In my experience - and I am a Mac guy, not a Windows guy - it will work.
But this is also a bit like saying cables are cables and tubes are tubes. Meaning that while it will work, it is probably not the best way to get where you want to go.
There are many posts in PC Audio on the subject and also on the Asylum. To summarize, the consensus seems to be:
The computer environment, with its switching power supplies, disks, RAM etc is a nasty environment. Getting the signal out of the box before processing it is universally seen as highly desirable.
There are a number of ways to do this:
- USB out via something like Waveterminal or directly to the DAC is a universally acclaimed solution that seems to work very well for everyone regardless of operating system.
- SLIM (slimdevices.com) can be connected via either WiFi or ethernet, have a DAC built in and also offer SPDIF out
- iTunes/Air Express solutions are working for some where line of sight is practical
In general the consensus is that a wired distribution solution is preferrable to a wireless one
SPDIF is often as big a problem as anything in the chain - for this reason Mac offers optical (Toslink) outs - of course you can find ample contention about the Toslink sound - but not about the Toslink signal....
BTW while much is made of the two way nature of USB, I can't find anything in the technical descriptions that supports the theory that USB does anything about jitter - the two way function is its device communication and control protocol - take a look at wikipedia.com
There is no doubt that the way you rip is critical. Lossless or no compression and error correction are the keys - format preferences vary but Apple Lossless (iTunes) and .wav are the preferred audiophile formats. EAC and iTunes seem to be the top choices.
Jitter is not a problem in ripped material. Jitter is an artifact of the electro-optical-mechanical process called playing the CD - a by product of trying to read data from an imperfectly reflective spinning disc at ever changing speeds in real time with a motor. In contrast all a computer has to do is retrieve relatively small chunks of data relatively slowly.
The fact that they are still having "jitter-like" problems seems to be why a lot of people are starting to think that SPDIF is the weakest link in the chain. This is the appeal of the USB direct to DAC solution.
Finally there not much question as to whether you will more readily achieve a tube sound at the DAC or the preamp - consensus is that the preamp is a better and potentially less expensive place to do this. And how often is something better and cheaper...
That said, you might want to check out the much awaited Scott Nixon TubeDac with USB input due out any week now. If what you want is audio from a hard drive this is probably a better long term investment than the Cal.
Achieving excellent results from a hard drive source requires paying attention to all the usual things - power, cables, placement, room tuning etc.
You will find 100% consensus that properly executed this is an extraordinarily cost effective way to get great playback. Doing this right is equivalent to a major component upgrade.
And it is the only way to manage a large library... simply fabulous from that perspective, SLIM and iTunes are the leaders in that category
Hope this helps
But this is also a bit like saying cables are cables and tubes are tubes. Meaning that while it will work, it is probably not the best way to get where you want to go.
There are many posts in PC Audio on the subject and also on the Asylum. To summarize, the consensus seems to be:
The computer environment, with its switching power supplies, disks, RAM etc is a nasty environment. Getting the signal out of the box before processing it is universally seen as highly desirable.
There are a number of ways to do this:
- USB out via something like Waveterminal or directly to the DAC is a universally acclaimed solution that seems to work very well for everyone regardless of operating system.
- SLIM (slimdevices.com) can be connected via either WiFi or ethernet, have a DAC built in and also offer SPDIF out
- iTunes/Air Express solutions are working for some where line of sight is practical
In general the consensus is that a wired distribution solution is preferrable to a wireless one
SPDIF is often as big a problem as anything in the chain - for this reason Mac offers optical (Toslink) outs - of course you can find ample contention about the Toslink sound - but not about the Toslink signal....
BTW while much is made of the two way nature of USB, I can't find anything in the technical descriptions that supports the theory that USB does anything about jitter - the two way function is its device communication and control protocol - take a look at wikipedia.com
There is no doubt that the way you rip is critical. Lossless or no compression and error correction are the keys - format preferences vary but Apple Lossless (iTunes) and .wav are the preferred audiophile formats. EAC and iTunes seem to be the top choices.
Jitter is not a problem in ripped material. Jitter is an artifact of the electro-optical-mechanical process called playing the CD - a by product of trying to read data from an imperfectly reflective spinning disc at ever changing speeds in real time with a motor. In contrast all a computer has to do is retrieve relatively small chunks of data relatively slowly.
The fact that they are still having "jitter-like" problems seems to be why a lot of people are starting to think that SPDIF is the weakest link in the chain. This is the appeal of the USB direct to DAC solution.
Finally there not much question as to whether you will more readily achieve a tube sound at the DAC or the preamp - consensus is that the preamp is a better and potentially less expensive place to do this. And how often is something better and cheaper...
That said, you might want to check out the much awaited Scott Nixon TubeDac with USB input due out any week now. If what you want is audio from a hard drive this is probably a better long term investment than the Cal.
Achieving excellent results from a hard drive source requires paying attention to all the usual things - power, cables, placement, room tuning etc.
You will find 100% consensus that properly executed this is an extraordinarily cost effective way to get great playback. Doing this right is equivalent to a major component upgrade.
And it is the only way to manage a large library... simply fabulous from that perspective, SLIM and iTunes are the leaders in that category
Hope this helps