Peter_S

Thank you!

Hi All, I'm advising a friend who wants to add a small kitchen system onto his main system, which uses an Apple computer with USB out to a USB DAC to feed his main integrated amplifier. He runs iTunes to play his music, and uses his iphone/ipad to control iTunes. When he adds the kitchen system, I'm sure he can direct iTunes to send the music via airplay to an airport express in the kitchen, or even to a receiver with a built-in airplay feature. My question is this: will iTunes simultaneously feed the USB DAC and Airplay to the kitchen system, or does it have to be one OR the other. Thanks, Peter PS - also open to other suggestions, such as using JRiver, but I think iTunes is preferred here because of its ease of use. In any case, the solution should be controllable with an ios device.

Has anyone had success by installing the older firmware, version 7.6.1? This is no longer available on the web for Airport Express, but if anyone has it, please contact me. I've heard it works and would love a copy. Thanks.

I am getting a few other relevant suggestions: Grace M920 ($1900, professional roots Hegel HD-12 ($1400, organic sound); NuPrime DAC-10 ($1800, great performer/sleek); Oppo HA-1 ($1200, extreme value) BMC PureDac I think I'll try the Benchmark and the NuPrime, and maybe the NAD. All of which I can try on 30-day trial, so that's good. All good units and no harm to try.

Hi All, I am looking for a DAC/preamp with the following characteristics: - Multiple inputs, preferably 2 coax, 2 optical, 1 USB – but could get away with 1,1,1. - Analog input not necessary, but I’d welcome it if the shoe fit - Balanced outs for direct driving of balanced amplifiers (Hypex NCore 400’s) - Volume control that is flexible enough to be used with most any amp at most any volume level without losing information - Preferably small footprint, but I can accept normal size too. - Cost me < $2500 used or new My plan is to purchase several used, maybe a couple on 30-day trial (e.g. Benchmark, NAD), and make a choice. Here are the options I’ve compiled thus far, in order of decreasing (not fully informed) favor: - Benchmark DAC2 (hybrid analog/digital volume control. Which version? They allow a 30-day trial) - Graham Slee Majestic DAC/Preamp (also has analog input, uses Wolfson DAC, balanced outputs are ¼-inch, analog volume control) - NAD C510 (not too expensive, 35-bit volume control, only one coax and one optical input, would also consider the M12 used – too expensive new) - M2Tech Young DSD (has an analog volume control and adjustable gain, sufficient inputs, remote control, good price on Amazon, music direct sells with 60-day trial) - Wyred4sound DAC2DSDSE with FEMTO clock (I have the original DAC2 and find that I’m operating the digital volume control at 30-40 out of 70. I’ve read that some resolution is lost below 40, but I’m not sure. This is a 32 bit DAC). - PS Audio PerfectWave MKII (nice DAC but too much gain for my amps, have to use volume control below “50” (actually at 35) which means loss of digital information - Bel Canto (which models?) - Used older WADIA (which model?) - Mytek stereo 192 DSD DAC (good features but ruled out because of loud thump on start-up) - Cambridge 851D (Stereophile says Benchmark DAC2 is better sounding) I’d appreciate any relevant input that could be offered on the above models, plus any other suggestions and why. Thanks very much in advance, Peter

A friend of mine made an unfortunate series of clicks and keystrokes such that - while none of his music was lost - the files are no longer sorted (organized) by artist => album => song. They now all have equal status in a single directory. He has a mix of formats, including FLAC, so iTunes won't be of help in re-organizing them. He uses a MAC platform. Is there any software that will read the tags and re-organize his files into a standard artist => album => song structure? Thanks.

Hi Folks. Have any of you used a Master 7 DAC with Kingwa's new input kit for the Offramp 5 (using HDMI I2S out)? I've been in communication with Kingwa and this is what he says about it: Master 7 customers asked us change the I2S input define to suite the OR5. Now we have the HDMI input kit can custom order in the Master 7 replace the RJ45 for I2S input. But we have not got the feedback from users applied the HDMI connect between them. Can you ask in the headfi see if any users have the experiences on the HDMI connect? The RJ45 is definely can connect to OR5. So - has anyone tried this, and how does it work? Thanks, Peter

Will this be available in the US?

Hi All. I'm looking for something with the following characteristics, or most of them: 1) relatively easy to set up, not too techie 2) works on wifi or a wired network 3) will stream internet radio stations and the common streaming services (e.g. Pandora, Spotify) 4) Will access a NAS drive or a computer on your network and allow you to choose albums/songs off that stored music 5) Can be controlled from Jriver (from the computer to the player, not the other way around) 6) Can be hooked up locally to mobile devices (iphones, androids), preferably digitally rather than analog connection. Wired or wireless) 7) Is not a receiver or integrated amplifier, but a player (source) Does anything like this exist? Thanks, Peter

A) Is iTunes with error correction really OK? In the early days (maybe 7 years back), I ripped all my music to ALAC using error correction and then compared those rips to ones made with EAC to WAV and then converted by iTunes to ALAC, and the latter approach was audibly better. Now I don't trust iTunes anymore to do a good job with ripping. B) Can anyone else chime in about ripping on a PC? Clearly it would be much more convenient to rip with Jriver as an additional import step wouldn't be needed to add it to the Jriver library. From what I've read, people are saying that Jriver is slower (has to rip 2x) but as good. I don't know how rigorously these folks have tested. E) You are right that rearranging the file structure is unnecessary for most applications. The only place that it matters to me is when I'm using it directly for browsing to find music. I do this with mini SD cards in my Fiio X5 DAP. I guess it's a non-issue because I can reorganize on my SD cards anyway I want, but not mess with the organization on my hard drive. I imagine the same desire for organization holds when putting music on a thumb drive to be read via file structure by other devices.

Hello All. I have a couple questions about ripping and file organization. My questions pertain to 3 platforms: 1) Main Rig - uses Mac Mini with Jriver 2) Portable Rig - uses Windows7 PC + JRiver, and files on miniSD chips in a Fiio X5 digital audio player 3) Helping a Friend - who uses a Windows7PC and Jriver to listen but iTunes to populate his ipod Here are my questions: A) Is it better to rip on my Mac Mini or my PC? B) For the PC, how is JRiver as a ripping tool? If I should get something else for ripping, what is best for PC? C) For the MAC, how is JRiver as a ripping tool? If I should get something else for ripping, what is best for MAC? D) For my friend, does JRiver rip to Apple Lossless, or just play it? Does JRiver rip to AIFF? I think it makes sense to use either of those formats, so he can easily read his music files into iTunes and then populate his ipod with lower resolution MP3's. E) When organizing files, is there any issue with departing from the standard Artist > Album > Song? Can I add other layers into my organization, like: Genre > Main Artist > Artist Pairings > Album > Song. An example might be: Acoustic >David_Grisman > Grisman+Garcia > "The Pizza Tapes". I'm kind of anal about organization, and I guess l like things "my way" as long as I'm doing no harm! Thanks in advance for any answers. My apologies for repeating questions that have likely been asked elsewhere (just not all in one place). Peter

Hi Folks, I'm helping a friend set up a PC audio system - mid fi style. We need to find a small laptop (preferably 12" screen or better yet smaller) to use as a music server, likely running Jriver Media Center. Small and CHEAP. Anyone have any recommendations? I know we need 4gb memory as a minimum. Plan on using an external HD for music (already have), although could go internal. Wondering about Chromebooks, but I don't know anything about them. I assume they have their own OS, which probably wouldn't work here. Thanks for your input. Peter

Thanks all for the recommendations. I'd like to know how the units recommended above compare to the more standard offerings for portable units (e.g. Dragonfly, Meridian Explorer, NForce uDACiii). BTW - before reading Savage's response, I ordered the latter two from Audio Advisor - so I can try them out for 30 days and see what I think. Knowing that there are new offerings on the horizon makes me cautious about outlaying too much $$ for current offerings until I know what the others look like. The Geek looks interesting. Most of the time I'm listening thru either my desktop system preamp, or Sennheiser 580's with upgraded cable, or AKG K701's - so that's a range of impedance. When I travel, it would be nice to be able to use it with my Ultimate Ears IEC's. That may be two much to ask (someday I need to find some robust, on-the-ear travelling cans - but that is a different line of research). For instance, with the Geek one needs to select an impedence range for the amp, and I'm not sure which one to choose given which devices I use for listening. Comparisons to standard offerings would be most appreciated. As well as thoughts about impedance range. Thanks, Peter

Only moderate expectations. Budget within $400 and want to get the most bang for the buck. When I use headphone's it could be anything from Ultimate Ears IED's, Sennheiser 580's, AKG K701's. More often I'll be playing JRiver or streaming Spotify from my work laptop into a small office system (Linn Tukans, the rest TBD) or streaming off my Ipad to a fairly nice secondary system. Thanks.

Thanks for the update about idevices. That is really great. I often travel with my ipad, and it sounds like an ipad doesn't require a usb hub to work with the lightning to USB camera kit. So - I'm still looking for advice on a small, portable USB DAC that I can both 1) travel with and use to power headphones, 2) leave in my second office when not travelling and use to power my desktop system. Is it possible to get good SQ with such an animal?