My two cents - if you're still loading CDs into a player or DAC/transport, get into streaming or a server. The convenience of selecting/playing music from a remote device will have you asking why you didn't do this earlier. I moved out of a quality player and into streaming from my PC to a modified Apple Express which was wired into my pre and used an iPad Touch as my remote. I saved my music in Apple lossless and used iTunes. I suffered no loss in sound quality and, because I wasn't hopping up and down to load/unload CDs, my enjoyment level rose. I wanted to move up to the next level, but lacked the skills and know-how to build/buy computer hardware. So, after doing some research, I bought a Bryston BDP-1/Bryston BDA-1 combo. Ripped my cd library using dbpoweramp in FLAC, putting my Rock CDs on one 128gb thumb drive and my "other" music (jazz, classical, religious, etc) on anther. I now use an iPad mini as my remote. Nice improvement in sound quality which I attribute to the newer DAC and maybe to the change to FLAC. Anyhoo, I couldn't be happier and can't imagine going back to spinning individual CDs. If you're into computers (which I'm not), that's certainly an option to explore. But, bottom line, get rid of that cd drawer!!
First dac, transport or computer?
I just bought my first dac and as far as strictly sound quality would it be better to buy a transport or a MacBook to match with my Line Magnetic 502ca?
If I go the computer route and only use it for audio playback, what's the simplest options?
Is there anything better that has come out recently?
Thanks for any and all comments. Scott
If I go the computer route and only use it for audio playback, what's the simplest options?
Is there anything better that has come out recently?
Thanks for any and all comments. Scott