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In Reply to: The end of CDs? posted by Jank on February 10, 2007 at 01:37:50:
You people just need to hear a decent digital front end is all, truly.
Follow Ups:
Well Bob I have a question - Audio Note has USB capability and assuming you use lossless compression and run it through an AN DAC you still should get exceptional results. I have a small headphone DAC/AMP from Head-fi (Total Bithead) which bypasses the laptop's crappola noises and lets the external DAC do all the work. Now granted this machine is $199.00 so you can;t expect the world but I use this thing every single day for several hours and the sound even with relatively revealing HD 600s is quite nice indeed.I loaded all my CD's onto my external hard drive before coming to Korea and put them all in lossless format (which takes up big space). I have hear many $1000.00 - $3000.00 players that frankly didn't impress me any more than what I am getting from this 4 AAA battery rig.
I don't know how good the USB portion of the AN DAC is because their technology suggests a one times through play but I should think in theory bypassing a tranport completely may actually be better.
RGA,The Audio Note *kit* DAC offers USB input, which is actually the Hagerman USB converter. Despite the considerable opportunity, Peter does not like the sound from any USB input he has heard so it is notably absent from any of the factory-built DACs.
It certainly is a compelling option from the standpoint of convenience, though. I work from home in an office downstairs where I currently feed (any of over 1,000 songs)via iTunes & Airport Express through an M3, Kit4 and a pair of E's. The CD's and LP's are all upstairs in the living room and while they sound far better when I'm up there in the evening, they lose quite a lot filtered through the carpet and floor!
I haven't heard the kit DAC w/USB, although I'd like to, and I doubt that any of the dealers have either since they don't sell the kits.
Keep your ears and your mind open.
I just wish we could have our cake and eat it too. One of the big attractions of those 300 disc players for me was the load all your discs in and you could get to any track instantly from any artist. This is less attractive to those who listen primarily to classical music but for pop, rock etc where you like that one hit wonder song the 300 discer is perfect. You are not going to take the time to load a disc in to listen to one song but a mega player will get the disc being used a lot more.The hard drive is practically perfect for this - it's not going to replace the high end rig in serious listening but then even Peter's own CD replay does not replace his vinyl rig. So the slope is already slippery - we traded vinyl for inferior sound and gained huge convenience - the digital download makes another trade this time for practically supreme convenience.
Now according to you Peter does not like the USB feeds he has heard -- then by George develop a good one. There has to be a way. Better hard drive - better cable - a better blinking laptop - or a bypass th computer altogether set-up. Those hard drive machines from Sony - maybe something is there than can be jiggery pokereyed to get right. (Doctor Who fans rejoice).
I find it amusing though that the CD demise is being discussed while LP continues a resurgence. Not many would thunk it in 1988. In my town of Nanaimo there are four place on one street selling new and or used vinyl. One only sells Vinyl - the other two sell more vinyl than CD and the third A&B Sound a huge big box chain has started carrying vinyl and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The giant future shop has such a tiny cd selection as to not even be worth mentioning. SACD is dead, DVD Audio is Dead, CD is 95 with cancer, hemeroids, and a family waiting to cash in the million dllar insurance policy.
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