Originally Posted by IPodPJ
Well some of us can't afford $50,000 hi-fi systems.
The author's explanation really quantifies why a computer-based transport is so lousy, as it injects so much noise into the signal. What I can't seem to figure out yet is why my tinfoil mod has had the biggest impact on the sonics, moreso than the upgrade from an $80 digital cable to a boutique $2,000 digital cable. One member mentioned that it is essentially creating a Faraday cage around the cable, but it seems to be filtering out noise (and thus reducing jitter) from inside the computer itself.
I agree with you. S/PDIF is a lousy interface (compared to DSD) but it is still the industry standard so we have to make the best of it for now. The best solutions are the all-in-one-box transport (CD player)/DAC/high-end master clock units that are $10K and up. But unfortunately this is not convenient; media libraries have revolutionized the way we access our music. So it's a trade off.
No need to spend $50K or $2K for the cable. Here's the chip that will do the job.
http://www.cirrus.com/en/pubs/proDat.../CS4350_F1.pdf