State-of-the-art CD transports vs USB/SPDIF converter shootout

[sandyk]

I might be true, but it far far away from being a proven fact.

I am readily able to demonstrate the differences directly to others, without even the need for DBTs, as the differences aren't subtle through better than average equipment. and they in turn are then able to demonstrate the differences to their friends and colleagues too, without me being present. I am quite happy to demonstrate this to other C.A. members from Sydney too at our next Sydney listening session, if they are interested, just as I did for David last Friday.

In any event, Martin Colloms has already confirmed my reports as a result of 6 separate Blind A/B/A 3 minute sessions.

Some C.A. members refuse to accept those results from Martin primarily because they personally had no say in how they were implemented .

If nothing else, they should have indicated that further research in this area is needed, and I am more than willing to co-operate in that area.

[Themos Nicoletopoulos]

It isn't like a record player, you are not turning the digital information into music when you RIP (i.e. copy) it from a CD to a disc on computer. There is little that can happen to the sound in this case, and the little that can possibly happen is also hotly contested. Just choose a format that is "lossless", like AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, or WAV, and all should be well.

 

Paul

 

 

Thank you for your reply. I am already ripping via EAC to flac or wav and feeding it to an M1 DAC (Musical Fidelity) via laptop and van der hul usb, then to a preamp 3A-X and two power amps p150-x in mono config for more current and biamping to Spendors sp1, all recently revamped. Revelation speaker cables. Question is if the rip is accurate, why should we need a transport? Does the transport sound better fed to a dac, or can we rip and bypass the transport? Perfect wave Dac rips to an inboard memory and plays that, instead of a direct sound. In plain English, should I buy a transport or keep ripping? And if the better transport sounds better, how do I copy from there to make my own playlists?

[Themos Nicoletopoulos]

Because of the way a computer CD (or DVD) drive works, it is possible for the computer to read the disk multiple times to ensure the data is read correctly. This enable a $20 DVD-R drive to ensure a better "rip" than you are going to get with a $20,000 reader which can only read in real time.

 

Some people will suggest the drive and power supply for that drive matters; but the general consensus is that most drives can make a "bit perfect" rip and once you have that rip while different playback methods (computer, drive and software) can make things sound different; two identical files cannot sound different depending on what drive ripped them.

 

Eloise

 

Thank you for your reply. I am already ripping via EAC to flac or wav and feeding it to an M1 DAC (Musical Fidelity) via laptop and van der hul usb, then to a preamp 3A-X and two power amps p150-x in mono config for more current and biamping to Spendors sp1, all recently revamped. Revelation speaker cables. Question is if the rip is accurate, we can feed id it directly to a DAC, why should we need a very expensive transport? Does the transport sound better fed to a dac, or can we rip and bypass the transport? Perfect wave Dac rips to an inboard memory and plays that, instead of a direct sound. In plain English, should I buy a transport or keep ripping? And if the better transport sounds better, how do I copy from there to make my own playlists?

[Paul R]

Thank you for your reply. I am already ripping via EAC to flac or wav and feeding it to an M1 DAC (Musical Fidelity) via laptop and van der hul usb, then to a preamp 3A-X and two power amps p150-x in mono config for more current and biamping to Spendors sp1, all recently revamped. Revelation speaker cables. Question is if the rip is accurate, why should we need a transport? Does the transport sound better fed to a dac, or can we rip and bypass the transport? Perfect wave Dac rips to an inboard memory and plays that, instead of a direct sound. In plain English, should I buy a transport or keep ripping? And if the better transport sounds better, how do I copy from there to make my own playlists?

 

Keep RIPing.

[wisnon]

I am readily able to demonstrate the differences directly to others, without even the need for DBTs, as the differences aren't subtle through better than average equipment. and they in turn are then able to demonstrate the differences to their friends and colleagues too, without me being present. I am quite happy to demonstrate this to other C.A. members from Sydney too at our next Sydney listening session, if they are interested, just as I did for David last Friday.

In any event, Martin Colloms has already confirmed my reports as a result of 6 separate Blind A/B/A 3 minute sessions.

Some C.A. members refuse to accept those results from Martin primarily because they personally had no say in how they were implemented .

If nothing else, they should have indicated that further research in this area is needed, and I am more than willing to co-operate in that area.

 

Doesn't the MEMORY player operate on the principle of embedded jitter? Isn't that the reason for RUR (read until right) tech?

Just asking...

[Geardaddy]

USB convertors are a good option for those who are still in the transitional zone of using a computer as a transport. Another interesting comparison would be between a computer + usb convertor versus a dedicated streamer such as the Antipodes.

[adamaley]

Did Elberoth ever post his followup findings/comparisons? If so, could someone point me to it? I've searched high and low.