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Any way to listen to wav or high bit files with anything approaching audiophile sound?

Forgive the question, but this is my first time posting on Audiogon in a few years and I'm not up on some of the latest technology.  I'm doing a project where I'm going through as much music as possible for a blog I'll be creating where I find my 1,000 favorite albums of all time and ranking them.  I'm most of the way through my thousands of CD's (don't do LP's), and I have decent audiophile equipment, though nothing top of the line.

For other music, I'm going to have to listen to it online or purchase a digital version of the music, as there's no way I can afford to buy thousands more cd's, or they're out of print on cd's (as much of the music I love that I don't have is somewhat obscure), or they never existed on cd.  Some albums I know I won't be able to find. 

First off, is there a way to legally find more obscure albums online other than illegal downloading? 

Secondly, is there ANY way to listen to said music in anything remotely approaching audiophile sound quality?  Does it have to be a certain file type or bit rate?  I've always stayed away from digital files in the past, but now I kind of need them.  Is there some kind of audiophile digital storage device where I can download music to and play it on my stereo system?  I'm pretty ignorant about these things, so again forgive me, and any help would be appreciated.  I don't expect the music to sound quite as high fidelity as using cd's on audiophile equipment, but what are my options to get as close as possible?
soulgoober
kennyc
1,168 posts
 
@soulgoober
If you’re after "audiophile" sound, seems like the weakest link in your audio chain is the "Sony 595 multi-CD player". While Sony makes good/great sounding equipment in the consumer/mass market sector, they are not well known or spoken as "audiophile" level. You need to upgrade the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). The last few years, digital audio has grown by leaps and bounds, current models easily outperforming as recent as the previous year’s offerings. Technological advancements and high market demand has made audiophile products at all price points, even affordable (not discount cheap, but you can come up with the cash without sacrificing bodily parts) products.

Get a audiophile DAC for audio streaming, attach a transport (not sure if your Sony 595 multi-CD player can act like a transport only - I’m too lazy to research for manual) if you want to spin CDs.  You will be amazed...lost in the music.

Also, there’s been high technological growth in audiophile earphones and headphones resulting in these products at all price levels. Affordable audiophile sound. Checkout what others suggested to look at (I only peeked at earphones/headphones, not into them...yet) https://www.head-fi.org/
madavid0
214 posts
 
BTW I don't consider anything less than a Yggdrasil an "audiophile grade" DAC. Certainly not the Chinese toy junk (Topping, SMSL, etc). Source quality improves noise / digital hash reduction. Get a CD transport like the Audiolabs which is very well-received. Possibly a high-end transport clone from AliExpress (I have one such). For streaming, get something focused on clean power / low-noise like those Soundaware units, or go the route of DIY building an audiophile streaming PC (linear PSU, externally powered USB card, SSD isolation, etc). For network streaming you'll want an audiophile network switch (ie, Paul Pang) or network conditioner of some kind (ie, UpTone). Wireless is inferior.
kevn's avatar
kevn
87 posts
 
Hello soulgoober, I began my audiophile search just over a year ago, and I’ve found that the thing which lifts sound quality almost more than anything else is the quality of power that is coming into your system from the grid itself, regardless of what kind of power controls or conditioning you have in your system. I have discovered the best most amazing moments of music happen for my after 9pm, when most people are finally off the grid, or are not using power hungry equipment on it. I had, like many other audiophiles, believed it had strictly to do with system warm-up, but have discovered otherwise - truly ephemeral audiophile moments happen for me in the dead of the night; the difference is almost shocking.

In friendship - kevin
tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
792 posts
 
Hi Calvinandhobbes,
I'm curious to know what you did to improve the sound of your Streamer S2 Ultra out of the box.
gdnrbob
4,407 posts
 
@soulgoober ,
Sorry you have so many negative comments on you thread. It seems some people cannot help themselves and just post anything that comes into their heads.
PM me if you want information regarding streaming.
Bob
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