Computer vs CD/SACD discs

See my previous post on this subject, I made the switch to computer audio just over a year ago and could not be happier with the results. Sound quality is every bit as good as anything I have heard at various HiFi show demonstrations over the years. Irrespective of what some people will tell you, commuter audio can be very simple and you do not need to invest in expensive high end components or cables to get superb sound. My current system is a MacBook Air, running Audirvarna Plus, USB cable (nothing fancy) into an Oppo 105 for D/A conversion then a Krell HTS 7.1 (just for volume control) and a Krell TAS driving a pair of B&W N801 speakers. I use standard Blue Jeans XLR cables to connect the Oppo 105 to the HTS 7.1 and the HTS 7.1 to the Krell TAS. Speaker cables are standard Monster speaker cables, nothing fancy.

Sound quality from ripped CDs and HD 24/96 FLAC downloads from HD Tracks is as good as anything I have heard from a conventional CDP system. I am a computer audio convert/believer!

About a year ago I went from spinning cd's to a dedicated music server (Naim Uni-serve). It doesn't get any easier. Drop in a cd and it rips it to the hard drive. The only draw back with the Naim is I can't walk up to it and do anything like start - stop - skip etc. It has to be controlled through a computer or Idevice. But it does stream radio or from a NAS. I can also queue as many cd's or individual tracks as I want.

I think the biggest part is the computer savy part. If you are very computer literate, its a snap. If you have to call someone to download a program or install a printer, stick with a CD player.

Bought a Bryston BDP-1/BDA-1 and couldn't be happier. I've owned DACs and transports, players and then went to streaming using a highly modded Airport Express. Now my CDs are saved using dbpoweramp in FLAC on two 128GB flash drives. I use an iPad mini as my remote and SQ has never been better. Just boxed up my CDs and dismantled the shelving. My player is up for sale 'cause I'm never going back! Cannot think of one advantage to using a player now days. (Have to admit though, I've never had an opportunity to hear a megabuck player and probably never will)

I'm a long time computer geek (30+ years) and I see both sides of the coin. I use a laptop with several TB of connected USB drives for storage and playback using Mezzmo software. This is a pretty good setup and fairly easy to use.

However, I also have over 2,000 CDs/DVDs and there is no denying the convenience factor. Even though my PC setup is pretty simple, it does not offer the ease of use that a dedicated disc spinner does.

So, I guess I'm with GrannyRing on this one. If you're computer savvy, a PC-based setup may be fun for you. If not, stick with the shiny discs...

-RW-