Here's my narrow and non-technical view:
Each time a CD/Transport reads data off a silver disk, its doing it in real time. Yes, there is error correction and yes there is error tolerance. But, its subject to the vagaries of reading in real time or near real time.
Computers read blocks of data off a hard drive a lot faster, and those data storage systems are built with much better error detection--yes, disk sectors go bad, but how often do you see that? When you rip responsibly (i.e., EAC), you end up with a copy of the disk that has had each block read over and over and compared to make sure you minimize faulty read data that might occur on a one-time only play.
Onto the computer. There are several things you can do to make computer audio sound better:
- Use an external DAC
- Optimize the digital connection; in some cases this may be a USB path to the DAC itself. In my case, it means a USB audio device (waveterminal U24) to a DAC via coax digital. I tend to dislike sound cards generically; I think a computer is a noisy environment in which to perform that format change.
- Use decent software. Foobar, for example. Make sure you are bypassing the kmixer in windows.
YMMV, but I think a decent computer can sound as good as a $5K transport.
Each time a CD/Transport reads data off a silver disk, its doing it in real time. Yes, there is error correction and yes there is error tolerance. But, its subject to the vagaries of reading in real time or near real time.
Computers read blocks of data off a hard drive a lot faster, and those data storage systems are built with much better error detection--yes, disk sectors go bad, but how often do you see that? When you rip responsibly (i.e., EAC), you end up with a copy of the disk that has had each block read over and over and compared to make sure you minimize faulty read data that might occur on a one-time only play.
Onto the computer. There are several things you can do to make computer audio sound better:
- Use an external DAC
- Optimize the digital connection; in some cases this may be a USB path to the DAC itself. In my case, it means a USB audio device (waveterminal U24) to a DAC via coax digital. I tend to dislike sound cards generically; I think a computer is a noisy environment in which to perform that format change.
- Use decent software. Foobar, for example. Make sure you are bypassing the kmixer in windows.
YMMV, but I think a decent computer can sound as good as a $5K transport.