Actually the process of pulling the bits off the CD disk is an analog process, not a digital process. However, once it passes through the comparator, it is indeed a digital signal. For this reason, I feel a lot more confident that the music from ripped CDs and converted into a wave file using a bit perfect
software, will sound better than the CD in a player if a bit error occurs during reading of the CD. If a bit error doesn't occur, they should sound the same, assuming the same DAC is used. Then again, I'd bet if you are using a music server, odds are you have a way better DAC than the stock one in the CD player.
Steve N did state something very important - that digital cable should be terminated at 75 Ohms and it should have a characteristic impedance of 75 Ohms. A lot of expensive digital cables don't state whether they are controlled impedance cables or what that impedance is. I suspect some are but I don't buy them unless they have stated impedance. Granted, 44KHz is not overly fast for terminated transmission lines but termination is never a bad thing in data transmission. Besides, a properly terminated line with the proper transmitter impedance and characteristic cable nullifies the capacitance in the cable and the line becomes a purely resistive circuit.
There is a minor problem is the RCA connector - it isn't possible to get a 75 Ohm characteristic impedance and maintain the physical size of the RCA connector. BNC's do it just fine but not RCA's. However, as I mentioned above, 44 KHz is not overly fast for data transmission so this may not matter a great deal. I use an optical cable for this reason.
Check out this article on data transmission using rusty barb wire at 100MHz data transmission. That is a data rate about 2300 times faster than our CD data line. I did see that demonstration at the convention and I chuckled a bit, what a great marketing concept! http://www.sigcon.com/Pubs/edn/SoGoodBarbedWire.htm
Steve N did state something very important - that digital cable should be terminated at 75 Ohms and it should have a characteristic impedance of 75 Ohms. A lot of expensive digital cables don't state whether they are controlled impedance cables or what that impedance is. I suspect some are but I don't buy them unless they have stated impedance. Granted, 44KHz is not overly fast for terminated transmission lines but termination is never a bad thing in data transmission. Besides, a properly terminated line with the proper transmitter impedance and characteristic cable nullifies the capacitance in the cable and the line becomes a purely resistive circuit.
There is a minor problem is the RCA connector - it isn't possible to get a 75 Ohm characteristic impedance and maintain the physical size of the RCA connector. BNC's do it just fine but not RCA's. However, as I mentioned above, 44 KHz is not overly fast for data transmission so this may not matter a great deal. I use an optical cable for this reason.
Check out this article on data transmission using rusty barb wire at 100MHz data transmission. That is a data rate about 2300 times faster than our CD data line. I did see that demonstration at the convention and I chuckled a bit, what a great marketing concept! http://www.sigcon.com/Pubs/edn/SoGoodBarbedWire.htm