Help with computer based music - first time (ex) geek.

[mitchellhatpeg]

I have an excellent CD playing system but feel, after more than 30 yrs in HiFi, I am missing out on discovering new artists, and perhaps hearing music that is better than CD. (I started with a Rega/Cyrus/Linn vinyl playing system, and CDs sounded better to me, when I had the hearing to know the difference!)

I Have a PC and and iPad but cannot understand what software I need to play HD tracks with or how this interacts with the drivers that DACs need. I have read that USB is fundementally flawed for music playback anyway, being full of computer noise....would I be better buying a music player of some kind? If so, what? Where is the music stored if you use one of these and how do you use them to purchase tracks?

As you can see, I need to chat this through with somebody and I am wary of dealers who may just try to sell me expensive stuff I don't really need. Grateful for any help! ( I have read what HiFi's guide, and it just presented more questions).

 

[MajorFubar]

Many USB DACs are powered externally, so even if you are of the opinion transmitting both data and power down the same cable affects the audio (even though there is no audio), it doesn't matter. But one thing you can take as truth is they haven't invented a playback system that sounds better than CD, unless you're a bat. Any HD download which sounds better than a CD only does so because it's been mastered better, but unfortunately there are a few albums where you just have to buy the HD download to get access to the best master. Bit shoddy, but that's marketing for you.

Sorry I can't help much on the PC software side as I'm a Mac man. I'm sure you will get other responses.

 

[basshound]

As you have a PC all you really need is a dac to go from your computer to your amp, most dacs now have asynchronous usb which cuts out any problems with noise etc. This is assuming you can have the PC in the same room as the HiFi to connect it directly to the dac.

In my set up I have a cheap windows laptop running Jriver media centre with all my music stored on a NAS and accessed over the network. The laptop is connected to the dac via usb. You can use your tablet or phone to control Jriver with the Gizmo app. If you have a large cd collection then ripping them all will be the tedious bit but it is well worth it to have your whole collection at hand and searchable. Jriver is able to rip discs but there are also other apps available (some free ) that will do this as well. As has been already mentioned HD or Hi-Res audio is something I`m pretty sceptical about, sound quality (imo) is much more about recording and mastering than bit/sampling rates assuming that you use lossless files. The cd format is more than enough to provide all the quality we need if done properly.

 

[mitchellhatpeg]

Many thanks both for your helpful responses. I think I will go ahead and get a DAC and try out JRiver. I have signed up for the free sampler from HD tracks to see how the sound quality stacks up against my Quad CDP2 (plus Temple Audio Gold power amp, Spendor SA1s and REL sub).

 

[naughty573]

If you dont want to spend money on Jriver you can use Foobar2000 which is downloadable for free and if you use it with a skin it becomes perfectly usable .... i use Darkone v4.0 by tedgo from deviant art (google will help you find it pretty easily). If the forum allows me to post a link to another forum where i have written a guide to installing that skin which makes it perfectly easy to install

http://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,48954.0.html

once you get used to the interface and learn to use the app properly it is mostly as good as Jriver in terms of functionality though you may have to install some drivers for the DAC and possibly install some components to play proper high resolution files like DSD .... but you can find plenty of information on the internet as to how to do this

also if you feel that there is an issue with USB and noise etc then you can filter the output from your PC using something like an Audioquest Jitterbug

 

[richie60]

Besides already owning a Pioneer N50 Streamer, I recently built a small headphone based system based on a raspberry pi running Moode into a HRT MusicStreamer DAC. These DACs come up for sale occasionally on there usual auction site and sound very good.