Hi Ben,
The reason I said that you shouldn't have to "go to all of this trouble" is that in your original post you reported acheiving sound that was noticeably inferior to "any old CD player." In my experience this is definately not normal. I have been able to equal or surpass entry level CD players without going through the same steps that you had to. It makes me believe that there was something wrong, incompatible, or just not working right in your PC originally.
I would also respectfully disagree with you that a "PC can surpass any transport if it is set up right." Don't be so sure until you have had world-class transports and DACs to compare to in your system at home. I've spent a lot of time with units reference-quality digital players at home and am fortunate enough to get to work with them every day, and believe me, equalling their sound, or even coming close is no easy feat. If it were that easy, no high end manufacturer would still be selling those very expensive reference products. Companies like Meridian, Linn and others, have been trying for years to get a PC/hard drive/buffered machine to make state-of-the-art sound, and haven't been able to. I am not aware of anyone who has yet demonstrated or even made a serious claim to be able to equal the world's best digital players with a PC. I'm not saying that it can't or won't happen. I can't wait until it does. But we aren't there yet.
My understanding of the USB method is that has the potential of being superior to SPDIF, but in terms of actual implementation thus far, has not acheived anywhere near its potential. One possible exception to this is supposed to be the USB DACs from Wavelength Audio (I have never heard them). See their web site for a technical discussion and more detailed theory on this matter. They get quite expensive though.
Anyway, I'm glad you are getting better results with your new setup. Good luck!
The reason I said that you shouldn't have to "go to all of this trouble" is that in your original post you reported acheiving sound that was noticeably inferior to "any old CD player." In my experience this is definately not normal. I have been able to equal or surpass entry level CD players without going through the same steps that you had to. It makes me believe that there was something wrong, incompatible, or just not working right in your PC originally.
I would also respectfully disagree with you that a "PC can surpass any transport if it is set up right." Don't be so sure until you have had world-class transports and DACs to compare to in your system at home. I've spent a lot of time with units reference-quality digital players at home and am fortunate enough to get to work with them every day, and believe me, equalling their sound, or even coming close is no easy feat. If it were that easy, no high end manufacturer would still be selling those very expensive reference products. Companies like Meridian, Linn and others, have been trying for years to get a PC/hard drive/buffered machine to make state-of-the-art sound, and haven't been able to. I am not aware of anyone who has yet demonstrated or even made a serious claim to be able to equal the world's best digital players with a PC. I'm not saying that it can't or won't happen. I can't wait until it does. But we aren't there yet.
My understanding of the USB method is that has the potential of being superior to SPDIF, but in terms of actual implementation thus far, has not acheived anywhere near its potential. One possible exception to this is supposed to be the USB DACs from Wavelength Audio (I have never heard them). See their web site for a technical discussion and more detailed theory on this matter. They get quite expensive though.
Anyway, I'm glad you are getting better results with your new setup. Good luck!
