I have carefully followed the latest trends in computer to DAC playback for many years. And those trends are really a reflection of a philosophy by a small number of zealots who populate one or two forums. The trend in digital playback is to eliminate the computer as much as possible. Of course, the computer is needed and it can never be totally removed from the playback chain. But that's the goal.
IMO, computers offer many advantages to digital playback. Those advantages range from building a better digital attenuation method to utilizing computer power to build better digital reconstruction filters to make DACs work better and offer great possibilities for multi channel playback. Finally, powerful computers can even improve the acoustics at seated position. All of these improvements are easily measured objectively and subjectively.
But the computer Audiophile zealots don't like the computer's power. They don't like to use technology in the above described way. They only want a low power and low function computer which can only do one thing: playback 2CH music. There isn't even a theory. Some say the computer is noisy and therefore the noise must be stopped. What noise are they talking about? I've never heard any computer noise associated with playback. When I had a TT, I sure could hear noise associated with vinyl playback. But modern DACs are so well designed, there's no way computer "noise" could even be audible, if it exists at all.
What about the evidence or measurements that powerful and useful computing power degrades playback? I've seen no such evidence.
So I ask, has the so called "computer audiophile" become the new neurotic audiophile? Are these people clamboring for the next micro rendering Linux box or whatever totally insane? IOW, is this another USB hub hysterical circle jerk. It all seems to repeat over and over again like the Audioquest jitterbug or the embarrassingly designed Regen.
Here's the latest mass hysteria thread:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...-fact-or-fiction-28490/index2.html#post539581