Why are server setups so costly relative to CDP's?

Mrtennis,

You state:

"most believe that differences in speakers are greater than differences between amps. but such a position is based upon many variables and does not constitute knowledge."

This implies that you have a greater knowledge than others. If you believe this to be true, you are arrogant. Thereby only you know the truth.

You state:

"i would rather state the position that there are differences between components and systems and not suggest that one class of components exhibits greater differences than another. my position is factually neutral."

If your position is factually neutral, you would not have stated that the transport is more important than the DAC. I believe that each component has its importance and it is the synergy of the individual pieces, like a recipe, that determines the end result-a transforming event in which you are brought into the performance and imagine that you are there.

We can disagree on many things as long as we agree on our love of music!

hi tgrisham:

the first sentence you quote does not imply i have knowledge,. stating that .... does not constitute knowledge does not mean that i have knowledge.

nowhere in any staement have i stated that i have knowledge.

stating that there is a range of difference between components of the same genre is factual.

i apologize for any ambiguity.

Mrtennis - It depends on the DAC. Jitter rejecting DACs like Benchmark DAC1 might sound different with different transports but perhaps not because of jitter. It was reported many times that it often sounds better with cheap DVD player than expensive transport (that has lower jitter). It might be that cheap DVD player have more sensitive laser optics (DVD players have good tracking) or transport is not bit-transparent (DSP, digital volume control etc) or one of the creates ground loops in the system etc.

For DACs other than asynchronous-upsampling (jitter rejecting) transport is very important - I agree.

This is such a fun hobby/addiction that we do get lost in the small details. To return to the original question...there will always be a debate regarding which road to choose to bring us to the "best sound" and before it was (and is) vinyl vs CD, and now computer vs CDP. It all depends on the implementation and what sounds good to you. As a beginner in the exploration of computer based audio my experience tells me that for less than $1000 a dedicated CDP is better (today's dollars). Over that it is possible to expand into computer audio and achieve better results using computers. Just like with vinyl, there is a point in which CDs can closely approximate the sound of good vinyl, but it costs more.

if you take out the computer cost I thin it's actually cheaper.You can get a $3K system that will rival a $20K Lin Or Meridian CDP.But if you want a Sooloos and to spend you can.And when you look at what you can do with it functionally you get more.I see a number of companies like Linn that are integrating a whole CD player with a wireless system which is fun and can save huge amounts of hard wiring a house
Chazz