Why use CD Transport instead of computer source

Folks at slimdevices say that the digital out is the same.

I own both and I use the AES EBU digital output from the Transporter and this works well.

Still, who am I to second-guess the guys who made it all happen......?

I own an SB3 with a linear PS and use it via its digital out. I also have have had the opportunity to compare it to a stock Transporter also just using digital out in my system. While I felt the Transporter did sound better (more relaxed and refined, less edgy), IMHO it wasn't enough to warrant the the substantially higher price. Then again, for my critical listening I still use my turntable or Oracle transport.

I'm considering adding a SB3 or Sonos to my Bryston BP-25DA, which allows for two digital sources. I've been researching for a couple months on this topic and found several reasons why CD transports may sound different from streaming sources:

- Power supplies: Better power quality = better sound. The stock SB3 may have an inferior power supply to a high end transport. Even modified linear SB3 power supplies may not fully match the careful planning and routing of power in a top transport.

- Impedance matching: Poor matching = reduced performance. It's possible that the transports have an isolation transformer to better match to the recommended 75 ohm impedence. Impedance mismatches can cause jitter.

- WiFi - WiFi is great as a wireless convenience solution, but it is certainly not an optimum signal transfer mechanism. Almost always better to use a hard-wired Ethernet connection for streaming files.

- The computer. If the data source is not a dedicated music server, it's possible to get an audio performance hit if the CPU is nearing the multi-tasking limits. Network attached servers seem to be the best current solution.

What I have not seen as a plausible source of difference is the use of a hard drive vs. an optical drive. Optical sources are inherently less reliable than hard drives, that's why CD encoding contains so much inherent error correction. But, a hard-drive with an overworked CPU could be a problem.

A friend and I compared/blind tested a 12k CD player vs. a Mac/USB DAC combination and in most cases, we were unable to determine which was which. This was a blind test which was conducted within a cost no object system.

Like someone said above, the cost of a beloved transport perhaps can affect someone’s opinion.

Where did this blind tests occur at the Manufacturer-Ditributor instalations or in a neutral field.

I think most serious audiophiles dont cheat themselves, I wont mind having a cheaper player beat a very expensive transport, hell I will sell my Forsell in an instant and pocket 4k if the SB3 was better, then take a trip to Europe or pay off my credit card!!!

I have a fiend who always wants something to sound better when it really doesnt, "take a look this cheapy DVD player sound better than this multidollar Player", he uses a bunch of tricks, from different Interconnect cables, different power cords, he even has dedicated power lines in one contact and the house normal lines on the other, plus a mediocre system... this is in his house and the only benefit he gets is our non believing face and a laugh!!!