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I have a PC, and I love iTunes. What next?

As I read through these threads, I see a lot of folks who think iTunes from a PC into a DAC with a USB cable is mid-fi at best. I've looked at some other formats (foobar and others), and they just can't beat iTunes for convenience and play options. I will have my PS Audio Digital Link iii next week. Am I going to be disappointed? Will a better sound card make a difference?
paul_graham
rwwear
2,692 posts
 
Use the digital out on your PC.
meiwan
399 posts
 
The sound card will make no difference if you are going to an external DAC. That's the point, to bypass the sound card. Digital or USB can sound great with a good cable.
alexs's avatar
alexs
46 posts
 
I use the same setup in my system running iTunes via USB into my PS Audio DAC. All the music files are in Apple Lossless format NOT MP3. Remarkably close in performance to my Esoteric CD/SACD player at a fraction of the cost. Go for it. Forget the sound card as it will make no difference at all.
paul_graham OP
197 posts
 
Alexs

I called iTunes and changed my import setting to Apple Lossless...I bought a song and it appears as an AAC Audio File..it has a bit rate of 256...is this what you get? The 650 cd's I loaded (3 full days!) appear with a bit rate of 128 kbps and the purchased mucic from iTunes has a bit rate of 256. Both have a sample rate of 44.100 kHz
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