Are computer front ends now 100% superior?

Tim F

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Jun 11, 2018
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I'm reading more and more about custom PCs and the ultimate PC choice the Taiko Extreme. The consensus I'm seeing is that PC computer based audio, Intel / AMD based, is now superior to all other digital front ends and can be classified state of the art. I'm comparing this to units like the Aurender w20 etc. This is pushing me down the DIY PC route (which isn't cheap) as the Taiko Extreme is out of my budget. What are your findings when comparing?

Thanks, Tim
 

TDX

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Jan 14, 2020
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Superior to what though? I think it’s far from superior.
 
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rando

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Sep 22, 2019
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If you weren't pushed down the DIY route some time ago success may be elusive. Even outside a highly impacted market for materials you would need to collect in some form impacting the entire audio industry.

What's Best is removing need to buy now from the equation and providing yourself a base to experiment with. Having something (decided upon by intelligent wide ranging thoughts) outweighs lacking something more expensive or higher rated. Being possessed of an active mind with active goals is the best form of audiophilia



Disc playback should not be eliminated as an option. Today will yield a tomorrow with new opportunities. Necessity is the mother of invention. Lockdown(s) followed by need to forge forwards with creative solutions will impact the landscape.

Drivers make a world of difference once you've begun to do everything else right in CAS. Software delivered to work with your hardware in general has a large impact. Be that a custom BIOS, OS booting off a USB stick, or phalanx of 'solutions' to individual problems.

Discuss everything you wish to attempt with others who are more knowledgeable. Not just more willing to express an opinion from a point of authority. If it was easy to arrange consumer hardware into a server non pareil all the kids would be doing it. Then everyone else would be trying to improve it yet further. There might be a hint in this last somewhere if you really want to do CAS. :)


Good luck

P.S. This program came to mind as a bit of DIY offered freely. Possibly worth a few minutes read to decide if it would be a fun diversion to attempt for you.

wtfplay
 
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Powerman

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Feb 15, 2023
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Not to me. I simply can't understand working so hard to need my PC to play music. Especially since it seems to use USB correctly, I have to purchase a couple more boxes to fix USB. I did use my PC when it was a desktop system. Then it became a listening system. I would have kept better solution, but I could not tell a difference. I have a NVMe drive on board which goes straight to DAC. I can tell a slight, very slight difference. I certainly like instantaneous actions... But all that means is my streaming is very clean.

Maybe one day I'll look at better streamers. If PC is truly a superior solution, then companies can make purely audio centered solutions with pc power, clock, LPS, app solution. IDK.

I went to ethernet to mercury and to DAC by I2S. Then I tried wifi simplified the chain even more.
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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Where are you reading this?

Tom
 

audiobomber

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These references might be helpful for anyone looking to DIY:



 

prerich

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May 21, 2012
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As far as being superior...I don't know. If you're a PC nerd like myself, you will use it to your advantage. I actually have two pc's in my system...the first is my desktop and it's only function is to be the media server for my house hold (video and audio). The second is my NAS (network storage), that's were my media is held. I do all of my web browsing on my laptop so my PC is basically built around audio and video (for that reason I'm a JRiver guy). I'm using a Denafrips Ares II and a S.M.S.L. SU-9N for my dacs. Both the computers have 64 GB of ram. I've built them from the ground up...and up to the time that Atmos came out, I used my PC as my dedicated preamp (Way back in the Xonar days with Burson opamps). It's a big rabbit hole to slide down - but it's been a cool ride for this geek-nerd.
 
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rando

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Sep 22, 2019
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These references might be helpful for anyone looking to DIY

I'd forgotten about this board. Some interesting stuff going on here that jumps out compared to the similar base board a larger commercial provider uses for their Q370 chipset based offering.

Edit: 8th/9th gen Intel also retains ability to use an external BD drive disc ripper. :)



 

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