pc's , digital sound and cd ripping ??

[ward91]

Hello all, don’t seem to be being much “forum” stuff recently but i just had a question that’s been floating in my mind for a while now.
I apologise if it has been previously addressed but;

when a cd is ripped to the pc to a wav/other format does the cd transport (in the pc) effect the quality of the rip in terms of jitter (or anything else)??
and if you use the pc as a digital output , say to your avr would the pc soundcard's quality have a major effect, if any on the fidelity of the digital signal in converting it(if it even has to) to a pcm signal or say a Dolby signal to be sent to your avr.

cheers ed

[xandra]

when a cd is ripped to the pc to a wav/other format does the cd transport (in the pc) effect the quality of the rip in terms of jitter (or anything else)??


Wow - what excellent questions. Hopefully someone will pipe-in.
No real answer but some things to consider:
--First off: if your compressing the audio, your quality settings would be far more significant than anything jitter or you sound card.

Theoretically, burning at a slower speed, and not playing while importing
might cutback on effects of minor 'jitter'. -- never tested could be a myth.

You could also take advantage of options built into whatever software you use. for example iTunes has an option labeled "Use error correction when reading Audio CD's" I've always assumed this was some sort of a noise filter.

Lastly: if you really want high quality, avoid the 'middle-man' (compressor) completely, just drag the files to disk, play them in their native digital state. (You WILL need a lotsa disk space -- I find this worth it for Classical, and Jazz.


if you use the pc as a digital output , say to your avr would the pc soundcard's quality have a major effect

GREAT QUESTION: I've always assumed so, but sadly output sound quality doesn't seem to be compared in any reviews I've seen.

[renowilliams]

I can tell you from personal experience that sound card quality is important. Last year I bought a Asus Xonar D2X soundcard as I mainly use my pc to play video to my tv through the avr. The difference was very noticable over my Soundblaster Audigy 4 card. I use the optical out to the avr.

I can highly recommend this card. Here is a link;

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/01/13/asus_xonar_d2x_pci-express_soundcard/1

[fbm211]

Wow, that is a nice sound card.I just might get that to replace my Xfi fatality pro.I dont see more than a couple games that use the x-ram my card came with.That was a waste IMO.

[sucks2beme]

With ExactAudioCopy, the cdrom quality matters less. It adjusts the read
speed for best results.
I use an external DAC. I used a pro (audio recording) style audio card for
a short time, and the cheap usb DAC was better.