[bmillar]

Happy long-time owner of Stax Lambda Pro Signatures and the SRM-I/Mk II Amp.  For at least 10 years I have played my music from lossless rips on the PC through a digital integrated amp, fed into the Stax.  I used to think it sounded pretty darn good.
 
A few days ago just for the helluv it I connected my old Sony 200 CD carousel directly to the SRM-I and I was shocked at the huge improvement in clarity and soundstage.  Ever since, I have been feeding .wav, flac and AAC lossless rips from various PCs, laptops and my 5th gen iPod directly into the Stax.  So far nothing even comes close to quality/imaging/clarity from feeding the CD player directly into the headphone amp.
 
This is really bugging me.  I really enjoy the convenience of playing my music from the PC as software makes it so much easier to find recordings, keep notes, remember where I stopped listening, etc.  My PC-based collection (file library) is also very large.
 
Any suggestions for an improved PC or digital-player solution that may bring with it the same clarity, quality and soundstage I am getting from my CD player?
 
 

 

[NA Blur]

So is the CD player doing the DAC process or do you have another DAC in the chain?  It could be as simple as finding a better DAC for your PC setup.  I use a Grace m903 and have a very hard time telling the difference between 328kbps and CD quality files.  Of course the PC is doing some processing through the CODEC, but I use the DAC on the m903.
 
Headroom supplies the following statement:
 
"system. We build a variety of digital to analog converters (DACs) to further improve your audio source. HeadRoom amps with internal DACs, and our stand-alone DACs, both contain high quality DAC chips in our designs; and, these contemporary high-end digital recievers and DACs are extremely good at reducing or virtually eliminating jitter from the digital bit-stream. Now, here's the exception to our rule about sources being so critical: when constructing a front-end for your stereo system, it is much less important where the digital signal is coming from when a very high-quality DAC is used. We've even found, in fact, that sometimes very expensive CD transports sound only slightly better than the digital output of inexpensive CD players or USB audio outputs from computers when using a good DAC."
 
This is what I find as well when doing a direct A/B comparison.

 

[bmillar]

Thanks for the reply. To answer your first question, yes.  This unit has both optical and analog outputs, and the CD player can do the DAC process internally. 
 
Interestingly, I have now compared the optical output of the CD player routed through my digital integrated amp, and the sound is still superior (bigger, more detailed) with the direct CD>Stax analog connection.
 
So, one would have to conclude that the DAC inside of my CD player is 'better' than the one inside my amp (and my computers), eh?
 
I guess, as you say, what I need seems to be a better external DAC if I want to acquire a superior sound using a PC-based solution.
 
 
 

 

[eugenius]

So a dedicated cd player has better sound quality than a receiver, and that surprises you?

 

[Neogeo333]

well it maybe that less signal path produces better sound.  I tried similar thing with my CDP a Audio Aero Prima rev.1 with volume control.  That thing just beg to be connected directly to an amp.  Its clearly better than to preamp to amp. 

 

[Mauricio]

I run my CD player directly to my active speakers, and I can't think of a cleaner signal path.  I also don't know how it sounds any other way because it's been about two decades since I haven't had a preamp.

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

 
Any suggestions for an improved PC or digital-player solution that may bring with it the same clarity, quality and soundstage I am getting from my CD player?

Everything matters with PC audio. The first step is software - that means no Windows Media Player and no iTunes. You'll get the best results from JPlay, but if you want full library/playlist management, Foobar or JRiver are decent second choices. If you're running Windows Vista or 7, allow applications to take exclusive control of the audio output device (sound card?) and set the player to run in WASAPI output mode, or Kernel Streaming if possible. Consider investing in a USB > S/Pdif converter, or USB DAC. Digital out from a sound card into a DAC (even a very good one) is usually beaten by a CD player in my experience.
 
I haven't found the adage of cheap CD player into high-end DAC = high-end CD player to be true at all, and the same holds true for PCs. Not that you necessarily have to spend a fortune on a PC at all, you just have to do it right - bit-pefect out preferably via USB.  DACs are not miracle workers, they can't turn sonic coal into diamonds.
 

 

[mafiamike]

I have been switching around my gear lately and I have found that if I use samsung brp>preamp old rotel rsp 980(good 2.1 stereo mode)>lyr>phones the sound seems more clear/detailed. ex: the cymbal's and drum's seem more lively. I previously used brp>mf v-dac II>rotel>lyr>phones. Are there too many signals being processed or the dac? Is there a better way to upgrade my sound? Any advice would be appreciated.