I met the Channel D Pure Music owner last night.

mantis

Whats up all?
He came to our store for a seminar and it was very good. I got a deeper understanding on how Digital music works. it was a great time.

Big Dawg

i saw that he was going to be there. sorry i missed it.

erniejade

anything you can share with us that we can use to make our digital systems better?

drgalexo

I can sure think of a few questions about digital audio.

cnh

Dan, I had absolutely no idea what that was. So for all of the rest of you digital incompetents, or let's say less than "current" boys:

Pure Music?

High Resolution Music Server Software for Apple Macintosh Computers

I guess it might also help if I was a MAC man?

cnh

tonyb

mantis wrote: »

Whats up all?
He came to our store for a seminar and it was very good. I got a deeper understanding on how Digital music works. it was a great time.

Good, then you must also have a deeper understanding of how all of this effects the signal. Not all of it may be audible, but it's the whole combination of variables that effect what comes out the other end.

Why are all the cool programs for Mac's ? Wish they had something like Pure music for windows based PC's.

mantis

erniejade wrote: »

anything you can share with us that we can use to make our digital systems better?

I can share a lot. I learned so much over the last few months and hanging out with him really deepened my knowledge.
For Starters , with a computer rig , you can preserve all your favorite recordings. Hear them with all the dynamics and clarity that was recorded. Even Vinyl , he has a killer program for recording and replaying vinyl. Very impressive , without all the pops and scratch noises you get with most playback turntables.
We talked about the importance of a good quality DAC and how they differ as you go up the ladder.

So I took away from this is you can get your source right , now for the rest of the chain.

mantis

drgalexo wrote: »

I can sure think of a few questions about digital audio.

Ask away my friend

mantis

cnh wrote: »

Dan, I had absolutely no idea what that was. So for all of the rest of you digital incompetents, or let's say less than "current" boys:

Pure Music?

High Resolution Music Server Software for Apple Macintosh Computers

I guess it might also help if I was a MAC man?

cnh

It's cool , I didn't know what it was till a few weeks ago , and I am a Mac man.

mantis

tonyb wrote: »

Good, then you must also have a deeper understanding of how all of this effects the signal. Not all of it may be audible, but it's the whole combination of variables that effect what comes out the other end.

Why are all the cool programs for Mac's ? Wish they had something like Pure music for windows based PC's.

He's been asked to make a version for PC for years now. He prefers the Mac as they are easier to work with and setup , not to mention he's a Mac guy himself.

Foobar and J Rivers are the best software programs for the PC I have seen. I prefer the J Rivers as I have it for my Wife's PC laptop. It's damn good , you should check it out.
The quest for a really accurate replay system starts here I believe , the source. I talked to him about my quest for perfection and he's been on that path for years. This is a good place to start.
He's really into DAC's , it's the next thing in the chain along with a high quality USB cable , he think USB is the best way to send the files from the computer to the DAC. Out of the DAC is balanced as I figured anyway as it's the best overall connection in the analog world. Now I got to find a neutral amp , speaker wires and a pair of speakers. I think I might be closer to building a close to perfection rig. Skipping over a preamp , the DAC will be the Pre right to the amp.

mantis

Big Dawg wrote: »

i saw that he was going to be there. sorry i missed it.

No worries , I'm gonna plan a computer music get together in the near future , I will invite everyone here who would like to come. PC and Mac people will be very welcome.

EndersShadow

Dan, for giggles you should check out some powered studio monitors like KRK Rokit's. You can skip the need for speaker wires, amp, ect and play with a straight Source to Speaker connection.

You would need something to control volume on at least the KRK's, but something like the Audio Engine A5's have volume control on them.

Just a thought to play around with a small desktop rig that is totally digital and not have a ton invested.

I keep debating doing this myself for my office as a compromise due to not having a ton of space.

tonyb

I've tried the dac straight to amp thing before Dan, and for my ears it was way too dry and sterile sounding. Might be up your alley who knows, give it a try anyway. I do believe todays dacs may do a better job of it, like the W4S or Benchmark. I think Steve tried his Benchmark as a pre too. Look into Empirical Audio stuff, not cheap, but anyone who tries their products goes goo goo over them.

Weis dacs get some good praise too but still pricey. Maybe the store you work at can get a salesman to drop off some demo units. Peronally I believe once you start hitting that 2-3 g mark in dacs, your hitting that law of diminishing returns.

EndersShadow

tonyb wrote: »

I've tried the dac straight to amp thing before Dan, and for my ears it was way too dry and sterile sounding. Might be up your alley who knows, give it a try anyway. I do believe todays dacs may do a better job of it, like the W4S or Benchmark. I think Steve tried his Benchmark as a pre too. Look into Empirical Audio stuff, not cheap, but anyone who tries their products goes goo goo over them.

Weis dacs get some good praise too but still pricey. Maybe the store you work at can get a salesman to drop off some demo units. Peronally I believe once you start hitting that 2-3 g mark in dacs, your hitting that law of diminishing returns.

Good to know Tony, I just know for a small computer setup, I have listened to the KRK Rokits in particular MANY times and found them to be pretty good for nearfield listening (like right on your computer desk with you like 2 feet away) which lots of bookshelves cant do as well.

I also agree about diminishing returns, thought for my personal journey 300-500 is probably about what I would be willing to pay for JUST a DAC. Something like the Benchmark HDR which is also a PRE I would be willing to up the ante on.

drgalexo

From the best I can tell so far is that the wav file if bit perfect is about as good as it needs to be for my purposes, ie. what's on the cd. So because I use a pc I want to know the best way to rip cds to my computer. I just can't figure out why Jriver, or Db Poweramp is better than just ripping to Windows Media Player which is already on my computer?

vc69

The KRK's are not bad, but I highly recommend a set of Genelecs. Computer --->DAC (Balanced out with volume control)--->Genelec = why do I own all of this other gear? :redface:

drgalexo wrote: »

From the best I can tell so far is that the wav file if bit perfect is about as good as it needs to be for my purposes, ie. what's on the cd. So because I use a pc I want to know the best way to rip cds to my computer. I just can't figure out why Jriver, or Db Poweramp is better than just ripping to Windows Media Player which is already on my computer?

Mostly because of JRiver's file management (ie; metadata. etc.). Windows media player is a slug and the file management is horrible.

erniejade

What ripping format is recommended or like for someone like myself using jriver and flac, what settings in the flac rip would give me better performance? Jriver defaults it to 6. I tried going to 4 and 7 but, i couldnt not hear a difference between 4 6 or 7. I do hear a slight difference between cd and flac though so it makes me wonder if there is a better setting out there for flac
I am using a w4s dac2, penga usb cable, jriver, flac.

I agree with tonyb on my rig, the w4s using it as a pre does a great job but, i prefer the dac to fixed going to my audio research pre. Than again, my room acoustics are not that easy to work with!

Also, I heard the Grant fidelity Tube Dac 11 with rolled tubes and for the $, i http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-TubeDAC-11-D-A-Converter.htmlwas shocked. So if your looking for a sub 500$ dac, it is worth checking out.

thsmith

TAS had a bunch of articles on what to use for ripping and best format. If memory serves me it was to use DBPowerAmp and WMA but dont quote me.

All of this was PC based, YMMV.

txcoastal1

While we are on the subject of DAC's, has anyone got there hands on or heard one of the Antelope dacs?

tonyb

Haven't heard one, but 6 moons I think compared them when they did a Burson dac review. Their Zodiac Gold is suppose to be on par with all the big boys.

GospelTruth

mantis wrote: »

He's really into DAC's , it's the next thing in the chain along with a high quality USB cable , he think USB is the best way to send the files from the computer to the DAC. .

I read some other stuff you were talking about with regard to a good quality USB cable. I know there is a lot of talk about cables and the "snake oil" thing. Not looking to start any wars about it. I am just curious though about why he thinks a good quality USB cable makes a difference. Being a computer guy, I always have a hard time when it comes to debates with digital transmission and better cables. Analog I have better time understanding because it's, well, analog. There are a lot of redundancies in digital transmission to ensure that everything arrives as it should - bit for bit - so why would high quality cables matter. The only think I can think of that might interfere with the sound is shielding on cable. Regardless, I would be interested to hear what his thoughts are on what constitutes a high quality USB cable and how he views it affects the sound.

thsmith

GospelTruth wrote: »

I read some other stuff you were talking about with regard to a good quality USB cable. I know there is a lot of talk about cables and the "snake oil" thing. Not looking to start any wars about it. I am just curious though about why he thinks a good quality USB cable makes a difference. Being a computer guy, I always have a hard time when it comes to debates with digital transmission and better cables. Analog I have better time understanding because it's, well, analog. There are a lot of redundancies in digital transmission to ensure that everything arrives as it should - bit for bit - so why would high quality cables matter. The only think I can think of that might interfere with the sound is shielding on cable. Regardless, I would be interested to hear what his thoughts are on what constitutes a high quality USB cable and how he views it affects the sound.

Try it yourself or go on over to computeraudiophile and get your read on.

tonyb

erniejade wrote: »

Also, I heard the Grant fidelity Tube Dac 11 with rolled tubes and for the $, i http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-TubeDAC-11-D-A-Converter.htmlwas shocked. So if your looking for a sub 500$ dac, it is worth checking out.

Hey big guy, want to elaborate a tad on this ? Sounds like something I may be interested in. What was the associated gear and tube rolled ? How was the soundstage ? I've read alot of reviews and everyone seems to dig this thing. I'm interested in using it as a dac and pre with my modded sonos. For the entry price, seems like a no brainer.

drgalexo

Thanks thsmith, I don't know how to put a quote in here but, I would like to read the articles by TAS that you refer to. Who is TAS and where can I find the articles.

Lost240

What store was this at?