I have digital recordings I made out of a headphone jack on an old HP laptop years ago when I first started to dabble with computer audio that still sound pretty good, so I know it is possible to get a Windows computer to produce good sound, but it can be very hit or miss with any given Windows computer.
I would not rely on any Windows computer to deliver "audiophile" quality sound. It can happen by design if that is a goal of the maker or you are smart and persistent enough to find the right tweaks, but not likely by chance otherwise.
Newer devices and home versions of Windows are better optimized for multimedia in general than older ones, so the newer stuff is probably a better place to start in general.
I use WMP to rip CDs to lossless .wav only these days. It works fine for that all digital process which does not alone involve any sound making.
Once you have a decent audio file though, the best strategy to assure best sound for minimal cost (unless you know a good PC recipe otherwise that is proven to work) is to use a separate network player designed for good sounding audio (like Squeezebox) to stream the files OFF and AWAY from the general purpose computer. Then you can use a separate outboard DAC or your choice attached to the NP to tweak the sound to your tastes as needed from there.
Or, if you must use a computer as the music maker, Apples are a safer bet in that many use these, they are pretty much all the same, and it is easier to know what to expect.
I would not rely on any Windows computer to deliver "audiophile" quality sound. It can happen by design if that is a goal of the maker or you are smart and persistent enough to find the right tweaks, but not likely by chance otherwise.
Newer devices and home versions of Windows are better optimized for multimedia in general than older ones, so the newer stuff is probably a better place to start in general.
I use WMP to rip CDs to lossless .wav only these days. It works fine for that all digital process which does not alone involve any sound making.
Once you have a decent audio file though, the best strategy to assure best sound for minimal cost (unless you know a good PC recipe otherwise that is proven to work) is to use a separate network player designed for good sounding audio (like Squeezebox) to stream the files OFF and AWAY from the general purpose computer. Then you can use a separate outboard DAC or your choice attached to the NP to tweak the sound to your tastes as needed from there.
Or, if you must use a computer as the music maker, Apples are a safer bet in that many use these, they are pretty much all the same, and it is easier to know what to expect.