Using itunes, Am i missing out

I have iTunes on my laptop, a Dell Inspiron 14. Wanting to listen to music from this library through my home theatre speakers,, I connected the computer to my home theatre's pre/pro via the mini headphone output jack on the computer to RCA inputs on the pre/pro.. It sounded real good, indistinguishable, for the most part, from SACD; however, I did notice, occasionally, some dropouts. Now I send USB from the computer to an X-FI HD where the digital  signal is converted to S/PDIF, which is then  sent to the pre/pro. And, since the pre/pro accepts a 24/96 signal, and  the X-FI will pass through such bit rate, I allow the computer to up-sample all material in my iTunes library to 24/96. So far, all of my music, even the 256k files, sound indistinguishable from SACD in A/B comparisons. And, now, no dropouts like I had when I used the headphone out jack to my pre/pro. Since, I believe nothing sounds better than SACD, I am happy with iTunes as a media player, as virtually every thing I've stored in the iTunes library, from 256k downloads to 24/96 rips, sound, as  earlier mentioned, like SACD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoundFox 

I am currently using itunes for my media player using rca rs2657 stereo for speakers and an on-board sound Realtek ALC883 6 -Channel CODEC. My motherboard is an Asus p5n-e sli if that makes a difference.

 

So my question is with my current set up am I missing out? How good is itunes as a music player? Where would you rank it among other music players in regards for sound quality.

Only a $DEITY forsaken piece of garbage software player can have any effect on SQ by itself, and as much as I dislike Apple I'm pretty sure they aren't that bad.

The reasons to use a different media player are many (plugin support, DSP support, better UI, customization, etc) but SQ shouldn't be one of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoundFox 

on-board sound Realtek ALC883 6 -Channel CODEC

Why are you using a 6-channel codec, does that have any advantages over the 8-channel wich belongs with the chipset ?

Are you missing out? Not drastically. A little, maybe, especially if you do have nicer gear. 

Where does it sit in the spectrum? Pretty even with all the default players and arguably better in the UI department than other apps. But there are some aspects of UI that are personal preference (this coming from someone who designs user interfaces professionally).

If you want to try something else go for it. The reason I'm sticking with iTunes is because there are a few ways to improve the sound when running it on OS X and because I have an iPhone, which pretty much means I have to use iTunes.

I think you should ask this question and anythingbutipod.com   

Wear a helmet though    

You'd be surprised at how much of the hate against iTunes and iPods is simply nothing more than Apple-hating for the sake of Apple-hating. ;)

Aside from the Hifiman players, they all sound exactly the same. The one reason I'd say stick with iPods is because there are a few more iPod-specific AMPs and the like.

Doug, Are you saying all DACs other than HiFi Man sound the same?   I have a D4 and roll opamps to change the signature, wouldn't DAP hardware using different amp hardware have the same behavior?  Not to mention DAC chip differences.

I burned through DAPs over the years and have felt the iRiver h320 and Cowon j3 have been way better than most the players I have sampled.   

With that said, i believe (based on rep and reviews) the HiFi man players are probably a step above the rest but there is still varience on other players.

This almost feels off-topic (OP asked about iTunes) but the proprietary coupling seems to marry these subjects.

No, I'm saying all PMPs with the exception of the HiFiMan sound the same. The only variation between Cowon, Apple and Zune PMPs is format support and interface. As far as I've ever been able to find out, the hardware specs on each are virtually identical.

Actually, in my post,  I meant DAPs (or PMP) not DACs.. (UGH I hate that)..

So I disagree, I do not think all PMPs sound the same. But maybe I have been fooled my marketing campaigns and reviews of PMPs in regards to varying sound qualty.   

Do all PMP's use same DACs and AMP hardware?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

No, I'm saying all PMPs with the exception of the HiFiMan sound the same. The only variation between Cowon, Apple and Zune PMPs is format support and interface. As far as I've ever been able to find out, the hardware specs on each are virtually identical.

So you're not considering the BBE DSP effects that Cowon DAPs have?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roller 

So you're not considering the BBE DSP effects that Cowon DAPs have?

Never came across that back when I was considering replacing my iPod. Care to explain?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

Aside from the Hifiman players, they all sound exactly the same. The one reason I'd say stick with iPods is because there are a few more iPod-specific AMPs and the like.

erm im afraid thats correct.  different DAP's do sound differernt.  not that im saying ipods suck or that they all suck anyway.  i do have 4 of them.