[PFKDMIAC]

If I were to set up a PC for muscic what would be the best way to do it. What music server would be best and how would I get it to sound close to my CD player.

 

[digger945]

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Computer-Audiophile-Pocket-Server-CAPS is just one of many opinions. I'm looking for more.
 
You have no info in your profile. What kind of CD player are you listening to?
 
Have you done any googling or research thus far?

 

[PFKDMIAC]

onkyo DX7555

 

[Uncle Erik]

What you need to do is use a digital output from your computer and feed it into an external DAC. You will also need to have your music ripped in a lossless format.

Some computers have built-in digital output. Ever Mac for the past several years has bit-perfect optical output, even the laptops. If you have a Mac, you don't need to buy anything more.

Some PCs come with optical or coax digital output. It varies by manufacturer and model, so I don't know if yours does. If it doesn't, you can always add a sound card that has optical or coax out. Some DACs allow input from a USB digital output, but I've preferred to use optical, and not every DAC allows USB input. There are some devices out there that will take a USB output and turn it into an optical or coax signal. But I think it's simpler just to have optical or coax output right from your computer.

A DAC is a digital analog converter. It takes the digital output from the computer and turns that into an analog signal that can be fed into an amplifier. A CD player has a DAC inside. The CD player reads the digital signal on the CD, sends that to the DAC, and the DAC turns that digital signal into an analog one that comes out of the RCA jacks on the back.

A standalone DAC does the same thing with a digital signal coming out of your computer. Instead of the digital signal coming off a CD, it comes off a file on your hard drive. That signal goes to the standalone DAC which then turns it into an analog signal like the one coming out of the back of your CD player.

So if you have lossless files (just like on a CD) ripped to your computer, a good digital output, and then a DAC to make the digital/analog conversion, you can play music through your computer that's just as good or better than a CD player.

There are lots of computer programs that allow you to control your music. I keep my collection on a Mac, so I simply use iTunes. A lot of people with PCs use Foobar. But there are lots and lots of programs out there and several threads here discussing them.

 

[wuwhere]

Like Uncle Eric stated, you can make your CDs sound even better through an external DAC if you rip it in lossless format. The reason is that your CD player itself has a DAC chip. If you use an external DAC that has a better DAC chip than your CD player, it will sound even better.

 

[PFKDMIAC]

Quote:

Like Uncle Eric stated, you can make your CDs sound even better through an external DAC if you rip it in lossless format. The reason is that your CD player itself has a DAC chip. If you use an external DAC that has a better DAC chip than your CD player, it will sound even better.

The dac in my cd player is the wolfson high end dac. You still have jitter and noise coming from the PC with the ISB jack so I cant see how it can be better from a quality headamp into a high end cd player. The USB creates jitter and unless you buy the Gordon Rankin 10K you still do not get quality as in a one box player of high quality.

 

[baka1969]

The OP is the well established member FrankI. He's having issues with his moco account so he made this one. This is a question I've wanted answered and the optical out seems to be the answer. I've run out of space on my netbook with music (125 gb) and need an upgrade.

I listened to Frank's Marantz (his other CDP) the other day and there was a marked difference in SQ. If the optical out is that much better than USB and will get close to a CDP, it's worth it to me. I know Frank's Marantz is a SACD/CD player, so I'll ask in advance, will the optical out read the SACD files and output at that resolution? Thanks.

Peace,

Ross

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

The dac in my cd player is the wolfson high end dac. You still have jitter and noise coming from the PC with the ISB jack so I cant see how it can be better from a quality headamp into a high end cd player. The USB creates jitter and unless you buy the Gordon Rankin 10K you still do not get quality as in a one box player of high quality.

If you state how much your budget is, I'm sure you will get some good recommendations, equipment wise.

 

[baka1969]

Frank,

I actually spoke to Peter about this. If you have a computer with an optical or digital coax out there would be no need to use the USB port and all that jitter is gone. If you get a quality sound card only for the quality optical or coax, then you'd route it to an external DAC. In my case, this is optimal as I already have a the DacMagic as you know. I do think/hope that this a reasonable solution to the USB issue and would get me the convenience of all that music in one place and the sound closer to a CDP.

 

[PFKDMIAC]

Ross  you cant use optical or any other source to read a SACD layer. One thing Sony did when they created SACD was make it so you could not copy or burn disc to eliminate Piracy.  I cannot see any way to eliminate the jitter in its current state for not much money. The difference in resolution even with a mac and high end dac IMO still wont be as good as an individual player. Plus the other issue I can surf the web as I am doing now with my music playing quietly. Unless there are other opinions as I am interested in how to do it and get better sound quality if that is possible.

 

[PFKDMIAC]

Ross we need more opinions because using Coaxial out will connect the Dac to the SPDFI interface which cannot eliminate any jitter. So what you would save by USB would cause the the cable jitter through a broken interface. That was the main reason I chose to go back to a one box player.

 

[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by PFKDMIAC  
" Ross  you cant use optical or any other source to read a SACD layer. One thing Sony did when they created SACD was make it so you could not copy or burn disc to eliminate Piracy.  I cannot see any way to eliminate the jitter in its current state for not much money. The difference in resolution even with a mac and high end dac IMO still wont be as good as an individual player. Plus the other issue I can surf the web as I am doing now with my music playing quietly. Unless there are other opinions as I am interested in how to do it and get better sound quality if that is possible."

Frank,

Let's forget the SACD for a moment. If the digital coax out is superior to the USB and can get closer to the CDP isn't that worth the big convenience factor? I don't have to answer about internet surfing while listening to music and how to avoid the beeps, blips and noises associated with that. But if that can be dealt with, I still think it's easier than flipping CDs. Even if you do listen to an album at a time.

 

[KnightK]

Quote:

The dac in my cd player is the wolfson high end dac. You still have jitter and noise coming from the PC with the ISB jack so I cant see how it can be better from a quality headamp into a high end cd player. The USB creates jitter and unless you buy the Gordon Rankin 10K you still do not get quality as in a one box player of high quality.

The cool thing that nice DACs do to get around the jitter is asynchronous output. Basically, the external DAC gets the stream of data from the computer, reclocks the bits using built-in jitter control and onboard clock(s) and then sends the output resynchronized. So, there is no fear of the jitter of the computer affecting asynchronous DACs.
 
Hope that helps.
 

 

[PFKDMIAC]

Coax is broke. That is a jitter causing connection no matter how expensive the cable is it cannot avoid the broken spdif format. There is much info in stereophile regarding the jitter issues as well as the forums on audio asylum.  i guess to each his own I prefer the sound coming from my CD player and really only use itunes in my portable player.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Coax is broke. That is a jitter causing connection no matter how expensive the cable is it cannot avoid the broken spdif format. There is much info in stereophile regarding the jitter issues as well as the forums on audio asylum.  i guess to each his own I prefer the sound coming from my CD player and really only use itunes in my portable player.

No offense, but what's the point of this thread then?