2. pc-audio
  3. 1229556739

what is a lazy old audiophile to do?

I am an old audiophile. Left behind by technology. I'm tired of replacing tubes, want convenience, if not simplicity (maybe simplicity). I decided to put my CD's on a computer hard drive and play from there. I have a new Pioneer SC-07 ( I know, not audiophile), new Imac with all the latest, Kef 205/2 speakers. The only connection from the Imac to the receiver is the headphones out from the Imac - (tiny). I have no idea why Apple is so uninterested in audio. I may send back the Imac and get a Dell with sound card and HDMI out, which I can connect to the Pioneer. My question: is this stupid? That is, am I trying to do something that will never satisfy my ear? I care a lot about the sound (have a thirty year old pair of Snell Type A's in the other room that I love). Can I get decent sound with the convenience of the computer? How? I don't really care about surround sound or movie crashes; I just want really good audio through my computer.
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Showing 1 response by elevick

elevick
2,636 posts
 
Did you put the cd's on the computer at lossless resolution? If you compressed the signal at all, you compromised the sound to start with.

My solution: Get a sound card with digital out (once you've made sure you burned at full resolution). For simplicity's sake get either a Music Hall Raven receiver or Mambo integrated. Both have a built in DAC that is nice. Both will drive the Snells nicely. The Mambo is lower powered but class A rated for warmer sound.
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