How to improve computer based music sound.

[manicm]

Pelagi:iMark:Playing back FLAC 24/96 (or better) is quite a bit more complicated than playing back CD quality (like 768 kbps). You need quite a bit of software and tweaking of your Windows machine to play them back. It's also not very common (yet) for streamers to support 24/96. The Airport Express doesn't support it. Although I don't like this limitation for the moment I'm happy enough with upsampling ALAC files.

Playing back 24/96 files is only a problem with Apple and Sonos. Plenty of other streamers support 24 bit files, Squeezebox have been doing it for some time now and there is nothing i can think of that is complicated. It has nothing to do with Windows. Of course the source marerial has to have been mastered 24bit and this is the exception, with majority being 16 bit files.

Depends how one defines hi res files - in my mind anything lossess is hi res.

Au contraire, it has everything to do with Windows, or OS X for that matter. It's not the OS per se but the way it's setup. By default high-res audio will be downscaled because standard settings are at 16/44.1 or 48. And apparently a bit perfect stream will not be output for standard audio when high-res settings are used. This is a fact, and for Windows there is software which automatically does the switching to ensure the proper output but it's laughably expensive.

And these default settings are understandable from a consumer point of view because it would otherwise mean Windows would prioritise audio over other running applications.

Which is why I view Chord's matching PC with extreme cynicism, when it does not seem any different to any other Windows system you can buy, except for its casing.

 

[Anonymous]

Disagree. You are presuming most people use windows or Macs on board audio capability, rather than their file serving capability. It is fundamentally different. This is not an issue if the PC simply serves files to an external streamer, or runs the server software that serves files from a NAS box. If those files are served to a streamer with on board/external connected DAC, those files are scaled according to capability of DAC chip set. Nothing to do with OS. I

 

[iMark]

In that case ALAC through Airport Express is hi res to you.

I have read quite a bit on this on another site. I would be able to play hi res files, like 24/96 FLAC on my MacBook but then I have to use a 10m optical cable from my MacBook to the DAC. It takes a bit of fiddling with QuickTime and iTunes settings but it actually works, but not wireless. The Airport Express is much more convenient, even if I can't play them on my Mac. I'm now looking into burning the files I have onto DVD's to play them through my Pioneer DV 565 and the DACMagic.

 

[manicm]

Pelagi:

Disagree. You are presuming most people use windows or Macs on board audio capability, rather than their file serving capability. It is fundamentally different. This is not an issue if the PC simply serves files to an external streamer, or runs the server software that serves files from a NAS box. If those files are served to a streamer with on board/external connected DAC, those files are scaled according to capability of DAC chip set. Nothing to do with OS. I

This has got NOTHING to do with whether you use the on-board software DAC or an external one - the problem is getting out the proper digital stream out in the first place when playing hi-res files.

And operating systems in the standard configuration are not ideally placed for playing hi-res files seamlessly i.e without having to fiddle about with settings when switching back and forth between high-res and standard audio files.

 

[Anonymous]

iMark:

In that case ALAC through Airport Express is hi res to you.

I have read quite a bit on this on another site. I would be able to play hi res files, like 24/96 FLAC on my MacBook but then I have to use a 10m optical cable from my MacBook to the DAC. It takes a bit of fiddling with QuickTime and iTunes settings but it actually works, but not wireless. The Airport Express is much more convenient, even if I can't play them on my Mac. I'm now looking into burning the files I have onto DVD's to play them through my Pioneer DV 565 and the DACMagic.

ALAC is lossless ergo hi res. (compared to say MP3)

Good luck to you in running what appears to be very convoluted and fiddly approach to getting lossless toons to your amp. At least you are using a Mac, alebeit attached to your amp by a 10m umbilical cord.

Maybe you are better burning a few 24 bit files (assuming the DVD player doesn't downsize them to 16bit) and just playing your normal CDs for 16 bit stuff. But that really denies you many of the usability benefits of networked computer audio.

 

[iMark]

Pelagi:iMark:
I have read quite a bit on this on another site. I would be able to play hi res files, like 24/96 FLAC on my MacBook but then I have to use a 10m optical cable from my MacBook to the DAC. It takes a bit of fiddling with QuickTime and iTunes settings but it actually works, but not wireless. The Airport Express is much more convenient, even if I can't play them on my Mac. I'm now looking into burning the files I have onto DVD's to play them through my Pioneer DV 565 and the DACMagic.

ALAC is lossless ergo hi res. (compared to say MP3)

Good luck to you in running what appears to be very convoluted and fiddly approach to getting lossless toons to your amp. At least you are using a Mac, alebeit attached to your amp by a 10m umbilical cord.

Maybe you are better burning a few 24 bit files (assuming the DVD player doesn't downsize them to 16bit) and just playing your normal CDs for 16 bit stuff. But that really denies you many of the usability benefits of networked computer audio.

I'm not going to run a 10m cable to my DAC. I use an Airport Express to send my CD quality lossless files to my DAC. BTW, CD quality is not considered to be hi res. It is just CD quality.

I have a few 24 bit files which my DVD player will be able to play. It is a universal player that plays SACD and DVD-Audio. 24 bit output shouldn't be a problem.