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Post by ncred02 on Nov 8, 2014 15:47:17 GMT -5
so i connected my wifes Macbook pro to my DAC and used Itunes ( i know , just for a trial run) and I was sorta happy with the results. Not awesome, but its something to build on
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fmzip
Minor Hero
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Post by fmzip on Nov 17, 2014 8:35:03 GMT -5
I have my setup connected like this:
My Oppo BDP-105 is on my network, Flac files are on a NAS (Or they could be on any PC on your home network)
The oppo can view the files on the network and then you can stream/browse files right on your TV. That's option 1.
As the GUI isn't too impressive on the Oppo, I installed Minimserver on my NAS (freeware). You could install this on any PC on your network. Then you can download Linn Kisky (freeware) for Anroid/IOS and use your phone/Ipad as the GUI. It is great, full album art etc, easy browsing. That's Option 2
Option 3 would be to buy Jriver and Jremote Software. This accomplishes the same as item 2 but Jriver is fantastic for everything to do with music/video files.
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Post by TheMachinist on Nov 19, 2014 12:14:54 GMT -5
Isn't the lose of fidelity a concern moving from CD player to computer audio ? If not a laptop running Foobar2000, Spotify, itunes will give you loads of feasibility and enjoyment. But that would leave a lot for asking in terms of sound quality.
Recently I moved to a desktop computer running Windows Server 2012 R2 Eval and Paul Pang V2 usb card. Just using Win2012 as the OS over Win8.1 made a huge improvement, easily audible I would say 30-40% better and closer to CD player quality. Sold my laptop today.
Well ofcourse you can always have Win2012 on your laptop too. UI is similar to Win8
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Post by ncred02 on Nov 20, 2014 6:21:27 GMT -5
Absolutely. Im looking for convenience and good sound.
Yesterday I picked up a few CDs including Pink Floyds Division Bell remaster. Im not giving up my CDP just want another source for options
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,261
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Post by KeithL on Nov 20, 2014 15:44:36 GMT -5
I'm seeing a lot of "information" here that I just don't think is entirely accurate..... in fact it's sort of like mixing apples, pineapples, and sea turtles.....
First off, a CD contains digital audio at 16/44 (16 bits of depth/44k sample rate). If you rip a CD (properly) to a computer, then play that 16/44 file using some sort of bit-perfect player program (like FooBar2000 with the WASAPI plugin), then the output of your computer will be exactly the same as the output of the CD player. Now, the USB output on the computer would normally have more jitter than the output of a good quality CD player, which could affect the sound - for the worse, but if you have a DAC with an asynch USB input (which most modern ones do), then that jitter will be eliminated, and so the two will truly be identical. Unless your computer is so slow that you actually experience audio ticks or dropouts, there is no reason why a laptop should sound better (or worse) than a desktop, or why any version of Windows should SOUND better than any other. (If you DON'T use a bit-perfect player, or have a DAC that lacks an asynch USB input, then all bets are off - and you might hear all sorts of differences for various reasons).
Note that this is assuming a true lossless playback system. (CD ripped using a proper bit-perfect ripper, stored in a true lossless format, and played back via a bit-prefect player so no resampling is done along the way.)
Spotify sounds worse because they use LOSSY compression for their music (like JPG for pictures); the quality is reduced - irreparably - to reduce network usage.
Spotify offers two quality choices, and the paid one is better than the free one, but both are lossy.
iTunes downloads sound worse because most of them are also made using lossy compression (to save storage and download space).
You can rip files lossless with iTunes, but the ones you buy from Apple are lossy.
Most formats (like DLNA) which you might use to stream files locally are also lossy.
(Some offer lossless options, but you must configure them properly, and they will still be subject to dropouts if your network gets too busy.)
If you want to play your CD music at perfect quality through a computer, at a single location, it's pretty easy to do so.
Rip your CDs to a hard drive (external USB drives are convenient).
Save your ripped music using some sort of LOSSLESS format - WAV is OK, FLACs are equal quality and take up less space (if you're an Apple fan, then ALAC is OK too - but NOT AAC).
Connect that hard drive directly to a computer (no streaming), and play the files using a player program that supports true bit-perfect playback.
(FooBar2000 on Windows, with the WASAPI plugin, does an excellent job - and its free; jRiver is really nice, and cheap but not free;
if you really like Apples, then an Apple using iTunes with the Bit-perfect addon should also work fine; Amarra or Audirvana are better.)
Now, connect that computer to a decent DAC with an asynch USB input (our XDA-2 or DC-1 will work great, and so will a lot of other DACs out there).
You will now have computer playback with audio quality equal to that of an actual CD.
Also note that, if you're using the USB output on your computer, then your DAC BECOMES your sound card, and the one in your computer doesn't matter any more
(in fact, your computer could even not have a sound card at all).
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KeithL
Administrator
Posts: 10,261
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Post by KeithL on Nov 20, 2014 16:03:40 GMT -5
Windows 8.0 and 8.1 actually work just fine for audio - but most people hate them for other reasons  If you've only seen Windows 8.0 (or have a computer running it), then you REALLY should update to Windows 8.1. It's a lot more like Windows 7, and a lot less hate-able (I'd much rather have Windows 7, but I could live with 8.1 )  . Now, if you're setting up a dedicated machine for playing audio, you're going to be using your player program most of the time, and Windows will just be "what it runs on" - so it shouldn't matter all that much anyway, right? Once you get it set right, Windows 8.1 seems to be pretty stable, and runs on pretty much any computer that will run Windows 7. (Do turn off the online crap and set it to use a "local account"... basically, don't let it talk you into using your Microsoft account, and you'll be offered the option to run on a local account.) Foobar2000 runs just fine on Windows 8.1 - with the WASAPI plugin - (you will have to disable "driver signature enforcement" in Windows 8.1 to install and use our DAC drivers; you'll find instructions on how to do that with the new driver download package). I've played 24/192 HDTracks downloads on my old Celeron 1.5 gHz single-core clunker, using Windows 8.1, and Foobar2000 with its WASAPI plugin, with no problems at all, and no dropouts whatsoever. (Just don't ask it to do anything else while it's playing  ). All I can whole heartily say is that windows 8/8.1 truly suck. I've had my own thread about this same subject about a year ago, and I can't smoothly navigate this laptop as I've done with Windows 7. Perhaps Windows 10 will be better than this, but hears to hoping! Djoel |
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hemster
Global Moderator
Particle Manufacturer
...still listening... still watching
Posts: 51,951
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Post by hemster on Nov 20, 2014 16:24:27 GMT -5
Although I use Windows I have friends that use (one of the flavors of) Linux and they swear by it. No virus updates needed and they say "it just works". Granted this may not be the easiest option if you want simplicity and ease of use. But for old computers that may be sub-par for the latest Windows OS versions, that's an option worth thinking about.
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Post by ncred02 on Nov 20, 2014 18:27:04 GMT -5
great reply Keith, thanks
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Post by TheMachinist on Nov 22, 2014 23:39:54 GMT -5
I'm seeing a lot of "information" here that I just don't think is entirely accurate..... in fact it's sort of like mixing apples, pineapples, and sea turtles..... First off, a CD contains digital audio at 16/44 (16 bits of depth/44k sample rate). If you rip a CD (properly) to a computer, then play that 16/44 file using some sort of bit-perfect player program (like FooBar2000 with the WASAPI plugin), then the output of your computer will be exactly the same as the output of the CD player. Now, the USB output on the computer would normally have more jitter than the output of a good quality CD player, which could affect the sound - for the worse, but if you have a DAC with an asynch USB input (which most modern ones do), then that jitter will be eliminated, and so the two will truly be identical. Unless your computer is so slow that you actually experience audio ticks or dropouts, there is no reason why a laptop should sound better (or worse) than a desktop, or why any version of Windows should SOUND better than any other. (If you DON'T use a bit-perfect player, or have a DAC that lacks an asynch USB input, then all bets are off - and you might hear all sorts of differences for various reasons). Keith, errrr I moved from a 2nd gen i7 laptop down to a 1st gen i5 desktop. None of them are slow computers to stream bit perfect. The setup on both being same, the improvements were obvious. I confirmed that by getting someone to blind test it too. Now I installed Win 2012 on the desktop as a separate partition, and yes there was improvement but not a greater extend as changing from laptop to desktop. Probably my setup peaked out and would not differentiate the improvement due to OS change, but it is there. I am using DC-1 in ASRC on mode. Now when I mean improvement I don't mean a different flavor of sound, but a more true to source experience. Keeping the technical rationalization aside for now which I do agree on Async DAC part, I am merely reporting my experience. Just because DAC is in async mode running as master bus controller, we can't dismiss who is driving at the wheels, no matter how good the computer and OS is. It seems there something going on the transport side which affects the async clock on the DAC side. |
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Post by joeesp9 on Nov 28, 2014 15:12:38 GMT -5
I see lots of complaints about Windows 8/8.1. Frankly, I think it sucks if you use the metro interface. However, you can set it to boot to the desktop and from there it works and acts like Windows 7. This is the way I use it on the two laptops I have that came with Windows 8/8.1
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2014 18:12:39 GMT -5
Not to knock Windows, you can find solutions either way, but if you go the Mac route, feel free to PM me for info. Audiobill is a good resource as well.
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Post by garbulky on Nov 29, 2014 0:54:10 GMT -5
I tried windows 8.1 recently and it reminded me of the few times I used 8.0. Metro was just rough. Something with promise, but the idea of two interfaces and sluggish metro was just not appealing. Give me 7 or even vista anyday. Waiting on windows 10 to reconcile this.
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Post by novisnick on Nov 29, 2014 1:04:18 GMT -5
I tried windows 8.1 recently and it reminded me of the few times I used 8.0. Metro was just rough. Something with promise, but the idea of two interfaces and sluggish metro was just not appealing. Give me 7 or even vista anyday. Waiting on windows 10 to reconcile this. |
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Post by TheMachinist on Dec 10, 2014 9:43:42 GMT -5
I have been on one of those audiophile motherboards since past week, and results are good. Been using one of Gigabyte boards with DAC-UP feature which have isolated DAC USB ports with regulated 5v and option to turn of 5v output power. Using it with USB power off which the DC-1 won't need, and sounds excellent. Going to try a MSI Z87I mITX which suppose to have a regulated stable 5V USB port for another system. These leave the laptops in the dust as a media source. |
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