The recently released Wavelength Audio Proton USB DAC has received a lot of positive buzz around the industry. Now that I've spent countless hours with a Proton in a few playback systems of my own I will say the buzz is well deserved. There are quite a few reasons why the Proton is worthy of all the great attention it is getting. For starters the price of this DAC is within reach of the great majority of audiophiles. Plus, the DAC was developed from the ground up by Wavelength Audio's Gordon Rankin who is one of the brightest minds in computer audio today. However, the icing on the cake is the fact that the Proton uses Wavelength's own Streamlength Asynchronous USB code. The Proton doesn't require any software installation and is a true plug n' play 24/96 Asynchronous USB DAC. As the famous NY Yankee broadcaster Mel Allan would say, "How about that!"

Stereophile has published an article about the upcoming Symposium. Check out the news section on Sterophile's website or just follow this link Symposium Article

First I want to thank all the readers for entering the ticket giveaway. The response was really great! Now down to the business at hand. The winner of two free tickets to the inaugural Computer Audiophile Symposium has been chosen and it's Jeff S. from San Francisco.

There are still some tickets available and there will be no more ticket giveaways. See you at the Symposium :~)

The Computer Audiophile Symposium is getting closer and closer every day. The response to the ticket giveaway has been wonderful and I am excited to announce the winner this Sunday. The first session of the Symposium is exactly two weeks from tomorrow. As preparations for the event continue with catering arrangements and studio configuration, I want to let everyone know that tickets will not be available at the door. Some of the event prep requires a little lead time in addition we will not be able to sell tickets at the door while the final event prep is taking place in the hours leading up to each session. I look forward to meeting the Computer Audiophile readers who have already purchased tickets and hope all the readers will have a chance to get to know one another as well.

See you at the Symposium :~)

Symposium Link

Got Symposium Tickets? We do and we'll be giving one winner two tickets to the Computer Audiophile Symposium on Sunday June 28th, 2009 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. When was the last time this hobby allowed you to do something without explaining the price to your significant other? Now is your chance to get into the event free of charge! Read more for details.

The recent release of Neil Young's Archives on Blu-ray Disc piqued my interest in the Blu-ray format. The audio on Neil's Archives is at 24/192 for the Blu-ray box compared to 24/96 for the standard DVD box and 16/44.1 for the CD box. I have no desire to purchase a dedicated Blu-ray player, but I am very excited about the possibility of ripping audio off Blu-ray discs that I legally own. Ripping Blu-ray content is not the easiest task and I was initially unsure if I could actually get the audio from a Blu-ray Disc. Instead of purchasing the whole Archives box for a few hundred dollars, I picked up the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Blu-ray Disc. This way I wouldn't have a box full of expensive unplayable discs if my little project went awry.

Benchmark Media Systems has created a dynasty with its DAC1 series of components. Beginning with the original DAC1 and continuing with its fourth variant the DAC1 HDR Benchmark has consistently improved this series of components and remained an audiophile favorite. Adding features like a native 24/96 USB input and later a pair of analog inputs have made the Benchmark DAC1 series increasingly popular. The DAC1 HDR is likely to increase this popularity even more as Benchmark has added the one feature that eluded all previous DAC1 models, a remote control. The addition of a remote control to this already solid all-in-one DAC / preamp puts the HDR in another league and solidifies it's standing as the bona-fide leader in the DAC1 lineup.

Last Friday, May 22nd, I flew to the San Francisco Bay area for a walk-through of famed Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Fantasy is the site of the Computer Audiophile Symposium taking place June 27th & 28th, 2009. Studio Director Jeffrey Wood graciously walked me through each recording studio while dropping bits of information about artists who've recorded at Fantasy recently. Walking through the building with its large photos and platinum records on the wall is sure to induce goose bumps on any music lover. Fantasy has a wonderful vibe to it that must be experienced in person. Pictures don't do this place justice.

The Computer Audiophile Academy is back in session with a little series about moving iTunes libraries and music from an old computer to a new computer. In addition to moving the library and music is a little primer on what the iTunes LIbrary is and how it's different from the iTunes music files / folder.
Re-ripping music on a new computer is not the end of the world although it's highly undesirable. Worse than re-ripping is playing the role of music librarian if forced to add album art and tags to those re-ripped albums. That can literally take five times longer than ripping if a collection doesn't contain "popular" music.
To simplify life for all the readers who've recently discussed this type of iTunes move I will publish videos demonstrating how to accomplish this without losing a single bit of information. There are a few reasonable combinations to cover in this series. For example, local library and local music files, local library with externally stored music files, and externally stored library with externally stored music files. This first video covers the local/local configuration. This is the most popular and default iTunes configuration.