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Just to clarify, my original post is meant to address the question of whether a conventional CD player could be replaced as the source in a high end audio system by a properly set up PC based jukebox. I'm also basing my analysis on the theoretical assumption that no matter what CD player one wishes to use as the benchmark in a comparison of CD source vs. PC jukebox source, the same DAC circuit would be used in each case. I realize this theoretical DAC may not exist (ie. Naim don't make a CDS3 DAC available) but I want to keep the analysis simple and therefore let's assume the DAC does indeed exist as a separate component.

Tom, I think you understand what I'm getting at with my questions. I realize the CDP transport is real-time and therefore has a more complex task. But as far as providing the "raw data" to the DAC, it seems that part is universal no matter what the "transport" mechanism (CD, HDD, RAM, etc.). There are timing issues apparently but the raw data bits never change no matter the reading mechanism. Please correct me if I am wrong here.

As far as julian's point about the Naim philosophy of keeping the DAC physically close to the transport, I don't know all the reasons for this. However, given an ideal data stream (one that is sufficiently buffered), could a media hub and DAC combination not include some sort of clock module that times the data to the DAC in a manner that duplicates whatever the CDS3 does in this regard? Ultimately, it's the analog output of the DAC circuit that feeds the pre-amp regardless of whether it's inside the CDS3 or inside a dedicated DAC component. So whatever happens up to that point is the critical piece, right?

Somehow I see the days of the CD as numbered in a much different way than the pundits said the days of the LP are numbered when CDs first hit the market. Since the data on CDs is all digital, I can't see how the storage media can ultimately make any difference as long as all the data is there.

I'm looking forward to this technology progressing, I think it's unavoidable. Even for high end digital audio.

-Peter

<blockquote data-quote="plz" data-source="post: 584461" data-attributes="member: 1976">Just to clarify, my original post is meant to address the question of whether a conventional CD player could be replaced as the source in a high end audio system by a properly set up PC based jukebox. I'm also basing my analysis on the theoretical assumption that no matter what CD player one wishes to use as the benchmark in a comparison of CD source vs. PC jukebox source, the same DAC circuit would be used in each case. I realize this theoretical DAC may not exist (ie. Naim don't make a CDS3 DAC available) but I want to keep the analysis simple and therefore let's assume the DAC does indeed exist as a separate component.Tom, I think you understand what I'm getting at with my questions. I realize the CDP transport is real-time and therefore has a more complex task. But as far as providing the &quot;raw data&quot; to the DAC, it seems that part is universal no matter what the &quot;transport&quot; mechanism (CD, HDD, RAM, etc.). There are timing issues apparently but the raw data bits never change no matter the reading mechanism. Please correct me if I am wrong here.As far as julian's point about the Naim philosophy of keeping the DAC physically close to the transport, I don't know all the reasons for this. However, given an ideal data stream (one that is sufficiently buffered), could a media hub and DAC combination not include some sort of clock module that times the data to the DAC in a manner that duplicates whatever the CDS3 does in this regard? Ultimately, it's the analog output of the DAC circuit that feeds the pre-amp regardless of whether it's inside the CDS3 or inside a dedicated DAC component. So whatever happens up to that point is the critical piece, right?Somehow I see the days of the CD as numbered in a much different way than the pundits said the days of the LP are numbered when CDs first hit the market. Since the data on CDs is all digital, I can't see how the storage media can ultimately make any difference as long as all the data is there.I'm looking forward to this technology progressing, I think it's unavoidable. Even for high end digital audio.-Peter</blockquote>

[QUOTE="plz, post: 584461, member: 1976"] Just to clarify, my original post is meant to address the question of whether a conventional CD player could be replaced as the source in a high end audio system by a properly set up PC based jukebox. I'm also basing my analysis on the theoretical assumption that no matter what CD player one wishes to use as the benchmark in a comparison of CD source vs. PC jukebox source, the same DAC circuit would be used in each case. I realize this theoretical DAC may not exist (ie. Naim don't make a CDS3 DAC available) but I want to keep the analysis simple and therefore let's assume the DAC does indeed exist as a separate component. Tom, I think you understand what I'm getting at with my questions. I realize the CDP transport is real-time and therefore has a more complex task. But as far as providing the "raw data" to the DAC, it seems that part is universal no matter what the "transport" mechanism (CD, HDD, RAM, etc.). There are timing issues apparently but the raw data bits never change no matter the reading mechanism. Please correct me if I am wrong here. As far as julian's point about the Naim philosophy of keeping the DAC physically close to the transport, I don't know all the reasons for this. However, given an ideal data stream (one that is sufficiently buffered), could a media hub and DAC combination not include some sort of clock module that times the data to the DAC in a manner that duplicates whatever the CDS3 does in this regard? Ultimately, it's the analog output of the DAC circuit that feeds the pre-amp regardless of whether it's inside the CDS3 or inside a dedicated DAC component. So whatever happens up to that point is the critical piece, right? Somehow I see the days of the CD as numbered in a much different way than the pundits said the days of the LP are numbered when CDs first hit the market. Since the data on CDs is all digital, I can't see how the storage media can ultimately make any difference as long as all the data is there. I'm looking forward to this technology progressing, I think it's unavoidable. Even for high end digital audio. -Peter [/QUOTE]

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