They’re just not going to, any more than amplifiers, speakers or guitars will sound the same because the sonic end result is the sum of many elements working together.
A common technical misunderstanding is that:
“It’s all just ones and zeros.”
If it were just ones and zeros, there’s a good chance all CD players would sound the same, or similar at least. But it isn’t. You can’t listen to those ones and zeros, a lot has to happen before we can hear them. Yet again we see technical misunderstandings, fuelled by misinformation.
The sound heard from a CD player is significantly influenced by each of the following:
- CD mechanics and laser
- DAC type and design – R2R/multibit delta-sigma/chip/discrete – the ones and zeros part
- Analog and digital filter type and design – HDCD/FPGA/DSP…
- Inter-stage analog buffers
- Output buffer – chip/discrete/class-A/tube/transistor/transformer/balanced/singled-ended etc
- Power supply – linear/SMPS/rails/filtering
- Clock – frequency/PPM precision/drift
- General parts type and quality
- Layout, board design, wiring, shielding
- Condition of the unit, laser power output
Every element influences what you hear. The ones and zeros part is actually a small part of the complete CD player.