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In Reply to: This Is Disgusting..... posted by Todd Krieger on May 5, 2007 at 18:29:36:
Hey Todd,My experience with PC audio is very different, especially in the pace and rhythm regards. Especially in the bass as well.
What are you using for a player, for the output of said player, for a dac, etc.
Follow Ups:
"What are you using for a player, for the output of said player, for a dac, etc."Magnavox CDC 745 changer. 1990s vintage. (The same unit Don Allen modifies, except the one I have in CA is stock.) It beats my laptop rig so bad (the same rig I posted a lot on recently), I may not even think about playing Redbook CD audio though the PC rig, but just watch DVD videos and burn CDs. (The video quality is at least as good as any video player I've encountered.)
The PC rig sounds clean, and mostly similar analytically-speaking, but the music hits me totally different. (I made sure it was not an absolute polarity issue. It turns out both rigs are in agreement here. Full-range driver speakers make this very easy to discern.)
I might try different drivers on the audio side, but I thought I was doing better than it turns out.
Sorry for not being clear.What are you using on the COMPUTER side. Player, drivers, dac, etc.
Toshiba Satellite M35X PC, Monster USB cable (I ordered a Kimber a couple days ago, will try), Fubar II DAC with Supplier PS.Using Don Allen-modified Sansui TU-717 as a tuner-preamp. Don Allen Cakepan power amp (single-ended pentode), Fritz Audio Hemptone speakers.
I posted the playback software on PC Audio.... See link.....
I use the same playback software on my home PC, but I haven't used it much because I thought the laptop I'm using here in CA sounds better, in its internal system. And better yet with the Fubar. (My mom's PC to me sound better than either of mine, and I have no clue as to why. That thing has whatever it came with. No tweaking at all.)
Who knows, maybe I'll try an audiophile power cord. But I've never heard one make much of a difference with PC-based playback.
I used a PC playback system, but have a stand-alone Linux based server that feeds the FLAC digital stream to a Squeezebox 3 which feeds a Lavry DAC that goes straight to the power amp (Bel Canto S300) then to the speakers (Spendor S5e's.) I did a lot of experimenting with back-to-back comparison to CDP's before going 100% server route. The nice thing about this type of system is the FLAC decoding and subsequent DAC work are completely outside of the computer (which is in another room.)For how I listen I am extremely satisfied. If the recording has good stuff to offer, I believe I'm hearing it.
Have you tried asio?NOt ASIO4all, but real asio?
This made a huge difference. Infact, years ago when I got into this PC audio thing, I used a player called ACXO that had asio "built in". Everyone was raving about Foobar, and when I tried it, I was disappointed. ACXO just sounded so much better. A few years went by, and I realized that I had never used foobar with ASIO. I put ASIO in Foobar, and it immediately sounded better and much like the ACXO player. I primarily use Foobar now. I'll play with winamp, but man that thing is slow and my main rig is half as fast as the "regular" computer.
I did notice an improvement with a better power cord, and recommend that you try one.
Also, have you tried a better dac?
I can imagine vinyl adherents freaking out if I bought an entry level turntable and concluded that CDPs were better than vinyl.
Also, get something like the Lynx L22 to try. For the money it is hard to imagine a $600-$700 dac sounding better IMHO. My $1200 dac certainly didn't.
I tried asioks, and it always locks up my PC.... In fact, nothing ASIO works right until I install and uninstall another asio-based program....I can also try usb-asio, since it is a USB DAC....
But then again, the difference between my best and worst setup on the PC seemed to have less impact than switching to the dedicated CD player....
I often hear people having issues with drivers, asio or otherwise.The Lynx drivers are solid. They just work, and I have had no problems with ASIO.
If you had the L22 you would be able to experience true ASIO, and either use one of those NOS dacs you love, or the internal ones. Which to my ears are very musical without being veiled.
The dreaded Blue Screen of Death..... And repeatedly occurred when I tried re-installation..... I then made sure everything seemed fine, including other ASIO drivers un-installed, but to no avail.
Sorry you are having trouble. As I said, I have been spoiled. Lynx drivers just work, and I have only had a positive experience.Try posting on the PC audio site, and I bet someone with USB audio exp can help.
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