New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Music Server
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Welcome to the Graham Slee Audio Products Owners Forum

 

Open to all owners plus those contemplating the purchase of a Graham Slee HiFi System Components audio product and wishing to use this forum's loaner program: join here (Rules on posting can be found here)

This website along with trade marks Graham Slee and HiFi System Components are owned by Cadman Enterprises Ltd

Music Server
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Baconrind View Drop Down
New Member
New Member


Joined: 31 Oct 2011
Location: Wendover
Status: Offline
Points: 28 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baconrind Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Music Server
    Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 11:30am
I've been thinking of ditching the CD player and going the media server route. Ive read some bits on computer audiophile and am happy putting together the server part.
 
What im a bit confused about is DAC's all of the different standards like 24/192 and a plethra of dacs doing others things like 32/192.

CD is I believe 16/44 can the ear even hear a difference from CD quality with these hi res formats ? 

Is a DAC with 24/192 the best option to got for in regards sound quality. I read an article on hi res audio and Neil Young is definite in its benefits as hes launching his high res store early this year. 

I just want to make sure i have something that's future proof but am not paying out for some tech I cant actually hear.

Hope this makes sense 

PS looking forward to hearing about the Big Dac Graham is developing

Thanks
Dean
Back to Top
morris_minor View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 27 Mar 2012
Location: Surrey
Status: Offline
Points: 6197 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote morris_minor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 11:39am
Hi Dean.

The words 'worms', 'can', and 'open' come to mind .

IMO higher resolutions are most useful for recording.

Whether the 'average' hifi listener can truly distinguish between, say 96/24 and 192/24 I'd say is a moot point ...
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links
Back to Top
Graham Slee View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar
Retired

Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Location: South Yorkshire
Status: Offline
Points: 16314 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 12:40pm
Originally posted by Baconrind Baconrind wrote:

CD is I believe 16/44 can the ear even hear a difference from CD quality with these hi res formats ? 


IMHO No.

Plus the vast majority of cataloged music for download is going to be CD quality.

It's up to the listener to decide if he/she wants to change to genres unknown instead of sticking with the music he/she wants to hear....

All these great specmanship specs are great for the musical masochist!

I'm more than happy listening to CD quality with a great analogue back end.

Would I swap all my favourite bands and music for great written specifications, a crap analogue output and music that simply isn't me?

Seems some would! Seems some are musical masochists or slaves to the technical press!

Good luck to them. I can just see all the labels spending big money re-issuing all their artists in whatever the latest fad is, for the few, can't you?

We're lucky to have 16/44.1, after all, the multitudes are more interested in MP3's!
That none should be able to park up and enjoy the view without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
Back to Top
Fatmangolf View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 23 Dec 2009
Location: Middlesbrough
Status: Offline
Points: 9695 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 1:51pm
I run a music server, Squeezebox Server on my PC through the (discontinued) Touch unit with replacement PSU. I enjoy the convenience and sound quality, and rarely play CD's. I have some HD downloads, mainly classical recordings. However almost all my music is lossless CD rips and lossless vinyl rips (how-to is outside scope of this thread).
My personal comments from my experience:
1) Any of this music sounds as good or bad as the Digital to Analogue Convertor and the analogue gear (amp, speaker, cables) that follows it as Graham said above.
2) I use dBPoweramp to rip my CD's to lossless because you can hear the difference. Disk space is cheap and you can always make compressed copies for portable use.
3) I think HD makes a bigger difference on complex recordings, i.e. multiple instruments in real acoustics.
4) The difference between 16 bit 48kHz and CD's 16/44k1 is audible when v-ripping my records. The next step up to 16/96 is less dramatic IMO.
5) I am happy to buy 24 bit digital recordings on download e.g. 24/48 or 24/96. I'm less convinced about the gain from 24/96 to 24/192 although I respect Neil Young's efforts on sound quality.
5) I've bought some very good music on recommendations from people (including our forum members, thank you!)  and magazines. Common sense suggests the purchasing decision should be based on what the Hi-fi mag says about the performer rather than the equipment test.
 
At the end of the day it's about the music not the technical numbers. Try the new equipment at home in your system if you can or take along your music and audition the gear in system similar to yours. Let your ears and wallet judge the value for money of the different options. And have fun doing it!
 
Jon
 
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
Back to Top
mrarroyo View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 28 Jul 2008
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Status: Offline
Points: 1401 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mrarroyo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 2:00pm
I have uploaded all my music to my iMac and use iTunes due to the built in convenience. I have used other players and could detect an slight improvement but they were not as user friendly and thus I reverted back to iTunes.

I also run in parallel an Squeezebox set up with a couple of older V3 units which only do 16/44. However via Optical and USB out of the iMac I have a couple of DAC's which do 24/96 an 24/192 respectively. I do not have a lot of files that are higher than 16/44 and thus I usually play my music in 16/44 format with occasional up-converting to 24/88 or 24/176 (I prefer multiples of 44).

At the end of the day I run a server due to the convenience at home and in mobile listening with iPods, iRiver and HiFiMAN players.
Miguel
Back to Top
Fatmangolf View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 23 Dec 2009
Location: Middlesbrough
Status: Offline
Points: 9695 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 2:09pm
Miguel's post has reminded me that I use Apple Lossless and iTunes as my library programme at home because it's easy to use and syncs my iPod.
 
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
Back to Top
ICL1P View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 04 Aug 2012
Location: Faringdon, Oxon
Status: Offline
Points: 2397 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ICL1P Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 3:01pm
Originally posted by Fatmangolf Fatmangolf wrote:


I use Apple Lossless and iTunes as my library programme at home because it's easy to use and syncs my iPod.
 

I do too. I rip the CDs with Rip as ALAC before importing them to iTunes. From the iMac to the amp they pass through Ethernet, Homeplugs, Apple TV3, toslink and an Arcam rDAC. The ATV3 resamples everything to 48 KHz so whether supposedly CD quality or higher they are all messed about with. I've no idea whether this matters, but it does mean I've not had the opportunity to judge the few higher sample rate tracks I have.

My assumption is that to significantly improve SQ I would need a better DAC (excited about Biggus DACcus). I would love now whether a streaming transport should or would improve things further. It would mean the ATV3 wouldn't be needed except when using iTunes in party mode distributed around the house.
Ifor
=====
Reflex M & ACCESSION M, CuSat50, Majestic DAC, a Proprius pair.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.01
Copyright ©2001-2018 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.084 seconds.