NeoVibe
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2003
- Posts
- 306
- Likes
- 11
Quote:
Totally agree. Since I went computer-based I've been mre and more aware of his. There is no point in getting that expensive hardware that delivers all the subtle aspects of music when your PC is not subtle at all!
xantus' signature also reminds us of another problem: background noise. And if you live (like me) in a busy street (night and day) you'll know what I mean. That's why for some people a certain PC/MAC/Laptop is silent and for others it isn't (because their main problem is background noise). Obviously the importance of this depends largely on the sort of music you listen.
Just listen to your iPod (or some other PC-independent source) at normal levels when your PC is on, then turn it off while your still listening to it. If you feel a sense of relief then it's time you spend some money in making your PC more quiet. Of course, the best way to do it is put it in another room and use something like that squeezebox. The problem is that many people need to have their PC's where they work/sleep/listen to music...
I would say that there are 2 things that make it hard to make a PC a high-end audio player:
1) Silence
2) Proper Digital Output
1) has already been discussed. As for 2) I think real high-end solution is from a company called Empirical Audio: their PC-to-Coax devices are probably the best. Other than that you have (in no particular order)
- squeezebox
- Apple airport express
- M-Audio Audiophile USB
- UD-10
Good luck
| Originally Posted by xantus /img/forum/go_quote.gif most important/overlooked step. silence your pc fans and / or shove it in the closet. 'cause what's the point of spending thousands on audio gear if there's computer noise in the background 
|
Totally agree. Since I went computer-based I've been mre and more aware of his. There is no point in getting that expensive hardware that delivers all the subtle aspects of music when your PC is not subtle at all!
xantus' signature also reminds us of another problem: background noise. And if you live (like me) in a busy street (night and day) you'll know what I mean. That's why for some people a certain PC/MAC/Laptop is silent and for others it isn't (because their main problem is background noise). Obviously the importance of this depends largely on the sort of music you listen.
Just listen to your iPod (or some other PC-independent source) at normal levels when your PC is on, then turn it off while your still listening to it. If you feel a sense of relief then it's time you spend some money in making your PC more quiet. Of course, the best way to do it is put it in another room and use something like that squeezebox. The problem is that many people need to have their PC's where they work/sleep/listen to music...
I would say that there are 2 things that make it hard to make a PC a high-end audio player:
1) Silence
2) Proper Digital Output
1) has already been discussed. As for 2) I think real high-end solution is from a company called Empirical Audio: their PC-to-Coax devices are probably the best. Other than that you have (in no particular order)
- squeezebox
- Apple airport express
- M-Audio Audiophile USB
- UD-10
Good luck
