Are you still playing CDs after, comp based syst?

Still getting mixed results comparing CDs with Computer based Systems- sound quality wise. I see no reason for
either/ or contest between the two. Next Solar Flare wipes
out all software for word processing, you are going to be hurting for that Typewriter. Computer Audio is flaky, fragile, susceptible to fragmentation, not to mention all
manor of viruses/ malware/ spyware/ and magnetic fields.
Despite this Computer Audio is still usable, but I certainly would use CD as a back-up. I have never had to
back-up a CD. Music Files are disposable Computer trash, much like disposable lighters. Back-ups are only lipstick
on this Pig. Sneeze and you would fragment half of your
Music Files. They are only temporary, and certainly not
made to last. They are only cheap, and inexpensive- not
unlike magnetic cassette tapes! Remember those? A good
magnet can wipe out both, how reliable can that be?

I still love the sound of a CD played on my modded CEC TL-1X transport through PWD MKII DAC. Generally use a Byrston BDP-1 digital music player, but sometimes there is a warmth to the CD playback that analog fans probably love about their LP's.

Neal

"It seems that some kind of reconstructing of the data has to be done AFTER going through a DAC. If this is so, then all bets are off and folk here are merely settling for something incrementally better."

There are a lot of designers that have tried to do this, but all so far have failed. There are technical reasons why this will probably never achieve the optimum jitter result.

The best solution IME is still a low-jitter digital source, whether CD transport or computer interface, feeding a DAC with no reclocking in it.

There are lots of poor digital sources out there, both CD transports and computer interfaces. The trick is to cut through the BS and find the best ones.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Neal, I think you hit the nail on the head. My PC rig was basic, at best, but it still bested my CDP in terms of clarity, detail, ambience and extension at both ends. It wasn't until I tried some old Mapleshade ICs I had that now, the CDP bested my iMac in every way you could think of. That warmth you mentioned was the missing ingredient.

It could very well be some form of jitter, for all I know, but it's full bodied, rich, and tonally loaded along with all the positive attributes I get from my iMac. There is no loss of detail, ambience or clarity but just the opposite: a more fully depicted rendering.

I get it that folk get a certain amount of satisfaction from mastering PC audio. It's like repairing a car and enjoying the ride. There is a romantic aspect to it all, not to mention the convenience. But all the PC rigs I've heard at audio shows had that missing warmth you mentioned, to some degree. Exacting, they were. Almost, but not quite hyper, and a bit unnaturally in-your-face. Only the MSB set up had me on the opening notes, and it was a CDP set up I was listening to. Exorbitantly expensive but still a CDP.

All the best,
Nonoise

I use my CDP and will wait for the Computer based systems to mature. Would like to wait till we have "affordable" NAND/Flash based storage in the 2-4TB range.

Currently researching transports and DACs available. What I would like:
-To get a "transport" that can play ALL types of discs and formats. MSB has one that is priced at around $4K. Looks like that is a modded Oppo.
-To get an affordable DAC that can decode, along with regular stuff (PCM, FLAC, AAC, etc), DSD, DXD and HDCD. DCS and MSB has that, but I will have to donate some organs to be able to afford that.

So, looks like I am at least a couple of years away from the PC audio stuff. Hence I am pretty happy with my CDP. Also interested in the new Marantz SA-11S3 player that can play SACD.