Audiophile Audio From Your Computer
If MP3 has been the standard extension for downloadable music files from the Internet, now a new generation is rising.
Fortunately for all audiophiles like me, we're talking about a "loss-less" compressing format.
This means we can download music of about the same quality as a recorded master.
The question now is: will my computer play it as well as an audiophile audio device? If so, will I still want to buy LPs and CDs? Daniel Weiss, from Weiss Engineering, in his article "Music Playback From A Computer -- The Audiophile's Concerns" makes it clear that it is possible for a computer to play music as well as a CD player.
A CD may have scratches and vibrate while spinning.
This leads CD player manufacturers to implement algorithmic systems, which guess the lost data.
This means that the signal does not perfectly match the recorded one on the disc anymore.
Conversely, hard disks do not produce any errors while reading files (imagine that a single wrong bit can make data useless).
In this sense hard-drives are superior to CD-transports.
But connecting your PC or Mac to your hi-fi's preamp should be done with an excellent cable through a high-end D/A converter, as its sound card is never of a reasonable quality.
A PC always makes a little "fuzz" which becomes annoying while listening to music.
The simplest solution is to avoid noisy fans and implement a water-cooling system.
Where it is not possible to eliminate the fans, replace them with quieter ones.
Since a computer's metal case can also produce noise, it could be substituted with a plexiglass case standing on vibration dampers.
The "loss-less" compressing formats out on the Internet are FLAC, ALAC and WMA.
We can download un-compressed files from online music shops much more easily than going to a physical store.
For sure this is an advantage, but many of us will still buy LPs and CD's.
They hold their value over the years, and besides, it's nice to read the booklets while listening.
Even though a computer can stand as an audiophile audio device, digital sound will never beat the analog of vinyl records.
Fortunately for all audiophiles like me, we're talking about a "loss-less" compressing format.
This means we can download music of about the same quality as a recorded master.
The question now is: will my computer play it as well as an audiophile audio device? If so, will I still want to buy LPs and CDs? Daniel Weiss, from Weiss Engineering, in his article "Music Playback From A Computer -- The Audiophile's Concerns" makes it clear that it is possible for a computer to play music as well as a CD player.
A CD may have scratches and vibrate while spinning.
This leads CD player manufacturers to implement algorithmic systems, which guess the lost data.
This means that the signal does not perfectly match the recorded one on the disc anymore.
Conversely, hard disks do not produce any errors while reading files (imagine that a single wrong bit can make data useless).
In this sense hard-drives are superior to CD-transports.
But connecting your PC or Mac to your hi-fi's preamp should be done with an excellent cable through a high-end D/A converter, as its sound card is never of a reasonable quality.
A PC always makes a little "fuzz" which becomes annoying while listening to music.
The simplest solution is to avoid noisy fans and implement a water-cooling system.
Where it is not possible to eliminate the fans, replace them with quieter ones.
Since a computer's metal case can also produce noise, it could be substituted with a plexiglass case standing on vibration dampers.
The "loss-less" compressing formats out on the Internet are FLAC, ALAC and WMA.
We can download un-compressed files from online music shops much more easily than going to a physical store.
For sure this is an advantage, but many of us will still buy LPs and CD's.
They hold their value over the years, and besides, it's nice to read the booklets while listening.
Even though a computer can stand as an audiophile audio device, digital sound will never beat the analog of vinyl records.
