There's no need to convert FLACs as has been stated here already. Most players will play them. If you've read the Windows 10 thread you'll see that Microsoft will bring direct FLAC capability into the OS but you don't need to worry about that as there are so many good players around. I like to have VLC installed on all my machines as it handles pretty much every video and audio format in common use. Better for video than audio, though, as the interface for audio is rudimentary.

Blimey guys - thanks

Thanks Martin for moving the thread, although I feel even older now I have a blog.  Sue has been talking about "your HIFI blog" meaning "the HiFi forums" since I joined AOS.  So now I have a blog on my blog???  I think I get it - its my own little place to ramble.  I see the president of the ICAEW has a blog, so it must be respectable.

I think I'll probably try the JRiver free trial - and hold foobar in reserve.  I assume the differences are all functionality not performance

Regarding MP3's (Stratmangler) I was referring to my first attempt to listen to the laptop with DaCapo - not making a general comment about the format.  The result was poor.  The possibilities I can identify include the interface from Maplins and its horrible optical lead, the laptop, the software to play it, and the file format. 

The first stand-out candidate to fix was the file format.  What I want to do is play something very familiar (Dave Migden will do nicely) from the laptop and compare it to the cd player (acting as transport).  If they are identical, I can move on to the Raspberry Pi project, in the knowledge that if anything gets worse its in the new project and not a problem with using computer audio per se. 

So given I have FLAC files for this LP, am I right in thinking the simplest way forward is to try playing those with the JRiver free demo??

If the results are still poor with a direct equivalent file to the CD - then I have to look at the interface.  I see Beresford do a (presumably better) usb to optical, which might be the next place to explore.  But I am picking up the vibe that USB is not the best way to shift 0's and 1's for music at all - and maybe the ideal would be a good RJ45 to coax adaptor.

Or a PC card?

If the file format doesnt fix it, if John can lend me a better USB to optical or (preferably) coax that would be a good place to start (my current transport only has a coax out)

Other DAC's open a whole new can of worms, and I certainly would appreciate a chance to "try before I buy".  I like my LP's and DaCapo 22bit from a transport gets closer to those black vinyl discs then any DAC I have yet had a chance to compare directly, and I haven't confidently heard any other dac anywhere else that has made me think "I must have that"

But first things first.  Maybe like for like file format will get much closer.  I'll try to get that done tonight, but every time I sit down with the laptop, Sue says "which house are you looking at - what do you think of this one?", and we get distracted

OK.  Progress report.  Love the snowflakes

The whole lot very nearly went on the fire.  I have no patience - but persevered.

I downloaded Jriver, followed all the defaults and by the time I had finished dinner it had imported my library.  First cut very irritatingly gave me the Flacs and MP3's mixed into one album for Dave Migden.  Rebooting the computer sorted them into a flac album and an mp3 album, with one rogue mp3 in the flac album.  Worse things happen at sea

And in my living room.  No sound coming out at all.  Reboot.  Still no sound.  Found a settings page that let me specify the output.  No sound from the pc speakers or the dac.  Tried the cd player and the dac is working fine.  You can hear the dac lock on the optical, but no sound.

No sound from windows media player either from dac or pc speakers.  Just as well the fire wasn't lit.

Tried the dac adaptor in a different usb port and "bingo" - windows media played on the dac.  jriver played only on the pc speakers.  Now, I couldn't find the settings page I had selected the pc speakers from in any menu.

Bloody good job the fire wasn't lit.  on about the 5th visit spotted the little pull down menu I'd been missing and WOW - Jriver playing flac files on the DaCapo!!!!

So Jriver passes the first grumpy old man test of being plug and play without reading the manual.  I may have got a bit grumpy, but just used it - no manual reading.  So far - so good.

Sound was MUCH better.  So much so, that standing at the controls, and not in the listening hot seat, I didn't think there was any difference from CD.  So I called in the Mrs.  And there was - and she preferred CD and was picking it real easy.  Time for some foo - I dug out a half proper  optical cable.  And that slowed her down a bit.  Still by the end of a track, she was consistently picking CD against PC - if not necessarily sure which she preferred.  This is enormous progress from where this blog started.  Swap roles

To start with I wasnt sure I could hear a difference.  But the more you listened, the more it became apparant.  CD is fuller, richer, and more satisfying - just.  PC is clearer - "lighter" - a bit like the very early digital "clean and clear".  Good, but I am pretty sure I am going to find the CDcoax connection closer to analogue than PC optical (nasty Maplin adaptor)

So - I'll rip a couple of new cds which came with vinyl and do some more 3 way listening. Then I may be open to suggestions (loans?) for better PC interfaces.

But this is MUCH closer - my Dad wouldnt be able to split PC from CD. 

Pretty good for a first go at it then Richard! The only way is up.

Confucious say every journey starts with one step.!
Well done for taking that step Pinkie!

Now you need to check that you have the appropriate drivers selected for your computer's operating system.
What are you running?
XP? Vista? Win7?

Simply put, if it's XP then you need to download some Asio drivers, Vista and onwards it's WASAPI drivers.
There are exceptions - I use an interface that has not had any WASAPI drivers written for it, so I use the Asio ones instead. Laptop OS is Win7.
You then go into your media player device settings and select the Asio/WASAPI option for the interface you're driving.
This will mean that the drivers the PC uses to drive your interface will be optimised, and sound quality should take a hike upward.

On the ripping front you need to ensure that your rips are secure, that is bit perfect.
It will be there somewhere in the settings.
Otherwise your ripper will not necessarily perform an absolutely accurate rip. Speed is not of the essence here, accuracy is what counts.

Thanks Martin.  I went to do this, and together with information overload about "equipment" which I'll put in a separate thread it typifies my problem with file-based to date - or really, hi-res file based.

Which version do I download?  Linn has a helpful guide, but it doesn't help a wannabe future proofer like me.  So normally I get frustrated and decide not to bother.  The issues are

1) Hi-res is not an alternative mainstream format.  I want to buy Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon - do I buy vinyl, mp3, FLAC or a physical CD?  As discussed elsewhere there are attractions beyond sound quality in having something to touch and interact with.  Sticking to sound quality, one of the options is not to chose Studio master(192) FLAC.  Instead, I have a nerdy geeky hi res player, so I buy some obscure music I didn't want from artists I don't know to show how good my geek gadget is.  To be fair, some of that Linn music is quite attractive to me, but the basic point - that I can't choose the music first, then choose the medium, but instead need to look for software to justify the existence of my toy, is a turn-off
2) So, for this exercise, what do I download and why?  Linns generosity (very fairly) doesnt extend to downloading multiple formats.  I have to make a choice.  With DaCapo I can't play the studio192 flac.  I don't know where my other limits lie.  My laptop doesnt have a 24 bit soundcard, which the Linn site suggests I need to use even the 96Khz FLAC.
3) Is there a way I can download the 192 version and convert it to another version for the moment whilst keeping it as a treat for when I have suitable equipment
4) What PC, software, interface and DAC is my best route to first hearing the 192 version

I know I'm a hard nut to crack, but I appreciate the help.  This issue is precisely the sort of thing that has made me conclude I'm quite happy with records and CD's and my existing equipment in the past.  Thanks

Aye, JRiver can downsample on the fly - I have to do this in order to play SACD rips that are at 32/384, as my USB interface can only handle up to 24/192.

Via a PlayStation

www.instructables.com/id/Introduction-54/