Re: AT analog output

I use WAV files and pump digital output from the AT to a Proceed DAC.
The difference is enormous. 

For instance, I have a quality Naim CD player. Nice, but no ability to
play HDCDs. When I rip HD CDs and play them through the AT/Proceed combo
(the Proceed knows about HD) they sound better than my CD player alone
-- though I suspect Naim aficionados would freak out if they heard me
say that. However, I'd say that if you think your old Denon sounds
better than the AT, you'd likely be floored by what a quality CD player
can produce. I'm with the guys that claim the source of the sound is at
least 50% of the quality equation (as opposed to those that focus on
speakers).

-----Original Message-----
From: Turtle Beach Audiotron User Forum
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jeff Baskin
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 11:20 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AT] AT analog output

Recently, I plugged my CD player back in and actually played a good old
fashioned original CD. I was suprised how good the CD sounded after many
months of only playing music through the AT. So, I tried a little
experiement comparing the same track ripped differently against the CD
played through the CD player. Now keep in mind, my CD player is nothing
special. It's a rather old Denon 5 disc changer using analog outs.

First, I compared the track ripped at 128 kb/s using MusicMatch against
the
CD. Well, I don't have to tell you what a joke that was.

I then compared again with the same track ripped at 320 kb/s using
EAC/LAME
preset insane. The difference was noticeable, but the CD still sounded
significantly better.

Finally I compared the WAV ripped using EAC. I thought that the WAV at
least
had to be at least close to the CD in quality, but it was barely any
better
than the 320 CBR mp3.

Now, I am using the analog outputs on the AT, so I had to adjust the
volume
when comparing, but there was also a very big difference in the depth of
the
sound especially in the base. Even the WAV had much less base than the
CD.
So, here are my questions: Is the analog output on the AT SO BAD to
explain
such a difference? Is there any way to improve the quality of the analog
outs without opening up the box? Should the quality of a WAV played
through
the AT digital out be at least as good as a CD played through a decent
consumer grade CD player with analog outputs?? I just would like to know
what kind of difference I should expect before blowing $$  on a new
receiver
with optical inputs.

Thanks for your input.

Jeff