Googled.........."If your PC has a digital optical audio output, you can connect it to a digital optical input on a home theater receiver".
It seems I could connect my laptop's digital optical output to my receiver's optical input. But if I made a USB recording from my Sony turntable onto digital files of my laptop and onto a flash drive little device, I would want a more reliable copy of that file onto a CD-R instead of a flash drive, because flash drives/lap tops can become damaged in so many years and then there goes all those digital files. So I would HAVE TO have those digital files burned onto a CD-R because CDS/ CD-RS last for 100 years or longer. So I would then also have to compare both different versions to find out which sounds slightly better. I imagine a CD-R audio version played on a CD player will sound slightly better than a CD-R with digitally burned files being played in a lap top sounding slightly more like audio thats been digitally processed on CD-R. Correct??
Googled- "Among the manufacturers that have done testing, there is consensus that, under recommended storage conditions, CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years or more".
Googled-
"Do CDs sound better than digital?
There's no question that CDs sound much better than MP3s.
High-Resolution Audio offers both quality and convenience."
OOOOF!
It's hard to know where to even begin on your education here!
Let me say this first-- The BRAND of CD-R that you choose is very important! Memorex is trash, as are most others! I ONLY use Maxell CD-Rs, or maybe Toshiba if Maxell is not available. If you choose another brand, don't rely on those as long-term storage solutions. I have had Memorex that have delaminated after just a few years.
Sure, digi files can become corrupt, the HDD can fail, etc. Making a CD-R copy is no different/better than making a separate copy on an external HDD. The BEST option is to have an external HDD with ALL of your important pics, music, files on it as a backup copy, and store that SOMEWHERE ELSE, like a safe deposit box or at a friend's house. What happens when your home accidentally burns down? You lose ALL of your data unless you have copies offsite or in the cloud.
I imagine a CD-R audio version played on a CD player will sound slightly better than a CD-R with digitally burned files being played in a lap top sounding slightly more like audio thats been digitally processed on CD-R. Correct??
Nope, wrong again! A digital copy is a digital copy, the media is absolutely irrelevant. Assuming your copy is "bit perfect" to the original, that is all that matters. I use EAC to rip my commercial CDs to FLAC, and it will tell you whether or not your rip is bit-perfect.
Googled-
"Do CDs sound better than digital?
There's no question that CDs sound much better than MP3s.
CDs are digital! The file type on a CD will typically be DSD files. There is no doubt that CDs can sound better than low bit rate MP3s, but you are literally comparing apples to oranges here!