Is computer audio a bust?

For greater than CD resolution, computer audio may be the only viable ticket in town at this point with any stable future ahead of it.

Personally, I have not gone there to-date in that I am happy with CD resolution in most cases and the benefits I foresee do not outweigh the overhead and cost involved, though Plex might help put me there sooner rather than later. It supports very high streaming rates for HD video. NOt exactly sure yet how much of that carries over into audio libraries, but when I stream audio at the higher bitrates available, some CD level or higher, it sounds VERY GOOD!!!!

Mapman, for me the higher rates like DSD128 and DXD are unbeatable.

Sure well recorded/mastered is key, but all that being equal, the high rate files trounce RBCD. Great RBCD is divine, but there is still better, is my point.

07-16-14: Gocubs999
Still cannot deny the benefits a Computer Audio System brings:
- Hanging out on the Terrace and being able to change music at will (60 ft. away) with an iPad.....without spilling my drink

This is the most compelling argument I have read so far regarding computer audio....

Still my digital transport is better - it is richer, more extended top to bottom, more refined and silky smooth. This is, to my ears, much closer to my reference vinyl setup that is amongst the best money can buy.

The computer audio is very convenient, but it takes lots of knowledge to make it sound even close to a well designed disc spinner.

Jut my two cents as usual.

Best wishes,
Alex Peychev
APL Hi-Fi

Alex, this mirrors what my audio acquaintances (one of whom was using a top of the line Offramp) have discovered. What are the reasons for this?

I was going to ignore the last post to me, I cannot bring myself to do it, saying there is an error in my logic was very incredibly wrong, so I will attemt to get you to understand again, I have a $25.00 RCA interconnect made by-for vincent audio that came with the digital player, Then I have and use a $15,950.00 retail balanced 1-meter interconnect, I gurantee you there is a HUGE difference in performance between the two cables on my digital player, I also have a $3,000.00 balanced interconect 1-meter, The most exspensive cable is a Tara labs Zero Gold with HFX grounding station, The next exspensive cable is a Tara labs The One cable, To my ears the zero cable makes the model called the One sound broken, now I got that out of the way, The most exspensive USB cables made are very inexspensive and the performance is about the same as the vincent RCA interconnect, there is some USB cables that are $300.00 under $1,000.00 period, ask your self why is that?, lets see here, USB is NOT for audio, it is for data, and the usb termination is way to small for a world class cable to be terminated with, Tara Labs sales a usb cable, it's not much money at all, so At the end of the day, It does not matter if you have a live band cabled to your system through a USB cable, this is not logic, It is a astonishing FACT, by useing the usb cable even with a live band, the out come is so inferrior because the cable cannot reproduce performance as close to the real thing as possible, I understand that some computer audio is better than my cd-player for a source, My fact here is that with the cables I have on my player versus comuter audio's best with a usb cable used for audio, there is absolutly no way possible for the sound out come to be better than what I have, if that were possible, the cable companys would go out of bussiness, that would be saying my cables are worthless, get a $25.00 usb cable, that works better, LOL!, I also understand computer audio can sound very good, and may give user perks such as a menu to walk around with, that's great, I get it, But as I said before, I am tring to get the best sound possible, to be in the realm of world class audio, I cannot achieve that with such inadequete very poor cables such as usb, if you cannot understand this, then I am lost for words and give up, best of luck to you.