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Why use CD Transport instead of computer source

I have been seeking a new digital front end setup and would like some advice on what solution will produce the highest quality digital playback.

My current plan is to add a Slim Devices Transporter possibly mated to an external DAC, after evaluating the Transporter on its own to determine the quality of the internal DAC (which I understand is quite high).

Why would I consider a CD Transport and DAC as an alternative to a computer based source such as this? If I am using EAC to get bit-perfect rips of my CDs and I encode them in a lossless format like FLAC, there doesnt seem like there could be any benefit to using a CD Transport, in fact, the computer based source should be better if the rips are done bit-perfect.

Any comments on why there is still a high end market for CD transports given the availability of top computer based sources like the Slim Transporter?
superquant

Showing 1 response by audioengr

audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Jstovall389 - WiFi will not suffer sound quality hits over USB. In fact USB is more difficult to get right. WiFi is always bit-perfect. Only jitter has to be dealt with. The only disadvantage of WiFi is some times it gets interference from wireless phones or microwaves, and it is limited to 16/44.1 in most cases.

As for computers at their perfomance limits: This usually only happens with USB and it is a latency issue. Even the CPU at 10% utilization can cause pops and ticks if the system is poorly set-up. If the optimum drivers etc. are used, USB can be problem-free and has the advantage of supporting 24/96. The sound quality is never affected by this. It only causes momentary drop-outs when it happens. The bigger contributors to SQ with USB is the clock used in the converter, the USB cable, the chip doing the ISB to I2S conversion, and of course the circuit-board implementation.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer
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