2. pc-audio
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Help with PC Audio Quality vs. CD

I hope someone with real experience can help out with this. I am having a hard time getting the same quality sound from a PC that I get from a CD player. I recently built a HTPC running Windows MCE and ripped all my cd's using lossless compression. I'm using an M-Aduio Audiophile 192 sound card and run a coax digital out of the PC to an external DAC and to my amps. It just sounds flat to me, not that it's not clear sounding, but the bass is weaker, I can hear a harshness that's not there if I run any old CD player to the DAC through the same connection. Has anyone else experienced this? I keep reading in this forum that people are saying how much better the computer transport is in theory, but I have yet to witness it. I heard that the Windows KMixer is the problem. I tried ASIO and Kernal Streaming drivers that are supposed to bypass this, and it sounds clearer, but still not as 3-dimentional and "black background" as a CD player (and I mean ANY cheap CD player, I've tried 3!)

Can someone out there with an external DAC try this and let me know their results? Use a DVD player or anything with a digital out... I don't get it. My soundcard alone cost 3 times as much as the cheap DVD player I tried and it doesn't sound as good. Anyone experience this or have any suggestions?

Here's my system so you can understand the sound I'm looking for.

I have an external MSB Link DAC III Full Nelson that I've been using for years and I really like the sound of it. I've been using a couple Sony CD changers and running them to a MSB Digital Director that will automatically switch between digital inputs, out to the DAC, then to a tube pre and tube power amp (modded dynaco ST70) and out to a pair of Monitor Audio GR10's. This system (with the right tubes) sounds so sweet to me. I'm into the huge soundstage, crisp, smooth sound - melty mid-range... you know, the analog tube sound!

I have experience in recording studios and work professionally in computers, so I have a good understanding of both, so don't be afraid to get technical with me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Ben
thesauce
thesauce OP
21 posts
 
Horseface -

Yeah, it doesn't matter what type of file I use, even uncompressed WAV's. Actually, if I burn a CD from the existing files and play that from a CD player running to the same DAC, it sounds better, so I know it's not the source files. Honestly, I hear a bigger difference between the CD player and HTPC quality, than I do a 320Kbps MP3 and WAV!

Ben
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I'm using an M-Aduio Audiophile 192 sound card and run a coax digital out of the PC to an external DAC and to my amps. It just sounds flat to me

You should avoid any D to A and A to D conversion. Clearly by sending things through your sound card then you are making a conversion somewhere in the PC. Clipping in an A to D might explain what you describe.

If you are not making a D to A and A to D conversion then the sound cannot change between a CD played in your PC or from a separate CD transport.

Another possibility is that their is a bug in your compression and de-compression steps that introduces losses.
ryanmii
2 posts
 
I have a similar setup with a Benchmark DAC and I'm running WinXP Pro. There is a huge difference with ASIO drivers. You may have to try some different software combinations. I've used Winamp and ASIO4All with the winamp ASIO plugin with some good success. Very crisp with ASIO, horrible without it. If you don't notice a huge improvement then somethings not right.

Also, you may want to try using a SPDIF connection to remove the ground connection between the computer and your DAC. I haven't experimented much with it since I don't believe I have a Coax out on my card...wouldn't use it either way for a computer setup... (cheap $24 chaintech Envy24 based card) but it sounds almost as good as my PS Audio Lambda II CD into the Benchmark, so it must be doing something right. Keep the connection as short as possible. I do want to try out some more expensive cards, but there's only so much you need to do when you put the signal into a good DAC as far as cleaning up the timing goes.

-Ryan
jax2
3,031 posts
 
The external USB options might be a big improvement over your internal M-Audio card. I have no experience with the M-Audio card to say for sure, but in my research it seemed to me that none of the cards could touch the external devices. You'll need someone more technical than me to explain why. Examples would be the Waveterminal U24, Empirical Audio's OffRamp, or other products that convert USB to S/PDIF via an external box. The other option would be to go to a USB DAC, but since you like yours, there should be no reason to go with the former suggestion. I've had great results using iTunes + WAV and Apple Lossless + Waveterminal U24 to DAC. I'm betting the culpret is your card.

Marco
mdp0430
60 posts
 
COuld this be a windows K-Mixer issue?
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