Oddly I never even considered a computer's power supply, although to produce a stable digital signal can't be too demanding. Saying that I guess it depends on how demanding the computer is during its normal tasks and a good assumption to make would be that processor intensive applications require more power than a simple one. Having said that it almost stands to reason that ANY electrical item is going to benefit from a clean, spike free and stable power supply regardless of its apparent demands. Mmm, audiophile computer power supply; Russ Andrews, I hope you're listening.
Personally I believe that a properly set up computer should comfortably rival a CD player especially given the lack of moving parts. Like any hi-fi component though a computer needs to be set up with the same considerations; isolation, power, connection types, settings etc etc, also possibly running no other applications whilst listening to music.
I really want to discover as much as I can about computer audiophilia, it's such a deep subject with so much potential that it can't be ignored. Will it ever replace vinyl? Don't be daft! Will it sit happily alongside tried and tested formats? Yep, once a consistently high performing set-up has been achieved.
Ben Duncan mains conditioner
2022 MacBook Pro 14" M1 Pro 10/16/16/16
Samsung QE75Q90T 75" QLED TV
XMOS DSD Async USB to Coax converter
RME Audio ADI-2 FS (AK4493) DAC
Chord Clearway XLR interconnects
Audioquest Crimson USB interconnect
QED Quartz Reference optical interconnect
Edifier S3000 Pro active speakers
Atacama SE24 stands