[thecrow]

Hi

Wondering how a well ripped cd into AIFF files being played through a high quality dac and desktop set up compares to playing the cd itself from a CD player. In that (loosely speaking) does a $3k dac compare to a $3k CD player?

I've ripped almost all my CDs and have a good setup through my iMac/Audio desk set up but wondering if I'll ever play these CDs again, other than in the car (where I just a grab cd or two before leaving the house). Also wondering will a quality CD player player plugged into my dac (Metrum hex) improve on the my ripped files.

Thanks in advance

 

[Don Quichotte]

There are so many variables that the answer has to be: it depends. Perhaps this is why you got no reply until now. It depends on the quality of the computer to dac interface, on the CD transport you will be using, the cables, the implementation of the various inputs on your particular dac etc. So, sorry, no easy answer. As a rule, but I cannot confirm this from personal experience (only parroting what others have said), there's a greater chance that a low or mid level CD transport will sound better than a low or mid level computer transport - but once again, this is not certain. Only your ears can decide.