Best Digital Source That Money Can Buy?

the naim 2 piece cd x from the 90'a.

hi dave:

i have basically posited the concept of "improve the sound" as a "change in the sound" that is preferred.

thus, improving the sound implies changing it and preferring the change.

you have not specified what you mean by "change the sound".
i suspect that improve, in your view, means less inaccurate.

has anyone compared these esoteric and expensive products to an amr 77 ? if so what were the results ?

it helps to have a personal criterion for the designation "best". in my case, best means, least timbrally inaccurate, relative to the sound of an instrument, not the sound of a recording.

hi mikelavigne:

why did your friend prefer the playback designs, given the amr's flexibility for changes in tubes and sampling rate ?

that is, in what respect did he find the playback designs a superior unit ?

hi dave:

the term "improve the sound" needs to be defined.

i will define it subjectively as any change in performance that i prefer is an improvement in sound. thus, changing the tubes in a tube component presents an opportunity to improve the sound. any change in the sampling rate is an opportunity to improve the sound. any change in power cords, interconnects, etc., is a chance to improve the sound of a stereo system.

if you imply that reducing inaccuracy is the definition of sonic improvement, then you and i disagree with the concept of improvement in sound.

you and i have had this conversation before. ultimately, the owner of a stereo system will do what is feasible to create a presentation which satisfies his/her sonic priorities. from your perspective such efforts may not improve the sound, but rather make it worse.

i personally prefer components which allow the owner to affect changes in its sound. hence, i prefer tubes, tone controls and other user "controls" to allow me to voice the sound of my stereo system according to my wishes.

tinker and listen. one man's trash is another man's treasure.

hi dave:

let me add another point.

i think the sound of any component can be improved by changing caps and resistors, based upon my subjective orientation of "improve".

hi dave:

you have not specified what "improve" means. instead of invective, why not facilitate communication by defining "improvement".

this thread is getting out of hand.

as has been mentioned many times in the past, "better" and "best" is subjective. until someone defines what better is and can prove, objectively of course, that component a is better than component b, its all just opinion.

sorry dave, the logic is perfectly clear and you have provided nothing to refute it--end of story !!!