Can a PC match the quality of the best CD players?

Aha... Edesilva, Kenn39, the fog around my head is slowly beginning to clear. Thank you, I now "get it". So I guess to answer my own question that started this thread - "Can a PC match the quality of the best CD players?" - the answer is a definite YES, even surpassing, ***provided that*** on the other end of the USB cable is the best DAC/cabling/power.

Hmm... I think I've made some blanket statements in the past that USB was effectively jitter-free; that was based on my understanding that USB was an async protocol that had to be buffered and reclocked. I conceded, however, that jitter could be introduced in reclocking the stream.

Looks like the serious tech-heads at the Asylum have looked at some measurements and are concluding that USB may not be the panacea... Check out this thread:

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/messages/9640.html

I am not sure I quite understand this, and I'll still stand by my statement that my PC-based rig sounds as good as several different transports I've used. Just thought I'd make sure the record was a correct as possible...

the HUSH PC looks nice... sort of what I was looking for... but the price is little too steep for me...

for a less expensive alternative to the hush pc, check out the via epia based serener gd-L01 at logicsupply.com, in the "fanless systems" section. it has room for one pci card, plus a firewire port, 4 usb 2.0 ports, and onboard sata raid0. using external hdd enclosures with esata connections, it is possible to rig up an external raid0 volume, currently up to 1 terabyte. very nice looks and function... fits right in with other stereo components.

i use this with an m-audio firewire transport and an external dac. i use a samsung notebook (2.5") hard drive for the system drive, mounted in the case on soborthane pads. for music storage, i use a 250gb samsung sata hard drive in an external enclosure, connected via esata. it's taken me a several years to arrive at this setup, and it's awesome...

you can put together a great system, with 2.5" system hard drive and 250-500gb esata external hard drive, for under $1000. i would highly recommend soft-mounting a 2.5" hdd inside to minimize noise levels from hard drive seeking and also to reduce heat build-up inside the case. from my experience with a 3.5" seagate hard disk installed inside the case, i would say it runs too hot (mid - high 50's C, occasionally peaking over 60!). by comparison, the 2.5" runs in the high 30's or low 40's, never reaching over 44 or 45 under the heaviest loads. it has the added benefit of being virtually silent.

another recommendation, if you have a laptop and windows xp pro, use "remote desktop" to connect to your audio pc and control foobar2000 remotely.

For those looking for cheap network storage, this looks interesting:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2484

Studioray - you do in fact 'get it'. Good job listening - it really is a headcracker since it flies in the face of everything that we know as "audiophools".

Once you get the data out of the PC, getting great sound is all about everything you know and are used to. Power supplies, cables, speaker selection and placement, component synergy, tweaks. ie All the stuff that makes this such a rewarding obsession.

The miracle here is that you can use inexpensive PC gear to replace a very expensive transport. The reason that a truly premium transport is so expensive is of course that it is an incredibly complex electro mechanical optical device. In direct contrast PC gear is inexpensive because it is much simpler, and because it is mass produced to a single global standard. Stuff made by robots in the millions is a lot more cost effective then stuff made by hand.

This concept can be extended. The stock Squeezebox has a decent DAC and analog out. The big mod everyone goes for is $20 for a better wall wart. The thing to note here is that this is an effective demonstration of what is possible when you work with chips and silicon. You can get a lot of functionality for a very good price. An iPod is another example, as is the Nano. 14 million sold in Q4 2005 is going to change the game quick.

The other big piece of this is the joy of having instant access to your entire music library. It's really fun, really easy and very convenient. Most people, myself included, end up listening to a lot more music then the ten CDs that happen to be piled up by the player.

Beyond the very helpful folks in this forum, you will find a lot of good info in the PC Audio Forum on www.audioasylum.com