Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Pat
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

Hi all,

I want to simplify my life and the organization of my 800CDs so i am
thinking of archiving on a computer. I have 4 basic questions:

A) I hard many arguments about CD transport differences and am
wondering how that is possible?

B) How is the CD stransport different in an audio CD player and
computer CD drives. If I read the sound files from the CD onto my
computer I can use different computers and get always the identical
sound file (yes, i compared the bits). If the transport would be
different, then the bits should be different, or ?

C) If i store sound files uncompressed on a hard disk of an able
computer (500MHz G4), then shouldn't I be able to play these files via
a good DAC (i.e. M-audio firewire audiophile, 96kHz) and get CD sound
back???

D) any other "computer intrefacable" DACs that are better than the
M-audio?

I have a Linn Majik, Nakamichi CD/DVD player, Blueroom speakers, B&W
sub. I really enjoy the sound from CDs. I went to a dealer and they
claim that $1000-$2000 CD players (Rega planet, Linn Genki) sound way
better. Is that just the DAC in the player ?

Thanks a lot!

Pat

  #2   Report Post  
chung
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

Pat wrote:
Hi all,

I want to simplify my life and the organization of my 800CDs so i am
thinking of archiving on a computer.


I think more and more people will be doing that.

I have 4 basic questions:

A) I hard many arguments about CD transport differences and am
wondering how that is possible?


If you are ripping CD's into your hard disk and storing them as either
..wav files or compressed files, there is no way the CD transport could
make any difference.


B) How is the CD stransport different in an audio CD player and
computer CD drives.


Computer CD drives can read much faster. They do not have good
analog-to-converters necessarily.

Software such as EAC (Exact Audio Copy) can do an excellent job of
making sure that the tracks are ripped correctly onto your hard disk.

If I read the sound files from the CD onto my
computer I can use different computers and get always the identical
sound file (yes, i compared the bits).


Yes.

If the transport would be
different, then the bits should be different, or ?


No, unless one of the transports is broken .

C) If i store sound files uncompressed on a hard disk of an able
computer (500MHz G4), then shouldn't I be able to play these files via
a good DAC (i.e. M-audio firewire audiophile, 96kHz) and get CD sound
back???


Yes. I recommend that you send digital out from the computer via a sound
card. Sending digital data out is an easy task for any computer, unless
the computer has to do a lot of other intensive tasks. You may also try
to use a good music manager like iTunes. And try compressed formats to
see if they are good enough. Hard disk space is very cheap these days,
and 800 discs uncompressed will probably take up about 400 MB. I saw a
250GB on sale for $139 this week, after rebates. You can use lossless
compression to save space, too.


D) any other "computer intrefacable" DACs that are better than the
M-audio?


Any recent receiver should have built-in DAC's and accept S/PDIF signals
(toslink or coax). My recommendation is try those first instead of
getting an external DAC.


I have a Linn Majik, Nakamichi CD/DVD player, Blueroom speakers, B&W
sub. I really enjoy the sound from CDs. I went to a dealer and they
claim that $1000-$2000 CD players (Rega planet, Linn Genki) sound way
better. Is that just the DAC in the player ?


Certainly if there are differences, the DAC's will likely contribute the
most. But realize that information the sales people get you may not be
always technically accurate.

I came across a couple of products that you might find interesting:

http://us.creative.com/local/1/newsl...Specifications

http://www.slimdevices.com/

Both of these are wireless-ready music servers. They allow you to place
the receiver anywhere in your house, away from the computer which is a
source of acoustic noise. I believe these products will become very
popular, as well as cheaper in the next year. They both have internal
DAC's if you don't have a receiver with built-in DAC's. And you avoid
the problem of running optical/coax cables.


Thanks a lot!

Pat

  #3   Report Post  
chung
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

chung wrote:


Yes. I recommend that you send digital out from the computer via a sound
card. Sending digital data out is an easy task for any computer, unless
the computer has to do a lot of other intensive tasks. You may also try
to use a good music manager like iTunes. And try compressed formats to
see if they are good enough. Hard disk space is very cheap these days,
and 800 discs uncompressed will probably take up about 400 MB.


Oops, I meant 400 GB.

I saw a
250GB on sale for $139 this week, after rebates. You can use lossless
compression to save space, too.



  #4   Report Post  
Pat
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

chung wrote in message ...

so this confirms a lot of what i have thought....

snipped

If you are ripping CD's into your hard disk and storing them as either
.wav files or compressed files, there is no way the CD transport could
make any difference.


B) How is the CD stransport different in an audio CD player and
computer CD drives.


Computer CD drives can read much faster. They do not have good
analog-to-converters necessarily.


Then why are computer CD drives $39 and CD transports $1000? Doesnt
seem to make much sense to me.

Software such as EAC (Exact Audio Copy) can do an excellent job of
making sure that the tracks are ripped correctly onto your hard disk.


Is there a Mac OS-X version or could I just drag the files into
itunes?


If I read the sound files from the CD onto my
computer I can use different computers and get always the identical
sound file (yes, i compared the bits).


Yes.

If the transport would be
different, then the bits should be different, or ?


No, unless one of the transports is broken .


which goes to the above.. why is the transport in cheapo CD Rom
players so much better than in hifi CD players ? For sure a decent DAC
can be build for $500? is the rest just design/marketing ? I mean,
$3000 CD players ?


C) If i store sound files uncompressed on a hard disk of an able
computer (500MHz G4), then shouldn't I be able to play these files via
a good DAC (i.e. M-audio firewire audiophile, 96kHz) and get CD sound
back???


Yes. I recommend that you send digital out from the computer via a sound
card. Sending digital data out is an easy task for any computer, unless
the computer has to do a lot of other intensive tasks. You may also try
to use a good music manager like iTunes. And try compressed formats to
see if they are good enough. Hard disk space is very cheap these days,
and 800 discs uncompressed will probably take up about 400 MB. I saw a
250GB on sale for $139 this week, after rebates. You can use lossless
compression to save space, too.




D) any other "computer intrefacable" DACs that are better than the
M-audio?


Any recent receiver should have built-in DAC's and accept S/PDIF signals
(toslink or coax). My recommendation is try those first instead of
getting an external DAC.


I have a Mac G4 with 500GB HD space and was thinking of an extrenal
firewire sound/DAC card as my amplifier (Linn Majik) doesnt have a
digital input.



I have a Linn Majik, Nakamichi CD/DVD player, Blueroom speakers, B&W
sub. I really enjoy the sound from CDs. I went to a dealer and they
claim that $1000-$2000 CD players (Rega planet, Linn Genki) sound way
better. Is that just the DAC in the player ?


Certainly if there are differences, the DAC's will likely contribute the
most. But realize that information the sales people get you may not be
always technically accurate.


I heard people claim that they use different CD transports on the
samer DAC and hear differences....


I came across a couple of products that you might find interesting:

http://us.creative.com/local/1/newsl...Specifications

http://www.slimdevices.com/

Both of these are wireless-ready music servers. They allow you to place
the receiver anywhere in your house, away from the computer which is a
source of acoustic noise. I believe these products will become very
popular, as well as cheaper in the next year. They both have internal
DAC's if you don't have a receiver with built-in DAC's. And you avoid
the problem of running optical/coax cables.


those seem cool. wonder how they sound. Actually, my computer is
almost silent as it doesnt ahve any fans in it and the WD hard disks
are also pretty low noise.

So I huess I have to hunt for a good DAC now and then start putting my
CDs on the hard disk...

Which external DACs with USB or firewire interface sound good ?

Pat

  #5   Report Post  
chung
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

Pat wrote:
chung wrote in message ...

so this confirms a lot of what i have thought....

snipped

If you are ripping CD's into your hard disk and storing them as either
.wav files or compressed files, there is no way the CD transport could
make any difference.


B) How is the CD stransport different in an audio CD player and
computer CD drives.


Computer CD drives can read much faster. They do not have good
analog-to-converters necessarily.


Then why are computer CD drives $39 and CD transports $1000? Doesnt
seem to make much sense to me.


You're comparing apples to oranges. The CD transport has a nice
enclosure, display, remote control, power supply and S/PDIF output
circuitry. It also plays CD's in real time, so it has to be desgined
with low jitter in mind. And finally, they sell millions of computer
drives. But it is very possible that the CD drive in a $1K transport is
a $39 drive!


Software such as EAC (Exact Audio Copy) can do an excellent job of
making sure that the tracks are ripped correctly onto your hard disk.


Is there a Mac OS-X version or could I just drag the files into
itunes?


If you just want to rip to .wav files, iTunes does it all for you, Mac
OS-X or Windows. You set up the preferences and just import.



If I read the sound files from the CD onto my
computer I can use different computers and get always the identical
sound file (yes, i compared the bits).


Yes.

If the transport would be
different, then the bits should be different, or ?


No, unless one of the transports is broken .


which goes to the above.. why is the transport in cheapo CD Rom
players so much better than in hifi CD players ?


Better in the sense that it can read fast?

For sure a decent DAC
can be build for $500? is the rest just design/marketing ? I mean,
$3000 CD players ?


Yes, a lot of it is marketing. Then there is mark-up. But you can't
compare a computer CD drive against a hi-fi CD player. They are
different products. The computer drive may not have a good DAC, too.
Ripping to hard disk and playing in real time are two different tasks.



C) If i store sound files uncompressed on a hard disk of an able
computer (500MHz G4), then shouldn't I be able to play these files via
a good DAC (i.e. M-audio firewire audiophile, 96kHz) and get CD sound
back???


Yes. I recommend that you send digital out from the computer via a sound
card. Sending digital data out is an easy task for any computer, unless
the computer has to do a lot of other intensive tasks. You may also try
to use a good music manager like iTunes. And try compressed formats to
see if they are good enough. Hard disk space is very cheap these days,
and 800 discs uncompressed will probably take up about 400 MB. I saw a
250GB on sale for $139 this week, after rebates. You can use lossless
compression to save space, too.




D) any other "computer intrefacable" DACs that are better than the
M-audio?


Any recent receiver should have built-in DAC's and accept S/PDIF signals
(toslink or coax). My recommendation is try those first instead of
getting an external DAC.


I have a Mac G4 with 500GB HD space and was thinking of an extrenal
firewire sound/DAC card as my amplifier (Linn Majik) doesnt have a
digital input.


Well, you have choices here. You can get a relatively inexpensive AV
pre-amp or receiver that has the DAC's, plus all the switching and
circuitry for stereo as well as home theater. Getting an expensive
dedicated 2-channel DAC, is, frankly, expenisve.

But you can buy an external USB 2.0 sound card that should work quite
well. Creative Labs makes one that is well reviewed.

http://www.tomshardware.com/video/20031114/index.html

I have seen this one on sale for about $100. You have to check Mac
compatibility, though. The added advantage of this type of sound card is
that it will do a good job of tranferring your vinyl and cassette music
to hard disk.




I have a Linn Majik, Nakamichi CD/DVD player, Blueroom speakers, B&W
sub. I really enjoy the sound from CDs. I went to a dealer and they
claim that $1000-$2000 CD players (Rega planet, Linn Genki) sound way
better. Is that just the DAC in the player ?


Certainly if there are differences, the DAC's will likely contribute the
most. But realize that information the sales people get you may not be
always technically accurate.


I heard people claim that they use different CD transports on the
samer DAC and hear differences....


It is possible if the DAC is poorly designed. On the other hand, some
people can hear differences from using magic CD pens, so who knows?



I came across a couple of products that you might find interesting:

http://us.creative.com/local/1/newsl...Specifications

http://www.slimdevices.com/

Both of these are wireless-ready music servers. They allow you to place
the receiver anywhere in your house, away from the computer which is a
source of acoustic noise. I believe these products will become very
popular, as well as cheaper in the next year. They both have internal
DAC's if you don't have a receiver with built-in DAC's. And you avoid
the problem of running optical/coax cables.


those seem cool. wonder how they sound.


My guess is that if you use the digital output, they will not degrade
the sound at all. Check out the measurements in the review.

Actually, my computer is
almost silent as it doesnt ahve any fans in it and the WD hard disks
are also pretty low noise.


The big advantage of those products is that you can place the server
wherever you want, away from the PC. Another advantage is that you can
listen to music stored on any computer on your LAN.


So I huess I have to hunt for a good DAC now and then start putting my
CDs on the hard disk...


Think about getting a AV receiver/preamp. It may be a more flexible
solution.

Which external DACs with USB or firewire interface sound good ?


See above.

Pat




  #6   Report Post  
Codifus
 
Posts: n/a
Default CD transport, archival on hard disk and DA question

Pat wrote:

Is there a Mac OS-X version or could I just drag the files into
itunes?


Pat

As suggested before, you can use Itunes. Or, just drag the files from
the CD like a word documnet. OSX has the built-in ability to extract
audio from CDs straight from the finder.

CD

Reply
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hard Disk recording of CD's Daniel Audio Opinions 1 May 22nd 04 09:00 PM
car radio and hard disk Darshan Car Audio 4 March 18th 04 06:43 AM
Need opinion on Hard disk recorder Andrew Gerome High End Audio 0 January 31st 04 06:03 AM
Would like your opinion re; Hard disk recorder Andrew Gerome Audio Opinions 0 January 31st 04 04:10 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:16 PM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AudioBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Audio and hi-fi"