2. digital
  3. 1196311011

Digital Playback Comparison

Which sounds better: Original CD, CD burned from harddrive, playback from computer HD through USB, or optic cable, or Airport Express? I cleaned my contacts, installed NOS Amperex tubes in my preamp, had new tubes installed in my Trivista SACD/CD player, and had a go at a comparison test for these playback methods. The HD used was from my MacBook Pro. The piece of music used for a comparison was the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah, Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Decca 1985). See my system for equipment used. The USB playback was via a HagUSB via S/PDIF into the Trivista coax input. Here are the conclusions, going from best to least good sound quality:

1. (Tie): HagUSB and Burned CD (CD was burned from HD at 4x, from Apple Lossless file). I couldn't tell a difference between these two after extended listening including other music besides the test music. Great dynamic range, wide and deep soundstage, a "rightness" to the sound (at least within the limitations of digital) that made you want to quit analyzing and just listen.
2. Original CD. I read somewhere recently (some of you might know the source) that there is an explaination for why burned CD's sound better than original, but until I made the comparison, I was skeptical. The original had a slight loss of "presence", and seemed slightly compressed compared to the #1 playback methods.
3. HD through toslink. 1 & 2 are closer in sound than 2 & 3. There is a noticable shrinking of the soundstage and air with the optic cable. The cable is a good one--Van den Hull glass cable with mini-plug out from Mac. I was disappointed in the sound from this method.
4. Airport Express and optic. A significant drop in sound quality here. If you have been using this method I suggest doing what I will now do which is run USB out of computer to HagUSB ($119) via long run of coax (Canare for me) to your DAC. The Airport Express is OK for "working around the house on the weekend" listening, but is a serious compromise from what you can get with only a minimal incremental investment.

Notably absent from this comparison are music servers, or a good quality USB DAC, or good reclocker/converters that could be used with a computer HD and conventional DAC. Hopefully someone else can do comparisons of the burned CD with some of these methods to see what is the best sound for, let's say, a $2000 or less investment (obviously not including the cost of a computer). That is a level that many of us might be willing to make if there is a significant improvement over the #1 methods above.
bruce_1
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
again, we are faced with the eternal question: what does better mean ? if it means i prefer a to b, then a is better, there is no definitive answer as to whether an original sounds better than a copy.

if better has a specific sonic denotation, then i would say the answer is that it is cd dependent.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
drubin
3,275 posts
 
Bruce_1, thanks for your thorough write-up of a comparison that is of great interest to me. I have a HagUSB unit on its way to me and I also have a MacBook Pro and an Airport Express. I will attempt to replicate your experiment with two additions: going through a Squeezebox3 and burning a CDR from an Alesis Masterlink 9600, which is a hard-drive CD burner, among other things.

For what it's worth, I have always been disappointed with CDs burned off my MacBook (ripping via Apple Lossless), which is why I bought the Alesis.
bruce_1 OP
96 posts
 
Drubin, I'll be very interested in the results of your test, particularly in adding the SB3 and Alexis into the mix. I've always burned CD's from my iMac and not my MacBook Pro, but just because I have my complete iTunes library on the LaCie HD hooked up to it and not the laptop. I might try comparing CD's burned on the two computers to see if I can tell a difference. According to some of the posts above there might be a difference in sound quality based on burner. We'll all be interested in your conclusions about the Alexis.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
drubin
3,275 posts
 
I ended up returning the Alesis, deciding it was not a product I needed in my rack. But I will report a huge difference between (1) Mac wirelessly -> SB3 -> DAC and (2) Mac via USB -> HagUSB -> DAC. The first scenario is like FM radio and the second like CD (although I have yet to compare to actual CD playback). In other words, the USB approach is a contender for serious listening, while the SB one is not. I was shocked at how much better the USB is.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Just a note - some early Decca CD's made in the UK have CD rot/CD bronzing issues. This might explain something you observed.

I have a Rossini Decca that bronzed so badly it no longer plays at all. I have several others that are still playable but may be degraded (nearly impossible to tell) I also have several PDO manufactured discs that have an increased noise floor and these are definitely degraded and sound bad.
More to discover