Music from hard drive better than CD?


Hi folks, I'm considering to buy a MacIntosh G5 for using it as a source in a high quality audio system. Will the Mac outperform the best CD-transport/DAC combo's simply by getting rid of jitter? It surely will be a far less costlier investment than a top transport/DAC combo from let's say Wadia or DCS, hehe. What is your opinion?
dazzdax
I have not tried the Hard Drive with SPDiF into the Emm Labs Dac. I'm not sure the Emm Labs DAC will take an SPDiF input. I use the Emm Labs in a different room from the Hard Drive/Apogee.
Thanks Rsbeck. RAM Electronicssells all kinds of convertors to go either direction. If you are just buying a single-purpose digital convertor they're pretty inexpensive should you want to try your EMM labs. Multi-use converters like M-Audio's CO2 and CO3 are more expensive but can convert to almost any cable. Check them out.

Marco
How about "the ultimate one box system".

1. CD/DVD/SACD transport.
2. Hard disc to store the music, with playback immediately (no jitter), or later.
3. Video screen for index of library, and control.
4. Digital Power amp.
and maybe AM/FM/XM radio tuner.

Add speakers of your choice.
Look for Bose to do it.
Doesn't Revox and/or Goldmund make something like that already. Linn also comes close.
Here is something I found --

From 6 Moons' review of a Hard Drive based system ---

One of the great advantages of playing music from a hard drive is that the playback is all byte-by-byte. You are not hearing music through a device that is trying to read a spinning disc in real time. The major source of jitter and distortion is simply eliminated in this hard drive-based process. As I heard it, the net effect is a terrific sense of natural musical flow.

http://6moons.com/audioreviews/vrs/vrs_3.html

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