Hey, Semi and folks,
To be honest I have always been a bit skeptical about using a computer (equipped with a decent sound card) as a CD player within a "serious" audio system. My prejudice comes in part from the assumption that these consumer cards are in general targeted for PC-oriented low-fi/mid-fi audio gears for gaming etc. But clearly I am ignorant in the recent developments in this particular field. So here are a couple of my questions for you guys...
(1) The web page for the sound card you recommended claims, for example, an S/N ratio of 105dB for audio output - a pretty ambitious spec! On the other hand, the card does not even appear to be electromagnetically shielded, judging from the photo on the web page. So, can these analog-domain specs truly attainable or guaranteed
irrespective of the quality of parts and construction for the rest of your computer? For example, I assume that the cleanliness of the internal power-supply voltage could wildly vary from computer to computer; same would be true for the amount or maliciousness of radio-frequency interference inside the computer case. Given these variables, can you plug-and-play and be guaranteed for a decent "hi-fi" audio quality out of these cards? Or do you still have to optimize the power supply and other parts of the computer specifically for audio purposes in order to obtain decent results, even with the fan noise issue set aside? If these modifications can eventually be pricey, then wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to just buy a Panasonic DVD player and forget about it?
(2) A related question: the HTPC's certainly have an appeal with respect to high-quality video processing, but do they have the level of audio quality that satisfies, say, discerning Axiom owners
when configured with an audio processor/DAC card
inside the computer, rather than digitally connected to a receiver or pre-pro?
(3) Excuse my ignorance here, but these cards are not capable of DVD-Audio or SACD playback since these formats require a specific transport, right? And, if the computer does have a DVD-A and/or SACD-capable transport, are these cards supposedly firmware/software updatable to make use of it?
By the way, I always listen to my favorite music at work, using a $50 USB-based audio processor connected to my computer and amp -- plenty good enough for casual listening.
Cheers!
