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Can best optical player rival best computer source

I know there are better and worse computer based music servers as well as universal players and transports feeding dacs. There are now many players with digital inputs. My question is best versus best. Optical readers have to read and move on. Ripping to a hard drive can use software that repeatedly tries to get a good read.

Can the best player rival the best computer source?
tbg
chadeffect
586 posts
 
No. Not anymore
anonymoustao
127 posts
 
i agree with mrtennis that it is a matter of opinion, much like it would be an opinion as to what would constitute the best optical player and the best computer source. for myself, i'm agnostic when it comes to claims about the superiority of one type of source over another. they all have drawbacks and all seem to reflect the preferences and biases of the proponent rather than any absolute superiority of sound. none of my sources are anywhere near the best, but i like and use them all. but still, i hope the moderators find a way to merge this thread with the "are cd players dead?" thread once everyone chimes in. :)

btw, tbg, that appears to be one sweet ass system you have. enjoy!
tbg OP
5,263 posts
 
Anonymoustao, thanks for the compliment. It is a result of about 45 years.

Normally, I would entirely agree with you, but the fact that the act of ripping allows repeated efforts to perfect read, while an optical device has to move along and use error correction if it must, makes me suspect a computer source is better.

The issue is largely one of thinking about an Exemplar/Oppo bdp-95 which would allow me to listen to my many sacds. There is now a way to get sacds onto the harddrive using a Sony Playstation 3 and some software. Most of my sacds are hybrids and are already on the hard drive. I am told the pcm versions of the sacds are clearly superior to the cd versions.
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
Hey TBG,
Your system sounds remarkable I'll bet. How about some pictures?
anonymoustao
127 posts
 
i'd never heard about the ps3 sacd rip ability, but found this:

http://code.google.com/p/sacd-ripper/

that's pretty cool. given the low cost of a used pre-2007 ps3 on ebay or craigslist, i would think it would be worth trying out before buying the exemplar oppo. if you're happy with the results, end of story. if not, you can always go buy the exemplar and you're just out $100 and some time. if you do go the ps3 route, please post about the results. i may try it too. seems like a fun project and i love open source stuff. wow. very cool.
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