[aztericx]

I have a decent sound card. How improved will the sound be with a basic CD player?

 

[FallenAngel]

DAC: Digital to Analog Converter, it converts digital signals to analog. When do you think you will need it?

Hints: when your source outputs in a digital format and you want to convert it to analog.

 

[andychen]

I highly recommend EMU 0404 DAC/amp combo. Great DAC and above average amp.

 

[FallenAngel]

What's the "decent sound card" and which "basic CD player"?

 

[krmathis]

Depends on your "decent sound card" and the "basic CD player".
The differences can be minor/none, up to night and day...

 

[nor_spoon]

I do not miss any CD player, that is for sure.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

It's not a great idea to spend a fortune on a cd player at the moment, in my opinion. Unless you have a fortune to spend, that is...

 

[Sotiris]

for the pc a sound card with 24-bit quality (e.g x-fi music not x-fi audio) at a cost of 100-120$ is ok for a good sound experience...for a cd player u need a lot more money...

 

[Akabeth]

I've been using the DAC through Predator from my PC. The listening experience is more than good enough for me

Enjoy the music

 

[Jacques]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Depends on your "decent sound card" and the "basic CD player". The differences can be minor/none, up to night and day...

I totally agree. It also depends how many CD's you have or plans to buy and how the music will make it to the computer. There will always some differences.

Personally, I had better results with the CD player.

 

[manofmathematics]

I've found that budget wise, running your computer into a decent DAC is the way to go. To beat it with a CD Player you'd have to go up pretty significantly in price. This is not a rule though, just an observation from MY experience. MY experience also has shown me that old CAL CD Players on the used market are a real steal for the price and are hard to beat on a budget.

 

[ascherjim]

As I do not want to be tied to the location of my computers -- desktop or laptop -- I run my semi-portable Headroom Micro dac from the digital coaxial out on either a basic Toshiba DVD player or a portable AG DVD player, depending on which of my residential listening locations I happen to currently be in. I find the quality of listening through either my Little Dot MKII or Bottlehead S.E.X. amps to be quite good.