IÂm surely not the ONLY source and definitely not the LAST word on PC audio affairs. There are several right here on Agon which exceed easily my knowledge base. Consequently, I try to stay within my own experiences not postulating on exacts, and onlyÂs.
I was on the Saratoga & Franklin D. both as ships company in the Engineering Division.
This isnÂt too different than what goes on about the flight deck. You got your Green, red, purple, White, brown, and blue shirts. All are a part of a singular enterprise, yet each has varied jobs to promote that particular end. You got your CAT people, Weapons crew, fuelers, traffic and parkers group, medics, and command. Although they do an exemplary job IÂve seen some horrific events take place on the flat top. Absolutely stomach turning events.
You might be better served to remember too, that different sects of PC users abound. PC makers . PC users . PC operating system makers Recording sorts which go all out digitally to capture their sessions or the ÂPro sect then comes the Audio nut that sees how flexible a PC Âcan be utilized for home entertainment.
The PC hard and soft ware makers sphere is quite myopic. The recording industry alone has enabled Âus the PC for audio nuts, a much greater insight into the ÂhowÂs & ÂwhyÂs for our own uses..so with that in mind, IÂd pretty much refrain from areas of info other than those expressly dedicated to the actual end you seek.
Vista, Win 7, or XP, can all be made to sound great! Just as so can a Mac or Lenox based box. Each one has itÂs own pluses and minuses. Each brings something to the table and each has itÂs quirks. The thing to know here is actual improvements in computer performance often translate to better audio & video reproduction. Fill up the RAM. Get a hot shot CPU. SS hard drives are getting more press and getting cheaper . And are faster. Speed is key. Make your pc as fast as is reasonably possible. ThatÂs just sound thinking.
No one has quantified sound quality gains from a 64 bit to 32 bit rig thus far to my knowledge . And hardware always runs in front of the software. 64 bit rigs are reputedly faster workers, yet seldom are there enough software applications suitable to 64 bit rigs from the jump! So thereÂs some lag for software to catch up to them. Just like hyper threading was, and Dual CPUs once were . You could buy them but some very popular apps werent written to take full advantage of the hardware tech driving them.
HP now has advertised a laptop dedicated to music uses and home entertainment . Reportedly. I saw an ad on TV about it just the other day. IÂve not wasted anytime checking it out however. I doubt seriously HP made an all out attempt to formulate an Âaudiophile pc in truth. ThereÂs still that windows OS TO WORK AROUND, remember? It may have added interfaces, and sharing capabilities and perhaps it has some greater horsepower too all of that does add up, but there is more to it.
Again, the numbers game in both thru put and sampling rates gets over played and over hyped. Routinely. The big deal is jitter. Period and paragraph. ThereÂs DACs out there which handle ONLY 16/44.1K and do a damn fine job, costing tons of bucks.
Just as with high end, or even ultra high end audio equipment, numbers matter some, but the parts being used and the tech, often matter far more. An optimized truly very high end 16/44 DAC very well can outperform one which handles far higher rates like 24/192. That arenÂt built or arenÂt appointed quite so well. Of course not everyone can afford a 15K DAC either. Or even one costing half that much. ItÂs the same thing everywhere else.
We have our own little budgetary constrainsts and we try to optimize what we have within those confines. The main notion IÂve found out for myself is this . Once you get to a certain point, the improvements you gain are dramatically more costly and become immensely disproportionate to the actual gains you will or can perceive. IOW the diffs from a 3K DAC to that of a 6K DAC ArenÂt always a night and day experience. It likely will only be marginally better. Noticeably perhaps, but most often, not spectacular . With all else being the same of course. That said, results will vary to the ears of some more so than to others.
All of this is as involved as you want it to be, or not to be. it should always be fun, and ultimately satisfying for you.
When or if it becomes all comsuming or an obsession, quit. Quit and seek professional help. for in those accounts, it's not the hobby doing it to you, it's the hobbyist themselves.