Is computer audio a bust?

"what takes computer audio over the top as a source"

Now that's a more reasonable qustion for sure.

As a source to an existing home stereo system:

CD res or higher lossless files -> Music server->network connection-> network player->good DAC of your choice.

As a source for headphone listening where demand for amplification is much less, player software designed for good sound (I use PLEX) on a computer with just a decent built in DAC to just any decent pair of headphones. Even listening at work via internet connection to my music server at home, using headphone analog out, the sound is over the top in that I enjoy listening for extended periods.

Mapman, that would hardly be "over the top" for me. I guess it is better than MP3.

Remember when CD spinners were a bust? It was not that long ago. They have gotten a LOT better just over the last 5 years. Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Audioengr

Name some, always curious about the better sounding cd players.

Foster_9, I was curious about that also, but I do think the BMC transport and the Oppo drives plus the Esoteric drives are also good; no where near the cds ripped to hard drives, however.

My turntable started to be mostly relegated to the sidelines when I started using old Roku Soundbridge to my current DACs a few years back prior to moving to Squeezebox. Now with nothing new happening with Squeezebox, I am forging ahead for now with PLEX.

I still have two Roku Soundbridge devices around in original packaging that I do not use anymore. Sound quality of those even was top notch into my preferred DACs, very much like Squeezebox. ANyone interested in testing the waters on the cheap with those let me know. They and one of my two Squeezebox Touch devices are sitting unused today. They connect to built in Windows MEdia player on Windows (that is what I used them with mostly) and most other standards compliant music servers for .wav files.