[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Apple Lossless question
This may be a dumb question... I've been storing my music as Apple Lossless on my Mac. Noticed in the Slimserver file types that Apple Lossless only has decoding options to FLAC, AIFF, and MP3. Which of these should I be using? I would assume FLAC...but does this mean that the Slimserver is decoding to FLAC, and then the SB2 is decoding FLAC to WAV? Am I looking at any kind of performance loss because of needing to decode twice? -- PhilNYC Sonic Spirits Inc. http://www.sonicspirits.com ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Apple Lossless question
PhilNYC Wrote: I would assume FLAC...but does this mean that the Slimserver is decoding to FLAC, and then the SB2 is decoding FLAC to PCM? Yes Am I looking at any kind of performance loss because of needing to decode twice? No. In fact it's beneficial to stream as FLAC as it uses less network bandwidth. If that's not an issue for you, then by all means stream as PCM, but it won't (well, shouldn't) make any audible difference. It's already been noted that some people sometimes hear problems at gapless transitions when streaming as FLAC, if you hear that then switching to PCM may help until that bug is fixed. Or...the SB2 documentation says that it can play Apple Lossless, so would that mean that I should unselect all of the Slimserver decoder options? I assume that this would send the Apple Lossless file directly to the SB2, where that would be decoded to PCM? SB2 can't decode Apple Lossless on the player itself. It must be transcoded to mp3, pcm or flac. -- radish ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
Well I have had my SB2 for a while now, and after eventually deciding that I like my Naim CD player more for regular listening, I have used my SB2 primarily for radio since the Spring. With reports of all sorts of new mods on the horizon, I decided to check out the SB2 compared to my CD again. I should add that I would love to be able to eventually switch completely to a SB2-based system someday. The problem is, I still am plauged with frequent dropouts when playing ripped music, whetehr it's AIFF, Apple lossless, or even just AAC files. This never happens with the radio, and it makes listening to the SB2 nearly impossible, since you never know when it's going to happen. I use Apple Extreme and a 1.5 Mhz G4 as the server, and signal strength as reported by my SB2, never dips below 55%. I have the lattest firmware etc., and have tried everything suggested whrn I brought this up last spring, but now I'm out of things to try. I'm sure this might be cured with a hard-wired system, but its not an option in my house. It will need to be wireless, or just a radio. Any new advances in solving this problem? Thanks, Bruce -- bec143 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
Bruce, Can you do an experiment and try it with an ethernet cable temporarily? That would let us know if it is an issue with your wireless connection. On Sep 11, 2005, at 11:13 AM, bec143 wrote: Well I have had my SB2 for a while now, and after eventually deciding that I like my Naim CD player more for regular listening, I have used my SB2 primarily for radio since the Spring. With reports of all sorts of new mods on the horizon, I decided to check out the SB2 compared to my CD again. I should add that I would love to be able to eventually switch completely to a SB2-based system someday. The problem is, I still am plauged with frequent dropouts when playing ripped music, whetehr it's AIFF, Apple lossless, or even just AAC files. This never happens with the radio, and it makes listening to the SB2 nearly impossible, since you never know when it's going to happen. I use Apple Extreme and a 1.5 Mhz G4 as the server, and signal strength as reported by my SB2, never dips below 55%. I have the lattest firmware etc., and have tried everything suggested whrn I brought this up last spring, but now I'm out of things to try. I'm sure this might be cured with a hard-wired system, but its not an option in my house. It will need to be wireless, or just a radio. Any new advances in solving this problem? Thanks, Bruce -- bec143 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 11:13 -0700, bec143 wrote: The problem is, I still am plauged with frequent dropouts when playing ripped music, whetehr it's AIFF, Apple lossless, or even just AAC files. This never happens with the radio, and it makes listening to the SB2 nearly impossible, since you never know when it's going to happen. Try using FLAC for some songs, as a problem isolation technique. As with the trial wire posted by others. Just lay the wire out on the open, which will totally fail the WAF test, but helps isolate things. Let us know what these do. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
One thing you might try is changing the wireless channel you're using. In my area, I can detect 5 or 6 access points on the default channel my AP uses (channel 11), and switching to a less crowded channel significantly improved the reliability with my SB 1. Ken bec143 wrote: Well I have had my SB2 for a while now, and after eventually deciding that I like my Naim CD player more for regular listening, I have used my SB2 primarily for radio since the Spring. With reports of all sorts of new mods on the horizon, I decided to check out the SB2 compared to my CD again. I should add that I would love to be able to eventually switch completely to a SB2-based system someday. The problem is, I still am plauged with frequent dropouts when playing ripped music, whetehr it's AIFF, Apple lossless, or even just AAC files. This never happens with the radio, and it makes listening to the SB2 nearly impossible, since you never know when it's going to happen. I use Apple Extreme and a 1.5 Mhz G4 as the server, and signal strength as reported by my SB2, never dips below 55%. I have the lattest firmware etc., and have tried everything suggested whrn I brought this up last spring, but now I'm out of things to try. I'm sure this might be cured with a hard-wired system, but its not an option in my house. It will need to be wireless, or just a radio. Any new advances in solving this problem? Thanks, Bruce ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
On Sun, 2005-09-11 at 12:19 -0700, bec143 wrote: I'll give it a shot, but need to find an ethernet cable that's close to 100ft long. The cable modem and airport are upstairs, whereas everything else is is downstairs. Point-to-point the distance between the SB2 and the airport is much closer. See if you can borrow one from a techy friend. If you are in the Wash DC area, I could lend you one. Is FLAC really going to require less bandwidth than AIFF or Apple lossless? I've neve tried Flac files, is ut easy to rip CDs this way on my Mac and get theminto iTunes? Yes, since SB2 support native FLAC, the compressed data is sent from the server to the SB2. Cuts the bandwidth requirements about in half, which with WiFi may mean more than 50% improvement due to collisions, etc. I don't speak mac, can't address the iTunes part Pat -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
A 55% signal strength is not what I'd call stellar. I've found that even small adjustments to some APs in terms of placement and orientation can vastly affect signal strength and performance. I even placed mine in the bathroom in my office for a while so that my wife could work across the house in the living room! I found the change in location and orientation brought her from a weak signal to a excellent, full speed signal. Replacing the crusty old 11mpbs B model AP with a newer G model (Belkin's Pre-N MIMO) moved the AP out of the bathroom and put it back where it belonged. Anyway, try moving the AP around the room a bit and change the orientation to see if that helps; also try the same your SB2. -- MrC ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
Bruce, I used to have the same issue (to a lesser extent) but somehow I don't have it anymore... I thought about getting a nice transport at some point also. Only things I did between now and then was switch to the OSX Tiger and kept doing whatever the airport updates. But I have G5 dual so that might make a difference... Also, I thought there was a slight improvement when I changed a setting called multicast rate (go to Airport Admin Utility, click on the base station, click wireless options). If the signal strength is 55% you can also boost it by getting a directional antenna or a big omni antenna. My 2nd Airport gets signal from my main building which is about 400 feet away from where I am right now(the first one has a cable connection). The signal strength is about 80%. Here is the site I got my antenna from: http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wireless/apple-airport-amplifier.php I got the one called aFire and I added an external omni antenna to it. You probably only need aFire. Give them a call and ask. Best, Hiroyuki On Sep 11, 2005, at 2:13 PM, bec143 wrote: Well I have had my SB2 for a while now, and after eventually deciding that I like my Naim CD player more for regular listening, I have used my SB2 primarily for radio since the Spring. With reports of all sorts of new mods on the horizon, I decided to check out the SB2 compared to my CD again. I should add that I would love to be able to eventually switch completely to a SB2-based system someday. The problem is, I still am plauged with frequent dropouts when playing ripped music, whetehr it's AIFF, Apple lossless, or even just AAC files. This never happens with the radio, and it makes listening to the SB2 nearly impossible, since you never know when it's going to happen. I use Apple Extreme and a 1.5 Mhz G4 as the server, and signal strength as reported by my SB2, never dips below 55%. I have the lattest firmware etc., and have tried everything suggested whrn I brought this up last spring, but now I'm out of things to try. I'm sure this might be cured with a hard-wired system, but its not an option in my house. It will need to be wireless, or just a radio. Any new advances in solving this problem? Thanks, Bruce -- bec143 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
RE: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezeboxdream
Is FLAC really going to require less bandwidth than AIFF or Apple lossless? I've neve tried Flac files, is ut easy to rip CDs this way on my Mac and get theminto iTunes? Yes, since SB2 support native FLAC, the compressed data is sent from the server to the SB2. Cuts the bandwidth requirements about in half, which with WiFi may mean more than 50% improvement due to collisions, etc. I don't speak mac, can't address the iTunes part Another advantage of FLAC is that you can get twice the music in the SB2s buffer, so you further reduce the likelihood of running out of music. Although many have said that Apple lossless is very similar to FLAC (I have no idea, never used it, just heard that somewhere) it isn't supported natively my the SB2. SO you don't have to re-encode all your music, you can tell the server to transcode your existing AIFF or Apple Lossless to FLAC before sending to the SB2, this should also get round the iTunes part as well. ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
On Sep 11, 2005, at 12:19 PM, bec143 wrote: I'll give it a shot, but need to find an ethernet cable that's close to 100ft long. The cable modem and airport are upstairs, whereas everything else is is downstairs. Point-to-point the distance between the SB2 and the airport is much closer. Try moving the player temporarily and see if it works better via ethernet. Then you'll know if you should start messing with your wireless configuration. Is FLAC really going to require less bandwidth than AIFF or Apple lossless? I've neve tried Flac files, is ut easy to rip CDs this way on my Mac and get theminto iTunes? If it's a Squeezebox2, then it doesn't matter. SlimServer will automatically compress your AIFF files to FLAC for transmission. You get the benefit of FLAC's lower bandwidth, and since it's lossless you won't hear a difference. ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
Thanks for everyone's help Dean- I'll need to get the long cable rather than move the SB2, since I wouldn't be able to reach preamp if I move the SB2. Just to clarify- you are saying that with my SB2 and Slimserver there is no further benefit to reripping to FLAC, thatthis happens automatically already? Hiroyuki- Thanks for the antenna info. I'm already on OS 10.4 MrC- Thanks. I have messed around with moving the Airport Extreme around a bit. At one point I had it placed somewhere invovenient that led to about 70% signal on the SB2, but no help with dropouts. The rest of our wireless apps all run great anywhere in the house, and bandwidth meter checks from the laptop I use with the SB2 are always smokin. kjg- I went thru all the channels with the MacStumbler on many times, but never found anything better than any other. Pat- thanks for your suggestions. Looks like the next step is to find a lonng cable, but if that's the problemm not sure how I'll be able to fix it. Thanks again, Bruce -- bec143 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dropouts ruining my Squeezebox dream
I'll need to get the long cable rather than move the SB2, since I wouldn't be able to reach preamp if I move the SB2. Headphones? -- radish ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
