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Will computer to DAC replace transports and cdp's?

From my limited reading it seems that a cd burned to a hard drive will be a bit for bit copy because of the software programs used to rip music files. A transport has to get it right the first time and feed the info to a dac. Wavelength audio has some interesting articles about computer based systems and have made a strong statement that a transport will never be able to compete with a hard drive>dac combo.

Anybody care to share their thoughts?
kublakhan
prpixel
876 posts
 
I use a Dell Axim 30 wi-fi PDA to control my Bolder Cable modded squeezebox2. It makes it very easy to browse through my 1200+ CD's (in lossless of course). If you want, there is also a better interface from a company called Telcanto for controlling the SB2.

I got rid of my reference tube SACD/CD player about 6 months ago and I'm not looking back.

BTW - I keep all my CD's. I don't want to run afoul of any copyright laws.
hi5harry's avatar
hi5harry
185 posts
 
It's a pc with two Seagate hard drives, Windows XP pro,I use Adobe Audition to list the music and show the wave files. The Empirical Audio off ramp turbo uses an M audio Transit out the USB port (5 meters is the limit) to a black box containing the guts of the off ramp turbo (mine is powered by an ac plug (or a battery for critical listening). That is pig tailed to a 3 inch wire to rca plug to my Dac that recognized anything up to 24/96. I am not very computer savy, so I hope this is what your are asking. I also have a lynx 2 soundcard in it I am not really using anymore, but I had a digital breakout box that connected to a Rca digital cable into my dac before the Off Ramp
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Is the Offramp also a DAC? Looks to me like just a converter, since its output is a coax cable.

I was just going by what Grant wrote earlier in categorizing it that way:

02-12-06: Tvad
That's correct. The OffRamp is a DAC.

...but on looking at their site, it appears that the $950 device is just a converter as you said. My god, what could it have in it that makes it cost that much? The U24 I use also has an excellent clocking device in it from all reports. It can also be used as a DAC, but I have not tried that out. I use it simply as a converter. I've been delighted with the results using it, and the $200 price tag (I guess it was $300 when first released) was a bit easier to take a risk on. I'm told they're no longer making them, but they seem to be widely available on websites still...perhaps leftovers or just not updated sites(?).

Marco
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,821 posts
 
After transferring my semi-large disk collection to media binders ("case logic") for security reasons, I realize that I used to rely on visual cues to find favorite music.
Now, without the CD case, I believe I'm not listening to a lot of stuff anymore.
Even when I'm in the mood for something particular, it is a chore to locate it.
It would help to enter every disk title (several thousand) into a data-base.
A better solution would be to use something like the Sony media server platform. You load this thing with up to 200 disks then it goes out to some web-site and down loads albumn art and song lists and rips music to your hard drive.
Now if I just had $2000...
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