Is computer audio a bust?

Charles1dad --

... I certainly get your point and I don't believe computers are bad or wrong. I just find in its current state of development they aren't worth the trouble or hassle for me. Grannyring's post above summarized it so well. We do agree, to each their own.

"in its current state of development" - intesting, and quite contrary to my own experience. To my ears the "state of developement" in regards to PC-audio was mature many years ago in trumping the sound of CD players easily (more on that below). What kind of "trouble or hassle" are you referring to - technical issues?

Some six years ago I borrowed a bunch of CD players in the $2-3k range for evaluation being that I was about to invest in a new digital front end. None of them really floated my boat, so to speak, so in my further search and more or less by accident I came across a dealer who was into selling studio-based equipment, and he recommended that I tried out harddrive-based playback. Just to get a bearing on the potential of PC-based playback he then sent me a ~$250 Carat D/A-converter, which I hooked up to my bare bones Acer laptop. Playing files from Windows Media Player (simply plug 'n play - no soft- or hardware optimization, whatsoever) what followed was hard to fathom; as witnessed by a couple of friends I invited over for the shoot-out - all of them very much into high quality audio playback - there was unequivocal consensus that the Carat/Acer combo sonically flew right right past all the CD players I had borrowed (C.E.C, Jungson, Rega among them) - and that, mind you, at under 1/10 of the cost compared to the most expensive of the polycarbonate disc spinners, and through the most basic of setups. Trying other DAC's via my then Acer laptop only cemented initial impressions.

As an added bonus I felt (the outlook of) having the whole of my music library at my fingertips extremely freeing, indeed a relief, so this sealed the deal for me - as it has ever since.

Any glitches that may be primarily software-related here can occur, albeit rarely, but it depends on the specific implementation. To me it's a non-issue.

That is to say: I definately concur with poster Raymonda here as his impresssions and views reflect my own as well. But indeed, to each his own.

That is to say: I definately concur with poster Raymonda here as his impresssions and views reflect my own as well. But indeed, to each his own.

It's a personal decision to live life half full or half empty. If half empty, you are missing out on lots of good stuff. There will always be failures with the simplest task.

Joecasey --

It's a personal decision to live life half full or half empty. If half empty, you are missing out on lots of good stuff. There will always be failures with the simplest task.

What exactly are you implying here, and how does that relate to the above? I simply stated that I agree with Raymonda on this subject (a particular area in which he and I seem to be in the minority) - namely, that computer audio is rather a blessing than a bust - and inquired on the nature of what Charles1dad found to be a "hassle."

It seems to me you're bitter; it must be sad living life "half empty" - mine is certainly joyous as in "half full to the brim."

Joecasey --

If I completely misread you reply, I'm sorry. Just forget my first one to you if I did..

Grannyring's decision to return to a CD player is a move I'm sure he'd not consider "half empty". He seems happier than ever since ditching the computer. Really though, this 1/2 full,1/2 empty applies to neither format. There's a ton of music available with both and we will choose what fits us best.My CD jazz collection just keeps expanding with beautiful recordings I keep discovering. Good luck and happy listening to all regardless of your preferred path.
Charles,