

If you don't have a HDTV and you're fine with your existing DVD player playback, there's no reason whatsoever to make the upgrade at this time. HD-DVD player prices will continue to plunge, and that $98 special is on a discontinued early model that lacks 1080p capability and HDMI 1.3. Get the HD-DVD player when you're ready, and by that time the $98 price point might very well be the norm for models with more up-to-date feature sets and more of the bugs worked out.

If you want improved CD player playback, look to a standalone CD player, or perhaps even something that can play multichannel music discs like a CD/SACD changer (Sony's entry level CD/SACD changers have been very well reviewed for their CD playback) or a universal player that does DVDs, SACDs, and DVD-As. Even if you don't use those players for multichannel music (admittedly, the discs are getting hard to find nowadays), they typically include higher quality DACs and output circuitry than you would typically find in an entry level DVD player.

Also, if you're noticing huge differences between your coaxial digital and analog playback, you should first make sure that your listenings are truly equal -- i.e., same output levels (louder usually equates to better when doing uncontrolled A/B comparisons), same DSP settings, same bass management settings, etc. Generally, under more controlled conditions, any differences will be more subtle than huge/obvious

[salad 419]

Also, if you're noticing huge differences between your coaxial digital and analog playback, you should first make sure that your listenings are truly equal -- i.e., same output levels (louder usually equates to better when doing uncontrolled A/B comparisons), same DSP settings, same bass management settings, etc. Generally, under more controlled conditions, any differences will be more subtle than huge/obvious

Not only A/B comparisons, but A (digital) for quite some time, then B (analog). Usually the only DSP mode I use is the 7 channel stereo so I can hear the music in every room. Every other setting was the same, or at the very least the sub level was changed since the analog had more bottom end (high end as well).

Yesterday, I hooked up my Play Station 2 to the reciever. I have it hooked up both with the Optical out and Analog out as well. The sound is MUCH cleaner and clearer (neutral?) than the $39 DVD player (although it skips on every little smudge and scratch). FINALLY, the highs sound better. I wasn't satisfied with my Quad's highs,previously although everyone else claimed that the highs were fine. Not only that, but the Digital out is better than the analog in this case.Maybe the PS2 has a good Digital out and crappy DAC??? I was amazed at how much coloration the DVD player added. The PS2 made "space" or no sound in quiet areas of music if that makes sense. At first, I was somewhat annoyed by the PS2 because I was hearing some kind of noise. It turns out that it was the snare on the bottom of the drum rattling. HOLY CRAP, I can't wait to see what a REAL CD player will sound like.

Anyway, I'm still browsing for a player. I've considered the HK DVD 47 since it can do SACD and DVDA and there seem to be some bargains on the net for them. All in all, it will depend on how cheap I can find something. Doesn't life suck when you have no budget????

[Woochifer]

Not only A/B comparisons, but A (digital) for quite some time, then B (analog). Usually the only DSP mode I use is the 7 channel stereo so I can hear the music in every room. Every other setting was the same, or at the very least the sub level was changed since the analog had more bottom end (high end as well).

Yesterday, I hooked up my Play Station 2 to the reciever. I have it hooked up both with the Optical out and Analog out as well. The sound is MUCH cleaner and clearer (neutral?) than the $39 DVD player (although it skips on every little smudge and scratch). FINALLY, the highs sound better. I wasn't satisfied with my Quad's highs,previously although everyone else claimed that the highs were fine. Not only that, but the Digital out is better than the analog in this case.Maybe the PS2 has a good Digital out and crappy DAC??? I was amazed at how much coloration the DVD player added. The PS2 made "space" or no sound in quiet areas of music if that makes sense. At first, I was somewhat annoyed by the PS2 because I was hearing some kind of noise. It turns out that it was the snare on the bottom of the drum rattling. HOLY CRAP, I can't wait to see what a REAL CD player will sound like.

Anyway, I'm still browsing for a player. I've considered the HK DVD 47 since it can do SACD and DVDA and there seem to be some bargains on the net for them. All in all, it will depend on how cheap I can find something. Doesn't life suck when you have no budget????

First off, you have a lot of variables that you need to control for before you go assigning causal effects to what you're listening. Anytime you compare an analog output with a digital output, you absolutely have to control for the levels first and foremost.

Comparing the DVD player with the PS2, was that a digital-digital comparison? In that case, both players are using the receiver's DACs. You're only using the players as transports in that case.

Only in an analog-analog comparison are you listening thru the players' internal DACs. And even then, your receivers' analog inputs is likely doing a redundant analog-to-digital-to-analog conversion, particularly if you are using the receiver's bass management or DSP settings, since all of that processing is done in the digital domain. Only if you have some kind of "direct" mode and switch off the bass management and DSP modes is there any chance of the analog signal getting passed directly to the receiver's preamp section with no redundant digital conversion.

If you have no budget right now, then you should save up more for a dedicated CD player if that's your priority. Getting a HD-DVD player when you're really looking for improved CD audio at this point is a waste of $98.

[salad 419]

If you have no budget right now, then you should save up more for a dedicated CD player if that's your priority. Getting a HD-DVD player when you're really looking for improved CD audio at this point is a waste of $98.

I believe that this is the advice I was looking for.

Now I just have to research to find the type of player that will have the right synergy with my current gear as well as my upgrades

Thanks guys

Also, I don't mind if/when you bust my balls. I'm here to learn.

[L.J.]

Emaidel, you have a A2 right? I think you did a review a while back. How's it working out for you? Any freezing during playback? Have you did a firmware update yet? Any sync problems?

[emaidel]

It's not an A-2, but an A-20K, or something like that. It's the one that currently sells at Best Buy for $299.95. I had it freeze up once, and all I did was disconnect the power to it, and since then it's been fine. I've done no updates to it and have no idea what that entails, or if it's something I can do by myself. Still, I'm very satisfied with it, except for the slloooowwwww startup time.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

It's not an A-2, but an A-20K, or something like that. It's the one that currently sells at Best Buy for $299.95. I had it freeze up once, and all I did was disconnect the power to it, and since then it's been fine. I've done no updates to it and have no idea what that entails, or if it's something I can do by myself. Still, I'm very satisfied with it, except for the slloooowwwww startup time.

Yo E,
You can call Toshiba customer service(and good luck on that) and request the latest update disc from them for your player. Once you get the disc, uploading the firmare is a piece of cake. The problem is getting the disc without mutliple calls to their customer service, and getting a competent person to respond to you.

[GMichael]

Yo E,
You can call Toshiba customer service(and good luck on that) and request the latest update disc from them for your player. Once you get the disc, uploading the firmare is a piece of cake. The problem is getting the disc without mutliple calls to their customer service, and getting a competent person to respond to you.

This looks like a good link to get Toshiba down loads. Didn't notice if his model is on there.

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/customer...es_notices.asp

Beats calling them.

[emaidel]

[
You can call Toshiba customer service(and good luck on that) and request the latest update disc from them for your player. Once you get the disc, uploading the firmare is a piece of cake. The problem is getting the disc without mutliple calls to their customer service, and getting a competent person to respond to you

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll try contacting them online first - that ususally works since no live people are involved. "Customer Service," regrettably, has become a thing of the past for numerous companies. Try contacting customer service for DirecTV and see what a delightful experience that is!

[GMichael]

[
You can call Toshiba customer service(and good luck on that) and request the latest update disc from them for your player. Once you get the disc, uploading the firmare is a piece of cake. The problem is getting the disc without mutliple calls to their customer service, and getting a competent person to respond to you

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll try contacting them online first - that ususally works since no live people are involved. "Customer Service," regrettably, has become a thing of the past for numerous companies. Try contacting customer service for DirecTV and see what a delightful experience that is!

I deal with Toshiba every day. Trust me, go on-line.

[L.J.]

I read somewhere that people where having sync issues once they installed the firmware update for the A2. I haven't hit any issues yet, but I'm thinking I won't do a update unless it was absolutely necessary.

[L.J.]

Yeah, I think you can just download the update and burn it to a disc.

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpasse...d2firmware.asp


Link to instructions:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=876566