The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..."

"I've yet to hear a PC system easily trounce a really good CDP."

Really good is really good no matter how you get there.

I've heard lots of really good players for reference and think my current PC music server based system is really good in comparison as well.

It's hard to say that any really good digital setup would trounce another one I think if both are played in the same system. Where significant differences are heard, I suspect personal preferences would be the main determining factor.

"You probably think about oversampling and that is different. Pretty much every CDP contains PLL."

This is why I don't use or recommend CD players anymore. There are a few that are computer-based that might be okay, depending on the clock quality etc.

"Even asynchronous rate converter based DACs (upsampling DACs) like my Benchmark have some form of PLL to make signal stable enough for upsampling."

I probably have 100 modded DAC1's out in the field. I know it well.

"Usually PLL is inserted somewhere."

Not in the best DACs. The jitter of a free-running clock will always beat a PLL.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

"I've yet to hear a PC system easily trounce a really good CDP."

If you buy the USB DAC du-jour, you will not get there either. It takes a bit of work, including selection of the best computer platform (not a "music server"), the best playback software and ripper and the lowest jitter USB converter or DAC with USB interface. All of these things are doable and there are plenty of recommendations out there.

It is not cheap though. In order to compete with for example the dCS Vivaldi, you have to spend at least $10K on the computer, USB interface, DAC, power supplies, cables and software.

The good news is that spending $5K on a CDP will not get you the SQ of spending the same $5K on computer and DAC IME.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Johnnyb53 and Audioengr,

Thanks for your posts. I found them to be very helpful.

The last few posts reveal the perspective as to which is better--how much sound quality do you get for your money? In my case I've never spent a lot for a CD player, maybe $500 tops. I did have an Audio Alchemy transport feeding a $700 SoundStream DAC (designed with help from Krell), but when I later got a CEC CD player, it sounded better. I've heard excellent CD players demoed at high end stores, and I play SACDs and DVD-As on an Oppo.

But I had the laptop for other uses already, and stacks of CDs ready to rip. All I needed was Audirvana Plus for $49 (now up to $79), properly configured, to easily exceed the musical satisfaction of my various digital disk players. And Audirvana just keeps getting better. When I updated to 1.5.2 (now it's at 1.5.4), I noticed a significant and pleasant improvement in the sound quality and how engaging the music is. Not bad for $49.