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Post by ematthews on Feb 21, 2012 20:55:24 GMT -5
I am using the optical out. Have not tried USB yet. It was someone in technical and I don't want to name names on here.
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Post by sharky on Feb 21, 2012 21:09:18 GMT -5
As long as you're using 16bits/44.1KHz source material (or any other bitrate/frequency allowed by the XDA-1 USB) you should have no problems. If you want to use your XDA-1 at it's maximum potential then you should use the optical/coax connections as they don't suffer from the limitations the USB port has. I believe that was what the Emo tech meant when he said that a computer via USB wasn't the best source for the XDA-1. My DAC (not a XDA-1) has the same problem, so I use a USB -> Coax adapter to send up to 24bit/192KHz via coax to the DAC. (I also use the M2Tech HiFace like musicfreak, but there are several good other ones around).
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Post by ematthews on Feb 21, 2012 21:54:55 GMT -5
No. The Tec told me to use the USB instead. He also said he wasn't a Mac guy as well. I understood him just fine when he said the source was no good... Computer music is why I purchased the XDA..... I will buy another toslink cable just to see if that will help.
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Post by jackfish on Feb 21, 2012 22:22:30 GMT -5
The USB 2.0 output of the MacBook Pro supports up to 24 bit depth and 192kHz frequency. The XDA-1 USB input supports up to 24 bit depth and 48kHz frequency. Partially correct. The hardware supports 24/192, but the operating system does not. The best you can do is optical out on a Mac at 24/96. The way around this is by using a USB>SPDIF converter that comes with its own drivers. I use the M2Tech HiFace and can get up to 24/192 out of my Mac Mini. I was talking about USB, not optical. Totally correct?
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Post by lvdude on Feb 22, 2012 1:17:35 GMT -5
The way around this is by using a USB>SPDIF converter that comes with its own drivers. I use the M2Tech HiFace and can get up to 24/192 out of my Mac Mini. I would love to now more about this device based on your use! I see it is on Amazon for $159. Glad to see that this gets around the 24/96 limit of the Mac. TIA.
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Post by jackfish on Feb 22, 2012 10:09:42 GMT -5
There are 24/192 bit perfect USB DACs available.
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Post by jmilton on Feb 22, 2012 10:23:25 GMT -5
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Post by regulator on Feb 22, 2012 10:48:35 GMT -5
No. The Tec told me to use the USB instead. He also said he wasn't a Mac guy as well. I understood him just fine when he said the source was no good... Computer music is why I purchased the XDA..... I will buy another toslink cable just to see if that will help. I use optical out on my iMAC into the XDA-1 then to my Onkyo TX-8555. I play high quality ALAC files at 24/48 and never had an issue. Unless I am doing something wrong, I think the guy at Emotiva may be wrong. It sounds real good on my system!
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Post by ematthews on Feb 22, 2012 11:36:54 GMT -5
I think he is wrong too.
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Post by cmsgama on Feb 27, 2012 9:22:51 GMT -5
Greetings from Portugal
The MAC (I have a macbook) with the Amarra is the best transport for digital music!
I have all my music in digital form, 44/16; 48/24; 96/24; 88/24 and you no need any higher than that. Music in 96/24 is fantastic, any higher is wasted storage space. But each head each sentence...
I have to a xda-1, and is a very good dac, my system are Mac > Xda-1 > Upa-2 > Speakers (Proac Studio 140 Mk2), and have a stupendous quality, very detailed sound. (All cables are AudioArt)
I have the mac connected to the xda-1 with a optic fiber cable, and work very fine.
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Erwin.BE
Emo VIPs
It's the room, stupid!
Posts: 2,262
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Post by Erwin.BE on Feb 27, 2012 15:08:50 GMT -5
The USB 2.0 output of the MacBook Pro supports up to 24 bit depth and 192kHz frequency. The XDA-1 USB input supports up to 24 bit depth and 48kHz frequency. Third/Fourth questions -- is it true that the Mac's built-in mini-optical digital audio out supports 24/96 max? If so, it appears that no matter how I slice it, I'm not going to be playing any music at 24/192 Has anyone out there figured out a way to play music at 24/192 from a Mac using the XDA-1? Thanks. t240, This won't help you at all, but my two music capable Apples are like this: 1/ iMac is my multipurpose "desk" machine that I use also for music since 2007 (mostly streaming via Airport Express). Indeed, the audio/MIDI internal export (ie, the optical) only supports up to 96000Hz. 2/ Mac mini is my dedicated music server since 2010. I have a FireWire DAC (Weiss DAC2) on that, which shows in the Audio/MIDI set-up up to 192000Hz. FireWire DAC's are always expensive, although I got mine for a good price. This said, the SQ of 192000 is only ever so slightly better than 96000 (and my system isn't bad). I see no music for sale in 192000 that interests me, since it's a classical thing. The only 192000 I have are free downloaded vinyl rips (18 albums total, out of my 4,200). 11 of those are the early Rolling Stones "Original Masters Vinyl Box". The LP's sell for over $1,000. Very good SQ, I have to admit! One of the very best sounding albums I got is also a download: a 24/96 vinyl rip of Serge Gainsbourg's "Histoire de Melody Nelson". A recent reissue of a 1971 LP. The guitar strings are palpable and Serge's voice is audible in all it's glorious emotions. What I want to say is that it's nice to be able to play 24/192, but in reality there's little use for it. I bought Amarra MINI with my DAC to do the Audio/MIDI switching automatically (otherwise you need to set it manual each time the fq changes and restart iTunes, which is ridiculous). When I bought Amarra MINI, it was only 24/96, but a free upgrade changed that to 24/192. The "full" Amarra now goes to 24/384... More on this on ComputerAudiophile.com
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Post by jackfish on Feb 28, 2012 9:53:33 GMT -5
Most people cannot tell the difference between 24/96 and 24/192, even on a highly resolving system.
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USAFRetired
Sensei
New Receiver onboard Denon RIP
Posts: 651
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Post by USAFRetired on Feb 28, 2012 10:15:13 GMT -5
As of yet I do not have an external DAC but I did pick up (order from Amazon) the mini head phone to tosh-link jack and listened Friday night for many hours through my Mac Book Pro playing lossy music through ITunes into my Denon using it's DAC. (That is an assumption since I really can not tell for sure that is what is happening) Sound wise I noticed greater definition and overall SQ as compared to playing the same music through ITunes and Apply TV Airplay. However, volume was reduced significantly, not sure why. When I inadvertently attempted to play a youtube video I was suddenly blasted with volumes of sound over and above my music which I had to shut down to prevent speaker damage. I did not play again for the rest of the weekend due to nice weather, going mountain biking, washing my cars, hiking with the dog and various other outdoor activities. Overall I was pleased with the sound however I know it can get better with an external DAC designed for this purpose. I thank all who have posted in this forum for their knowledge on the subject and their experiences they have shared. My journey continues...
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Post by garbulky on Feb 28, 2012 10:30:16 GMT -5
Does a mac mess with the sound like windows does when not using WASAPI/ASIO or does it pass it through bit perfect?
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USAFRetired
Sensei
New Receiver onboard Denon RIP
Posts: 651
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Post by USAFRetired on Feb 28, 2012 10:33:34 GMT -5
...that question is way above my pay grade.
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Post by jackfish on Feb 28, 2012 11:23:11 GMT -5
Does a mac mess with the sound like windows does when not using WASAPI/ASIO or does it pass it through bit perfect? A Mac should deliver bit perfect if configured correctly. To make sure the Mac is configured correctly for bit perfect throughput install the BitPerfect app, only $5 from the Apple App Store.
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Erwin.BE
Emo VIPs
It's the room, stupid!
Posts: 2,262
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Post by Erwin.BE on Feb 28, 2012 15:21:33 GMT -5
Does a mac mess with the sound like windows does when not using WASAPI/ASIO or does it pass it through bit perfect? As long as the Audio/MIDI setting is correct, then it is bit-perfect. Trouble is that iTunes does not perform an automated setting of the Audio/MIDI. You need software, something like Amarra or Pure Music. Amarra MINI costs more than an XDA-1... See my post above.
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Post by jackfish on Feb 28, 2012 18:13:35 GMT -5
Does a mac mess with the sound like windows does when not using WASAPI/ASIO or does it pass it through bit perfect? As long as the Audio/MIDI setting is correct, then it is bit-perfect. Trouble is that iTunes does not perform an automated setting of the Audio/MIDI. You need software, something like Amarra or Pure Music. Amarra MINI costs more than an XDA-1... See my post above. BitPerfect only costs $5, does all I need it to do. itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitperfect/id455545700?mt=12bitperfectsound.blogspot.com/
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Post by garbulky on Feb 29, 2012 10:13:18 GMT -5
Thanks Erwin and Jackfish. My wife uses a lot of itunes and I would love to get it to output bit perfect audio. Do you know if this would work on a windows 7 PC or have an alternative that would?
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Post by jackfish on Feb 29, 2012 11:36:32 GMT -5
Windows iTunes is an uphill battle and darn near impossible to get bit perfect output.
Try Exclusive WASAPI Mode in Windows, and JRiver MC or Foobar 2000 players.
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