KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Jun 24, 2019 13:11:33 GMT -5
I forget that you're not actually playing jRiver through a DAC... You're using it as a DLNA server - which makes life a lot more complicated... It's possible that jRiver is messing up - but it's also possible that you haven't found the right settings yet.
(It seems that you can configure jRiver individually how to treat various DLNA clients... including having it convert file formats for only some of them, limit sample rates, or even apply EQ.)
Under Tools | Options | Media Servers... Under Media Network | Options... Under Add Or Configure Media Servers...
You should find a list entitled DLNA Servers...
If there is only one: Generic DLNA... Under Audio | Mode you must set it to ORIGINAL If there are multiple servers listed, you must highlight each one, and set this under each one (or delete the others).
This configures how jRiver, as a DLNA server, will treat the audio streams being sent to each client. (Notice that, if you set it to convert, you can then tell it which formats to convert - which would explain why only some files are being converted.)
This is NOT the same as the setting under Client Options
Apparently this option was added at some point a few years ago.
...I've never streamed using jRiver.... However, I very much suspect that it wouldn't down-rez music unless it considered doing so "unavoidable".... What you say would be reasonable and expected. But that's not what I experienced. This issue was discovered while reviewing a McIntosh DAC that was good at outputting full information about what it was receiving. While listening, I selected a cut from my library, and then noticed that the Mac said it was receiving MP3 from jRiver. Out of curiosity, I shut down jRiver, opened Roon, and played the same cut. The Mac now said it was receiving 44-16 data. To make sure that this wasn't a fluke, I played a bunch more cuts. On ⅔ of them, jRiver sent MP3 while Roon played every one of them at blue book quality. Both programs were using the same destination (the Oppo), and nothing changed at the server other than the software being used. I later did some research and found a switch in jRiver that instructed the program to send files in their original format. I enabled that switch, then checked again. jRiver continued to down-res to MP3 on ⅔ of the tracks. That's when I decided that the switches in jRiver were not trustworthy. So despite the reasonable assumption that no program would deliberately down-res your music without just cause, I'm not convinced that jRiver isn't doing exactly that. So jRiver lies to me by ignoring my user settings and reduces my music resolution without telling me. Roon doesn't. Who am I to blow against the wind? Boom
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jun 24, 2019 13:27:53 GMT -5
oooohhhh...that likely explains why I never saw that with JRiver. I always ran it on a PC outputting USB to a DAC.
Mark
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 24, 2019 13:49:42 GMT -5
but in my experience, it has been known to lose music files.......But as of right now, the program's propensity to turn files into "Flying Dutchmen" is a serious problem. Tell me about it. I lost all 24,000 of my ripped songs thanks to Apple and iTunes. The computer would just not recognize the files. Took my entire computer to the Apple Store and they said tough luck, it happens all the time, nothing they can do about it. Last time I'll buy an Apple computer.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 25, 2019 5:06:23 GMT -5
I discovered where all my external HDD free space went. When I allowed iTunes on the drive, it set up its own music library in its own folder, and began copying all the data from the source onto its own folder. This resulted in duplication of most music on the drive until ITunes ran out of space. It took me a while to realize what had happened, and I discovered it by looking at all the folders on the drive by size. The iTunes folder (euphemistically described as "Between 1 and 10 TB") turned out to be the culprit. I just deleted the folder, and will let iTunes recreate it (but without copying files to its own folder) next time I want to play with iTunes.
So consider this a FYI post and if you don't need it, then good on you.
Boomzilla
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Jun 25, 2019 9:59:07 GMT -5
There should be a setting somewhere about "copying files into the library" or just indexing them in place. I discovered where all my external HDD free space went. When I allowed iTunes on the drive, it set up its own music library in its own folder, and began copying all the data from the source onto its own folder. This resulted in duplication of most music on the drive until ITunes ran out of space. It took me a while to realize what had happened, and I discovered it by looking at all the folders on the drive by size. The iTunes folder (euphemistically described as "Between 1 and 10 TB") turned out to be the culprit. I just deleted the folder, and will let iTunes recreate it (but without copying files to its own folder) next time I want to play with iTunes. So consider this a FYI post and if you don't need it, then good on you. Boomzilla
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 25, 2019 11:02:00 GMT -5
There should be a setting somewhere about "copying files into the library" or just indexing them in place. There is - I just overlooked it.
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Post by drtrey3 on Jun 25, 2019 15:23:40 GMT -5
Good riddance, now I can be Apple free. I took it off all my computers so they cannot use it for mischief.
Trey
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 25, 2019 15:39:20 GMT -5
This afternoon, I've got two of the three media storage drives doing a bi-directional backup via Chrono-Synch. Once that's done, then I'll strip out all formats EXCEPT for the .wav files, and then give Roon an enema, deleting all its content.
Then let I'll let Roon reindex ONE of the drives, and see how it handles the cleaned-up disc info.
Lots and lots of compilation tracks were scattered all over the drive in their own folders.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 25, 2019 19:44:55 GMT -5
I've also hooked up my 12-watt Heathkit tube mono amps to my Klipsch RP600M speakers. It's sure easy to forget how really, really good these little amps sound. Really! Despite having but 12 watts total each, they bring both a naturalness and a sense of dynamics that seriously mimics live music. Even when listening to 44-16 digital material, you'd never, ever know from listening alone that you had a digital source. This sounds like the best of vinyl, or maybe even a high-quality reel-to-reel source tape. Why is it that some components can do this and others can't? Certainly the little Heathkits wouldn't measure well - certainly not as well as even a modest solid-state amp, yet they perform disproportionately to their size. Maybe the components made a difference? I used only polyethylene and polypropylene dielectric film capacitors and 1% or tighter tolerance metal film resistors when rebuilding them. I also spaced the caps at 2x the maximum expected voltage and the resistors at 2x to 4x the maximum intended power dissipation. I also owe audiobill some serious thanks for assisting in the "surgery" on the Heathkits that removed their preamplifier sections, leaving them as power amplifiers only. His email design and troubleshooting was invaluable. Thanks, Bill! I'm not letting these amps go. They're unique, and they do things that other amps can't. The only thing I'd like to eventually do is build them some wooden cases and clean up my wiring a tad.
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Post by GreenKiwi on Jun 27, 2019 4:37:19 GMT -5
Boomzilla Did you put the amps together? I have built a few amps and it's been fun and it adds to the enjoyment when listening.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 27, 2019 5:50:07 GMT -5
Boomzilla Did you put the amps together? I have built a few amps and it's been fun and it adds to the enjoyment when listening. More than with most. The amplifiers were originally monophonic integrated amplifier kits. They included circuitry for ceramic cartridge equalization and output taps for eight and 16-ohm speakers. The only things on the amps that weren't original were the 4-in-one power supply capacitors that the previous owner had replaced. At the time of purchase (at a yard sale), one was not working, and the other had horrendous hum. I "reengineered" the amplifiers by stripping out all the preamplifier sections, and turning them into mono power amplifiers. As it turned out, the two amps, despite being the same model, had slightly different power supply transformers. So one had about 1.2 decibels more gain than the other. I could modify the circuitry to make them match, but since I don't notice it, I'm assuming that it isn't worth my time. Since many (most?) of the parts had drifted over time from their original.values, I simply replaced every signal-path part in the units, including the tubes. As mentioned previously, I used close-tolerance metal film resistors with at least twice the wattage ratings as the originals, and polyethylene (preferred) or polypropylene-film capacitors and tried to use caps rated for twice the voltage of the originals. Despite having but 12 watts per amplifier (and I suspect that even that specification is optimistic) the little amps have been stunners from the start. My audio amigo, garbulky, heard them shortly after their completion, and was (highly) surprised by their performance. To prevent hum, the AC plugs must be in phase with the upstream component, but other than that, the little amps continue to impress. At this low a power output, the amps are more picky about speakers than most. The three speakers that have done best with these amplifiers are (all 8-ohm) Tekton Pendragons, Klipsch Heresys, and the Klipsch RP-600M mini-monitors. The little Klipsch monitors will absolutely not rock the walls because of their lower sensitivity compared to the other two "speaker-favorites," but the sound of the tube amps and the RP600Ms has an analog purity and transparency that is startling, despite my use of digital sources. As would be expected with their eight and 16-ohm speaker taps, the little amps do struggle a bit with four-ohm speakers, including my Thiel 1.6s, the Sonus-Faber Sonettos, and the JBL L100 Classics. One speaker that I would like to hear with the amps would be a pair of 8-ohm Tekton Double-Impacts. Unfortunately, Tekton does not loan speakers for review and I won't be buying them just to play with. Overall, I'm happy with the little Heathkits, considering the small amount of money they cost me. They are light, take up little closet space when not in use, and can be used to absolutely demolish the beliefs of those who claim that only a high-wattage, solid-state amplifier can possibly sound good and have tight bass. Used within their limitations, the little "Franken-kits" are some of the best amps I've heard. Boomzilla
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 28, 2019 20:52:39 GMT -5
Sitting in the dark tonight - a thunderstorm took the power out just as I got home from work, and the generator has burned out its control board, starter solenoid, and starter. Any recommendations for a good, LP-powered 20KW home generator?
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jun 28, 2019 21:33:07 GMT -5
Sitting in the dark tonight - a thunderstorm took the power out just as I got home from work, and the generator has burned out its control board, starter solenoid, and starter. Any recommendations for a good, LP-powered 20KW home generator? I reco you just hang out and enjoy the peace of no electricity. I do it at least monthly, and it's great to disconnect. Mark
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Post by davidl81 on Jun 28, 2019 21:58:17 GMT -5
Sitting in the dark tonight - a thunderstorm took the power out just as I got home from work, and the generator has burned out its control board, starter solenoid, and starter. Any recommendations for a good, LP-powered 20KW home generator? I know a lot of people like the generac’s. I have a few friends who use them with no issues. They are not inexpensive though.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 28, 2019 22:15:51 GMT -5
Sitting in the dark tonight - a thunderstorm took the power out just as I got home from work, and the generator has burned out its control board, starter solenoid, and starter. Any recommendations for a good, LP-powered 20KW home generator? I know a lot of people like the generac’s. I have a few friends who use them with no issues. They are not inexpensive though. Nothing is... I do see that I can buy a Honeywell (made by Generac) for about $700 less through Costco.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 28, 2019 22:29:31 GMT -5
I reco you just hang out and enjoy the peace of no electricity. I do it at least monthly, and it's great to disconnect. Mark Yeah, the backyard frogs are in hog heaven, and the owls are hooting it up!
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Post by garbulky on Jun 29, 2019 4:45:58 GMT -5
Boomzilla Did you put the amps together? I have built a few amps and it's been fun and it adds to the enjoyment when listening. More than with most. The amplifiers were originally monophonic integrated amplifier kits. They included circuitry for ceramic cartridge equalization and output taps for eight and 16-ohm speakers. The only things on the amps that weren't original were the 4-in-one power supply capacitors that the previous owner had replaced. At the time of purchase (at a yard sale), one was not working, and the other had horrendous hum. I "reengineered" the amplifiers by stripping out all the preamplifier sections, and turning them into mono power amplifiers. As it turned out, the two amps, despite being the same model, had slightly different power supply transformers. So one had about 1.2 decibels more gain than the other. I could modify the circuitry to make them match, but since I don't notice it, I'm assuming that it isn't worth my time. Since many (most?) of the parts had drifted over time from their original.values, I simply replaced every signal-path part in the units, including the tubes. As mentioned previously, I used close-tolerance metal film resistors with at least twice the wattage ratings as the originals, and polyethylene (preferred) or polypropylene-film capacitors and tried to use caps rated for twice the voltage of the originals. Despite having but 12 watts per amplifier (and I suspect that even that specification is optimistic) the little amps have been stunners from the start. My audio amigo, garbulky, heard them shortly after their completion, and was (highly) surprised by their performance. To prevent hum, the AC plugs must be in phase with the upstream component, but other than that, the little amps continue to impress. At this low a power output, the amps are more picky about speakers than most. The three speakers that have done best with these amplifiers are (all 8-ohm) Tekton Pendragons, Klipsch Heresys, and the Klipsch RP-600M mini-monitors. The little Klipsch monitors will absolutely not rock the walls because of their lower sensitivity compared to the other two "speaker-favorites," but the sound of the tube amps and the RP600Ms has an analog purity and transparency that is startling, despite my use of digital sources. As would be expected with their eight and 16-ohm speaker taps, the little amps do struggle a bit with four-ohm speakers, including my Thiel 1.6s, the Sonus-Faber Sonettos, and the JBL L100 Classics. One speaker that I would like to hear with the amps would be a pair of 8-ohm Tekton Double-Impacts. Unfortunately, Tekton does not loan speakers for review and I won't be buying them just to play with. Overall, I'm happy with the little Heathkits, considering the small amount of money they cost me. They are light, take up little closet space when not in use, and can be used to absolutely demolish the beliefs of those who claim that only a high-wattage, solid-state amplifier can possibly sound good and have tight bass. Used within their limitations, the little "Franken-kits" are some of the best amps I've heard. Boomzilla The Heathkits absolutely turned my perceptions on its head. Are the Heathkits the most tonally neutral or powerful, lowest distortion amp out there? Nope. Did it matter one bit? Not in the slightest! I've heard many times that people don't want their signal colored including me. Well after hearing the Heathkits, one would likely realise why, yes they very well might! The Heathkits rank right up there with the XPA-1 gen 2 as one of the best amps I've heard. It possesses nearly none of the negatives that I've heard from tube sound - an audibly rolled off treble, tubby bass, limited dynamics. The Heathkits politely said "no thanks" to those because it knew what it came here to do! The sound had an extremely vivid almost visual sound field to it. That was the thing that stood out to me. Whether my eyes were open or closed, it was like I could see the instruments in front of me. They were clearly there in my mind's eye. The soundstage was enormous, the dynamics popped out at you, the instruments were very stable and fleshed out. I heard every isntrument, every nuance. The instruments never dissapeared or got drowned out. Norah Jones sounded completely different but oh so amazing on them. I don't know how the thing did it. Many times it outdid the XPA-1 gen 2 in its vivdness of imaging and liveliness in the sound. I had to come to terms that though the XPA-1 may have been a bit more neutral, and perhaps slightly beefier, it simply could not put out the vivid holographic sound the 12 watt heathkits were capable of! The XPA-1 is pretty much the best amp I've heard - tremendous detail, lightning fast dynamics and slam for days, spot on tone neutrality etc. But it just can't do what the Heathkits can because the Heathkits sound unlike any amp I've heard - and in a good way! The icing on the cake is that these amps are tiny little things taking up less space than a Emotiva PA-1 amplifier. The Audio Gods smiled on B'zilla when he frankenmodded those tube amps! I told him after one song, "don't you go getting rid of these!" and then repeated that a few times for good measure I wonder if you can find some more of those and try your hand at it again?
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 29, 2019 9:47:46 GMT -5
All things in good time.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 29, 2019 17:06:41 GMT -5
We had the pleasure of a visit from Mrs. & Mr garbulky this afternoon, and they got to hear my first try at the RAIS concept (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Subwoofers). I expect that the Gar will comment in a thread of his own on his impressions, so I won't put words in his mouth. Mrs. Garbulky was a delight, as always. Nicer folks we've never met. The Garbulkys had made a pass by the local phonograph records emporium, and were fortunate enough to catch $1 clearance records at half price and then got a 20% discount on top of that! They said that they bought about 30 records, and I told them that I didn't think I could find records for less, even at garage sales. I had the honor of Garbulky asking me to be a judge at the kids' chess tournament at the end of July, and I'm looking forward to it. Every time I play chess with those kids, they get better and better! I won my last game with one of them only by luck! And I'm no slouch at chess myself... There are two contractors scheduled to drop by next week to provide quotes on a replacement generator. Deal with that when it gets here. But for anyone thinking of trying out the RAIS idea, I'm giving it a thumbs up for now. Just FYI Boomzilla
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Post by Boomzilla on Jul 13, 2019 8:39:41 GMT -5
Spent yesterday morning assembling my new 17.5KW portable generator. The instruction manual contained a postage-stamp-sized blow-up (almost literally) of how the parts went together and no mention whatsoever of how to get the product off its shipping pallet. Nevertheless, it wasn't rocket science, and I got the axle and wheels mounted - then rolled the generator off the pallet. Next, the shipping hold-downs needed to be removed from the generator frame. Again - no mention in the manual. The bolt heads were accessible, but the retaining nuts were inside the chassis, and took some unconventional wrench maneuvering to grip them (don't bring any crescent wrenches...). The oil capacity was given in English units; the supply bags marked in liters. The tires were low on air by 33%, and I had to pump them up to be able to roll them (over wet ground) to where the generator protective box was sited. The fuel cap had a strip attached by a plastic retainer whose purpose was not mentioned in the documentation. I finally figured out that it was supposed to be a cap retainer. You squish the strip to force it through the fuel opening, and then when you remove the cap, the retainer keeps the cap from being lost or blown away while you fuel. The battery did not have enough amperage to crank the motor, but after trickle charging for about two hours, all was well. The instructions give a list of tools that will be required for assembly, but fail to mention the approximately 50% of additional tools that were actually needed. The instructions were not ignorant of the additional tool requirements ("two 7/16" wrenches will be needed to attach the terminals") but the opening tool list overlooked the fact that they'd be required.
It's disappointing that a company that touts its products as being proudly American-made would so a poor job of documentation. Perhaps Generac is taking lessons from the U.S. car companies of the 1970's? After all, nostalgia IS big again...
But all's well that ends well. If the performance is satisfactory, then I'll forgive the one-time irritations of assembly.
Boom
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