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glt

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  1. I think is great. I signed up yesterday and it "matched" my lossless collection: 2000 tracks were matched, 1000 tracks were uploaded. Lets not forget that this is v1 and that copyright restrictions also applies (e.g. lack of true streaming may be a copyright restriction). But having my collection automatically and immediately available on up to 10 devices for $25 is a heck of a deal.
  2. Automatic SR switching in Windows is trivial. All they have to do is allow WASAPI exclusive mode. All other applications can do it. I feel they don't do it because it can become a support issue nightmare; thus ease of use is much, much more important than features (catering to audiophiles) The current version of iTunes is the best for the general consumer. Have you tried Home Sharing?
  3. For "improvement" you should look at bulk transfer mode solutions. USB2 already gives you ample bandwidth for hires audio, so that in most cases, guaranteed bandwidth afforded by the asynch protocol is no longer the bottleneck. Bulk transfer gives you guaranteed delivery because the endpoint acknowledges the receipt of the packets (after doing the CRC error checking)
  4. Or one of the Musiland devices (windows drivers only)
  5. High End companies differentiate their products by implementing proprietary digital filters. The ESS DAC does not have an interface for a separate digital filter. You could program your own, but people have not gotten that far. The Wolfson DAC has its own set of digital filters, The BB PCM chips have been designed to interface with an external digital filter. I believe those companies that have already invested in proprietary digital filters will continue to use that as a differentiating factor. Hence the selection of a particular DAC chip.
  6. Scot, thanks for sharing your experience. One of the best articles I've read here. Have you considered a DAC with digital volume control inside the DAC (no need for preamp)
  7. The best thing you can do is to shield the cable and if you look carefully at standard molded power cables, some of them will say "shielded". If you want add real filtering, change the IEC receptacle with one with built-in EMI/RFI filtering, that's just a few bucks.
  8. Didn't quite understand the translation. I agree that main filters and filters in the PS design are beneficial for audio, but a power cable is not a filter.
  9. The other part is that the power cable sits in between a much longer, regular, unshielded wire inside unshielded walls and regular wiring used inside the device. How is it that some short piece of cable introduced between regular wire can make any difference?. This also means that the best you can do is to use the same wire as that inside the wall.
  10. This is one of the best reviews I've read in a long time. Thanks! Good use of the language to describe the differences.
  11. I think you can truncate to 16 and even 8 bit if you set it to that mode in the quicktime control panel for windows, likewise you can upsample (padding?) 16 to 24 bit. Curiously enough, the Mac Quicktime control panel does not have such settings.
  12. If your computer is next to your DAC, then it is a worthwhile upgrade. And according to some reports elsewhere, better performing that all other USB to spdif devices. (I've been a user of the AE for many years, so I don't have anything against the AE, but if you want to play some hi res, then you are out of luck, and in my system, the immediate playback capability of the musiland vs the small delay with the AE is a welcome treat)
  13. Musiland 01US / 01USD is a worthwhile upgrade over Airport Express. In addition it will pass hi res
  14. I just tried the built-in DAC through the headphone connection and it is also dead quiet when I pause the music, even increasing the volume slider to its max. Later I will try bypassing the spdif and hack into the I2S lines.
  15. avjunky424, Are using the unit as a USB DAC or just USB to SPDIF? I also got the 01US unit which is replacing an airport express. Currently HPNetbook running iTunes -> 01US -> toslink -> OPUS DAC (Based on Wolfson WM4741) With this set up, the system is dead quiet. There is no noise. I will also try the built-in DAC through the headphone connector and see if there is any noise. Compared to the airport express, I hear two differences: more body in the reverb/decay for example piano and acoustic guitar have a "fuller" sound, in addition, the instruments seem more focused, with better definition. I think this is what people mean "more air" between the instruments. These differences are not night and day but are there is you focus and do the comparison. Another improvement over the airport is that the link is rock solid, plays music right away (no need to find the device, etc) and absolutely no hiccups or drops (with the AE, I've experienced drops a few times, which required reboots -granted, I've used the 01US only a few days) In summary, if you are currently using an AE, this is a definite upgrade (windows only as there is no mac driver yet)
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