Quote:
Originally Posted by HugoFreire  Wow, how could I overlook that post? 
Thanks!
Neil, could you go a little bit further on this?
What did you use to connect your computer to the DCC2? |
Well I wouldn't consider myself anywhere near an expert when it comes to computer-as-source. I have however, connected my laptop directly using an M-Audio USB to Optical output. Although I primarily use computer-as-source as a convenience (and not for the highest SQ), I was not at all satisfied with the result. The music sounded lifeless.
I then connected a Squeezebox using the spdif output to the DCC2. This was significantly better, but it still couldn't touch the CDSD/DCC2 combo. Although the sound was more or less acceptable, it was a lot thinner and slightly strident with my HE90's. It did not have the speedy transient response in the upper midrange that the HE90's need; nor did it exhibit the thick and impactful, yet articulate bass I have come to love as well. I did not try any modded Squeezeboxes.
I ended up speaking to Sleestack about this, and he was in the process at the time, of getting his Transporter modded. He told me that the transporter could act as a slave to the Master Clock inside the DCC2. If this is indeed the case, then I can see the performance jumping up quite a bit. I have as of yet to try this. I know this is precisely what Alex has been working on for his Slim Devices Mod he has been working on for the NWO. I believe there are various sound cards (one by EMU if I recall correctly) that should be able to do this as well.
The last thing I did was ask Alex Paychev (a local engineer in my neck of the woods and the man behind the APL mods), why it was that computer-as-source could not match the best transport/dac combinations. His answer was rather long, but the skinny of it had to do with the fact that the processor, power supply and hard-drives are extremely 'noisy' and pollute the signal integrity (I have no idea exactly how this is, so do not hold me to this technically). He went on to explain that very specific hard-drive's, processor's, modified sound-card's, a transformer based power-supply (not a switching PSU) for the computer, etc... could be used to improve upon this. According to him, we are not quite at the point at which computers will outdo a good transport. Transport technology itself is still improving.
Anyway, regardlessly, the next step for me is to investigate these options myself as I believe I have finished with my CDP/DAC search.
Neil
