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Just finish building the Finalist speakers (very impressed) to pair with a used Krell amp. My CD's are played through my CD/DVD player sounds pretty good. I was thinking of buying a DAC and saving my CD's to a hard drive and play back through the DAC to the amp. Can I expect to hear much sound improvement by using the digital files and the as compared to the sound output from the CD/DVD player( not an expensive player)?
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And in my opinion you pretty much get what you pay for. The DAC/converter is the most important aspect of computer audio. I would make nice nice with the audio shops within a hundred mile radius and see if you can home audition. I did this with my Ayre QB9 and it never made it back to the shop!!
Nothing's going to have as big an impact on your sonics as the speakers, room acoustics and equalization.
There are still reasons you might want a DAC + PC of course: Features and convenience! It will change the way you listen, and in a positive way I think. I have a total overkill DAC which I mostly like for it's combination of features and small size. It's abilities go far beyond anything my own ears would be able to discern. What can I say? I always wanted one, and I had money burning holes in my pocket at the time.
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nt
... the interpretation of the term "audiophile" is WAY over-stretched.
Ability to only hear gross differences, like those between speakers or different equalizer settings, is alarming - and points, to me, to gross inadequacies in system resolution, hearing, and brain's ability to process sound.
nt
Cut-Throat
Man you would love where I live, Rocky mountains of southern Alberta. Great fly fishing.
If you want to speak theoretically, outside of the context of Digital forum (which you obviously do) - that would be ears and brain, not minutia like you listed.
If, however, you stay within the context of the forum, and the original post - like the OP expects those who respond, - then your comment makes even less sense.
He asked about a DAC, not how to screw things up with Behringer equalization. Also, he most likely expected a response from someone who actually CAN hear sonic differences between DACs, which, according to your posts, is not the case with you.
Depends on the software you use to rip your discs. Exact Audio Copy is the only tool I would consider using for this purpose.
The benefit of ripping the discs is that you will (hopefully) be able to read the data and correct errors without resorting to muting or interpolation. As such you will be eliminating a source of jitter with a conventional optical transport.
However, when playing back the file, the intrinsic jitter of your network or media player becomes the issue so you start back where you started from almost. John is right that it is liberating having your library on tap, but it still requires proper implementation to sound as good as a top-quality transport. CD resolution is fine, but trying to play back Hi-res material via WiFi is asking for trouble - many network players recommend 24/96 material be distributed via wired Ethernet.
If you rip your files, I recommend converting to FLAC format (if using Windows) as you can then add metadata to your (lossless) files.
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
Exact Audio Copy does a good job of ripping. However, I recommend dBpoweramp CD Ripper which also does reliable rips. It's not free, but it comes with a great set of utilities and access to more Internet databases of tag information. It is also easier to set up.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
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what's a top quality / fine sounding cd transport?
I effectively made my own...by modifying my Sony XA-30ES. The transport on the Sony is a proprietary one with the stabilising puck. The laser is fixed and the whole disc mechanism is moved which is totally opposite to every other transport that I'm aware of. The inertia of the system makes for fewer problems with servo tracking.
If I had to rely on a commercial design, I would look for a transport that reclocked the output, had galvanic isolation (i.e transformer coupled) to eliminate problems with ground loops and had BNC as well as AES/EBU outputs which make a superior electrical connection than the RCA output.
PSAudio Perfectwave or Musical Fidelity M1-CDT would be a good place to start.
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
The answer to both questions is yes, if the quality is high and they are made by the same mfr (usually). That said, there are a few CD players that combine the two, but at a high price(usually).
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
If it has a better chip set and analog conversion circuitry than what's in your CD/DVD player now. In other words, any good to better DAC will certainly make an improvement over what you're hearing now.
That's where any potential improvement in the sound will come from.
And, as others have mentioned, being able to play your music from a library of files and not have to bother with physical media has a strong appeal for many of us.
It's quite simply the future of music.
"Can I expect to hear much sound improvement by using the digital files and the as compared to the sound output from the CD/DVD player( not an expensive player)?"
Done properly yes you will hear improvement IMO, plus as stated it is super convenient. There are a number of good DACs available that won't break the bank.
You might hear an improvement with a separate DAC. Regardless, it is much more convenient playing music from a hard drive than with a CD player. I ripped all my CDs to a hard drive and I will never go back to a transport or CD player.
Good luck,
John Elison
nt
Cut-Throat
Nt
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