Better or Worse???
Just how good would a £500 Sony Vaio laptop and a Chordette Gem be in comparison to a "normal" CD player costing about the same ?
Music files would be lossless.
A USB or optical (or wireless via Airport Express) connection into a good DAC is claimed by many to sound superior to more expensive CD players (with lossless music).
I am taking the first step towards this as soon as my (less prestigious) USB DAC arrives somewhen this week. So I will be able to get some idea of the potential for these these claims soon. (With Apple lossless files @ 16bits and 44.1 khz I should at least get an idea of what everyone is on about.)
The Chordette Gem information literature states 24 bit resolution @ 44.1 khz (and it is capable of sampling between 44 - 96khz) so it is not unreasonable to expect at least CD quality. Chord claim "CD like" transfer performance via Bluetooth here....
http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/specs/Chordette%20Gem.pdf
Why are you going for the Chordette Gem?
PJPro:Why are you going for the Chordette Gem?
I'd be interested in the answer to this as well, it wouldn't be my personal first port of call in this price range...
Haven't decided which dac to go for yet. Just used the Gem as an example to bring the price up to near £1000.
The concept of Lossless + DAC is a good one, though I really don't fancy bluetooth as a means of getting the data to it, so I'd look at others - starting with the DACMagic, obviously.
JohnDuncan:The concept of Lossless + DAC is a good one, though I really don't fancy bluetooth as a means of getting the data to it, so I'd look at others - starting with the DACMagic, obviously.
The only reason to buy the Gem is if you need bluetooth connectivity. You are paying a premium for that and the Chord Electronics name. If you have a laptop with usb or even better coaxial, the DacMagic, Beresford, or spend more on the Benchmark if you want.
Better.
Well, for me, my Airport Express & DAC triumph over my CD player (£800, bought six or seven years ago). Even with some older non-lossless encoded songs it's mostly the former over the latter, but a straight CD versus Lossless test and there's no contest.
My CD player feels less like a vital part of my set-up and more like an artefact at present. Long live the future format. Oh, and vinyl.
Roksan Caspian Pre amp, Caspian Mono Power amp x 2, NAD M51 DAC, B&W 805 Signature, Roksan Radius turntable, Denon-1713UD, MF phono & headphone amps, PS3, Mac/AE/Apple TV