Need advice on how to dip a toe into digital

Two questions ... what is your budget for dipping a toe, and what is motivating you to do so (or to put it another way, is it just a matter or curiosity or is there some particular problem that you are hoping to solve)?

Also, in my other post I neglected to ask ... what kind of device (wireless router or wired modem) are you using to connect your laptop PC to the Internet?

Bifwynne Given a motivation of curiosity (can digital sound any better than vinyl or redbook), I doubt you will end up concluding the answer is yes -- particularly in the case of vinyl. But one thing I am more sure of is this: anybody into Audio Research gear is not likely to become sufficiently informed to answer that question by fooling around with low end digital-to-analog converters. If that’s the investigational strategy you follow, the answer you come up with is going to be no, and my suggestion is don’t even waste your time. Not that I am suggesting going out and spending a lot of money, I’m not because my guess is that ultimately you “will not pursue.”

It seems to me the more rational approach for someone using ARC would be to investigate getting your hands on a higher quality DAC than some of those already mentioned (think $1000+ for new). Just make sure that if you buy new, you can use it on a 15-30 day trial basis with a no questions asked ability to return. I suspect you could do this either through The Cable Company or perhaps directly with some of the manufacturers. Alternatively, you could pick up a used, well regarded DAC that can be resold for minimal financial loss. Whatever DAC you try, its specs should indicate input/processing support for at least 96 kHz/24 bit hi-rez audio files and preferably for 192 kHz/24 bit files.

Before settling on any DAC, confirm that it can be connected (and how) both to your laptop PC on the one end and to your ARC gear on the other end. Also, you want to be sure that whatever equipment and connections are used that you’ll be able to use software on your laptop to control the playback through your Paradigms.

Regarding playback software, my suggestion is to obtain JRiver software for your laptop (free during a 30 day trial period and $50 if you want to keep it after that), and do any listening tests using either the WAV or FLAC audio file format. JRiver is designed for Windows computers (which is what I assume you have based on your original post) whereas iTunes software and the ALAC file format are more appropriate for Apple computers and devices.

My last recommendation is to do your testing using hi-rez audio files (WAV or FLAC) obtained from HD Tracks. In theory, it is more likely that you would hear a difference in sound quality by listening to 96 kHz/24 bit (or higher) hi-rez audio files than any audio files that you would “rip” from one of your redbook CDs (which would be 44.1 kHz/16 bit files). Also, in order to compare intelligently, make sure to download something from HD Tracks that you can also play via physical media whether vinyl and/or CD.

Even if you conclude that digital audio isn’t for you, you’ll have some fun exploring the possibility.

On the subject of SACD I can't comment on sound quality comparison with vinyl. I do think SACD can sound better than redbook and usually does, but I don't think that's universal. In any case, as more and more hi-rez downloads become available, it looks like SACD is becoming less and less relevant. In addition, there are audiophile redbook production methods out there (witness xrcd and the like) which to my ears can equal and may even surpass SACD sound quality. Your current player will play them just fine. Their downside is that at $30-$40 per disc they often cost more than SACDs which are high to begin with. In any event, I'd think twice before going down the SACD route at this stage of the game but, if you do then the Oppo 105 is a sensible way to go. Spending thousands on another audiophile player just to be able to play SACDs strikes me as a solution in search of a problem.

Bifwynne To me, any CD that is not an SACD is a redbook CD. I don’t know if that is 100% technically correct, but that’s the way I think of it. When I referred to “audiophile redbook” I was thinking of CDs that are labeled with such monikers as Gold CD, HDCD, K2HD, XRCD, XRCD2, XRCD24, UltraHD, Ultradisc, and DXD. I believe all of these are PCM format which is indicative of redbook (as opposed to SACD which is DSD format). Playback of XRCD and the others I’ve mentioned does not require an SACD player; any CD player will do. Presumably CDs that carry these audiophile monikers are superior in sonics to mass market CDs because they are said to employ better mastering and/or manufacturing techniques. FIM (First Impression Music) immediately comes to mind as an example of a record label that specializes in producing such audiophile redbook CDs. The websites of online retailers Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and Elusive Disc are three that I know of which put a focus on audiophile redbook CDs. In my experience anything that I’ve heard which carries the FIM label is about as good as it gets on redbook CD. Unfortunately, the price is also about as high as it gets!

Bifwynne ... I neglected to mention in my earlier post, the best time to buy anything from the websites I mentioned is when they run their 10% off sales. ALL THREE of the sites I mentioned do this around EVERY holiday. In fact, they recently had a 12% off sale which wasn't even associated with any particular holiday which is the first time I've seen them do that. It's a safe bet that all three sites will have a sale for Labor Day.