tom-in-hk

When I was growing up in the 80's we loved music, on the radio, or cassettes, or vinyl it didn't matter. The core was music and enjoyment of it. Of course as soon as the cd player was released, and it introduced it changed the aspirations of music lovers to get closer to the music. Unfortunately what I observe is the quality of music has declined into a heavily manufactured product, more so than crafted with real feeling. Furthermore the next step in higher resolution or sonic quality is just not there. Higher resolution formats such as SACD have failed, and it's somewhat impractical for some to commit serious money to high end rigs. Especially when the quality achievable at reasonable cost is acceptable to most. Perhaps mainstream artists could release higher quality tracks, and actually worth buying. I would definitely buy a higher res version of Adele's albums..

The application would be for files sources via HD Tracks, or iTunes etc which are not on disc. Basically does a mac mini, plus DAC sound better than a dedicated CD player with ability to play audio files also.

I am considering a MacMini solution also. Could the moderator put together a recommended sticky setup guide with various DAC suggestions for the un-initiated like myself? Something like the CAPS Thinking something like: Mac Mini Basic - recommendations on basic system setup with minimal changes (hardware & software config) Intermediate - Recommended intermediate upgrades (SSD's, RAM, software Ammarra etc) High End - highest performance setup of Hardware and software. Also what would be best bang for your buck DAC's also basic, intermediate and high end (in terms of price bracket)... Would the above be a good idea? Cheers, Tom

Thanks guys, I suppose it is only fair to compare products of similar price regarding the DAC quality comparison. How about say a dedicated stand alone CD player (i.e. non-video) like the Marantz CD6004 (<$500USD). Maybe you guys rate it (or something similar) as a better audiophile device? [h=1]As I understand it has a USB port for external HDD's and will play WMA's, MP3's also. Not sure what hardware it uses to process the files though... [/h] Regarding jitter from disc's; wouldn't using regular audio CD's be prone to the same issue, after all, they are just reading data, or is there better circuitry to process PCM data rather than MP3's? Are we saying that dedicated audiophile CD players are inferior to these CAS rigs because of jitter? Thanks, Tom

Hello members, I have cds and mp3s and saw the cd player above has good reviews and much cheaper than a separate DAC. I was wondering if burning FLAC files to DVD roms and playing through the player would be a good option... Mods pls move if not appropriate in this forum Thanks.