Digital audio at reasonable quality?

Hi,

I have an Exposure 2010 amp coupled with a pair of Mordaunt Short 902i.
This has been a great set-up but I'd like to move away from CDs -
the convenience of the digital age proves to be great!

The idea is to run FLAC audio from a computer -- transport -- high
quality DAC -- my existing amp. Hopefully this doesn't sound too
blasphemous.

On the transport side, a few options a

1. the S/PDIF output (TOSLINK or coax) from my audigy4 soundcard
2. the S/PDIF output from an upgraded soundcard
3. an audiophile level USB S/PDIF output
4. a standalone player - perhaps a Squeezebox or Apple TV

On the choice of DAC, I've considered:

1. Cambridge Audio s700 Isomagic
2. Musical Fidelity A3
3. DPA Bigger Bit DAC
4. Audio Alchemy DDE
5. Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3

Any recommendations of transport and DAC (and indeed over the entire
setup) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
jt

jonT wrote:
Hi,

I have an Exposure 2010 amp coupled with a pair of Mordaunt Short 902i.
This has been a great set-up but I'd like to move away from CDs -
the convenience of the digital age proves to be great!

The idea is to run FLAC audio from a computer -- transport -- high
quality DAC -- my existing amp. Hopefully this doesn't sound too
blasphemous.

On the transport side, a few options a

1. the S/PDIF output (TOSLINK or coax) from my audigy4 soundcard
2. the S/PDIF output from an upgraded soundcard
3. an audiophile level USB S/PDIF output
4. a standalone player - perhaps a Squeezebox or Apple TV

Apple TV - not receiving good press on the NGs. It's basically a
strangled video interface.


On the choice of DAC, I've considered:

1. Cambridge Audio s700 Isomagic
2. Musical Fidelity A3
3. DPA Bigger Bit DAC
4. Audio Alchemy DDE
5. Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3

Any recommendations of transport and DAC (and indeed over the entire
setup) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
jt

I think I've tried every solution permutation and I've ended up with this:

I've transferred all my compressed music (80-odd gig) to a Mac Mini.
Issues/compromise/things include:

D/A conversion - I'm not completely convinced by the Mac's ability here,
so I use the Mac digital output to a Cambridge DAC;
Monitor required - I use the telly. This might rule it out for you. I'd
just say that trying to access one of several thousand tracks on a 3
line LED using a remote is not pleasant;
HD Space - I use an external HD;
Cost - 400UKP - less if you qualify for the education discount or buy
refurb (plus the monitor);
Size/in use - a bit bigger than a CD box footprint, low power, remote
included, analogue/digital I/O, very quiet, superb Front Row interface,
video playback, plus a proper computer with bluetooth, CD or DVD writer,
USB, firewire and wifi 'free'.

A PC can do most of this but not, IMO, as well. If you must have
Windows, Macs can now dual boot or run Windows on top of the Mac's
operating system - both very effective.

Rob

Apple TV - not receiving good press on the NGs. It's basically a
strangled video interface.

Sad to hear. It seems pretty limited, particularly in having to link it
into iTunes rather than simply scanning SMB shares... Maybe someone
will reverse engineer it, ala mt-daapd.

I've transferred all my compressed music (80-odd gig) to a Mac Mini.
Issues/compromise/things include:

Sounds like a good start

D/A conversion - I'm not completely convinced by the Mac's ability here,
so I use the Mac digital output to a Cambridge DAC;

Using an external DAC seems quite inevitable, though I have heard good
things about the terratec range of sound cards. Still wouldn't trust
digital to analogue conversion inside a computer!

Incidently, I've heard that the digital output from a mac mini is
somewhat weak - though I don't know how noticable this would be, or
indeed if this is "audiophile speak". The Exposure 2010 CD player has
an option to turn off the LCD display to improve sound quality. Go
figure...

Monitor required - I use the telly. This might rule it out for you. I'd
just say that trying to access one of several thousand tracks on a 3
line LED using a remote is not pleasant;

I imagine I'll upgrade to a 42'' 1080p LCD soon - which could easily be
driven from PC.

Thanks for the suggestions.

jonT wrote:
Apple TV - not receiving good press on the NGs. It's basically a
strangled video interface.

Sad to hear. It seems pretty limited, particularly in having to link it
into iTunes rather than simply scanning SMB shares... Maybe someone
will reverse engineer it, ala mt-daapd.

I've transferred all my compressed music (80-odd gig) to a Mac Mini.
Issues/compromise/things include:

Sounds like a good start

D/A conversion - I'm not completely convinced by the Mac's ability here,
so I use the Mac digital output to a Cambridge DAC;

Using an external DAC seems quite inevitable, though I have heard good
things about the terratec range of sound cards. Still wouldn't trust
digital to analogue conversion inside a computer!

Incidently, I've heard that the digital output from a mac mini is
somewhat weak - though I don't know how noticable this would be, or
indeed if this is "audiophile speak". The Exposure 2010 CD player has
an option to turn off the LCD display to improve sound quality. Go
figure...


I'm not too sure about all the 'display off' hoohah ;-)

Funny you should say that about the digital out. It's actually quieter
than other digital sources (a PVR that happens to store MP3s etc, and a
USB iMic D/A converter) when used to play the same mp3 file.

Now, I thought a digital signal is just a digital signal if the same
source track is used, and I'd assumed this volume difference was one of
many of my little imaginings. The other variable could be the decoding
software (Mac native AFAIK) I suppose - but I haven't noticed a
qualitative difference between sources once the volume is adjusted, but
then my testing regime is not exactly in the realm of double blind and
suchlike.

So you could well have a point about the 'weak' digital out ...

Credit card at the ready.

Rob

In article .com,
jonT wrote:
I have an Exposure 2010 amp coupled with a pair of Mordaunt Short 902i.
This has been a great set-up but I'd like to move away from CDs -
the convenience of the digital age proves to be great!

You've got analogue CDs?

--
*Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

jonT wrote:
Hi,
On the transport side, a few options a

1. the S/PDIF output (TOSLINK or coax) from my audigy4 soundcard
2. the S/PDIF output from an upgraded soundcard
3. an audiophile level USB S/PDIF output
4. a standalone player - perhaps a Squeezebox or Apple TV

If you can run a server PC 24/7, the squeezebox is the way to go IMO.
Maybe download the software and try it out using soft squeeze before
commiting to the hardware. The indexing for a large collection is very
powerful, and the vacuum display is very readable across the room.

My server lives over 10 metres from my HiFi. The only noise is the music!

--
Adrian C