I'm a big fan of computer audio, and I listen almost exclusively to digital files off computers now.
The improvement in audio quality has been downright amazing over the last 6 months and I think even the most diehard CD user realizes that computer audio (CA) has now overtaken CD transports in terms of quality.
However there is no denying that computer audio can be very confusing, and daunting to the inexperienced .
There are a myriad of systems, and more than a little computer expertise is needed to be successful at achieving the fantastic sound available now.
If you'r a baby boomer or older it can be mind-boggling, but you can be assured that computers are not going to go away , you may as well get stuck into it, as you are going to need these skills in the future for more than just listening to music.
I'm not going to attempt to describe all the possibilities of CA, or even try to demonstrate the "best" but simply to show what works for me. This may or may not suit you, but hopefully if your yet to take the plunge into CA , it may give you a few ideas.
I have 2 systems- one based on Windows 7 using a Acer Laptop, and the other OS (Operating System) is Mac Snow Leopard using a MacMini with seperate display screen.
Both have advantages and disadvantages-if I was going to just have one i would use the Mac- I think it sounds slightly more natural and musical, all things being equal, but others will disagree. Use whatever you are comfortable with.
Lets start with the Mac system.
The MacMini is a small footprint computer about 150mm square and around 40 mm thick. It has no display, so you have to connect an external display screen (cheap) or use a TV screen or other video device to set up your system and view the artwork, files etc of your music.
We need a program to play music files- obviously the easiest to use is iTunes, and you really shouldn't go any further into CA until you can competently use iTunes to burn discs, download music and most important play music with your computer. Using lossless files with iTunes gives surprisingly good sound. Lossless files to use with iTunes are ALAC and m4a, or just look for apple lossless files. Lossless basically means they are uncompressed audio quality files.
Once you get the hang of iTunes you can download one of the music programs that claim to give better sound- PureMusic, Audivana, Decibel are the 3 I use, the latter two because they can easily play flac files which is a common format for downloaded files from the internet. I like PureMusic because it integrates with iTunes to make a very accessable platform, although it is a bit cloggy with flac files.
PureMusic basically takes over the audio playing side and leaves iTunes to manage file selection, playback etc.
I think it is the best bet for beginners wanting to test the waters of hi-rez files. It is a bit tricky initially setting it up but so easy to use once it's going.
The macmini has usb outputs so we need either a dac capable of usb input or a usb-spdif convertor, I prefer the latter , the Audiophilleo2 and the M2Tech Evo I use sound excellent, although I'm sure there are some great usb capable dacs out there that dont need the convertors.
For a dac you really need to choose something that has a minimum capability of 24 bit/192KHz - there aren't a lot of 192Khz files now, but that will change, so you may as well future proof yourself.
I use 32bit/192Khz Sabre dac and a 24bit/96Khz Lavrey DA10 dac.
Dont even consider any of the old 16 bit dacs- despite what some will say they are so off the pace you have to doubt the hearing ability, or the equipment of their proponents. I've built quite a few 16 bit dacs using the 'legendary" TDA1541 chip, with very evolved circuits and output stages, solid state and tube, but they are no match for a good modern 2011 dac with a good spdif convertor.
So you just have to download some music files and in theory your away. It wont be that easy though as there will be programs to set up and computers to frustrate you. Dive in, keep calm, you'll get it sorted in time and enjoy the music and the accessability that CA gives.
I use an external hard drive with nearly 2Tb of music files on it- that's about 6000 CD's. I can sit down in the sweet spot with my iPad and remotely choose whatever track i want to listen to from my seat, uninterrupted, no need to change CD's , find CD's- I can view artwork, look ahead while listening , it is simply enjoying the musical experience!
Windows is basically the same, except for different programs for playback, you can use windows own Windows Media Player, but I find it frustrating- I persevered with JRiver Media Centre till I figured it out.
I think the windows audio quality is very "hi-fi', to my ears mac is a bit more natural, but there is no denying that the resolution and detail of a good 96Khz studio master through a highly tuned windows CA system is very exciting. I only have experience with vista and 7 , cant comment on older platforms.
Any of my customers using a system like either of the above is welcome to email me for any advice setting up etc, but please only with equipment listed, I dont have experience with other brands or systems.
