OT - D-to-A Converter: my computer vs. my cd player

bottha · Post by **bottha** » Fri May 30, 2008 6:04 am

I am considering transferring my CD collection to my hard disk. But I'm concerned about sound quality. Right now, there are obvious differences when I listen to a CD on my two systems, due, no doubt in part, to the different components.
The stereo system runs on an NAD amp and Sony XA3ES CD player through a pair of excellent Genesis speakers and a Velodyne subwoofer.
The computer has an RME Fireface 800 going through Mackie 626s.

Maybe some silly questions but ...
if I encode a CD in the FLAC format and then play it through Windows Media Player, what is the limiting factor? Where does the D-to-A take place? I assume it's the Fireface that does it. Does the Fireface's D-toA algorithm rival that of the Sony?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

riotschool · Post by **riotschool** » Fri May 30, 2008 7:59 am

I would say the RME beats the Sony in D-A terms...try to connect the RME to your NAD amp and put a CD in your computer and hit the play button!
If it sounds good to you, you will know how it sounds if you rip the CDs to you HDD.

3dot... · Post by **3dot...** » Fri May 30, 2008 12:27 pm

riotschool wrote:I would say the RME beats the Sony in D-A terms...try to connect the RME to your NAD amp and put a CD in your computer and hit the play button!
If it sounds good to you, you will know how it sounds if you rip the CDs to you HDD.

CD is already in digital form...
rip it from your computer cd player using a reliable program...
(not windows media player...)
btw...
DA takes place before the outputs of a device...
AD after the inputs ...

if you care about fidelity...rip at 44100 16bit lossless format...