GeorgeM

Hi Barry, Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Yes, there are certainly differing opinions! I asked the same question on a digital forum here in Australia and almost all of the answers were "forget computers, buy a dedicated music server, along with myriads of recommendations..... But diversity of opinion is fantastic and each presents an opportunity to learn something from a new perspective. I also read your piece "Listening to tomorrow" and really enjoyed it. Thank you! I do a lot of travelling with my work and I try to incorporate a music or hi-fi visit to every trip, weather it's a concert or visiting an audiophile with a reputed system, so I've been fortunate to have listened to a few high-end music systems from around the world. I have to admit that I'm actually 90% passionate about music and not particularly obsessed with equipment, even though I have achieved a very satisfying sound at my home. So when you mention that hi-res music files can sound equal to or better than analogue, I am particularly interested to know more, as I have never experienced that. OK, so you think that I can build an Apple based system. That's great as I am already familiar with that environment. I'll need to work out how to achieve it though. You make a good point about CD's not sounding like the master. I agree and have to say that I have rarely found the CD format to be satisfying, hence my enjoyment of analogue. Your suggestion that the raw PCM format will sound closer to the original is heartening, especially coming from someone like you who has experience in mastering/recording/producing music. Your questions: 1. AIFF 2. I'm not sure what you mean by this. I used iTunes on the computer to rip my CD's. 3. I tried toslink, then USB direct into the DAC. I cannot recall if it was adaptive or asynchronous. As a listener, I am moved by the emotion in music. I love to get drawn in to the story, or the intention of the artist, the 'moment'.... I find that most high-end audio systems are impressive in a 'hi-fidelity' way. They do detail and soundstage, etc and tick all the audiophile boxes but leave me cold. I find that I 'respect' the achievement of the designers but rarely do I get emotionally connected. When it does happen, it's amazing and fuels my passion for this hobby. I have found that it it's not a function of component cost, or reviewers reputation, or popularity of sales, or anything like that. The quality of the recording is paramount, the listening room, the synergy between all the parts of the system and there are simply some topologies/designs that seem to connect me with the emotion in music more than others. So going back to the question, I don't want enhanced detail or silky smooth, simply bringing me closer to the original recording is fine with me. Best regards, George.

Hi Ted, Thanks for responding to my post. If I go back to a few years ago when I first tried computer audio, I had a Weiss Medus DAC and an AMR CD77 CD player with its own built-in DAC. When I used my Mac to play music through the AMR's DAC, it didn't sound as satisfying as the AMR CD transport feeding the signal (by a long way). I also experimented with using the AMR as a transport feeding the Weiss versus using my Mac computer to feed the Weiss DAC. Again, the results were conclusive in favour of the AMR. I tried USB and Toslink. Please note that although I installed Pure Music and had high quality cables, etc...I am quite happy to accept that I may not have set up the Mac computer in the most optimised way. Today, I have a Line Magnetic LM-502CA DAC, with modified parts (caps, relays, per supply) and although its only a fraction of the cost of my previous equipment, I find it to be beautiful. I do have an internet connection into my listening room. Currently, all my electronic files are stored in iTunes on a Mac computer in another room. I also have over 2,500 physical CD's with more than half of them not ripped. Of the ones that I have ripped, the format is AIFF. George.

Hello Computer Audiophile folks, I have just joined this community and would love to hear your opinions and shared wisdom on what do do next. I apologise for the long post and thank you in advance. Some background: I have been a music lover, collector and audiophile since I can remember and over the years, I have invested seriously in my hobby. I have always owned & used high-end CD players with high quality cabling for my digital front end but I in recent years, I formed the opinion that the CD player's days are numbered. Four years ago, I sold my expensive CD player and made a determined effort to set up a dedicated computer digital source. I used an Apple Air laptop with a solid state drive, ran it on DC, and installed Pure Music software to assist with sending the signal to the DAC. I followed lots of advice from Computer Audio devotees, tried every type of cable under the sun, etc....but no matter what I did, the sound wasn't even close to what my CD player was achieving. I was using a nice DAC and was very familiar with its capability, having used it with various transports and my old CD player. After 6 months of trying, I got rid of the computer front end and reluctantly, bought another very expensive (but satisfying) CD player. So not a positive experience of computer audio.... Recently, I received an offer for my CD player that I couldn't refuse so out it went and I thought that this is a great opportunity to re-visit the concept of a computer or server digital front end. So here I am...ready to do it again! Before I get to my questions, I would like to preface my post by saying that I am asking you these questions because I am extremely time-poor at the moment. With crazy demands at work, children at sport every night and occasional work travel, I rarely get a chance to spend quality time to research these topics like I used to. So I'm hoping that with your experiences, you may be able to share some wisdom with me and save me making some silly mistakes. Also, in giving me your advice, please note that I have a highly resolving music system with Ypsilon amplification and highly modified Avantgarde Duo horn loudspeakers and sound quality is the highest priority. Ease of use and cost are important, but slightly lower priorities. So any 'glare' or harshness is immediately evident. My vinyl source is extremely enjoyable & I'm hoping that I can achieve a digital front end that has a similar sense of realism, openness and liquidity. Note that I have a DAC that I am happy with. So....some questions: (1) I have Apple computers at home with a reasonably large iTunes library. Naturally, I am hoping that I can achieve a great sound within the Apple environment but I am prepared to move to PC if it proves to be the better choice in the long term. Given that I am at square one and have not committed one way or the other, which format do you recommend? (2) Within the Apple sphere, I am aware of software options such as Pure Music, Amarra, Bit Perfect and Audiorvana. Given your answer to (1), what software have you had a positive experience with and what do you recommend? (3) What do you recommend in terms of hardware? A laptop or a solid state drive with a monitor, etc, etc. What cables do you recommend to achieve my objectives? Any advice is welcome. I know that it's difficult to give advice without knowing more information but even some 'bigger picture' advice is appreciated. Thank you and I hope to be able to share what I learn with this community one day. Cheers, George.