just starting - mac vs. windows computer source?


Hello all. I don't know much about the specifics of a computer based audio source, except what I have learned looking thorough the archives. I am still hoping you guys can help me with suggestions that are specific to my situation and considering the current and potential future advantages of using either a windows or mac based system as a music source.

I have a fairly dialed in audio system (see my virtual system under mitch2) but want to now include a computer based source (I know, I am quite late to the party). I currently use a new(ish) windows based laptop for home computing, have external hard drives, and also have a windows based laptop for work. My only mac exposure is the company i-phones we recently adopted, my wife's ipad, and looking at my daughter's macbook pro. I have hundreds of CD's and a very high quality hi-rez player, but none of my music is yet digitized.

I want to add a high quality, great sounding computer based audio source that is at a similar sound quality level as my current player (or better), and I have heard using the ipad as a control and visual display, and the mac mini as a server, is a good way to go. I like the idea of having the mac mini near my gear, so shorter cables to the dac, and I like the idea of controlling everything wirelessly from the ipad, but this means I will need to buy more stuff and will not be able to use my windows based laptop for that function. I am okay with that as long as the ipad/mac mini is really a superior solution.

I have four questions regarding my decision to adopt a mac based or windows based music solution. At this point, I want to focus only on which computing system is best for me and handle dacs, cables, etc. later.
My questions;
1. is the overall consensus that the mac based system is better for hi-rez music playback, considering my goals are very high quality playback, wide bandwidth, low noise, and ease of operation,
2. is there a windows based system that could sound as good and be operated similarly to the ipad/mac mini option, perhaps using my windows based laptop as a control,
3. if I go the mac route, is there any advantage to purchasing a macbook pro over the ipad to control things, assuming I still plan on using the mac mini as the server, and
4. what other questions should I be asking that I haven't asked?

Thanks for any solutions or suggestions you guys care to provide.
mitch2

Showing 3 responses by zd542

If you want a really good ripping solution, I would urge you to try a free program called EAC. Many consider it to be the best ripping software out there. I believe its only made for Windows. Also, as good as it is, a lot of people stay away from it because it can be very difficult to set up properly. It is. Heres a link: http://blowfish.be/eac/Setup/setup1.html. Its a complete, step by step, setup guide for EAC to get the best sounding rips possible. You'll definitely need it. It takes about an hour to go through but its worth it. As far as I know, there is nothing better than EAC.

Lewinskih01 mentions computeraudiophile.com as a resource. I know the site fairly well. It is a good resource but I would recommend some caution. For technical, computer type advice, its OK. For matters of sound quality, however, its a complete disaster. Its all computer and no audiophile. The problem with the site is fairly simple. Since its primary focus is on computer related topics, most of the people it attracts have little to no experience with high end audio. When they see people talking about thing like vinyl, cables and tubes, they flip our; espically when they see the prices that some of these products sell for. As a result, its a never ending war between the people who know audio and the people who think they know audio because they can read a spec sheet. Some of these people are so nuts, they dedicate a serious portion of their lives to try and come up with new ways to not listen to music and that if you hear differences in equipment, its nothing more than a psychological disorder. I could go on, but its just one of those things you have to see for yourself to believe.

One last thing I will mention is that opinions on how to set up a computer based source do vary greatly. I know you want to get the best possible sound quality, but if it were me, I wouldn't go for anything too expensive until you try a few things first so you can compare it to what you already have and know. Its likely that you may make an error or two because there will probably be some experimenting done on your part.
I just read Ejlif's post and have to agree. I've never heard your CD player but I'm familiar with the Ayre. If you're used to that level of equipment, I would recommend you get the Ayre DAC as well. Your system really demands it and you know what you are getting with an Ayre. Its price is such that it would be an entry level DAC for your system.

As far as ripping CD's goes Ejlif looses me a little, but if he got good results, he did it right. Everest_audio is also correct about dbpoweramp being more user friendly than EAC. EAC is only hard to setup. That's why I gave the link to the setup guide. Once you go through the initial process, thats it. Its just as easy as anything else. From a technical standpoint, its as good as any other CD ripper out there and its free.
After reading Davide256's post, I can't help but agree. I recently bought a laptop with Windows 8 installed. To make a long story short, Win 8 is a nightmare. Its the most poorly designed piece of software I've ever used. I actually wiped it off my hard drive and didn't even take the time to make recovery CD's. Its not too much of a problem for me because Linux is my primary OS. If you are going the Windows route, though, its definitely something to consider. In my opinion, Win 7 would be a much better choice than 8. Mac's are great too. I think more audiophiles use Mac than Windows.