[alleyezon_d]

Hi,

I have a setup with an external DAC,etc and I'm wondering if I play CDs on my computer will it sound just as good as my FLAC files or will quality suffer because DVD-ROM's aren't audiophile transports? Wouldn't it just be transmitting the "data" from the CD to my DAC? Like if I opened the CD in explorer and drag and dropped the CD track files into foobar and played them. Would my DVD-ROM matter? If so, where can I look for decent quality ones, or should I just buy a CD player as a transport (which seems somewhat wasteful).

Thanks for the comments!

 

[joe_cool]

If you're using digital audio extraction then I don't think you have a problem. Early CD-ROM readers didn't have this feature and used an internal DAC for audio.

You mentioned "DVD-ROM" and "transport" but in the case of a personal computer the transport is the sound card (where the SPDIF signal is generated).

 

[HFat]

That depends on how you define transport... the drive could certainly affect playback if the CD was not in perfect condition (scraches, whatever).

 

[alleyezon_d]

Thanks for the replies, how do I ensure my drive is using digital audio extraction, or is that just a standard feature now on modern drives? I remember having the option to connect a cable from the optical drive to the soundcard, what was that for?

 

[Surefoot]

The "audio wire" you had to connect from your CD ROM to your sound card was a real audio wire, since the CD units used to have an integrated (and poor) DAC unit.
Now on more recent models you'll only find the power and data plugs, no audio plug on the backside.
Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) means you first rip the CD tracks to your hard disk (and compress them eventually, try using CDex for example) before listening to them with Winamp or Foobar.
For DAE the best drives are made by Plextor, but they come at a hefty premium, they are usually twice as expensive as other brands. But their top range products are built like tanks, and extract audio way faster than the competition, and they do it very well.
You can as well play directly the CDDA's through the data wire, but the quality will be random, if the CD has scratches the drive unit wont be able to slow down to try and correct them, so you will hear dropouts and clicks.

 

[alleyezon_d]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surefoot /img/forum/go_quote.gif The "audio wire" you had to connect from your CD ROM to your sound card was a real audio wire, since the CD units used to have an integrated (and poor) DAC unit. Now on more recent models you'll only find the power and data plugs, no audio plug on the backside. Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) means you first rip the CD tracks to your hard disk (and compress them eventually, try using CDex for example) before listening to them with Winamp or Foobar. For DAE the best drives are made by Plextor, but they come at a hefty premium, they are usually twice as expensive as other brands. But their top range products are built like tanks, and extract audio way faster than the competition, and they do it very well. You can as well play directly the CDDA's through the data wire, but the quality will be random, if the CD has scratches the drive unit wont be able to slow down to try and correct them, so you will hear dropouts and clicks.

Thanks for the great reply, it really cleared things up for me. Now would you recommend any specific models from Plextor or are they all equally good for DAE?

 

[Surefoot]

I think there are tests and reviews floating around on the Net...
The PX-716SA and PX-755SA are really good, plus they use SATA (small cables, good for in case temps / noise). What i also like on Plextor models is the Plextools suite (get the LE variant, it's free). You can tweak your drive and most importantly toggle the "silent mode" which limits the read speeds to what you want, that's excellent for silent computing.
Another good point for those drives is they can go down to very low speeds for extraction, so they have the best DAE in quality if you need it.
I used to have an UltraPlex drive until very recently, it still runned rock solid after 10 years, but i had to get rid of my SCSI controller and drives... It was considered the king of DAE and had no competition until their most recent SATA models.
Try plextor.com to see their current line-up, remember only the high end models are to be considered, other models are mundane and just overpriced. I think they still havent put out a decent replacement for the PX-716SA and PX-755SA, the PX-810SA doesnt have their features and the critics arent good. Look for the models with "Autostrategy" and "silent mode".
(edit) yes look for 755 series, otherwise you'll have to wait for a "Premium" 8xx series. The 810SA drive is not good at all. If you dont want to pay the price of a Plextor you can get a NEC drive, i heard they reacted well to mods (good firmwares, etc) and had a very decent DAE.

 

[n00bler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surefoot /img/forum/go_quote.gif if the CD has scratches the drive unit wont be able to slow down to try and correct them...

toothpaste can fix it!
[size=xx-small]the white paste, none of this gel or crystal business[/size]

 

[Spiug31]

If you are planning on using a non-windows OS on your pc I'd highly recommend you avoid Plextor drives. I found my PX-716SA to be poorly supported and a real nuisance to get working on linux and most other opensource OS's until about a year ago when I replaced it with my LiteOn DRW-6S160P-05C DL DVD drive which has worked flawlessly across all of them

Comparing the audio ripped with my Liteon (c.2006) to that ripped with my old DVD-Rom drive (c.1998) there is a clear improvement in quality with the more recent drive.
A tweak I've found well worth the money is the "Statmat CDi Blue", it makes a big difference to the sound of the CD's I've ripped providing far greater separation of instruments and much clearer resolution/presentation as a result. The "Statmat Plus" I tried before is also useful but far flimsier, much less effective and uses an adhesive collar which gradually dries out. The "Blue" is just placed on top of the CD's once they are in the drive tray, no adhesive required