Best CD

Deke,

It seems in high end audio, especially with the level of gear Murph is using great care is taken to keep the signal path as clean as possible to minimize distortion and any external noise from entering the line and being processed along with the audio. I also have read and am trying to learn more about the importance of a quality transport feeding an external DAC (an area I am trying to better within my own stereo).

As good as some of the sound cards are for PCs (I am very happy with my Extigy) I don't see how a computer feeding a DAC could sound as good as a quality transport. Not just from the conversion of the data to a format a PC can read (as you stated there are some very acceptable ways of storing audio on a hard drive) but the quality of circuits used by sound card manufacturers, the noise emitted by the processor, hard drive…etc, the jitter control from sound card to DAC and the probable length of cable needed from PC to DAC would offer a significant hump to over come (also relating to length of cable, the sound card would have to put out a signal powerful enough to effectively transverse that much copper (don’t know if fiber would provide a solution here)). I won't start the Microsoft bashing, but don't get me started on Media Player. Version 9 is cool, but still has issues (although it does decode HDCD).

With that in mind, I made my comment about the level of gear being used, roughly $10K, being too good for a computer as a transport. I plan on hooking up my PC to my DAC some day over fiber, but I highly doubt it will get much use.

Matt

Changers are great when coupled with a good DAC and de-jitter unit. I use a Sony ES 300 disc changer into a Perpetual P1/P3 combo and on into my SF Line 3. It all works quite well and gives me rapid access to loads of music.

The Sony changer has a 2-way remote so that all the disc information is available at my finger tips. I can spend hours randomly scanning and selecting music with the remote. For single play my DVP-S7700 serves as an additional input to the P1/P3. Also, with the Sony you can get the Nirvis S-link-e to drive several changers from a computer for mega-automation.

I guess the fun in all this is overcoming the obstacles, and the soundcard-dac route certainly has many. But I think it's getting to the point where many would be pleasantly surprised that computer audio is no longer strictly within the computer camp, but is making inroads in the audiophile community as well. Exact Audio Copies (eac) of cd data on quiet or remote hard drives, bit-accurate sound cards, liquid-cooled cpu's... And if the claim by the folk at Benchmark is true, that they have found a way of eliminating jitter (even over looong cable runs), it just opens up a whole bunch of new possibilities.

Of course, I'm saying all this with that certain brand of optimism that comes right before that anvil drops from the sky.

And as Perose says, the changers are pretty darned good at what they do. I don't know how good an alternative a diy hdd setup would be, but it's definitely an alternative. (There are commercial versions from Marantz and others, but the prices are out to lunch and you don't get the flexibility of your own computer.)

Deke

Deke;

I am looking at the Benchmark DAC. Have you heard it by chance? If its all the reviews say it is, it will be a good buy at $850.

Have you seen the tubed motherboards being made now? There is a new version out that has top of the line components all the way. Someday when I have the money, I'll most likely set up a workstation on my home network dedicated for audio. maybe by then they'll integrate good audio with high performance (in terms of speed) and I can have a very nice audio system within my high performing desktop. Until then, I am pretty happy with my Extigy sound card, and like I said, I'm hoping to integrate the PC and stereo. I just need a long fiber cable (30+ feet)that won't break the bank. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Matt

Matt,

I don't know anyone who has the Benchmark DAC, and it's sold mostly through "professional" channels, so it's not all that easy to get an audition with home equipment (working on it though). I understand that they offer a 30-day if-you-don't-like-it-send-it-back kind of guarantee if you buy direct from Benchmark.

As for the tubed motherboard, I had read a review of the initial effort, and it got ok reviews. Mostly points for novelty and cool factor. Is it safe to say they've made improvements? (Honestly, I did think that it would be really difficult to make it sound good, 'cause as you said before, it's not the most sound-friendly environment in there!)

Cable-wise, I was looking into coax. If the Extigy has it, you might want to look into this guy's claims. At the prices, it seems like a good stop-gap until you find the right one, at the very least:

http://home.new.rr.com/zaph/audio/audio-cables.html

But again, the Benchmark hype seems to downplay the importance of cables used. (Could you imagine if they put out a separate box/card capable of totally eliminating jitter that you could use with the dac of your choice? That would make many, many people very, very happy.)

Be good.