drive, whereas I listen to MP3 CDs on my laptop almost exclusively. And
of
course, a hard drive would have *much* lower jitter than a CD-ROM,
because
it's a much more stable mechanism.
Ummmm, ever heard of a thing called a "buffer" ....
Some output devices are better than others. You may have a buffer, but how well does it work? You're not seriously saying you can't hear the difference between a low-jitter, well engineered CD player and a $80 Wal Mart special? My Harmon Kardon only cost $105 but it clearly sounds better than your average CD player. But it doesn't sound as good as my Echo MIA. According to the documentation on the modest ($200) Monarchy Audio Digital Interface Processor, jitter is reduced by about 90%. And believe me, you can hear a difference immediately. One thing that is very interesting about this change is that it's not very dependent on your speakers. I've hooked up the D.I.P. to Cambridge Audio's $80 set of multimedia speakers and heard a notable difference (they have a digital input.) Naturally, the difference is even more pronounced on my 'real' speakers.
Bottom line is that your MAD setup may sound good now, but you'd be
amazed
how much better it CAN sound.
If you're into maximum quality, why are you even bothering with lossy compression?
The same reason EVERYONE is into MP3s. You can download them for free off the internet!? doh!
I'm being sincere when I say a good MP3 rig can give CDs a run for their money. I'll admit they don't have as much resolution, generally. And CDs have more 'air' in the soundstage, due to their superior channel seperation. But a lot of the irritating aspects of CD playback such as the timing errors and the crummy treble is NOT present in a MP3 that's being played off a hard drive on a good (24/96) soundcard. Getting the timing right really makes the music 'swing', especially if you're into rhythmically intense music, like rock & roll, electronica, or hip-hop.
PS: CD's are mastered for price, not quality. Check out how many newer CD's
have
*serious* clipping. All the tubes and monster cables you like won't make
your
end of the chain fix those ruined links at the start (screw-ups - deliberate or otherwise - during mastering).
I don't agree that clipping ruins a mix. I've clipped mixes on *purpose*, because it can produce a lot of interesting effects. I listen to mostly electronic music, so I'm pretty comfortable with outrageous mixing.
Owen
-
John van Ommen