Ripped Audio vs. CD audio... Throwing Down the Gauntlet !!!

More reading for those inclined...

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/193jitter

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/1093jitter/index.html

http://www.stereophile.com/features/368/index.html

http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/appnotes-d/jittercu

Pretty pictures....

http://www.tvcaudio.com/modules/SPDIF_HallOfFame.html

Jim Smith, the author of "GET BETTER SOUND" has put out a DVD. You can read a review here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Get-Better-Sound-Without-Spending-Fortune


Some points made are:
1. Wireless routers should be turned off as they broadcast digital grunge that has a large negative effect on "musical purity."
2. Computers should not be on the same electrical circuit as the audio system. They put grunge back into that system.

and:
· Computer audio is the future of digital audio as we know it.
· Sound ripped from my CDs is better than any CD player at any price.
· If you're not into [computer audio] yet you need to do it as soon as you can.

I have that DVD set....I was one of the ones to purchase an "advance copy"--- now you can buy it for half the price...

Jim Smith, the author of "GET BETTER SOUND" has put out a DVD. You can read a review here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Get-Better-Sound-Without-Spending-Fortune


Some points made are:
1. Wireless routers should be turned off as they broadcast digital grunge that has a large negative effect on "musical purity."
2. Computers should not be on the same electrical circuit as the audio system. They put grunge back into that system.

and:
· Computer audio is the future of digital audio as we know it.
· Sound ripped from my CDs is better than any CD player at any price.
· If you're not into [computer audio] yet you need to do it as soon as you can.

There's a book entitled "Get Better Sound"...not sure if it's the same guy or not. The book made a road show here a couple of years ago. GREAT read.

I have that DVD set....I was one of the ones to purchase an "advance copy"--- now you can buy it for half the price...

Any chance you could send me a copy ?

On the null test. Since high bit rate sounds so much better than 44.1/16, that tells you that redbook leaves out a lot. So I'd wonder if a null test could ever reveal small differences like this. I also wonder how precisely you can line up to match the audio before doing the null? I don't use the editors all day at work like some of the guys, so I don't know how easy it would be to get perfect alignment. Analog null doesn't have this issue and the resolution is much higher for sure than 44.1/16!

Mark

PS...I thought at one point that the CF test was to compare FLAC files versus CDP redbook. But maybe I was wrong....

Every recording/playback method has it's drawbacks. Better equipment helps as does a better/cleaner source and more data. Think a R2R machine playing at 15ips vs. a cassette or 8-track tape. Or fer you youngins CD vs SACD.

Dr. Shockley postulated that an LP contained approximately 50GBs of data. At that time however, there weren't any techniques available to record and store the data in a cost effective form. Now we have BR that can store that much and at really high sampling rates. My computer's audio card has many more times the resolution of a CD, so you'd think that would be audible.

On the other hand, I've got some CDs that sound GREAT.

I reckon we'll see in roughly 80 days.

ray

Jim Smith, the author of "GET BETTER SOUND" has put out a DVD. You can read a review here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Get-Better-Sound-Without-Spending-Fortune


Some points made are:
1. Wireless routers should be turned off as they broadcast digital grunge that has a large negative effect on "musical purity."
2. Computers should not be on the same electrical circuit as the audio system. They put grunge back into that system.

and:
· Computer audio is the future of digital audio as we know it.
· Sound ripped from my CDs is better than any CD player at any price.
· If you're not into [computer audio] yet you need to do it as soon as you can.

There's a book entitled "Get Better Sound"...not sure if it's the same guy or not. The book made a road show here a couple of years ago. GREAT read.

Same Gentleman.

My audio computer does run through a different circuit, and a conditioner/battery backup. It is of course wired. I have set it up wireless, but that is never as good as wired, and in your home it is much better (and cheaper) to just run wires.

My audio computer uses a small chip to hold down heat, and a Solid State Drive for the same reason. It is completely silent. It is about 3 inches tall. I have an external laptop drive (1T) for the music, plus I can pull up music and video from the computers inside the house over the home network. At that point, it is not music being sent, but data. There is no sound card in the computer, and the sounds software is turned off.
The data goes out through an overpriced USB cable to my BenchMark DAC.
It plays CDs, DVDs, ripped files and picks up every radio station in the world which can be important on GAME DAY !!

The sound is good to my ears and my mind. If you put it together yourself, the price is good too.

I have found that the serial bus in computers is much quieter than the PCI bus. That's why taking your digital audio out of your computer via USB (Universal Serial Bus) is quieter than via a sound card that is on the PCI(e) bus (Personal Computer Interface) bus (extended).

I agree. The market needs to keep inventing to make a profit. They push firewire, sata, wireless, and of course all the digital outputs on a sound card. MF is selling a USB to spid -

In the end the fact is that data transfer to be turned into music at your DAC is tiny. You don't even need USB 2.0 ( but all have that now).

The same is true for chips. The new "I" chips add heat and then you need a fan.

As to Mac - the same things apply, but the choices are less. I doubt that properly set up, neither PC nor Mac holds an advantage.

Anything you read is "the best" until you read the next guy selling something. Computer Audio will soon snag the "idiot market" away from the wire salesmen.

I found that In needed USB 2.0 to get 192kB/sec at 24 bits reliably.

I found that In needed USB 2.0 to get 192kB/sec at 24 bits reliably.

Sounds logical - USB2 = 40x throughput of USB1 @ 480Mb vs 1.5-12Mb for USB1
USB3 will be 5Gb

I found that In needed USB 2.0 to get 192kB/sec at 24 bits reliably.

Now we have 3.0

Before I built the best audio computer I could with all the knowledge I could discover, I used laptops. The first was an IBM with 1.1. That sucker is still going strong and see no reason to retire it. I use it at my lazer printer and use flash cards to feed it as I don't print often. It is worth about $50 but not for sale as it does the job. The mother board in the $$$ Leveno that replaced it died early. Most consumers buy a computer not suited for the task. One size fits all is a joke as is the "best' computer.

These days, computers are like tools, but some still go to Best Buy and crow to me about how much theirs cost.

I guess that has been going on in audio forever --

Before I built the best audio computer I could with all the knowledge I could discover, I used laptops. The first was an IBM with 1.1. That sucker is still going strong and see no reason to retire it. I use it at my lazer printer and use flash cards to feed it as I don't print often. It is worth about $50 but not for sale as it does the job. The mother board in the $$$ Leveno that replaced it died early. Most consumers buy a computer not suited for the task. One size fits all is a joke as is the "best' computer.

These days, computers are like tools, but some still go to Best Buy and crow to me about how much theirs cost.

I guess that has been going on in audio forever --

You do not have to tell me. Computer hardware and storage sales is what I make a living off of-