Submitted by The Computer Au... on Sun, 08/17/2008 - 18:26
I began the music server series here on Computer Audiophile with some very basic systems. These music servers were great solutions for readers looking to get in the game or upgrade an existing starter system. One of the problems with this approach was that readers often wanted more. I received countless emails from readers, manufacturers, and dealers asking what parts of these music servers I would upgrade to accomplish a specific goal. I have literally spent months testing different DACs, interfaces, operating systems, storage solutions etc... I've also been working with some very highly respected people in the high end audio & music industry comparing notes about sound quality, library functionality, file formats, and everything else under the sun. All of this work continues and I can promise you some very big things are in store for computer audiophiles. Right now there are a couple solutions that I, and others, consider reference quality. These music servers sound better than almost any traditional transport/DAC solution available today. What's more, while increasing sound quality and taking convenience to a whole new level you can save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
Let me start by saying these two reference music servers are certainly not the only servers capable of obtaining audiophile sound quality. There are many different ways to reach the end goal, especially when we all have different end goals. If you are looking for the best sound available today from a computer based music server I highly recommend you start here.
Reference Audiophile Music Server (Windows XP)
Some friends and associates of mine in the audio industry have settled on this music server as their current reference. These people could have any music server they want but choose this one over all others. In fact it is beneficial for them to have the best sounding server available today. If you're a Windows fan take note.
This reference server is based on Windows XP. The bottom line for choosing XP over Vista is sound quality. There are issues to work around with both operating system and in my opinion both are capable of great sound. But, a reference system is built for sound and right now Windows XP (as opposed to Vista) is where it's at. According to some in the industry nothing else can touch the sound quality of a properly configured Windows XP music server. Not even a Mac. I'm not willing to make that leap just yet. I am however conducting extensive testing with Vista Ultimate 64 bit and hope to come up with another reference quality music server.
The music playback application of choice right now is MediaMonkey. I am a fan of a few others like JRiver and Winamp, but since this is a reference music server I'm going with MediaMonkey. Since this is Windows XP the KMixer must be avoided at all costs. Currently the best sound is obtained by using the MediaMonkey output plugin called waveOut (out_wave.dll). This bypasses the KMixer and allows audio to be sent directly to the sound card. Under certain circumstances ASIO output v0.67 SSE2 [out_asio(dll).dll] must be used, but it does not sound as good as waveOut. Once circumstance where ASIO output v0.67 is required is with playback of multi-channel DVD-Audio rips that have been merged into one file. Both of these plugins have minor configuration options. The most important options is to select the proper output hardware device.
One of the most important components of a reference quality music server is the digital I/O. Right now nothing beats the Lynx AES cards. In this Windows XP based server the card to use is the AES16 PCI version with legacy drivers and legacy firmware. This combination simply sounds the best. It would be very nice to use the current drivers and firmware, but not to the detriment of the sound quality.
Connecting the Lynx card to the DAC is done by either one of two cables. Lynx manufacturers an HD26 pin to AES breakout cable that has 8 channels and external clock wires. My preference is a specially made HD26 pin to a single AES (XLR) termination cable. Since the DAC only has one AES input this is very nice. Removing the extra seven "antennae" can't be a bad thing.
Technically this DAC is not part of the music server, but I think it is such a critical part of a reference music server system that I'd be doing a disservice not to recommend it. The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC is the current reference music server DAC of choice. Not only is this DAC an unbelievable performer, it has one feature that is critical to music servers. This DAC can has an indicator that illuminates when the music server is passing a bit perfect stream to the device. This indicator does have limits, but it is all you need to guarantee the music server is setup correctly. The indicator only works with HDCD recordings and illuminates when an HDCD recording is played back bit perfect. Fortunately this is all that's needed. As long as one song is bit perfect and no changes are made, the rest of them will be bit perfect (assuming all is well with the track). This DAC is capable of up to 24/192 and has a volume control. This allows listeners without analog devices to remove their preamp from the audio chain. Removing the preamp and one set of interconnects is a good thing in almost all situations.
As with everything in life, nothing comes without a price or possible pitfall. This music server does have the capability to produce white noise that will blow every tweeter connected to the amp. In a limited set of circumstances the music server will lose clock and spit out this white noise. Some events know to cause this problem are adjusting the buffer settings in MediaMonkey while playing back music. Another possible problem can arise when changing the name of the currently playing track. This often causes a stutter in the playback, but can lead to loss of clock -> white noise -> blown tweeters. To me this is a scenario that is self inflicted and can be avoided 99.999% of the time. When listening to music don't make changes. I have yet to hear of any problems when changes are made at the appropriate time. This is certainly no guarantee but I'd be 100% comfortable using this reference music server keeping in mind the information provided here.
Windows XP Reference Music Server
- OS - Windows XP Professional ($270 @ Newegg.com)
- Computer hardware - Intel based ($1,500 to $10,000+ depending on customization)
- Music App - MediaMonkey Gold ($20)
- Output Plugin - waveOut (out_wave.dll)
- Digital I/O - Lynx AES16 (PCI version) (~$700)
- Legacy drivers and firmware
- DAC - Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC ($~5,000)
Reference Audiophile Music Server (OS X)
Most Computer Audiophile readers know I am a big supporter of Macs and OS X. It follows that this reference music server is identical to the one in my system that I use for every component review.
I like OS X because it is bit perfect straight out of the gate. Bit perfect playback is far from the equivalent of great reference sound, but iTunes is the standard by which all current OS X applications are judged. iTunes is not perfect all around because of issues like lack of auto sample rate recognition and a limited number of supported file formats, but it is the OS X reference. Personally I've never heard better sound than the Reference Recordings HRx 24/176.4 albums played back on OS X.
There are a few hardware options available from Apple, but only one can be part of this reference system. The Mac pro is the only Mac capable of accepting a PCIs card without less than optimal add-on external hardware solutions. My reference Mac Pro music server has eight Intel Xeon CPU cores (2 CPUs x 4 cores) and ten GB of memory. I limit the internal disk to one drive. This limits heat which limits fan speed and noise generated from the fans. I did not mention disk storage in the Windows reference server section, so I will cover the topic briefly here. In my opinion the ideal reference storage for a music server is the Thecus 5200B Pro. This NAS device has a huge disk capacity, a ton of configuration options and is powered by an Intel processor. Since we are talking about reference music servers sound quality is paramount. This NAS unit has Gigabit Ethernet and can be places in another room out of ear-shot from your listening room. No matter how quiet a different disk solution is, if it's in the listening room it's not as quiet as the Thecus 5200B Pro.
As mentioned above iTunes is the OS X application of choice. Simply stated, I have yet to use something on OS X that has better sound quality and better design. Note: I am aware of something coming out toward the end of the year that may change the game for iTunes on OS X. I have to leave it at that for now :-)
Digital I/O on the Mac Pro reference music server is accomplished through the Lynx AES16e PCI-Express card. This is the newest version of the AES16 card used in the Windows XP reference server. The notable difference in configuration is that I use the most current drivers and firmware for the AES16e. I haven't heard a sonic advantage to older drivers or firmware like the advantage heard with this combination and the AES16 PCi card on Windows XP. The Lynx card is really a fabulous way to get the digital stream to the DAC. This card I have seen jitter measurements for this card at under 20 picoseconds. The card also handles sample rates up to 24/192 allowing Mac users to skip the limitation of the built-in optical output and the 24/96 limitation of current USB connections. FireWire is definitely another way to output 24/192 music streams from a Mac. Since this is a reference music server I chose the AES16e as my digital I/O method connected to the DAC via HD26 pin to AES (XLR).
Again the DAC I use is the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. It really is the reference music server DAC for all the reasons mentioned previously. There are certainly other capable DACs that accept AES, but I am willing to put the Alpha DAC up against almost any of them. The creators of the Alpha DAC are some of the most respected people in high-end audio. These guys founded Pacific Microsonics and HDCD. In my conversations with Berkeley Audio Design I learned just how much R&D went into creating this DAC. It is truly unbelievable. Plus these guys thought of everything in terms of usability. When the volume on the DAC is muted, it does not un-mute when you turn the volume down. Only when you manually un-mute the DAC or turn the volume up does the sound once again come out. This may seem like a simple and obvious feature, but I assure you it's not. Check the components in your system to see if this simple and obvious feature has been implemented.
OS X Reference Music Server
- OS - OS X ($0, included with hardware)
- Computer hardware - Mac Pro ($2,299 to $10,000+, Reference Music Server ~$3,300)
- Music App - iTunes ($0)
- Digital I/O - Lynx AES16e (PCI-Express version) (~$700)
- DAC - Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC ($~5,000)
Conclusion
There you have it, two reference audiophile music servers. There are many more details I could go into for each and every piece of these two servers. For example configuring applications to rip bit perfect files, preferred file formats, and customizing each server for silent operation and removing the moving parts for complete solid state operation. As I said earlier there are other ways to achieve reference grade sound quality. I've decided on these two systems after more research than I care to admit. There is no doubt that Windows and OS X are fully capable of producing reference quality sound. One operating system may be a little easier to configure, while some say the other OS sounds better. The fact that both properly configured systems reproduce music better than almost every traditional transport/DAC solution is great for computer audiophiles. I'm not sure there has every been a time as exciting as this in the history of high-end audio.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi, what happened to the Weiss Minerva?? How is it comparing to the Berkeley? By the way how the Mac is configured is clear to everybody, but please let us know what your PC consists of. What case, PS, cooling etc. because the possibilities are endless.
Thanks Stephan
Hi Stephen - Very good catch! My new reference is the Berkeley Alpha DAC for a few reasons. The Berkeley DAC came in two days before I sent the Minerva on to the next reviewer. This didn't allow me enough time to compare the two DACs. If I would've had both DACs in here for a couple months I would have leaned toward the Berkeley DAC. I can verify bit perfect playback at any time with the Alpha. In my current Mac Pro system the Alpha DAC simply sounds better. When I use my MacBook Pro the choice is clearly the Weiss Minerva via FireWire.
For the PC, I'm going to hold-off spilling the beans right now. I'll have a feature article on all the juicy details fairly soon. You are 100% correct when you say the possibilities are endless. Those endless possibilities dwindle down pretty quick when were talking about music servers however. I'm sure you're aware that silence, heat, speed, display, and aesthetics, to name a few things, come into play.
Thanks for thoroughly reading the article!
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Thanks for replying so quickly Stephan since I had the same questions. Also, I do not recall a detail discussion of file formats used for either PC and Mac Reference Music Servers. I tend to think that equipment comes and goes and hopefully each change is one that brings us closer to musical bliss. But the file formats chosen for ripping CDs and DVD-As or digitizing vinyl can have far reaching consequences. So based on what you know in the horizon, what are your recommendations for both PCs and Macs.
Hi audiozorro - My file format of choice has always been AIFF and remains AIFF. I recommend this for both Windows and OS X. WAV is my second choice, but the lack of album art is really a downer and takes away from the music server experience a little. The sound is exactly the same as AIFF though.
In my opinion AIFF is going to become more popular with the audiophile labels. HDtracks already offers AIFF downloads.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Chris - Very good response time -
I am eagerly awaiting your article, because silence is the key and sound of course. So far nothing was really quiet. Except a Mac mini but that one is not an option.
Keep up the great work, I love your site
Stephan
Stereophile, January 5, 2008
The Alpha DAC, which does not infringe on the HDCD patents that Microsoft now owns, will debut at CES this week. Used with a PC equipped with an expensive Lynx sound card commonly capable of outputting digital data sampled at 176.4kHz, the DAC will be used to demonstrate RR's HRx files. I asked what program will be used to play the files.
"We're only working with Windows XP, because Windows Vista is currently a disaster for audio," says Martin. "Vista tries to control and play files its way, which is not what we want. . . .Meanwhile, one of the programs we've been using is a free one called Media Monkey. It goes up to 24/176.4 without messing up and changing the files and bits."
I'm glad you brought this up! I actually work with and talk daily to the person who provided the system specs that Stereophile mentioned.
I am actually consulting to the people right now who tested the system for CES.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
I look forward to Reference Recordings, Linn Records and others jumping on the AIFF bandwagon. Obviously as a Mac user, AIFF is a natural for me. But on the PC side, any neophyte perusing the MediaMonkey website won't get a warm and fuzzy feeling that AIFF is a major focus or even supported since it doesn't seem to be mentioned and a search turned up nothing. Not that your recommended reference software, MediaMonkey doesn't support AIFF, but if they can list MP3, ACC/M4A, OCG, WMA, MPC, APE, FLAC, and WAV surely they have room for 4 more little letters.
Agreed. On the plugin page of the MediaMonkey site is a download that's required for AIFF support. Not sure why they don't include it as part of the standard application.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Chris:
Great post as always. I am learning so much from this site. You mention that the Mac Pro is the only mac that accepts PCIe cards. According to the specs on my Power Mac G5 dual core it has 2 4 lane and 1 8 lane PCI Express slots. Is there something in the configuration of the Lynx card that will only work with a Intel based Mac?
Also, is there any benefit to the Lynx card that has the SRC option to it?
Cheers to all and thanks for a great site.
Craig
Hi Craig - Thanks for the kind words about the site. You are 100% correct about the Power Mac G5 supporting PCIe. The Lynx card will certainly work in the G5. I should have been a little more specific, but I was talking about current Macs one could purchase today. My slip-up. There is no advantage to the SRC option and in fact it may add some unneeded features that cause more harm than good. Don't quote me on that, but it's possible.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
It would be very interesting to know your opinion about Bencmark Media Systems DAC1 PRE, as an alternative DAC in reference music server system.
And what is your opinion about USB interface between DAC and music server. I have seen how Bencmark Media Systems DAC1 USB on connection to USB itself automatically adjusts necessary settings in Windows XP operating system for transparent bit-to-bit transfer.
Thanks for the clarification Chris. If I end up using my G5 as my server, will the lynx card be that much an improvement over usb or firewire out to the DAC? In other words would I be better off putting the extra money into the DAC as opposed to the lynx?
Thanks again,
Craig
Hi Craig - Keep in mind that this is a reference system. Both the card and the DAC are key components. that said, you can produce stellar sound many other ways including FireWire with the Weiss Minerva or a host of other DACs. If you can afford both the Lynx AES16e and the Alpha DAC you'll be in absolutely fabulous shape.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Chris,
In your article you mentioned....
"My preference is a specially made HD26 pin to a single AES (XLR) termination cable."
Where does one obtain such a thing? Is it a DIY effort? Some details would be very much appreciated.
Aaron
Hi Aaron - I guess it pays to have connections :-) This cable is currently unavailable to the general public. If you need one I can possibly help you out. Just contact me offline if you'd like.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Thanks Chris, email sent regarding this custom cable.
On another note you seemed to have great success with an NAS which was part of my own plans. Does your music server have a wireless network card/capability built in and if so do you feel that this has the potential to introduce noise? The alternative is a hardwired ethernet cable but this could also act like an antenna for noise.
I am a PC user at present looking to build around a totally fanless A-Tech Fabrication Heatsync 7000 Case and an Asus P5Q-EM motherboard (new Intel G45 chipset) with onboard graphics capability. I will probably employ some sort of touchscreen (ELO) or remote desktop on an Asus EeePC for system control.
Thanks again for the great article.
Aaron
Chris,
Great site and wealth of knowledge. I have a question for you regarding Apple's Audio Midi setup.
I understand that one has to manually change the audio midi setup in OSX every time you change sample rates. Does Apple have any plans for changing this and doesn't this sort of render the Mac OS as less than ideal for Reference Music Server?
Also, do the guys at Berkeley Adio labs have any plan on making a firewire version of their great Dac?
Any chance the new 12k Sonos System sounds Reference-grade as the above systems?
I would also like to know who can make these HD26 to AES cables you speak so highly of.
Thanks.
/Lee
Include me please. I will need the cable also.
Stephan
Thanks again Chris for all the excellent information. One additional question at the risk of getting off topic. I am assuming from your set up that your Mac Pro is in the listening room. I dont know if the Pros are any quieter than the G5s but mine get pretty loud. How do you deal with computer generated noise (ie fans, disk drives etc)? You mentioned that you limit internal drives to one. How big is that drive and is it only a system drive with all the music files on the NAS? Or does it not get too hot just playing back audio files?
Keep up the great work
Craig
Hey nabadanga - The Benchmark DAC1 PRE is a really good DAC. In fact I am listening to one as I type this. I have a ReQuest music server connected to it via coax right now. The DAC1 PRE is good but it don't consider it a reference quality component.
USB can be a totally great sounding interface if implemented well. Benchmark and Wavelength Audio are two manufacturers that do this as good as anyone. The auto sample rate recognition in the DAC1 is very cool.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Aaron - My MacBook Pro music server has a wireless card in it, in fact I upgraded it myself to 802.11n. My Mac Pro does not have a wireless card. Introduction of noise is a good question that really hasn't been researched too much by audio enthusiasts. I do know there are some audio companies creating products to combat this already. Right now I am not worrying about it because there are no solid answers.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Lee - You are certainly right about the lack of auto sample rate recognition in OS X. It's a real pain FOR NOW (hint).
The Berkeley guys don't have any current plans for FireWire as far as I know. Last time I talked to them about FW they certainly had it on their radar and were very knowledgeable about the best chips for FW DAC performance. Maybe in the future.
I haven't heard the new Sonos so I really can't comment on it. I have heard the old ones and would not consider them reference music servers.
The HD26 to AES cable ... hold out for a while and a solution might be available.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Craig - My Mac Pro is in the listening room, but I have it in a semi-closed off area. I can't remember how loud the old G5s are, but I think the Mac Pros are pretty quiet. There are apps to control the fans as well. Computer generated noise can all be dealt with through some upgrades to the computer. My internal drive is limited to one and soon I will swap it out for a solid state drive without any noise. It is only the system drive as all my files are on my 5 TB NAS in a totally different room via Gigabit Ethernet.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
High Chris,
Great blog....
Are there suitable SS drives available right now for MAC pro? if so what capacity and if not when?! Would you intend to just have the one drive in the MAC pro: a Solid State drive? And in this case would there be NO fan noise???? What about fan noise for the processor? AB
Hi wappinghigh - There are planty of SSDs that will work. Check out Newegg.com. 64GB is plenty for OS X. 32GB will work as well.
I plan on having the one drive in the Mac Pro and it will be an SSD.
Fan noise can be dealt with by installing some <8 db fans
The CPU is pretty difficult to deal with in a Mac Pro, but I am pretty sure I could do it if I tried :-)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Chris,
I have a few other questions on your MAC PRO set up...
1/ All the SS drives are 2.5 SATA. The MAC pro has 3.5 slots...how do you fit them in?
2/ You also mentioned some apps to make MAC's quieter. Do you have some links for those?
3/ I have checked out the manual of the The Lynx AES16E. Man...There is some serious "geek" stuff in there! It looks like you can externally pace this card (eg say from a word clock) using one of their clock cables. Can you confirm this..and are you doing this? If so how? I'm already "clocking" a sonos zp80 with one of Steve Nugents pacecars with great results and if you could "pacecar" a MAC PRO this sure would reduce jitter and would save you having to get Steve to "tune" it....
..sorry for all requests..but you obviously have a great understanding of importance of this! AB
Here you go
1. 2.5 to 3.5 SATA adapter for Mac Pro http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&p...
2. SMC Fan Control
3. You can certainly use an external clock with this card. I am not doing this at the moment, but in the future I will be trying other things out. I wouldn't use a Pace Car with the Lynx cable. It already has 20 picoseconds of jitter and I think adding another component in the mix might not give you any benefit. I do think the Pace Car is a great product and I would use it for its designed applications like the Sonos set...
Let me know if this clears anything up or if I caused more confusion. Fire away any other questions as well. I'm sure the silent readers want to know more but are not asking questions :-)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Chris I've just been pooring over the manual...that is one SERIOUS digital out connection!
How would mere mortals run this into a standard DAC?...or could the soundcards digital out be channelled through one of the MAC PRO's usb ports?..better still does it have direct I2S out...?
Wouldn't a 2 channel BNC digital out (eg the Lynx Studio Technology: Lynx L22 ) be better???
AB
Hi Chris-
GREAT article. I think you have all of us salivating to find out what this possible iTunes alternate is!
Regarding the choice of Mac Pro- is it solely to be able to accommodate the PCI express card? I was thinking about using a mini just as a music server. I'm wondering if there are any other advantages in the Pro- such as processing power/speed, memory, etc. that makes it the choice for State of the art. Or is it the ability to use the Lynx card that drives the decision.
Tom
_________
MacBook Pro with Pure Music/ iTunes & PS Audio PWT --> PS Audio PW DAC; Spiral Groove SG2 TT w/ Triplaner arm & Ortofon A90 Cartridge --> ARC Ref 2 Phono Pre --> Concert Fidelity CF-080 Preamp --> Silicon Arts ZL-200 Monoblock amps --> Kingsound "King" full range electrostatic speakers.
Hi wappinghigh - The Lynx 22 only supports 96kHz and lower unfortunately.
The AES16/e cards output AES only. If your DAC doesn't have AES you could sacrifice a little quality and look for an AES to SPDIF, USB etc... converter. The AES cards are so good though it is worth looking for a new DAC that supports AES input.
I've been waiting for a good I2S card to come out, but nothing yet.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hey Afveep - Trust me I am salivating over the new "thing" i hinted at as well. I know what's coming so it even harder to wait for!
I selected the Mac Pro for a few reasons. The PCIe card was huge in this decision. The power/speed don't hurt because it is pretty quiet. I like having the ability to use any new card that comes out or to at least have options with extra room for drives even though I use a NAS device. Also, the gigantic memory capacity is nice. It's now a reality that some 24/192 recordings that are not broken into tracks are as big as a complete DVD 4.7 GB. Loading this all into memory is quite nice.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Great answers Chris...fully understand. Will wait to see what you put together.
Please keep your site posted. AB
So Chris-
Understand that you're likely under an NDA or something but can you tell us if this iTunes alternate will (a) run on a mac and/or (b) be able to seamlessly utilize AIFF files? I don't want to start importing all my CDs only to find that I picked the wrong format for some nifty-cool new application!
Thanks again-
Tom
Tom
_________
MacBook Pro with Pure Music/ iTunes & PS Audio PWT --> PS Audio PW DAC; Spiral Groove SG2 TT w/ Triplaner arm & Ortofon A90 Cartridge --> ARC Ref 2 Phono Pre --> Concert Fidelity CF-080 Preamp --> Silicon Arts ZL-200 Monoblock amps --> Kingsound "King" full range electrostatic speakers.
I will of course be keeping the site updated with the most current developements ;-)
Tom, yes and yes. How's that for vagueness?
Also be careful what you're describing this "thing(s)" as. Don't assume anything. Well, I guess you can assume you'll like what I'm referring to.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi again Chris
have you by chance come across a 24/192 card for the macpro that has USB or spdif out? The AES is a problem for me. I'm not sure that adding a 5000 grand dac to my system with this capability will be a huge advantage. Also can't seem to find AES>USB etc. All conversion boxes seem to go other way and in any case may just add more electronics to affect sound. Please correct me if Im wrong. Thanks AB.
Excellent article (and responses for that matter). Bit beyond my budget, but there are many aspects that are helpful regardless - thanks for your efforts!
I feel that you have given us a taste, but left out (to many) the most important aspect of the system... Speakers? Headphones? Amplification? Something surely! Perhaps this system is one that sits pleasantly in the corner inviting its visitor to wonder at what might be heard, if only there were something to output some sound... sad indeed!
Is this in the coming installment? Will these additional components be a part of the 'reference' section planned - or do you consider the additional components required more of a 'personal taste or preference' thing?
Chris,
Thanks for getting back to me quickly. I am about to put some money down on the Berkeley Dac, Lynx pci sound card, AES cable, Thecus NAS, and a dedicated computer, but am still unsure of the OS to go with. A consultant friend of mine in SF area tells me that Windows XP using MediaMonkey software with the above hardware is still the best way to go sonically. Further, I was at the Reference Recordings/BAAS event in Oakland this Spring when Keith Johnson played his RX recordings and I noted the XP based system with the above components. It sounded amaizng indeed: kudos to Reference Recordings.
Nevertheless, I am a Mac addict and would prefer not to give any money to Microsoft if I can avoid it.
Thus, my dilemma with the OS decision:
1. the sample rate recognition thing which it seems like you are suggesting will be solved soon, wether by Apple or by third party plugin. My friend in SF tells me he is using a beta plugin on his Mac-based system but he won't elaborate further.
2. Sonics: Seems like Windows XP, when config'd properly, allows better sonics, soundstage, transparency. However my guess is that this gap will/is closing.
Given all this, what is your OS preference if sonics (playing 24/96 and up) on good equipment is the priority? Also, what is the expected timeframe of these Mac developments?
Thanks.
/Lee
Hi Chris,
Lee´s questions are exactly the issues that are the plague. My G5 is too loud, no way it makes it to my music room. A Mac Pro I do not know how loud it is. I´ll have to find out. But if Reference Recording is presenting with a PC and XP that leaves room for speculation.
So lift the hood a little bit and tell us for witch platform to go.
Thanks
Stephan
Hi Stephan: I have a G5 too and have been thinking it was loud. I noticed the other day that the fan always ran. After doing some research I pulled the graphics card and restarted. MUCH quieter. The bad news is that for some reason my grapchics card (Nvidia 7800GT) is causing this problem. I am investigating ways to remedy this short of buying a new card. However, if I make this my server, graphics will not be important and I could get away with a lower performance card that generates little heat thus, less potential for fan noise. Ill keep you posted.
Good luck
Craig
Can anyone help explain how to make the Lynx card mentioned in this post more practical for the non audio engineer.
1/ Please don't take offence and I don't mean to be rude, but what I want is just pure 24/192 digital out of two channels: L and R! (Not 8/16/or 48!) I don't even care if after the card is set up, I never load the mixer software ever again! So can any one offer some practical help just how to do this....set and forget?
2/ Do I need one of these "special one XLR cables, that aren't even available to the public"?..why won't the Lynx one with multiple tails do (and just ignore the other tails)?
3/ Regarding Jitter. The sales blurb states:
SynchroLock was first available on the AES16. This powerful sample clock generator acts as a stable, low-jitter clock source and in fact provides up to 3000:1 attenuation of jitter on external clock sources. Doesn't that mean that pacing with an external clock (like empirical's word clock pacecar) will improve things further? Otherwise why would Lynx offer the ability to externally clock their card? P.S I don't mind a technical answer on this one cause I already use a pacecar and have some understanding of this...
thanks in anticipation!
Hi Poo - Regarding the rest of the reference system or suggestions to complete the system - that part is a very personal choice and so dependent on too many variables. Right now there aren't too many options for computer based music that I consider reference sources. This is why I am pretty comfortable saying these two options are great for almost everyone.
I will certainly recommend other reference components in the future but not a cmplete reference system.
Thanks for the question.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Well that pretty much covered all my questions. Anybody else?
Hi Lee - You're making a very smart decision going with the Alpha DAC and the other components. You should be very happy.
As far as an OS goes. Either way you go will be great. Personally I lean toward OS X. I think this is a sustainable platform that will continue to be around for a very long time. XP is almost unavailable already and this could lead to problems. Sonically I still lean toward OS X.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Stephan - As I just posted in the above thread, I lean toward OS X. You certainly won't be disappointed either way though.
I have many choices here around Computer Audiophile and the OS X system described in the article is the one I use for almost everything.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Craig - You are right on here. The graphics cards are the killers in terms of noise. In fact there was an update to the ATi card that comes standard with Mac Pros right now. This update caused the fans to spin at much higher rates and cause more noise. Still not loud enough to move it out of the listening room though.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi wappinghigh - Good questions. We will get your questions answered one way or another.
1. I am mostly a two channel person myself. You can set the card very easily to whatever sample rate you want and that includes setting it at 24/192. Set it and forget it. On a Mac just set it in Audio Midi Setup and it will never change because it syncs with the Lynx mixer software. On a PC it depends on what you're using. Media monkey will auto recognize the sample rate so you're totally fine. You can however set to sample rate withint media monkey to 24/192 and you will be totally fine there.
2. The Lynx cable will work totally fine. I just use a one cable solution because it is available to me and it gets rid of the other misc. cables that can't do anything to help the sound and "may" only hurt the sound. I have yet to prove that statement. It's just speculation.
3. You certainly can use an external clock. Whether or not you see an improvement is up to the Pace Car. Lynx offers this because there is surely a opportunity for improvement with an external clock and it's another option for the customer. I would be extremely interested to hear how this sounds with Steve's Pace Car solution.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Chris,
Thanks for the suggestions and for your opinion on the Mac OS. I agree that, for the Windows config, leaning on an older OS like XP is problematic. But I do need to get a dedicated machine to do this right, then leave all variables untouched once I get the sound right.
I have an older G4, a 733Mhz Digital Audio PowerMac with full PCI slots, not express. Is this machine too slow to run uncompressed 24/192 files through a Lynx card to my Dac? My guess is that it is. How much computing power does one need for this purpose?
Is there any sonic difference between the Lynx PCI card and it's PCI-Express counterpart?
Finally, do you think an re-clocking the card externally is overkill?
/Lee
PS: when I get all this put together in just a few weeks and have some results for you, I will post my findings.
I readily see the advantage of firewire DAC for a Mac computer. I also thought I was following the lead of the majority in pro audio that use Macs and FW DACs, though I readily concede I may be mistaken. So the first question I pose is what is the advantage of the Lynx/Alpha DAC combo at $5700 over the Minerva DAC at $5000 in your reference audiophile music server? My second question is what is the advantage of using a Mac Pro over a PC for the reference Lynx/Alpha DAC since Macs generally cost more than PCs? Also the computer hardware spread in the reference system, from $1,500 to over $10,000, makes it hard to define price point performances, i.e. what are we getting (other than poorer) for each additional $1,000 we spend? Does the computer hardware at $1,500 (15% of the top end) still qualify as audiophile reference equipment? I doubt that this would hold for the DAC even if we upped the ratio to 50% of the reference DAC price. So it seems to me that the key to your reference audiophile music server is the DAC and nothing else comes close in sonic importance.
Mac Vs Win XP: the big difference here accord to Chris and a few Pro Audio consultants I've spoken to (Lynx tech support included) is the lack of software out there for the Mac and the need to change sample rates manually in audio midi setup on a Mac, requiring reboot. This last issue is really key and I hope Apple solves it soon since more and more tracks are available at 24/88, 24/92 and even 24/196. Hopefully Apple will target the hi-end niche audiophile market with some software changes.
Minerva VS Alpha: This is a personal taste consideration but my readings thus far suggest that the Minerva/Mac via FW config has a slightly "etched" hi-end and lacks the transparent soundstage offered by the Berkeley Dac/XP/Lynx combo. May be due to Firewire interface, the sonics from the Minerva, or Mac OS related variables, although I'm sure the sound is still very good. Chris seems to like it as his fav system is Mc based, right Chris?
My issue is why should I buy a cheap Windows PC for my dedicated music server when an aging and hard to find Win XP is the only way to achieve good results?
I wish the Director at iTunes would just consider us audiophiles for a moment and tweak the OS in our favor.
/LM
Had a great conversation with Mike Ritter of Berkeley Audio Design just now. This discussion, combined with my experience at the Reference Recordings event in Oaklnd this past Spring, leads me to favor the Windows XP based Music Server format running Media Monkey thru a regular pci Lynx AES16 card into the Alpha Dac. This is the system I heard in Oakland at the BAAS event this past Spring and the sound was pretty amazing.
I asked Mike about Firewire (vs. the Lynx) and he said that his team experimented with FW and found it to add too much noise via direct link to the Dac chassis, that an intermediary box was needed resulting in still higher cost.
When asked about PCI-e he said that, as great as it is, it pumps too much data through the bus and creates significant noise, rendering PCI the better option sonically. The Lynx technician by the way wouldn't confirm/admit this.
In the end he was recommending a very quiet Win PC with perhaps an SS drive to keep things silent and minimize fan noise.
Chris, I know that you are smiling as most of this is repetition from your emails above. Yet, ironically, you are favoring the Mac OS format still. Can you explain the sound that you are hearing? Are you getting the transparency and depth of sound from both reference systems? Perhaps you could compare/contrast the two sounds for us and briefly describe the audio gear you are using.
/Lee
Thanks for sharing your findings since if I ever put $11K on my credit card for a 30-day evaluation of the 2 DACs my wife would send me packing.
I don't recall hearing that a Mac required rebooting. I thought that the Mac only required that the Audio Midi Setup be manually set and that iTunes be relaunched each time the sampling rate is changed. I know the Benchmark Media Wiki for recommends the following:
* For iTunes versions earlier then 7, we recommend setting the sample rate to match the sample rate of the media (music) being played
* For iTunes versions later then 7, we recommend setting the sample rate to the highest sample rate that your device is capable of
* For iTunes versions later then 7, iTunes must be launched after the sample rate is set in AudioMIDI. Any sample rate changes made in AudioMIDI while iTunes is open will not change the sample rate of iTunes until iTunes is re-launched. Consequently, it will cause CoreAudio to sample-rate convert the audio coming from iTunes. The result of CoreAudio sample-rate conversion is significant distortion.
So while you are free to continue to change the sampling rate to match the source input, with versions later than iTunes 7, the differences with just setting the sample rate to the highest sample rate that your device is capable of is minor. Either way, I can't recall hearing any significant differences with any of the DACs that I own or have evaluated, but I defer to the technical experts to argue that point and I am more than willing to follow the majority consensus.
I'll to all the posts in this one response. Here we go.
Lee - Your G4 does seem a little slow, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. I do think reclocking can be a really good thing, but with the Lynx / Alpha DAC combination you'll want a really nice external clock if you go that route. It's tough to mess with success :-)
audiozorro - I hate to be blunt but I think I answered why I chose the Alpha over the Minerva for my reference desktop music server. Jitter at less than 20 picoseconds, bit perfect verification and a few other things noted in the previous responses. The advantage of using a Mac pro is totally up to the user. It may be a disadvantage to some and it may sound terrible to some people. I like everything about the OS X - ALpha DAC platform including the sonics. As far as the huge price difference goes - computers are as highly customizable as cars and houses etc... Add a solid state drive array, a 100% silent case, water cooling, a very nice looking case with a built-in touch screen, and you can even customize the case with chrome, nickel, gold and just about any plating you can imagine. Sure many of these things may not contribute to better sonics, but I like certain aesthetics in my audio components in addition to good sound. Plus, none of these enhancements hurt the sound.
"So it seems to me that the key to your reference audiophile music server is the DAC and nothing else comes close in sonic importance."
I can't disagree with you more on this one. I believe I laid out all the reasons why each piece is important. For example, XP, MediaMonkey, Lynx AES16, legacy driver, legacy firmware AND the DAC all combine to make up the sound. Maybe I didn't explicitly state that in the article.
Lee - "My issue is why should I buy a cheap Windows PC for my dedicated music server when an aging and hard to find Win XP is the only way to achieve good results?"
XP is certainly not the only way to achieve good results. In fact several people like the Mac better than the XP system.
I'm glad you had a chance to speak with Michael Ritter. He is a really nice guy who knows his stuff. I won't disagree with what he said, but I think we are talking about very small sonic differences and in fact some people prefer the sonic differences of the Mac PCIe combo. Either way the sound is fabulous. A friend of mine will be conducting PCI v. PCIe testing this weekend using virtually identical configurations. I'll let everyone know how it comes out.
More to come on the whole XP v. OS X v. Vista and PCI v. PCIe etc...
audiozorro - You are 100% correct. You only have to restart iTunes after Audio Midi changes. Personally I like to keep everything at its original sample rate and don't want my Mac upsampling everything to 24/96. But hey, what every sounds good to you is all that matters.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Could somebody please explain this problem with Mac OsX in lay-mans terms!
Here is my scenario. OK. I have just installed a Lynx AES 16e card installed in a MAC Pro. I set it to output 24/192. I select the same 24/192 sample input on my DAC Great! But I have a huge variety of different track sample rates in my itunes libarary. I load a playlist. track 1 is 16/44.1, track 2 is 24/192, track 3 is 16/48, track 4 is 24/88.2, track 5 is 24/192...etc...get my drift...what happens? What sample rate am I actually hearing?
Does the card/leopard "upsample" everything to 24/192, or do I have to manually change the midi setup everytime a new track plays?
Sorry for daft question...but I just don't get it!
AB
Wappinghigh, What you have done is probably the most suitable to your listening situation. As you have suggested, when using iTunes you should be closing it, setting Audio Midi to the setting specific to the audio you will listen to, then re-launch iTunes (resetting it to follow the settings of Audio Midi). Trying to listen to music with differing sample rates in this way is impractical IMO - you are far better to set Audio Midi to 24/192 and allow Leopard to output all other sample rates accordingly. Benchmark has reported tests results of this procedure (think they can be found within their Wiki?) which suggest that whilst the audio stream is altered, the change is minimal (I know I can't hear it personally...)
Hopefully the updates to iTunes hinted at in previous posts within this thread may fix this problem! Enjoy your new Lynx BTW... I need to get a Mac Pro sorted first...
Hi Craig
That is exactly the card that is sitting in my G5. The Apple site shows no updates and the Nvidia site seems not to even know the Mac. Please keep me posted if you find something out.
Stephan
Hi Stephan:
I spent some time yesterday cleaning out a very dusty G5 but it did not quiet things. Down. I took a chance and booted the machine with the cover off and confirmed virtually all (if not all) the noise was coming from the Nvidia 7800 card. After doing some further research I found that many people (not necessarily audio folks) are using third party "coolers" to quiet their cards. I am going to ry one of these there are cheap $20-40 and see what happens. I will post my results but it will be several days sine I have to order the cooler and install.
Ill keep you and others interested posted.
Cheers
Craig
I came to the same conclusion, today I opend the G5, blew out the dust and stopped the cooler of the video card by hand ... silence, well almost. Is there a passive video card on the market that runs in a G5?
Greetings
Stephan
Chris-
How do you know the Lynx AES16 card only has 20 picoseconds of jitter?
Did you measure it or are you just quoting Lynx's specs?
The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC has a BADA encrypted - RJ-45
input, what do you know about it's function?
Hey Dan - I checked with sources and confirmed with a few different sources before I published the 20 picoseconds of jitter spec.
It is my understanding that the RJ45 port on the Alpha DAC is for future possibilities.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Appologies for these, I certainly don't want to offend any audioengineers out there, and certainly not Chris...his reference music servers are awesome and this is THE most informative site but: for the consumer guy/gal next rung down (ie me!)..isn't the best bang for buck simply to stick with 24/96 for the moment (ie just use the MAC pro sound card out via USB/firewire (or SPDIF if you must!)...and spend the money making the MACpro silent (ie better fans/SS drives etc) and buying a better DAC, poweramp, speakers etc....that is until the following occurs:
1/ More 24/192 or 24/172.2 tracks actually become available. Seems to me the number available can be counted on two hands
2/ the itunes sampling hitch can be sorted
3/ there is actually a wider choice of 24/192 midi cards available...ie perhaps one more suitable to just stereo output, without a complex manual, sound engineer output connections and a cat-o-9 tails cable...maybe LYNX can work on a "simpler AES16e" ....or upgrade their L22 to a 24/192 L22e. (here's hoping)
Then when the above happens....simply just buy the new card and pop it into the MAC pro ..to get 24/192 when all the tech has settled down a bit...
...as for swapping back to Windows XP( or worse Vista)....eeeeekkk.....
All IMHO of course....
Hi wappinghigh - Thanks for the post and of course no offense taken. The best bang for the buck is certainly a personal decision without any right or wrong. I am pretty sure more higher resolution tracks are coming. I would just make sure you won't kick yourself for purchasing a lower resolution DAC knowing what the future holds. Will it really be the best bang for the buck if you end up purchasing two DACs in a short period of time.
You could get a FireWire DAC for any Mac and be able to play up to 24/192. Maybe this is the best choice for you at this point. Ten you'll be covered now and in the future as more higher resolution material is released.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Stephan:
I dont know of a passive card fo rthe mac but I just ordered this cooler. http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=91
It was recomended by someone at the apple discussion forums. I should have it in a few days and will post my results.
Cheers
Craig
Hi Craig, there is no chance of installing a AGP card in the late G5 so I just ordered the cooler.
Thank you very much for the tip.
Stephan
Hi Chris
today I ordered the Mac Pro and the Lynx card. Running out of steam for a while I will connect the Lynx to the Wadia 581iSE. The digital input goes up to 96 kHz and add the Berkeley later. As NAS I go with the Qnap Turbo.
Thank you for your kind advice, I feel much better using a Mac now. Please remember the cable.
Cheers Stephan
Very cool Stephan! You should be very happy with the Mac Pro / Lynx combination.
I haven't forgot about the cable :-)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Well I did a ctrl+f for "linux" on each page of comments here and not one hit. :) Any other linux people here? Another question: Is there any reason to use a non-USB digital connection other than the current 24/96 limitation? Is there any reason to think this is a hard limit?
Hey ggking7 - For now Linux suffers from lack of driver support according to everyone I talk to in the industry. Personally I'd love to build a great Linux based music server. Sooner or later I'm going to have to put one together and start working out the kinks that may be holding people up. What Linux flavor are you using?
There are plenty of great reasons to use any of the connection methods. Every implementation is the same and none of them are always better than the other. So, reasons not to use USB may come down to what DAC you're looking at. USB DACs from Wavelength are as good as they get and I think you'd be very happy with any of them. There are always people who will rail against one connection method or another and there certainly are those who rail against USB. But, listening to Gordon's reasoning behind his use of USB is very compelling. As far as the 24/96 limitation goes, it is not a hard limit. USB does have the bandwidth to carry higher resolutions but I don't know of any "reputable" USB DACs that support higher resolutions.
Maybe I didn't answer your question in a straight forward Yes/No fashion, but I hope you get the point I was trying to get across. Let me know if I just confused the situation :-)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
What type of drivers is Linux missing? My (and most including Gordon's) USB DAC just uses the standard snd-usb-audio driver. Configuring Linux for bit-perfect playback is as simple as hooking up a USB DAC, disabling any software mixer in the player app, and pointing the player app to the hardware device directly (i.e. hw:0,0) instead of the "default" selection in order to bypass dmix.
Not trying to prove you wrong or anything, but can you tell me more about what deficiencies Linux has in this arena? It seems like the best of the three to me.
Edit: I'm using Gentoo but any should work just as well. I use mpd for the playback software. Configuring it as per the above takes a solid 10 seconds. :)
Media Monkey should simply not be a reference player if this is possible simply be renaming a file during playback. You're talking about blowing tweeters at high volumes.....you know that J. River won't modify a tag (for currently playing file) until playback is stopped.
DC
Digital Out: Win7x64 (SSD, 125w psu, mini-ITX) JRiver MC14>Emu1616m (BNC mod)>Peachtree Nova DAC (BNC mod)>6BM8 power amp>Omegas
Hi DC - If one is striving for the most transparent sound quality it is my opinion, and the opinion of others I highly respect, that MediaMonkey provides this quality. In terms of convenience MediaMonkey may not be the most convenient because of this possible issue. However, as long as users know this caveat there won't be any problems.
I've spent some serious time with J River, in fact their office is literally ten minutes from here. J river has a very hard time playing Reference Recordings HRx 24/176.4 files. Therefore I have put J River on the back burner until release 13.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Chris,
On your XP system with the Thecus acting as your NAS drive, do you have any extra modules running on it and is it necessary to install media server module on it if there is only one computer in the house that will access the NAS drive for music?
I am building a quiet machine that will run XP (and a lynx card) and plan on running MediaMonkey to access my music. Do I need anything else installed on the NAS?
Am still kind new to this and learning, I'm sure that's obvious.
Thanks.
/Lee
Hi ggking7 - Linux works great for USB DACs that don't require drivers, just as you said. I am actually a huge fan of Linux and want it to continue to grow.
The Lynx card I use, AES16e, has no Linux support. A common theme among those in the audio business pro/high-end is that they would like to use Linux but the equipment they use does not work without drivers.
Just my experience.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
What's the problem? Your DAC can handle and so should the Lynx hardware. Does MC not offer that sample rate natively?
DC
Digital Out: Win7x64 (SSD, 125w psu, mini-ITX) JRiver MC14>Emu1616m (BNC mod)>Peachtree Nova DAC (BNC mod)>6BM8 power amp>Omegas
Hey DC - Importing the HRx wav files is, so far, impossible in J river Media Center. I can play up to 24/192 in the application, but I don't always get consistent results. Some times it will launch Real Player within the MC window, and I'm not a high fan of that.
Do you have any high resolution tracks you can try with your installation of J River Media Center?
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Something isn't configured properly in your system, especially if you are playing back wav files in MC. I can't remember if MC can be select for 176kHz or you would have to resample to 192.
I could record some vinyl at 24/96 (Lavry AD10) or 24/192 (1212M) and test them as wavs.
Stick with it, and maybe post in the forums over there. We'll figure it out. Sounds like file associations are defaulting to RealPlayer for some reason; what's the association set as in Windows? I too would probably cyber-gag if Real Player opened up on me like that ; )
DC
Digital Out: Win7x64 (SSD, 125w psu, mini-ITX) JRiver MC14>Emu1616m (BNC mod)>Peachtree Nova DAC (BNC mod)>6BM8 power amp>Omegas
I have all the associations set correctly. The 24/96 wavs play fine. I've worked with J river and they don't have the slightest idea what is going on.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
I'm playing 24/176.4 in MC with no problems. Sounds like you need to configure the DSP in MC possibly....
Patchmix session is set to 176.4mHz and so is MC. Wave or ASIO work fine.
DC
Digital Out: Win7x64 (SSD, 125w psu, mini-ITX) JRiver MC14>Emu1616m (BNC mod)>Peachtree Nova DAC (BNC mod)>6BM8 power amp>Omegas
I don't think DSP is the issue. MC won't even import the HRx files. Even if I try to select a single HRx file to play from the FILE menu MC won't play it and will skip to the previously played track.
I could see a DSP issue if I could actually get MC to recognize the file.
Try downloading the 24/192 sample from digital audio Denmark and let me know if it imports for you and plays back.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Any update DC?
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
I can't get the Denmark 24/192 sample work in Media Center OR Foobar. Foobar says it is PCM, but what is BWF as noted on the site? I have to try another player like Media Monkey.
Can you try these three apps, or have you?
thanks
DC
Digital Out: Win7x64 (SSD, 125w psu, mini-ITX) JRiver MC14>Emu1616m (BNC mod)>Peachtree Nova DAC (BNC mod)>6BM8 power amp>Omegas
Hi DC - BWF is Broadcast Wave Format, It is just WAVEs that support tags and album art I believe. I can play them in iTunes on a Mac without any problems. I'm 99% sure I was able to play them with MediaMonkey, but I'll have to check one more time.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
I just verified that I can play everything, even the DXD file in Media Monkey. Foobar played everything except the DXD file. So, 16/44.1 - 24/192 all worked in MediaMonkey and Foobar for me.
Have you made any progress on your end?
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Chris,
This is slightly off topic, but do you need to install a media server module (like Twonky, I think) on the Thecus 5200 Pro in order to properly configure it as a Nas drive?
Also, today I learned from Thecus tech support that the latest 5200 Pro firmware 2.0.10 has some issues with Leopard and is easier to mount with older versions of OSX. Tech support suggested that SMB, not AFP, would be the better way to mount the shared folders onto the desktop running Leopard. I tried this and am not having anymore trouble mounting the drive.
/Lee
Hi Lee - There is no need to install Twonky or any other media server unless you want to do the shared iTunes library thing. I suggest you get everything up and running first, then take a look at Twonky once your system is stable. I don't run Twonky but some people really love it. If you want help with it I've done it before on my 5200B Pro, so I can help.
That's cool you found out about the problem and switched to smb. I've had faster file transfers running afp v. smb, but chances are you won't be moving a few terabytes around every other weekend! All the testing I am doing for various things requires every ounce of speed I can get. You could certainly get the opposite results testing smb v. afp so who really knows. Luckily I haven't run into any issues with 2.0.10 and Leopard. Phew.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
So how do you upload and organize files on the NAS, esp for Mediamonkey? I want to start ripping all my cd's using Max to aiff format then uploading them to a music folder.
Am also looking at a Zalman NN300 case with SS drive/Lynx AES 16 card and barebones setup. Have you heard anything about these cases?
Thanks Chris.
/Lee
Hi Lee - I have actually built a silent server with one of the Zalman fanless cases. They work very well, but can be a bit large and aren't the most aesthetically pleasing compared to other options. Keep in mind that these cases require a little maintenance every so often. You should reapply thermal compound like Acrtic Silver after so many months of use. The number of months will vary based on a number of factors.
Getting the files on the NAS is easy. Create a music folder on the NAS and use MAX to rip to that location. Set it as the output location in MAX. Then tell MediaMonkey to monitor that same location. The music will automatically show up in MediaMonkey.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Craig,
thank you again for the good suggestion. I installed the cooler and voila ... only the hard disc is hardly audible. Very good. You have to remove some plastic from the cover and also some metal from the card.
Greetings from a quiet G5
Stephan
Hi Stephan Glad you had a good result. What cooler did you use. I installed the Arctic Cool accelero X1 last night. It workks great but when I put the case back to gether the plastic shield will no longer fit. I left it out for the time being and all seems fine and quiet. Like you, the hard drive is pretty much all I hear now. Not sure what that plastic shield does. Some have said it helps with air flow from the other fans. But when I ran Temperature Monitor all the temps seemed fine. At any rate, coolers are the way to go to quiet graphics cars.
Cheers
Craig
Hi Craig
I made a cutout in the plastic shield in order to fit the Artic cooler. So the interior collects perhaps a little less dust. But ... as I learned yesterday a Mac Pro is even more quiet.
Greetings
Stephan