Is this the END of DAYS for the high end CD player

Wayneker2176,

I think your sonic issues are more to do with your computer set up and the type of digital connection you use. Dont use the CD ROM as a transport(!). Use the computer as a library playing from memory.

I know of no modern hard drives that sound bad! If you are worried then get SSD with no moving parts. Forget S/pdif and toslink. Jittery crap by comparison to FW or a good USB protocol.

You need to forget the Hifi hype. Which part of you really believes that some small hifi manufacturer can compete with giant highly resourced "real" tech companies? You are paying for 20mm think face plates and small production runs.

Rip your CDs in a non compressed format (i.e Aiff or WAV) with a read until right software. Try some playback software like Pure vinyl or Amarra or whatever. Get a decent interface if you want to keep your current DAC, but you may well be better off getting a new generation DAC which takes firewire or USB straight. Weiss make some great ones which are expensive, but there are cheaper ones made by others that use USB. I myself use the new Weiss.

The rest is BS. It is just pure data storage and number crunching. The transport as you use it is a thing of the past. All you want is the data to be passed to a brilliant number cruncher which then has a nice output section to your amp.

There is no way your transport sounds better. The old expensive guard will be forgotten ($15,000 transports!) unless you just want it for designer style. I am sure there are many on the GON who can help guide you with the right bits.

Sorry for the rant, but I have been there. I got rid of all that expensive stuff because it could not compete or was no better. No other reason. Get rid of it before you are stuck with it.

It could very well due to my computer set up. I use a Mac Pro with iTune ripping CD to WAV files.

Why not use CD ROM as a transport? If the CD/DVD ROM can read bit perfect data, why should it matter if I use it as a transport? Since playing CDs on it and ripping CDs from it should yield the same data.

I haven't been able to find a DAC good enough with FW or asynchronous USB than the DAC on my CD player.

As with Hifi hype.... I don't blindly believe anything...... I do blind A/B test. I have to say, some hi end music server are able to deliver the same quality of music when hooked up to the same DAC on... let's say 069... As with "real" tech companies..... I was an investment banker working in Taiwan's technology sector.... I know all the cost, material, and etc going in to a CD/DVD ROM player..... The cost of material with labor is less than $80!!! I am sorry.... it's not just a price bias.... It just doesn't compare to Burmester 069.... Although, I have to say.... some of the "supposed" hi end CD players are pure snake oil!!!!! However, I stand firm on Burmester 069! Blind A/B test with 5 of my friends..... Even if some of them can't describe the difference, all of us prefers CDs on Burmester 069.

You need to forget the Hifi hype. Which part of you really believes that some small hifi manufacturer can compete with giant highly resourced "real" tech companies? You are paying for 20mm think face plates and small production runs.

What are the softwares one can use on a Mac? I use iTune....

I am not suer if the rest is all BS.... like I said.... a non-compromise power supply like the one that comes with Burmester 069 makes a huge difference! The cheaper (US$30000) 089 can't even touch the 069!!

"If the CD/DVD ROM can read bit perfect data, why should it matter if I use it as a transport?"

Because that's a much bigger if reading real time from an optical drive in general than with files stored on a computer hard drive.

Hi Wayneker2176,

It is possible you just like something in the presentation of your 069. Job done.

But I would suggest for your Mac there are a few ripping softwares you could try. MAX is free and can convert to anything you like too. If you are a Mac guy then use Aiffs. It keeps all the artwork/metadata together unlike WAVs. Which makes looking through your library a pleasant experience.

Itunes sound is not as good as say Armarra, or pure vinyl, but maybe even that will change. Some of this may well be lost on you though if you are using a jittery optical or s/pdif to your DAC. On a DAC like yours it may not have that last bit of refinement from these inputs.

I doubt very much an optical or s/pdif could compete with FW.

What I meant by the price issue is that the software makes the hardware less important in your transport. Spend what you like, but I would save it for the DAC. The data being read from HD is just easier to process and all the errors have been dealt with by your nice new and hopefully free ripping software!

I would have a look at Weiss line and see how you get on. There are a few DACs starting to pop up now. A friend of mine swears by the expensive but good MSB diamond USB DAC. Its not a "looker" but it did sound very nice.

Hello, this is very interesting and exiting thread.
I am following steps of the Wayneker2176 member here and pop a question.
Did anyone besides Chadeffect ACTUALLY compared the hi-end computer based front end (all top notch software like pure music, Amarra and others that outputs bit perfect files plus top of the line DACs) with Hi-End CD players like Esoteric x-03, x-01 limited , meridian 808.2, Wadia 581,781, DCS and others.

The convenience of the computer frond end is obvious. Some people go as far as connecting Mac mini with Ipad as a display, using apple-based applications. This is very cool.

But how about sound? Does the computer based front-end set-up sound really on the level of those hi-end CD players?

For example the Esoteric released the K-01 and K-03 players that now have (besides their known great transport) isolated on its own platform the USB input port with up to 24/196k transfer rate capability. Are playing the red book CD thru its transport will sound better or worse than ripping that same CD on the Apple Mac computer (bookpro or mac mini with SS drive) and playing it back using pure music or other engines thru the same Esoteric DAC utilizing that USB port?