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

Cbw723,

Will a less expensice laptop other than the MacBook Pro work and sound just as good? I really may jump in....

Grannyring

I understand. I run into people all the time who do use that "I'm waiting for..." and apparently have no real interest in even testing the PC music waters. Maybe ever.

...and I was the same way waiting until almost 2001 to get my first pc, and '05 or so before I began trying to have it outperform my Sony SCD xa777 CDP + DAC setup.

It took a while but I did it IMHO.

There are learning curves, and always will be... software folks aren't happy unless they can rearrange and re-lable things all the time. Look at MS Office 2007 vs 2003 if you don't believe me.

it/they are playing the shell game... hiding this, moving that. Even in media players things change. sometimes a lot. Well lately anyhow. Mostly for networking or zone specific playback, and for new hardware.

I've found no matter how much simpler things tend to get, there is always a learning curve. Especially if you've not been in the mix already and paying attention to the changes.

I'm about to upgrade to Win 7 in the next mo or so... No matter muy previous exp with Windows... XP & Vista... 7 is going to have it's own quirks, identity, and ways of doing things unlike it's ancestors... so I'll have to relearn and learn a new OS.

It's always going to be that way... until they make a personal confuser that takes the confusing part out of the equation... one that operates on mental commands. Brain waves. Even then, there'll be some obstacles to overcome, items to learn about etc.

Human beings are always going to complicate the simplest of things when ever and where ever possible... if they think it'll make them money.

None of us here are going to live long enough to see computers that mesh with mind commands or work instinctively and intuitifvely for us.

complicated stuff becomes simple stuff when you figure out the complications. When you do you'll be surprised to find out just how uncomplicated things were to begin with.

Happiness has an element of comfort deep within itself. Whatever one is comfortable with at any given time, allows happiness to be close at hand instead of distant.

In the New York Tri-state area . My friend and I used to relish a Sunday afternoon Hitting all the Mom & Pop CD stores looking for odds and ends and used CDs. NYCD,Sounds,Revolver,CD warehouse,Compact Disc World,Sounds,Joe's CD's,Rockin Rex,Etc.... ALL GONE !
and needless to say, HMV,Tower,FYE,gone ! we counted over 30 stores gone that sold CD's So the medium is going fast the way of the 45. PLAIN SHAME !

Grannyring, the computer is unlikely to have a big impact on sound quality as long as it meets certain minimum performance standards (though there are things you can do to make your computer "sound better"). So, yes, there are cheaper ways to go than the MacBook Pro. It doesn't even have to be a laptop -- I use a Mac Mini as my audio source, and then control it remotely through a laptop, but there are other remote options. You can also use Windows computers. I don't know much about them, but many people have good results with them. You may even be able to do a trial run with your current computer.

If you really are thinking of jumping in, and are new to the game, I'd suggest reading the computer audio set up instructions on some web sites (both Ayre and Wavelength have them, but they can be found elsewhere). When you have a better idea of what you want to do, post your intentions and questions on the PC audio forum here, or on a forum at Computer Audiophile -- you'll get lots of tips and suggestions from experienced users. Good luck!