Robbymagman Wrote: > HELP!!!! > > I bought the newest Ethernet SlimServer (SB3?) in order to get the best > sound possible from my TACT based full digital system (with Magnepan > 20.1 speakers) and only wanted the purest possible S/PDIF output. I use > a crossover cable (no hub). I also used Exact Audio Copy at full > resolution and error correction to RIP about 100 CDs over an entire day > and hooked up last night. I fed the TACT with the Sqeezebox's S/PDIF > output, sat back in my listening chair, selected Della Manley's album > (which I now know very well) from the large display, and hit play. Like > magic, the music begins and the sound is.....bad. Edgy and Digital - and > low. So I hit the volume button on the Sqeezebox remote and the volume > rises to max. They vary the S/PDIF DIGITAL output with the volume > control as well! But still the sound is bad - all the information and > detail is there, but the character of the sound is like a cheap DVD > player's analog outputs. Thin, edgy, strident and distinctly digital. > So in desparation I switch the Monarchy audio DIP from my DVD Player to > the sqeezebox. Things improve, but only slightly. I then cue up > different CDs in the DVD player (which now is driving the TACT's > S/PDIF input directly, since the DIP is on the Sqeezebox) and real-time > A/B between the DVD Player and the Squeezbox on the same song. In EVERY > case, the DVD player was MUCH, MUCH smoother, more 3 dimensional, > fuller and analog. It wasn't even close - we are talking night and day > here. It was like two different mixes of the same song each time the > switch was made. > > Theoretically, the Squeezebox should be the VASTLY superior Digital > transport, so something must be wrong here. My questions: > > - How do I completely disable the Volume control setting/circuitry so > that the pure, unprocessed digital stream is sent to the S/PDIF > outputs? > - How much will upgrading the Power Supply increase the sound of the > player (including the S/PDIF coax)? > - Will 6 Volts (instead of 5) be a problem? > - Most importantly - What am I missing or have overlooked here in order > to get the best possible sound using the S/DIF outputs?
Connect to SlimServer using a web browser. Go to the player preferences audio section. Look for Digital Volume Control and change it to "Digital output level is fixed". You may be able to do this through the Squeezebox itself. Also make sure that Bitrate Limiting is set to "No limit" Which format did you RIP the CD's into? FLAC? MP3? AAC? I use a MacMini to serve Apple Lossless files ripped from CD's using iTunes to a Squeezebox2 connected via coax digital to a Classe' SSP-25 pre/pro and I find that the sound rivals that of any standalone CD player that I have listened to. Only with SACD have I heard an improvement. Magnus -- mkbruce ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mkbruce's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=6927 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=26332 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
