Erwin.BE
Emo VIPs
It's the room, stupid!
Posts: 2,262
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Post by Erwin.BE on Apr 2, 2010 11:33:51 GMT -5
Tried the optical audio cable from ATV vs the HDMI and can't really hear a difference. I did notice however that the PS3 is outputting a 48khz sample pcm vs the standard 44.1khz cd sample rate the atv is outputting. I think the ps3 is just doing something to the signal that works well with my setup. If I get bored later I'll move an old sony cd player in and hook up with coax and compare. not gonna worry too much about it until i get past this receiver into a better amp If you really want to dig into the matter, try CA: www.computeraudiophile.com/
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Post by mnwild on Apr 6, 2010 19:45:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the CA link, I can see I'll be spending many hours on that site...
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Post by roscoeiii on Apr 6, 2010 21:54:16 GMT -5
As for the original question, the webcast discussion of the new DAC seems to indicate that the DAC is a step up in sound quality from the Emotiva CD player. Now how dependent the DAC's sound quality is on a good transport is another question we will have to wait and see on.
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Post by parisphoto on Apr 7, 2010 6:59:45 GMT -5
don't know if you considered this or not, but did you have volume on apple tv @ maximum? if not, then lossless source is no longer lossless due to whatever digital volume adjustment algorithm they use. this would certainly change sound quality. I'm confused. Should the Apple TV be set to maximum for best results? If you follow this thread, it seems that other posters are turning the volume down / off. If an iPod was used as a source, would this volume adjustment still hold true? Thanks.
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Post by fishhead on Apr 7, 2010 9:41:24 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I've been using an Apple TV since December and absolutely love the ease of the unit and the sound that I'm getting. I use the optical out going to a DIY DAC and then to the USP-1. I use my iPhone as the controller. I set my volume to about 11 o'clock on my USP-1 and then use the iPhone app slider to control the volume from the ATV. I don't find any SQ changes or problems whether the ATV volume is low or high. I've tried it with both the pre-amp volume low and ATV high and visa versa....no change in SQ. I don't think the ATV is the problem.
I will also note that I spent a lot of time researching and tweaking the DAC I put together. I really feel a top notch DAC with a superb output stage is the whole key to the great sound I get(along with the clean pass-through of the USP-1 and the clean power of the XPA-1's)
I actually get better sound from the ATV and DAC(using apple lossless rips) than I do from the ERC-1. I don't even use the ERC-1 anymore unless someone stops by with a new CD to play. The ERC-1 has less detail and has a bit more harshness....to my ears anyway. Of course, I do have better and more discrete opamps in my DAC than the output stage of the ERC-1 has. I also, replaced the capacitors on my DAC with high end Oscons which really smoothed the sound out while keeping all the detail.
It looks like the new Emo DAC should really be a winner, especially if it outperfoms the ERC-1 in SQ. Coupled with lossless digital and a good analog preamp, I don't see how anyone can not have a great sounding system whether using AppleTV, squeezebox, sonos, or just going digitally from a computer.
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Post by Ghumbs on Apr 7, 2010 11:28:34 GMT -5
fishhead: I, too have an Apple TV I control using an iPod Touch. While adjusting the volume from your phone is convenient, technically adjusting your volume digitally rather than on your USP-1 is lowering the sound quality. While the difference may be small, or perhaps you can't hear any difference at all, anything besides full digital output from the source is of lower quality.
That said, I'm glad to see yet another person on here using the Apple TV + iPhone/iPod Touch. As far as I know it's the best music server on the market today.
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Post by parisphoto on Apr 7, 2010 11:44:50 GMT -5
For best quality, should the iPod volume be full or minimum ?
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Post by jmilton on Apr 7, 2010 13:02:32 GMT -5
For best quality, should the iPod volume be full or minimum ? Full.
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Post by parisphoto on Apr 7, 2010 13:09:40 GMT -5
Thanks.
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Post by elwicksto on Apr 7, 2010 15:48:51 GMT -5
just some clarification & comments to add more confusion to all this... if you are using an ipod/iphone in a hi fi system, then i've been happiest using the line out from the dock. this is what i do at work (at least for now). i think your best bet in that case is to get the wadia dock, but it's a bit spendy and not my preference, since a) i can't fit very much of my library on limited storage of these devices, and with the non-wadia options, you are limited to the apple DACs. when using optical out from a mac, apple tv, or airport express, then getting maximum quality requires uncompressed data which is what you get with apple lossless compression (the compression here is more like a zip-file compression, and not like mp3 compression that removes information). if the volume is not on maximum, then the lossless source will be re-encoded by SW on the itunes server and re-encoded at a reduced volume and then transmitted, which will reduce sound quality. i've got a mac mini server directly connected to my theater ("serious") system, an apple tv connected to my living room("casual:) system, and an airport express near my bed connected to a headphone DAC/amp for bedtime headphone listening. with the remote app on my iphone/ipad i can access my entire library on the server, and turn on any combination of the 3 dacs. overall i'm very happy with the convenience. the only problem is every once in a while i have to try a couple times to change which system is currently active as it doesn't take the 1st time. i'm also pretty happy with the audio quality, but am expecting an improvement over what i currently have with better DACs in XDAs, XMCs and UMCs. my UMC will be coming next week(!), so will be very anxious to compare & will share my impressions.
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Post by jmilton on Apr 8, 2010 6:39:38 GMT -5
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Post by nexxxxoid on Apr 9, 2010 18:34:08 GMT -5
I have an Apple TV running HDMI to my Integra 9.8 and also running via RCA to my UPS-1. I fire up the Integra when looking to bathe in big sound, I run through the UPS-1 when listening more critically.
I have not heard any shrillness associated with the HDMI input to the Integra. The sound isn't as lush as via RCA's to the USP-1, but it's not horrible.
I have to say, I was a bit disappointed when my UPS-1 arrived without an optical port. I just assumed there would be an onboard DAC. Didn't even research that part. So here I am, got me an optical cable, got me nowhere to plug it in.
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Post by elwicksto on Apr 9, 2010 19:53:04 GMT -5
That sux, but i'm expecting that the xda-1 will be a perfect solution for this.
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Post by roadrunner on Apr 9, 2010 22:37:50 GMT -5
I have an Apple TV running HDMI to my Integra 9.8 and also running via RCA to my UPS-1. I fire up the Integra when looking to bathe in big sound, I run through the UPS-1 when listening more critically. I have not heard any shrillness associated with the HDMI input to the Integra. The sound isn't as lush as via RCA's to the USP-1, but it's not horrible. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed when my UPS-1 arrived without an optical port. I just assumed there would be an onboard DAC. Didn't even research that part. So here I am, got me an optical cable, got me nowhere to plug it in. Out of curiosity, why would you have been expecting to find digital inputs on an analog stereo pre-amp? By definition, that would be the last thing I would expect to find. Were you thinking the USP-1 was a HT processor instead of a 2-channel analog pre-amp?
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Post by nexxxxoid on Apr 10, 2010 12:45:37 GMT -5
for some reason I thought there was also an onboard DAC.
By the way, I was doing some comparisons last night and have to say that at times the Integra 9.8 actually DID sound horrible when compared to the USP-1.
Not to change the subject - well, it's related... Anyone recommend a suitable DAC to put between the Apple TV and the USP-1?
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Post by roadrunner on Apr 10, 2010 17:57:01 GMT -5
for some reason I thought there was also an onboard DAC. By the way, I was doing some comparisons last night and have to say that at times the Integra 9.8 actually DID sound horrible when compared to the USP-1. Not to change the subject - well, it's related... Anyone recommend a suitable DAC to put between the Apple TV and the USP-1? If you can wait for Emotiva to make the cosmetic changes to their new DAC, that would be my first choice. Lonnie has been living with the past several pre-production versions of the DAC and has been tweaking it to sound its best while connected to other Emotiva products -- primarily the USP-1. You will be hard pressed to find another DAC that will have better synergy... at any price. ;D Not to mention that waiting for the EMO DAC will save you significant money over competing quality. Can you envision how sweet your sound will be with that combination of Emotiva gear? I can vividly remember the first time I listened to the ERC-1 connected thru the USP-1 -- absolute analog bliss!
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Post by nexxxxoid on Apr 11, 2010 20:01:16 GMT -5
I like my Emo gear and would be interested in considering their DAC, but I'm really not one to get overly excited about a product that has yet to come out. Does anyone have any other DAC recommendations?
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