Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] RESULTS: Blind Test MP3 vs. Lossless out now...
Very interesting results. Thank you for the time and care you spent doing this. I am not a researcher, just an amateur like yourself :), but I have a few methodological concerns: 1) You bundled the files into two complete bundles (all mp3s were in group A, all lossless in B). In doing so it becomes much more difficult to draw any conclusions about the detectability/preference of mp3 encoding as it pertains to any one pair of files. It also allows people to focus intently only on the files they care to listen to, or those which they came across first, and then to make conclusions about the whole group. Additionally, it prevents you from changing the order of the files (selection of group A by most respondents may have been primacy effect, to some degree). Asking about confidence on a per-file basis as you did would seem to mitigate some of these concerns but I don't think it fully addresses the potential problems. 2) There's no control group. This could have helped identify any possible the primacy effect, too (if you'd had each individual file pairing done independently it would have been possible to have two identical files as one of the pairs). 3) Your main question which set sounded inferior had 3 answers: A, B, or no audible difference. This, paired with the question about confidence does a decent job of answering the question which sounds better but I wonder if it does a good enough job of answering the question is mp3 distinguishable from lossless. There could be a subset of people who had a hard time developing an opinion on which one sounded inferior, but an easy time distinguishing between the files. These people would not have wanted to answer no audible difference so may have taken a guess for the question which set sounded inferior, but for how difficult was it to come to your conclusion they might have said easy (since it was easy for them to distinguish the files). Maybe I'm splitting hairs here; these are just some thoughts that came to mind while reading the results. 4) I also wonder about the decision to use such an unorthodox mp3 encoding technique. I understand your rationale for doing so, but in the end it seems that your conclusion necessarily becomes people tend to prefer this unusual method of audio processing over the original files. If you'd used a more typical encoding method then your conclusions could be more useful by applying more broadly to mp3s in the real world. These all sound like harsh criticisms. They're not. Your survey is, to me, exactly the kind of stuff audio publications should be doing. You clearly put a lot of though into this; it was a great read! azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=98010 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] ** High Bit-Rate MP3 Test Up! **
Quad wrote: What slightly disqualifiy these results are statements like this: -extremely high degree of statistical confidence barely statistically significant difference- Statistical significance is a zero/one decision. Either it is significant or it is not. You can't tell anything more. Disclaimer: I don't claim to hear a difference between MP3 320kbps and FLAC and I'm looking forward to Archimago's Musings. Agreed. There were definitely flaws with the setup and analysis. But it's an interesting read that provides some data points. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97530 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] ** High Bit-Rate MP3 Test Up! **
Mnyb wrote: Thinking about it would not a,b,x and some more songs been better ,but maybe that to much work for some . But as you say if you use a plugin with abx capability you can have it . Lets say a=mp3 b=flac x=unknown .also randomised in a perfect world randomised by a third party so that not the even the test leader knows . So the test subject have an mp3 and flac file and then have to say if x is a copy of the flac or mp3 . But that would be very hard as a home test you may actually have to pad the files somehow to have the exact same size :/ or pad x so it's larger than the flac ? Yes, I found some software a few years back that did this. I tested a wide variety of source material on a very nice set of headphones at the radio station I worked at and found I couldn't distinguish anything above 160kbps VBR mp3s from the original WAVs. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97530 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Logitech Transporter for sale
jh901 wrote: It comes with a bigger price tag which can ONLY be justified by improvements in all areas of fidelity. It is this assumption that keeps many (most?) companies that market to so-called audiophiles in business. I'm not saying the Linn does or doesn't provide superior audio quality to the Transporter. But the MSRP does not prove anything at all. And yes, putting my cards on the table: I'm one who believes that digital source components cannot be audibly differentiated in double-blind testing. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97514 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Logitech Transporter for sale
Mnyb wrote: The Linn thingies are also DAC's not only transports , if you want a DAC too ,not that I disagree with azink3 ,but these are not only transports . But I would be more interested in the usability differences, there is not many here that have acess to multiple streamers of different brands . there is an iOS app too ? Good info to have in the future . Can we assume that the linn streamers works the same ( interface and all ) even the simpler models , in the future a new digital streamers is needed for me too but I don't need good analog outs only digital . I agree that DACs make a difference. I also agree that I would be interested to hear about usability differences between the products. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97514 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] ** High Bit-Rate MP3 Test Up! **
A similar experiment was conducted on a popular programming blog. The introduction: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/06/the-great-mp3-bitrate-experiment.html The results: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/06/concluding-the-great-mp3-bitrate-experiment.html azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97530 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] ** High Bit-Rate MP3 Test Up! **
Archimago wrote: Hmmm, interesting and not surprising. Here's the thing, I believe MOST people just do not care or will not be able to tell the difference because the majority of folks will not have the kind of gear we generally talk about here. However, I want to target the high-end crowd, not the guys who casually listen to MP3 off their computer / laptop. I want the true enthusiasts, the ones who agonize over the fine details with nice audio rooms, knowledge about the gear, even the CD pressings. As already mentioned, this brings with it the risk of folks firing up the audio editors and spectrum analyzers. That is why I have done my best to minimize these anomalies in my encoding. So far, I have spread the word on Audio Asylum and Head-Fi (Computer Audio sections). Feel free to open it up to other audiophile hangouts. The more data points the better! Yeah. It'll be interesting to see what your results are. I agree that the audience/gear has a slight possibility of changing the results. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97530 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] This is why I call them clowns
Agreed. The really sad part is that there's plenty of really good and useful information they could be providing right now by doing *real* reporting about digital audio but they will not slay their sacred cows. Oh well. Hopefully they drive themselves out of existence as their absurd claims become easier to see through for people who understand a little about digital audio. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97489 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] So when my SB3 eventually dies and its not possible to buy another ...
lrossouw wrote: I would suggest small form factor PC with a USB dac (or digital out) as a replacement. Could run squeezeplay or squeezeslave. With no screen (or using a tv). Control via mobile apps. It might come to that, and that will work for many people. But I'd really rather not manage a computer (OS updates, fixing things when they inevitably go wrong, etc) for every place I want a squeezebox. Also: one of the biggest things we use our devices for is as always-on, always-available clocks and weather monitors throughout the house with the SuperDateTime plugin. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96663 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] So when my SB3 eventually dies and its not possible to buy another ...
garym wrote: And of course, synching multiple players wouldn't work with the small form computer solution. Unless each one ran SqueezePlay and one uses LMS as backend. Even then, the software players have never been rock solid on sync like the hardware players. Yup, forgot to mention that one. I've never gotten my SqueezePlay machines to sync well. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96663 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] So when my SB3 eventually dies and its not possible to buy another ...
My personal plan, going forward, is most likely to use iPeng's playback abilities. Buy an older iPod touch with a dead battery and just leave that sucker hooked up to either a dock or connected via other adapters. Main downside is the lack of IR interface and a display viewable from a distance, but the compromises aren't so terrible. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96663 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] So when my SB3 eventually dies and its not possible to buy another ...
JJZolx wrote: Pretty high? I've seen used SB3s going for $75 to $150. You're looking for something that will work with LMS? Good luck ever finding or building something other than a Squeezebox for $75. http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/3298688195.html I'd consider springing for that one if only it came with Manuel. He's a pretty great guy. azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96663 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Idea for high-end Squeezebox/Transporter accessory
I seem to recall that someone made a plugin for this exact thing a while back. I'll see if I can find it... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=37079 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Amiga 500 power supply for SB3 - good idea?
signor_rossi;212907 Wrote: If the connector is done right with the right polarity shouldn't every power supply that at least delivers the same [EMAIL PROTECTED] as the stock one do as a replacement? Yes, but don't forget to distinguish between AC and DC output. 5VDC is quite different from 5VAC! -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=36631 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Wired to wireless headphones: is conversion possible?
aweller;213931 Wrote: Dear all, I have been testing out some wireless headphones for use with my Squeezebox. In short, I've boiled it down to the Sennheiser RS130s or RS140s. Have you actually been *testing* them? That is, have you used them? I bought a pair of RS120s and, despite the transmitter sitting just 3 feet from my head I still get an occasional click/static sound and the noise floor is fairly high. Don't get me wrong, the sound is overall good, but I nevertheless find the occasional static blip and the background hiss nearly intolerable. I bought these to use at my desk at work because I hate the way cords on traditional 'phones get in the way of my typing, but now I wish I'd just stuck to wired. Maybe the 130s or 140's are significantly better, but I wanted to warn you of my experience. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=36741 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Here is why no FF/RW
bephillips;213113 Wrote: I'd like: A clickable progress bar in the browser UI, that skips to the position in the track clicked on. This basic functionality already exists in Fishbone (though the resolution is a bit coarse). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=36446 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter listening test
Thanks for taking the time to write this up. It's certainly in line with my experience with digital audio sources. While you sometimes catch a lot of flack (flac? :) ) around here for your objectivist leanings I'm appreciative of your contributions (and usually in complete agreement). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=35068 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Experiments with bi-wire speaker cable
Murph;193709 Wrote: You are correct. there is no electrical difference and certainly no audible difference to be found via bi-wiring speakers. Because the source is still identical, you are sending exactly the same signal to both sets of binding posts. The double set of posts are actually there to satisfy those audiophiles who believe that bi-amping will improve sound. I personally don't give much credit to that method either. (Using a separate amp in your receiver for each set of posts.) I'm in complete agreement that biwiring provides no improvement that thicker cables can't provide (which is to say, effectively no improvement unless we're talking extremely long distances or high amperages). That said, I think your analysis of biamping is incorrect. You make the statement: Murph;193709 Wrote: Unless you get very complex with separates and pre-amp crossovers and such, you will still end up with the same signal at each set of posts. The crossover in the speakers is still the one doing all the work to separate the highs and lows between the drivers. While you're right that the crossover in the speakers is doing all the work and the same voltage is being provided at both sets of posts, it's my understanding that the crossover will present a different load to the amp depending on the frequency of the signal it's receiving. In other words, an amp driving a low frequency signal into a high-pass filter will see a very high resistance and the circuit will draw very little current (thus the load will be very light and the amp will not be stressed).So in a properly designed biamp configuration the respective amps should will only be called on to provide current for their target frequencies despite the fact that the crossovers come AFTER the amps in the signal chain. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34318 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Please help me understand attenuation issues
mortslim;193187 Wrote: I read the wiki articles on connecting to a poweramp from a squeezebox and I am confused. I don't have any knowledge of electricity or electronics. I am worried about the attenuation issues. I plan to buy a pair of QSC HPR153i 15 3-way Powered Loudspeakers. Why do I want these mammoth beasts for my modest home? Well I also play the guitar through a Line6 Pod (a guitar amp modeler), which is a live sound application, in addition to my squeezebox which is a prerecorded sound application. Both of these sound sources offer line level outputs. I may connect them both to the speakers via my Mackie UNpowered mixer (1202 VLZ). My question: Can a kind reader please read the specs for the speakers (they are available on the QSC website) and tell me what issues I should be aware of in this proposed system. Thanks The Mackie is your preamp in this scenario and will be perfect for performing all your attenuation duties. If you intend to control the volume of the squeezebox with the squeezebox remote then you'll want to set your levels by doing the following: 1) Run the squeezebox at full volume 2) Adjust the gain/trim knob on the input you're using on the mackie to a bit below clipping (leave some headroom here as some songs will inevitably be louder than others) 3) Crank the fader on that channel of the mackie up until the volume level is a bit louder than you imagine yourself ever wanting to listen 4) Turn the volume on the squeezebox down to a comfortable level. You can now use the squeezebox's volume control safely and get the best use of its volume range. Don't change any of the settings for that channel on the mackie. If you intend to control the volume of the squeezebox from the Mackie board you'll still do steps 1-3 from above but then you'll leave the volume of the squeezebox itself at 100% and just regulate the volume from the Mackie fader for that channel. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34260 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Please help me understand attenuation issues
mortslim;193300 Wrote: Thanks for the help. I have a follow up question. The QSC's have gain controls as well. Should the QSC gain controls be set in any specific way. And the fact that the QSC's have gain controls mean they have built in preamps? Yes, that's a form of preamp. Your best bet will generally be to run the gain at unity and just accept whatever level the Mackie outputs. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34260 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] SB3 vs SB3/Elpac vs SB3/Lavry
Ben Diss;190888 Wrote: OK, so is all of this in my head? I asked my wife to come and help. She sat in front of the premap so I couldn't see what was being played. She switched between the three inputs and wrote down what was played and what I said I heard. There were only a couple of songs where I had to guess and I guessed wrong. My average was 90% correct on the Lavry. As for the power supplies, I could never hear a difference and every time I guessed. Listening to every piece and switching I almost never had any doubt about the Lavry and never, ever had a clue which power supply I was listening to. So now I wondered what the average listener could hear. Could the wife hear what I was hearing? This time I sat in front of the preamp and she got the easy chair. I had described for her what I was hearing and she thought she could hear it too, although not always. Her average picking out the Lavry was 74%. She couldn't hear any difference between the power supplies either. My conclusion is that the power supply in my rig makes no difference and the Lavry adds detail otherwise missing from the stock SB3. -Ben Wonderful, thorough write-up and the sort of really interesting stuff I'd love to see on the audiophile forum all the time. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33986 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter review at Audioholics
Antipodes;190208 Wrote: So what word do you use in the US when you really mean value, and not value for money? Unfortunately, in the US, the term value has come to almost exclusively mean value for money. Using the word value in a different way would require couching it in quite a bit of context. In the case of the review in question, if there were to be a category that reflected the overall rating of the device it would probably be labeled overall, or total, or something along those lines, but certainly not value. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33368 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] What's better?
smarjan;189754 Wrote: Azinck3, could you please expand that line a bit more? I am still exploring SB... Slimserver is a server application that runs on your computer and does 2 things, primarily: 1) serve music/data to hardware players like the SB or transporter and software players like softsqueeze or media player (via mp3 stream) 2) Gives you centralized control/browsing/search for all your music and all your players via a web interface. While slimserver has many other capabilities, those are the two things its primarily designed to accomplish. This is nice because all of your music is in one place, in one database, and control of all playback devices is unified. From any computer in the world with a web browser and internet connectivity I can browse and listen to all of my music and control any of my squeezeboxes (I have 4). Another cool thing: I have a couple of friends with squeezeboxes and when I'm at their houses sometimes we want to listen to my collection and all it takes is pointing their SB's at my server. Slimserver and softsqueeze are a free download--I'd recommend you give them a try to get familiar with the paradigm. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Bolder Cable Elpac Mods - First Impressions
Patrick Dixon;189439 Wrote: I'm not sure there's any point in that. AFIACS the sole purpose of any 'audio improvement' is to enhance the listening experience. Whilst I don't condone any snake oil stuff, Then we agree. Yet many of those snake oil products make claims to improve the listening experience and some have many adherents. So I'm wondering how you decide when to lump something in with snake oil? The rest of my post that you didn't quote was attempting to explain what I think are perfectly reasonable parameters (haha, of course I think they're perfectly reasonable, they're mine) by which to make that distinction. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33707 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] What's better?
creativepart;189638 Wrote: So, with all the knowledge that you guys have about these choices, which way would you go? Would you say the SQ is really a good way to go at this time -- or is it more of an even draw with the AEX knowing that I'm using a Mac Mini I appreciate your responses and will carfully consider all advice given. Thanks Some of the big questions to answer (not being super-familiar with apple products these questions are more squeezebox-biased): 1. How much do you care about the Squeezebox's display? For me, having to turn on a tv or a sit at a computer to control my audio is a deal-breaker. 2. Do you want to easily expand the system and add units for multi-room audio? the SB excels at this, allowing centralized control of all audio, synchronization, and great overall flexibility. 3. Do you need to be able to play Itunes protected content? Only apple products can do that. 4. Do you care about always-on access to pandora and rhapsody via squeezenetwork? 5. The SB and slimserver are amazingly customizable with community plugins available to do virtually anything you can imagine, from checking voicemail, weather, sports, integration into home-control systems like xpl and others, and so much more. Are these things that matter to you? 6. Do you care about anytime access to a central database of music that you can access over the internet via slimserver? 7. Do you want to be able to use unique control devices like a pda, nokia770, any computer, an IR remote, crestron system, or any of the other myriad devices that can interface to control a SS/SB system? All of this hits on one major thing: A big selling point of the squeezebox is the overall architecture. It's not simply about how good it sounds or how pretty the web interface is. It's a unique architecture, providing a centralized repository for music that can be flexibly streamed to different playback devices and simultaneously controlled by different control devices. It's very open, very extensible. This is quite different from the Apple model and I think having a good understanding of this difference will ultimately inform your decision. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Bolder Cable Elpac Mods - First Impressions
Patrick Dixon;189369 Wrote: Surely what you 'think' you hear is actually 'what you hear'? True, but let's attempt to draw a distinction between audio improvement and the listening experience. While there's room for subjectivism, most genuine audio improvements/differences can be measured pretty easily and well (and, of course, heard). But once we look at the listening experience and start talking about differences that cannot be reliably discerned either by ear (yes, ABX DBT) or measuring equipment we're into the psychological realm. In this realm it seems that, for those thus disposed, the claim that any particular object might improve the sound always results in an improved listening experience. How do you evaluate such an object on its merits in this case? In these cases, it seems to me that it's more instructive to evaluate how the marketing of the object managed to affect the listener in such a way that they somehow enjoyed the sound more. But that's a psychological discussion entirely divorced from any discussion of electronics or equipment. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33707 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter review at Positive Feedback
nuhi;189153 Wrote: Little geekish but yet another high praise review. http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue30/transporter.htm Now I'm even more edgy to wait for the ordered T. Congrats. Perhaps written by our very own GaryB? -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33777 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Q: What exactly is break or burn in time?
ErikM;188184 Wrote: Wow! So if I hear a difference its not real? You mean I did hear a difference, but really I just thought I heard it, so all these years when I bought better speakers, and electronics,which I thought sounded better I wasn't really hearing better sound I just thought I was? WOW, you mean that those first generation CD players which I thought sounded like S--T really sounded great. Boy do I feel stupid. I think I'll dump my Proac speakers for a Bose Wave radio You're the one who brought up the comparison to flat earth theory. This isn't about CD players. This isn't about saying that there's no difference between anything. We're talking about whether or not burn-in makes a difference in cables/electronics. So here's the deal: no one can force anyone to believe something. There are some here who claim to be able to hear certain differences. Others of us (myself included) have been unable to hear such differences. So that leaves us to assess the facts to evaluate the claims being made. Outside of anecdotal claims of being able to hear differences the facts are decidedly *against* those who claim to be able to hear the supposed effects of burn-in (yet there are a host of psychological theories that would explain what burn-in advocates are hearing). So for those of us who remain skeptics, understand where we're coming from. For me, the existence of burn-in effects is about as likely as the existence of UFOs from outer space. Possible? maybe, but highly unlikely, and ultimately unproven despite many claims of sightings. And let's be clear: there are loads of other effects in play. I'll wager that moving any piece of furniture in your listening room even an inch would have more affect on the sound than any possible cable burn-in could. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33615 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Little office/bedroom system
konut;187887 Wrote: There are powered monitors made for every price point. Like any speaker, they're all different. If you're in or near a large city you might be able to find a pro audio shop that has a variety. If possible find Genelecs' line of powered monitors, the JBL LSR series, and Blue Sky. You may be surprised at what you hear. Behringer makes some Genelec look-a-like powered monitors (called the B2031A Truths) that sound positively fantastic at $350 street. If you can manage their size and aesthetics then I don't think you can find comparable features or sound until you start looking at the Mackie monitors for more than twice the price. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33584 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A Cut-Rate Audio philes Experience With a Linear Power Supply
Skunk;171442 Wrote: It came from ebay so perhaps it's used, like so many others which seem to have noise/heat issues, in which case it'll have been run-in. Sorry for any confusion, I was just joking ;). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31758 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Subwoofer with Transporter
thatMikeguy;163520 Wrote: Hey All, I'm sure this has been covered but I don't see it. I would love to have my sub complementing the sound out of my Transporter. I use analogue out of the transporter into my Arcam AV8 which I set to Analogue Direct. I do not see how I can hook up the sub. I do not have balanced inputs on my AV8. Help??? There was to be a way!!! Cheers, Mike Do you use the AV8 for volume control or the Transporter? -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30755 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Need two good Y-adaptors...
jmourik;160893 Wrote: I'm under the distinct impression that the CD-analog-in on my Denon AVR-4800 converts the signal to digital. But I want to use the SB2's dac! So I have to use the pre-in on the Denon. That's fine, except my Oppo 971 needs that input too, for my dvd-audio discs... Hmmm... So I guess I could use two Y-adaptors. But what is a good quality adaptor that doesn't muck up the signal? I'm using the Blue Jeans LC1 as interconnects. jan You should get a proper input switcher for those inputs. It's generally ok to split outputs but splitting inputs is not good for your gear and many (most?) times won't work at all. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30434 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Speaker terminal contact cleaner
jan van mourik;159509 Wrote: Model railroading, cool! One of those hobbies I always wanted to get into, but stopped myself because it would be yet another money pit! That said, I love the N and Z scale railroads. In the Netherlands they would sell these cool starter kits (like this: http://www.trix.nl/nieuws/producten.html). I don't see those here in the US. Well, luckily I guess! jan I'm into model railroading, too. Fun to find some fellow modelers (HO scale for me). Oh, and jmourik, your links inside of parentheses always break! Gotta leave a space man!--I'm lazy and don't want to cut and paste... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30135 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Squeeze Box in People magazine: top product for guys!
highdudgeon;159090 Wrote: I was trying to get across a funny image. I don't know why people on this forum are so intent on venting their vitriol and being nasty to complete strangers at the drop of a hat. assailing someone's wife or children should be completely out of bounds and I am stunned by this childish post. I will be happy and delighted to edit this down and completely, OP, but I expect you to tone down that comment of yours. That was low shot, even if you meant it as humor. We're talking about my wife, not a forum member, and insulting family members should be out of bounds. Hey highdudgeon, I really don't think opaqueice meant anything bad at all by his comment. Maybe give it a reread? I thought it was a funny jest and not at all insulting. Surely we can all laugh at the image only because we are comfortable knowing how truly far it is from the truth! -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30221 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: I want the best sound quality AND ahi-style jukebox interface on my flat screen
Dan360;155376 Wrote: highdudgeon, you nailed it. I just want a high quality TV interface. A laptop would be fine bc I always have mine with me on the couch (workaholic). My system: yamaha rx-v2700 receiver, 60inch Sony SDRX tv, sony cd changer, 5 klipsch and 2 cambridge soundworks speakers. I cant stand changing the song with the SB3 display. the SB3 can connect my receiver to the network but what do I do with that? can the receiver help me call up an interface on the TV (which is hdmi connected to the receiver). How can I use Harmony or J. River to control SS and have that interface either on my laptop as I sit on the couch or on the TV? Thanks. I don't share your priorities or viewpoints on the control issue but I won't try to talk you out of your views ;). We could probably discuss all sorts of crazy workarounds but I think the bottom line is that the SB is not the best product for what you're trying to do. There's currently no beautiful and fast graphical interface such as what you describe yourself wanting. One could be developed. But there's no way to do quite what you want with a squeezebox at this time. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29772 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: IR problems on Transporter
ModelCitizen;154856 Wrote: Does the rf remote add any extra lag time in? No lag at all. Works seamlessly. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29656 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: IR problems on Transporter
ModelCitizen;154790 Wrote: I just tried aiming the remote at the ceiling and was surprised to see that if I was standing in front of the unit it sill responded. However, as soon as that knob gets in the way of the remote's line of site there's no response at all. I would prefer it if the hifi rack faced me but there is no elegant or practical way to do this in this room (which is odd as it's not small). The angle and IR reponse has never been a problem with the Naim stuff or the Squeezebox 3 (which was angled towards me anyway). I am contemplating turning the whole rack round to face down the room (with Transporter towards the bottom).. which will look really pants and get in the way of the right hand speaker (not to mention the lounge door being opened by small children and whacking into the front of the hifi rack). I have to confess to a bit of jealousy towards your setup...looks like a pretty sweet room. Regarding the remote issue: I'm a big fan of the one-for-all URC 9910 (http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC%209910). It's an IR remote that simultaneously broadcasts an RF signal to a receiver box (pictured on that website). The box emits a duplicate IR signal via an IR emitter built into it as well as via its IR output jack (an external emitter is included with the remote) which could be connected straight into your transporter's IR input. I usually just hide the box on the opposite side of the room from the hifi gear and point the emitters at the equipment rack so that it doesn't matter where the remote is pointing--practically the whole room is hit with IR. You can use the JVC codes, but the remote is a learning remote so you can customize it to your preferences if you want to use the squeezebox codes. It's also JP1 which allows you to program in all manner of really cool macros, keymoves, extensions and the like. But it's quite powerful even straight out of the box. The best part: it can be had almost any day of the week for ~$30 + shipping on ebay (I've gotten a few of them for under $20 on a lucky day). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29656 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Bose Vs Burr Brown
Don't know about your Bose specifically, but I suspect it's like most mid-to-low-level consumer audio equipment in that it converts all analog inputs into digital, then back to analog again before going to the amps. That adds 2 extra conversions in the pipeline. This is done because it's easier to use IC's for various preamp and processing duties (and you can add a lot more capabilities) than to attempt to do everything in the analog domain. Some receivers or preamps have a straight, or bypass setting which bypasses this conversion. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29293 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Buffering in Transporter???
Walleyefisher;151086 Wrote: When streaming audio to a remote device normally some buffering occurs. I was just curious if you all know about how much buffering the Transport does? This page will provide you with plenty of hardware specs: http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?HardwareComparison -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29222 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Sound Clipping
Bottom line: sounds like this amp isn't going to work very well for you when doing quiet listening. No preamp or any other solution that might come before the amp in the signal chain is going to fix this problem. The problem is that you want to listen to audio at a level that falls below the threshold of your amp's auto-sensing feature. Possible solutions: 1. Many amps have gain (might also be called trim or volume) controls built into them. Depending on where in the signal chain the gain control comes you may be able to achieve what you desire by turning the gain on the amp down and the volume control on your squeezebox up. 2. If there's no gain control on the amp, then you could put speaker-level attenuators on the outputs of the amp. This would reduce the volume output at the speakers so that you can run the squeezebox's output at a higher level that might more easily trigger the amp. There are a couple of disadvantages to this: extra device in the signal chain and wasted amp power, but those are probably acceptable in most situations. 3. If neither of the first two are acceptable solutions, then you could turn off the auto-sensing feature of the amp (virtually all amps allow you to bypass the feature), thus leaving your amp to be turned on and off manually. If you don't want to turn it on and off manually, some amps have triggered on/off capabilities, which you could rig your sb3 to trigger, or, if that isn't possible, then companies like Xantech offer solutions which sit inline with the power cable to offer you IR and other automated/remote ways of turning devices on and off. (BTW, what you're experiencing is not clipping--that's something completely different) Hope this helps... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29012 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Sound Clipping
ZeddZull;149429 Wrote: I want to thank everyone for the feedback. I think that the problem is that the specific feed I am listening to (an internet radio station) is not providing sufficient volume, so I have to have the Squeezebox at 100% volume to prevent the amp from shutting off. I did turn off the auto-off feature, but that doesn't seem to entirely solve the problem. I am currently trying it at 100% volume and manually adjusting the volume on the amp. Thanks again. The amp is shutting off even when you have the auto-off feature disabled? That shouldn't happen and would indicate a problem with the amp itself. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29012 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Sound Clipping
Mark Lanctot;149444 Wrote: A few caveats: it needs about an amp of current to switch. Initially my receiver would not trigger it, but the device burned in and it does this reliably now (?) I don't think the Squeezebox or the Transporter would be enough to trigger it. Be careful when it's at its trip threshold because it may bounce. I did that once when I plugged my laptop into the outlet, it switched on and off rapidly and ended up blowing the line fuse in the amp. I'd imagine the Xantech device is similar - it's really the same technology. Perhaps it has a lower trip point though, which would be useful. Thanks for the warning...I had assumed it wouldn't work with a squeezebox. If I recall correctly, the current drawn by a SB is about the same regardless of state which makes sense considering that on/off is not meaningful to the SB in a hardware sense. I have a few other things for which I'd find it useful. An amp seems like a lot to me, though... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29012 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Anybody read this bit about Sonos 2.0?
ezkcdude;144519 Wrote: There's an interesting release about Sonos over on the Stereophile website. http://www.stereophile.com/news/100906sonos Apparently it is big news that Sonos now has Rhapsody capabilities. I thought that was so last year, but then again, I'm a SqueezeBox owner. Sonos has had rhapsody support for quite some time (well before Slim officially added rhapsody support). This new software seems to support the so-called Rhapsody DNA api which allows for direct access to their catalog without having to have a pc client logged into the service. This is really quite nice and I hope that slim adds similar capabilities to squeezenetwork. A few other threads have mentioned this idea... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28468 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Just a goofy question
CardinalFang;143759 Wrote: I think you'd need an active crossover to split the signal before it went to your amps. Actually, this is not necessary. You can run precisely the same signal to both amps for each channel. There are crossovers in the speakers themselves designed to do the job. And don't worry that this will cause your amps to have to drive more of the audio band than you desire, thus robbing them of power--it won't. The nature of a driver/crossover arrangement is that the electrical resistance outside of the target frequencies is very high, thus no power is drawn from the amp for any but the frequencies the driver/crossover arrangement is intended to produce. As proof that you can send both the highs and the lows the same signal consider that when connecting bi-ampable speakers to a single amp you simply connect the binding posts. Both the high and the low sections of the speaker receive the same signal and the crossovers sort out the rest. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28381 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Just a goofy question
CardinalFang;143788 Wrote: Are you sure about that? I thought the idea was an amp for each speaker driver and bypass the crossover completely. If you just hook up the two amps on each side to the same terminals, aren't you going to upset the amps? I'm not sure how a T-amp would take to having its outputs wired directly to another T-amp's outputs? perhaps if you somehow did a push-pull arrangement it might be OK, but it's not somthing I've tried. Sorry if I was vague. You don't connect the amps to the same terminals on the speaker. You connect one amp to the high terminals and the other to the low terminals (I'm assuming we're talking about bi-ampable speakers--if not, then you'd have to disassemble the speaker and crossover assembly which is probably not advisable). A bi-ampable speaker's high and low sections are electrically isolated from one another (though they typically come with jumpers to connect them for single-amp operation) so the amps' outputs won't be wired together. The inputs to the amps are what you need to wire together. Both amps for a given channel need to receive the same signal. This can be accomplished numberous ways, the simplest of which is to use a y-cable. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28381 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Just a goofy question
PhilNYC;143808 Wrote: I think you also need to use identical amps if you're not using an active external crossover...if the amps have different gain characteristics, passive biamping will cause some imbalance in the sound... Identical amps are helpful. But if at least one of the amps has some sort of gain adjustment then you'll be able to match them. This is a rudimentary tone control that I find to be an advantage of biamping. You can change the tonal balance of a speaker without having to run the signal through additional eq or xovers. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28381 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Just a goofy question
CardinalFang;143841 Wrote: To work well the active crossover would have to be closely matched to the drive units I would imagine, so it's not surprising in some ways that it was better without it. Agreed. Don't forget that the speakers already have crossovers in them. Indeed, the speaker designers have taken great pains to ensure they've designed their crossovers properly for the specific drivers and enclosures they're using. Using the high/low binding bosts does not bypass the internal crossovers. Using an additional crossover (particularly one whose effects overlap those of the speaker's crossovers) could have a seriously detrimental effect on the sound. And not only for the obvious reasons--crossovers can interact in bizarre ways (a proper explanation of which might require an audio or electrical engineer). If you wish to alter the crossover points you really need to replace or bypass the internal crossovers. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28381 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Just a goofy question
P Floding;143846 Wrote: This seems to be a very thorough writeup on bi-amping: http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm An interesting read. Definitely some good info in there, but I'm pretty confident he's wrong about having to put crossovers before the amps for the same reason I mentioned earlier: the passive xovers in the speakers themselves will cause such a high impedance at the undesired frequencies that no power will be drawn at those frequencies, thus no duplication of amp effort. Then again, maybe I'm wrong and have misunderstood all these years. It's happened before ;). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28381 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
GreenMan Wrote: Here's something I never thought I'd ask, but given that many of us who go down this new road of unspent money are going to get an inexpensive TASCAM or similar, does it make much of a difference what quality microphone cable I use for my freakin' high fidelity digital room correction misadventure? ;-) I notice 2 on the website you supplied that cost about the same, and one that costs double. http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/cables/top15.php Without venturing into a cable war, I can assure you that you don't need to buy Monster brand XLR cables for this task. Any reasonably well-built cable will be fine. But...with respect to my recommendations on that site: per Hugh's comment a few posts back I looked to see if some of the cheaper units support a 44.1khz sample rate and many of them DON'T (including the Tascam us-122). However, it appears this unit does, so maybe this is the best bet amongst the cheap units: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LinkUSB/ I've never used it so I don't want to highly recommend it, but it has Mackie-designed preamps (Mackie's a decent name in mid-level pro-audio) and supports the required sample rate. I haven't spent a ton of time researching this so there could be other, even better choices out there that I'm missing so I'd spend a little time looking before jumping in. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
GreenMan Wrote: I believe it does. I'm looking at the product manual and it says: Setting the Sample Rate and Bit Depth The US-122 supports sample rates of 44.1kHz and 48kHz. In the Audio Control Panel, select the pull-down menu for Sample Rate and select either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Link to manual is here: http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-122/US122_Eng.pdf Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Ah, good eye. You are correct. I should have looked at the manual but just glanced quickly at the Sweetwater specs, which are apparently incomplete. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
This looks like great work. And the documentation is even pretty good, to boot! But I haven't installed it yet (I don't have a reference mic) and in reading through the docs I had a question. The docs state The inguzDSP system turns everything (even low-btrate MP3s) into 24-bit FLAC to send to the Squeezebox, which can take quite a lot of networking.. I have a SB1--can I assume that that FLAC data will actually end up being streamed as a WAV to my SB1? I understand how all the conversions and transcoding happen in a normal slimserver setup, but with the InguzDSP in there I'm a little foggy as to how it's all supposed to work... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
inguz Wrote: Sorry, I don't think the current version will work with SB1. Added to the bug list. Thanks for the quick response. SB1 support would be greatly appreciated. But if you don't add it then I suppose Slim will probably sell another SB3...;) -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: What bitrate satisfies the 44.1Hz sample rate?
GreenMan Wrote: -Bump- Happy to help, but what sort of further info were you looking for, GreenMan? -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=26031 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
GreenMan Wrote: ... from, say, using a powered mic and Room Eq Wizard? (http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/) I know you seem to have developed a SB-specific solution. What are the advantages over other methods at this point, in your view? I know this was for Hugh, but I couldn't help piping up ;). The idea is the same as the Room EQ wizard. But once you get the FIR filter using the Room EQ wizard you have to do something with it to actually get the correction. This must be done via specialized hardware (like a TacT or the Behringer unit or a more generic parametric eq) or (in the case of systems that source their audio from a computer) software. Hardware has the advantage of being able to affect any audio source. But software has the advantage of being cheap. In software you have two options: you could run the processing on all of your audio files so that the actual data is changed to reflect the correct correction for your room. But that's lousy if you want to do anything with those files except play them on that exact system, in that exact room. The other option is to use a convolver to process the room correction in real-time based on the FIR filter. This is great as it allows you to set up different filters for different rooms and use the same files. Not to mention it doesn't ruin your perfect, lossless files. Inguz's plugin sets up a convolver for windows which works with Slimserver--something that was missing to this point. There are existing solutions for Linux. What's not clear to me is if a filter that's generated with the Room EQ wizard could be plugged into InguzDSP or if you have to use the tools Hugh provides... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: What bitrate satisfies the 44.1Hz sample rate?
GreenMan Wrote: ...what lossless format I was using. I actually haven't done any in awhile, but I'm pretty certain it was the Apple lossless codec embedded in iTunes I was using to rip with. I don't know that that makes any difference to what others had to say, but again, several people had asked and I was a bit late to reply. Ah, well, our responses about bit-rate apply to any format, really. If you're up for it, you may want to consider trying FLAC. It's better supported by the SB3 (natively decoded in hardware) and is a more open format which may make it easier to do bulk re-encoding in the future with different media software. But Apple Lossless should work just fine, too. Best of luck! -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=26031 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
GreenMan Wrote: I wonder though. Starting from scratch, I'll need an audio interface, which look like they run about $250 on the low side. An adequate Berhinger mic looks to be about another $60 - $80. We've passed the $300 threshold for this free solution already. Granted, the Behringer deq2496 doesn't include a mic, but throw one on and you've got the same expense threshold, roughly speaking. I'm not knocking this software solution. Quite the contrary, I think I'll try it. But there is some comparable associated expense that places it in the same expense domain as buying a seperate piece of hardware with embedded (and optionally, outboard) equalization software. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. There are plenty of perfectly fine interfaces for $200, but even so, I know what you mean. For me, I have an interface already and can probably find a place to borrow the mic. The advantage is that you only need the equipment for a one-time setup. So even if you can't borrow it and are forced to buy you could ebay the stuff immediately and take a nominal loss. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
GreenMan Wrote: Would you kindly name a few of those interfaces here? I also failed to include the cost of 30ft of mic cable that I need to get my mic to reach my computer in the next room, which adds about another $30 onto the price tag You can pretty much take your pick from this list:(any of them with a mic preamp anyways) http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category.php?c=695sb=catalogpriceso=asc I certainly haven't used all of them but to give you a starting point I should say that I've been happy with the TASCAM us-122, and am generally quite satisfied with M-Audio equipment. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Best Audiophile Music Server
martintyler Wrote: I dont disagree at all. You obviously misunderstood my point. You are likely correct in this since it was unclear to me what you were trying to say (except that you were apparently disagreeing with the previous point). martintyler Wrote: but reproducing a perfect stream of bits correctly has nothing to do with jitter. I think we're basically in agreement here...but your statement calls for some clarification. There are really 2 streams of bits that we're discussing. The recreation of a perfect stream of bits inside of the computer indeed has nothing to do with the jitter we're speaking of. The jitter we're discussing only exists in the creation and interpretation of the spdif signal (the computer, as the source device in this case, can only be held responsible for the creation of the signal). At some point the computer must generate a spdif signal based on the audio data it knows. It knows the actual bits and it knows what timing to use to send those bits. Using that information, the spdif signal is created by some output device (sound card, squeezebox, etc.) and at this point reproducing a perfect stream of bits correctly has *everything* to do with jitter. The perfect signal would contain all correct bits, be perfectly timed, and all edge transitions would be vertical. Getting the correct bits down is trivial, but neither perfect timing nor vertical edge transitions is possible. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24957 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ideas for a hidden set-up?
GregW Wrote: On a different forum someone has pointed me to this amp: http://www.keene.co.uk/cgi-bin/bigcodesearch.pl?KLABKIT Looks ideal for what I want but does anyone have any experience or thoughts about this? This thread discusses the Dr. Amp which seems quite nice: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23826 The Keene amp you referenced has miserable specs (1% THD, and 60dB SNR!?). But if sound quality doesn't matter to you and you really want the on-wall preamp controls of the Keene then perhaps it's the amp for you. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24563 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: The best setting for the SB3, and slim server for Audio Quality only!
blah509 Wrote: Can we get this discussion back on topic because this really interests me. Back to the settings people :) opaquiece's post (post #3 in this thread) pretty much covers it. With those settings, assuming a lossless source, the Squeezebox will deliver a bit-perfect representation of the audio at its digital outputs. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24926 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Best Audiophile Music Server
martintyler Wrote: How are these two sentences even related? I am amused that you are amused by it :) A hard drive's digital performance is a non-issue in this discussion. Due to the error detection, correction, and redundancy throughout any properly designed computer, data is able to travel speedily and accurately to any component. The hard-drive isn't the device that's generating the spdif stream. The quality of the output device (be it the sound card or squeezebox or whatever) is what has to be called into question. The output device is going to get perfectly accurate information in plenty of time, but if it's cheap it might not be able to lay down a very pretty spdif signal (poor edges, bad timing). -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24957 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Best Audiophile Music Server
snarlydwarf Wrote: Oh, certainly I agree with that: but I'm not the one writing stuff like: Sorry I wasn't clear. My point was not directed at you, snarlydwarf. I understood what you were trying to say. My answer was directed at your detractor. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24957 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Naim enters the music server game
I'm wondering if these guys and the audiodeck guys mentioned in another thread are leveraging PlutoHome http://plutohome.com Have any of you given PlutoHome a try (it apparently supports the squeezebox)? I'm curious about how well it all works in the end. I've been eyeing it lustfully for some time now but can't justify the cost or effort involved in setting one of these things up (it's potentially quite cheap, but if you go the cheap route then you are also choosing to go the very hard route). I've had a hard enough time getting a really effective (read: stable and easy to use) HTPC DVR set up, I can only imagine how tough it'd be to get all the systems in a large Pluto Home configuration to work well all the time. And all the difficulty with encrypted QAM HDTV broadcasts, the threat of broadcast flags, and so much other DRM crap makes me really unwilling to invest much in a setup that may ultimately end up crippled. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24901 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Naim enters the music server game
bpa Wrote: Is using the number RS-232 on the network products some sort of joke by the developers ? RS-232 is the old modem standard 300-19.2k bit/sec. rs-232 is still the control standard for many devices. The naim system will use controllers that will sit on the cat-5 network that will be able to take commands from the network and control the appropriate devices via rs-232. So the distribution will still be by cat-5 (or 6, or wireless) but this allows them to interface with almost any type of hardware. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24901 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB3 + high end DAC versus high end CD Player?
Robin Bowes Wrote: No, it's not the same at all. Network transmission has error correction. The data is wrapped up in various layers of protocols. With digital audio, the bits simply transmitted over an analogue medium. There are all sorts of ways the signal can degrade in transmission and hence the musical information represented by the signal can be affected. R. I think his point is just that, if an error were to happen, it wouldn't make sense for it to only happen to certain colors. Every bit is equally open to corruption. It would be like drenching a book in water and giving to someone, only to have them complain that all the R's were missing. That being said, I could buy that perhaps the corruption could cause a lack of bass solidity. Going back to the JPEG example, the corruption might exist throughout the entire photo but be *easier to see* in areas that are solid black, but less noticeable in more busy sections of the image. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24670 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Help...not enjoying my SB3
Lyonesse Wrote: 4. modern interconnects are like the tone controls of yesteryear imo, the VDH carbon fibre interconnects will hopefully allow me to keep all this wonderful resolution that the SB3 delivers without the ear frying sibilence. There's absolutely no technical support for this conclusion. Digital information just doesn't work that way. Let me try an analogy: Consider sheet music. This is analogous to the original digital information. It's information that can communicate music, but which has a physical form (paper and ink) which is unrelated to the reality of sound. Suppose you make a photocopy of the sheet music (equivalent to sending the digital data across your interconnects). A good photocopy machine will make a nice, crisp copy, while a poor copier will make a blurry copy. You then hand the copy to a pianist to play the music. The pianist is equivalent to your Bel Canto DAC. His eyes and fingers will translate the sheet music into sound. If the sheet music is clean and crisp (as with the good interconnects) he will have no trouble accurately reading the music and the piece will sound as it was intended. In the case of the blurry copy, however, the pianist may occasionally have some trouble reading the music. He might have to stop playing briefly, or randomly play a wrong note, or he might play a note a bit too soon or too late or too loudly or too softly. The errors will be random and entirely unpredictable. The analogy isn't perfect, but it should give you an idea of what's going on. The result of the blurry copy will not be a tone adjustment. It will simply be bad music. In the case of digital, the effects will be *far* more subtle than in my analogy, or you're more likely not to get any sound at all. And, just to be clear, for an interconnect to deliver the equivalent of the blurry copy it would have to be a very, very poor interconnect indeed. I've heard of tests that have even adapted clothes-hangers to act as digital interconnects and not a single bit was dropped over many hours of use. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24613 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
mgraves Wrote: Nonetheless, I was able to satisfy myself that the Behringer monitoring hardware was a decent purchase. Agreed. I spec'd their B2031's for a small classroom installation and was really impressed by their performance. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
inguz Wrote: I think you nailed it. There are lots of reasons I like SqueezeBox. Of course the hardware, which has a really excellent engineering attention to detail, while still being built to an affordable price-point. But the system architecture overall is so nice, and this separation of a medium-power network-connected audio device from the server has a huge amount of flexibility. Then there's been some really smart business thinking from SlimDevices about extending this (the SqueezeNetwork, the Pandora hook-up, etc -- with all their rough edges -- are really great beginnings). Eventually, high-power DSP (powerful enough to process long filters) will be everywhere. I totally expect to see mid-market home stereo amorphous-line-array systems with dozens of loudspeakers per system, each containing wicked powerful processors, coordinating with each other to recreate the sound experience (and doing a better job of it than two channels usually does today). But for now, in a two-channel SB system, the PC is [a] basically free, and [b] easily fast enough to run lots of fancy DSP algorithms. (Powerful enough to run room correction on several squeezeboxes simultaneously). Talking of price-points, I've always been a cheapskate audiophile, and SB lets me play that game. My main system for a long time was a Linn/Basik/K9, to a homebrew triode pre with dumpster-salvaged Naim phono boards, to a salvaged-and-rebuilt Quad 405, to some quite nice hand-me-down Monitor Audio speakers. That all set me back a few hundred quid, back in the day. Now, a SB-based system can give better price/performance below $1000 than anything else on the market. (OK, $1500 or $2000 if you include the computer). And, whatever quality your analog stages, there's a whole lot of value-add in the digital domain too. Progress: slow but promising. Not yet downloadable. Of course I'll announce here when there's a generally usable version. The 9-band plugin only stops there because the UI is the INPUT.Bar control (same as the SB volume control, but with a center-zero) for each band. It would be possible to build a vertical-slider-control thingy, but that's beyond my leet perl skillz right now. But the aim of this EQ is just to tailor for personal taste *after* correction filtering has run the early-reflection compensation, the room booms peaks, and so on. Like the old Quad tilt tone control, a gentle touch goes a long way. For most situations (e.g. adjusting for a particular album's balance) I think bass/mid/treb is enough. And although I don't have a shippable quietness control yet, early experiments in that area look likely to solve 90% of my tone-control wants. - Hugh yclept inguz The possibilities are exciting. Thanks for all of your work in this area, Hugh. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
krzys Wrote: I'm using one since 10 months, very usefull and a great value, quite decent DAC also. Much better if tweaked (analogue out, clock, PS caps etc). The DEQ is of course much less sophisticated than a TACT (filters and number of filters) but makes a very good job. What do you want to know ? Chris Thanks for the feedback, Chris. I guess that I wanted to know just what you said ;). I'm VERY tempted to pick one of these up. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
opaqueice Wrote: Is there such a thing? This seems like an excellent idea, especially for SB users who already have a computer as part of their system. And if there was any problem with real-time processing (which I agree there shouldn't be on a modern system), you could simply have a batch converter function which would take a library of files and convolve them with the appropriate filter. EDIT: The hard part has already been done, it sounds like... http://www.ludd.luth.se/~torger/brutefir.html#whatis Yeah, there was a thread on this a while back: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=14452highlight=fir and a user has managed to get something working with his squeezebox: http://www.duffroomcorrection.com/wiki/User:Hpyle and he's seemed to develop something that perhaps he wants to sell? dunno: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24301highlight=fir I'd love it if I could figure out how to implement this myself...it'd certainly be a cheaper solution than a TacT... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: digital room correction
dwc Wrote: Looks really cool, but it's a bit crude at 9-channels. [for comparison the DEQ is 31-channels, independent L+R control] It would be great to see this idea developed, but it looks like some serious coding and a serious load on the CPU to run in stream. -Dan Perhaps, but the brutefir documentation claims to be *very* efficient: http://www.ludd.luth.se/~torger/brutefir.html#howfast I'll confess that I don't know what really constitutes a tap...but I'm being wooed by the large numbers! -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24519 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
dwc Wrote: Poor man's TacT = Behringer DEQ 2496 + mic. Anyone have any experience with one of these? $300 sounds a bit better than $7000... -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Best way to connect to monitors
Juggler Wrote: I just got some m-audio DX4 studio monitors--not the highest end speakers but they met my budget. These monitors have both RCA and TRS inputs. What would be the best way to connect to these monitors: via the regular RCA or through the TRS? many thanks, J. Unless you're intending to use a direct box or have some other method of making the unbalanced signal from the squeezebox balanced, then it doesn't really matter. If you're not converting the unbalanced signal to balanced, then you should actually use a 1/4 TS connector, not a TRS and the choice between using the 1/4 inputs or the rca inputs will merely be a matter of convenience/preference for you. There will be no electrical reasons to do one or the other. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24429 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
Phil Leigh Wrote: In the same way that the sound changes slightly as you move around the room, the TACT correction is only accurate in your normal listening position - however, in practice it works rather well regardless of listening position... Understood...yet there are DSP's used in the professional audio industry that manipulate the signals going to individual drivers in each cabinet to attempt to yield the most accurate audio possible at *all* seats in the concert hall (obviously it's impossible to get identical audio at *all* seats, but the systems attempt to come as close as possible). Granted, those systems are feasible because they involve many, many drivers but, not knowing much about the TacT, I thought that perhaps it might try to work some similar magic. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: coax/SPDIF output only, do I need to mod SB3?
Roy2001 Wrote: BTW, at this time, I plan to use coax cable to connect SB3 to an external DAC. My question is, do I really need to mod it? Which kind of mod do you recommend? This is something that only you can answer. You're the one who will be listening to the device. Let me say this: I have a mid-level system, am an amateur audio engineer, and think of myself as discriminating in the audio field. I feel no compulsion to mod my units. I enjoy them perfectly the way they are. If I were to upgrade I'd be sinking money into my speakers long before I ever touched the SB. There are other folks, however, who would not be able to enjoy their SB's as they do without having modded them. Buy one and see how it sounds. If you feel compelled to mod, then by all means mod. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24398 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
Phil Leigh Wrote: Yes agreed, but those systems are crude by comparison. They seem pretty sophisticated to me (see a solution from Meyer Sound here: http://www.meyersound.com/616/) but as I said, I don't know a lot about these things. But back to the FIR filters: does anyone know much more about these and how they compare to what the TacT can do? -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
Phil Leigh Wrote: Well - they are sophisticated in some ways - but not in the way we'd appreciate! Pro sound reinforcement is a whole different bag of spanners... Haha, no kidding... Phil Leigh Wrote: and yes, FIR filters is part of the TACT proposition - some people will disagree with the following, but IMHO you are better off trying the TACT approach than trying to home brew your own solution... Ok, good, this is what I was looking for. Would really love a chance to hear for myself what a properly set up TacT system can do. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB/Tact/NuForce
Forgive me if this is a dumb question: I'm not that familiar with the TACT units, nor do I know all that much about room correction. Can most of the functionality of the TACT units be duplicated with a FIR filter? If so, this thread really motivates me to start re-exploring getting FIR working with the SB. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24366 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Advice please
Skunk Wrote: Sorry. Maybe I was confusing the internal DAC going from 16 to 24 bit when the volume is less than full output. Or maybe that's wrong too. I'll just go hide somewhere :-) Well, as Sean said, it doesn't resample, but you're right that it degrades the audio quality. Use of the multiplier results in a loss of dynamic resolution. That's just the way the math works out when you're working with a digital signal. That's probably what you were thinking of. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24026 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Signle FLAC/APE/CUE
lovemov Wrote: While waiting my hardware to arrive, I'd start to play with the slimserver. 90% of my music are classical, so I prefer than to be a single image file, which also plays fine in foolbar or winamp. I have been reading the forum, looks like there is lots of problems with cue file handling. I really want to keep the existing images, and still have the flexibity to pick tracks easily within the image. What's my best solution? I don't mind doing some bit of covertion jobs. (sorry for the double posts. no idea how to move between forums. people suggested I might get more replys in audiophile forum for this question) You mentioned that you're going to start playing with Slimserver. Have you installed it? Are you having any problems with your cue files? Slimserver is supposed to support them--it should all work fine. Let us know if you have any problems then we can start troubleshooting real problems rather than hypothetical problems. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24003 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Signle FLAC/APE/CUE
BTW, reread my post...didn't mean to sound short with you. Just that a lot of questions can be easily answered by just trying it! Slimserver's a free and easy install, and don't forget to try out softsqueeze. Even if your box doesn't arrive before the weekend you can have a good old time this weekend just playing with those two pieces of software. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24003 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: OK, I think I should ask my questions here
Sometimes bits change due to transcoding, resampling, or other DSP being run on the sound by software or hardware. For instance: roku devices resample everything to 48khz. While the resultant PCM audio would sonically make sense, A DTS signal (due to the way it's encoded) wouldn't survive this resampling. Some devices will adjust the volume level of the signal before sending it through the digital outs...this, too, changes the original pattern of the bits--the data is changed and results in something that makes sense sonically, but would break DTS. Still other devices might run some sort of sound-enhancing DSP, or even more egregiously, transcode to mp3 or another lossy format somehwere in the signal chain. Anyhow...the OP was just verifying that the original data would arrive 100% intact at the SB's digital outputs. In fact, the old SB1 can not accomplish this feat--it inverts the data. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23955 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: pc server v sb3 ?
Lyonesse Wrote: Hi Im thinking about buying an SB3 but wondered about the levels of jitter that may be introduced by the length of ethernet cable, 20 feet in my case. I intend to use my Belcanto dac2 into a Valve amp. Ive had fantastic results using my pc and foobar2000 with coaxial digital out from soundcard to dac. How far do you feel the sound will be compromised by using the lan? Thanks Jack. The ethernet run has absolutely no potential of inducing jitter into the SPDIF signal. The data is sent via TCP/IP to the squeezebox. TCP/IP data is conveyed perfectly due to the fact that corrupt data is detected and resent (and the buffer in the Squeezebox allows for plenty of time for any minor hiccups to be worked out). It's only the lack of error-correction and the time-dependent nature of SPDIF that makes it susceptible to jitter issues. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23982 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: 3 hot topics
seanadams Wrote: Nobody can say what someone else can or can't hear but I will eat my hat if claims that client-side FLAC sounds different would hold up in a blind test. A fairly unimpressive assertion for those of us who know about sean's collection of delicious chocolate cake hats. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23706 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Squeezebox vs Xbox 360?
I, too, have a 360 and a squeezebox. Aside from the issues already mentioned: sound quality, fan noise--boy is it loud, lack of display, and awkward interface (I can't emphasize enough how poor the interface is for music when compared to a squeezebox), there are other limitations worth considering. - The 360 won't synchronize with other 360's to provide whole-house audio, nor any central way to control such a system. - You'll either have to store all your music on the 360 or have a windows PC on at all times to run windows media connect. Slimserver can run on a windows PC, small NAS devices, linux PCs, macs, take your pick. Or it can operate without a PC via squeezenetwork. - I haven't explored it fully but I don't think the 360 can do internet radio. Interestingly, I've found I use this as much as, or perhaps even more than my personal music collection. - The 360 won't do Pandora. - It was briefly mentioned, but it warrants expounding on: the 360 doesn't support many file types. I think only WMA and MP3 are supported (probably wav, too?). But certainly no flac, ogg, shorten, AAC, or ALAC support. - Slimserver offers a ton of flexible ways to interact with the server and device. The web interface offers anywhere-access, as well as palm/pda/nokia770 control via a very slick interface (thanks to Ben Klaas). The CLI offers an installer an easy way to integrate the SB into an AMX/Crestron system. - Slimserver allows you to easily stream (with transcoding, if necessary) to many types of devices, locally and remotely, enabling you to more easily consolidate your music collection to a single, centrally located, server. All that being said, given the way I use my setup, I think that the lack of a display on the 360 would be the single biggest reason why I wouldn't part with my squeezebox. I played with HTPC's for a while but never realized just how important the display was until I got a squeezebox. I'll spontaneously put music on in the house much more often than I ever did in my HTPC days. -- azinck3 azinck3's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3967 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23614 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
