tpoole638

Hello All, I want to report a problem, as well as something I have noticed recently. When I am not listening to my AIFF files in iTunes, I often stream Spotify from my iPad and more recently, my iPhone. The reason that I say more recently is because my iPad will no longer stream Spotify to the Apple TV properly. I was able to get it working properly again for about 2 weeks before it started messing up again. I can stream Youtube and HBO GO with no problems whatsoever, but it will not stream Spotify. It will do short bursts of sound with pauses in between. The song is continuously playing on the iPad Spotify app while this is going on....its not pausing and playing on the iPad. This is also the case when I try to stream iTunes from the iPad. Curiously, when I play Spotify on my iPhone, it works just fine. Does anybody have any ideas as to why this is happening and/or how to fix it? Of course, the person I contacted at Apple blames Spotify, and Spotify blames Apple. No help whatsoever so far there. The other thing is this: because this started happening, I started playing Spotify/iTunes from my desktop computer by connecting it to my Peachtree DAC via a low $ cheapy gray USB cord. What I have noticed (wasn't even looking for this) is that IMO, the music sounds a little bit better. Of course, the AIFF files in iTunes sound better. What I'm really talking about is that Spotify music sounds better wired to the system than being streamed through the Apple TV2. The best way I can describe the difference in sound is that it sounds less 'hissy' or muddled, particularly in regards to the highs. When the music contains alot of snare/high hat drumming, the sound seems considerably less scratchy or muddled. There seems to be slightly more 'non-flatness' (ugh...lack of a better term) to the music....perhaps slightly more spacing to the sounds may be a better way to say it. Im just curious if anyone has experienced similar issues? Has anyone else experienced differences in sound quality in regards to the ATV2 vs something else?

@ Steve - thank you for your interest in my situation. I contacted Crutchfield and they are giving me an extra week to turn in the gear. The dealer I have mentioned in previous posts is going to help me decide what I should do with the gear. I'm going to take my speakers/amp to his shop and try them with some of his gear to see if there is any improvement. I know, I know....it won't sound the same as it will in my own house, but I'm going to compare how it sounds with other items, namely Magnepans. The dealer is a dealer of Magnepans, so I'm going to listen to them in depth with some of my familiar recordings. Just so everyone knows, I don't mind the "offtrackedness" of this forum from my audio problems to the "Maggie-fest". I have been diligently reading all of the posts and they have been informative and often entertaining. I have become genuinely interested in the MMGs, partly as a result of this forum. I wonder if MMGs will work well within my listening environment. I don't think I will be able to space them sufficiently from the wall. Further complicating matters is the fact that I just started a new job, and will be moving in a few months. Maybe I should just wait until I know what hey new house will be before buying new gear? At any rate, my current situation is that I have already received the return shipping forms from Crutchfield, and I am almost 100% sure I am going to return the gear. I am wanting to try listening to them in different configurations at the dealer. I would like to try to keep them, but I don't think I will. I want to hear the MMGs connected to my DAC and amp, as well as hearing how they play my compressed (gasp!) iTunes / Spotify music. I think what I am looking for is a system that will play high quality music files beautifully while also being able to play the compressed stuff fairly well. Another thought - I have been thinking of going in a completely different direction and buying the Emotiva Airmotiv 5s or 6s monitors. Any thoughts about those???

Oh I will definitely listen to them first with my gear....the only problem is I don't think the dealer has any amps anywhere close to my price range!! @ Barry - What would you say is the minimum amp power that would be sufficient for the MMGs?

How do you think similar systems as you described would sound with iPad as the source, playing AIFF files as well as some compressed music from iTunes Match and Spotify?

Thanks for that info. I have pretty much decided that I am going to return the speakers and amp and use the experience I've gained thus far to making a better decision. I have found a dealer who can help me a little, although they have not embraced digital/computer audio yet. I was thinking of trying the PSB Imagine B (bookshelfs), but your experience in listening to them seems to confirm much of the same problem. Everyone has focused on my comments about harshness, but nobody has really talked about the muddiness / 2 dimensional sound I have been experiencing, especially on songs with a lot of drumming (think Led Zep and some modern rock like Black Keys or Foo) and active horn sections (think blues-rock). The dealer I mentioned has some Magnepan speakers. I listened very briefly to the MMGs and they sounded really good, but they were connected to expensive, powerful amps/preamps as well as a turntable player. I will take my iPad and DAC and see how they sound with those.

Give me more credit than that! Yeah, it is plugged in. I have no idea why I would get that message on my iPad.

@ Ccclapp - No offense taken. And yeah, the "Ask 100/get 100" has been overwhelming at times to say the least. But I have enjoyed this thread and have learned some things. I am a rank noob with no expertise but a love for music and a big desire to learn. I wish my wallet was a little bigger as well, but that's part of the challenge too I think. By the way, do you or anyone else know why I can't get the iPad to play via the camera connection kit to the DAC? A message popped up on the iPad that said, "the connected device requires too much power"....or something similar to that (can't remember exactly) At the end of the day, maybe my ears are playing tricks on me, who knows?! Maybe I am doubting the speakers/amp because I am getting to the end of the audition period, and I feel like Maybe i should have had an "Ahh-hah" moment that never happened...I never had that moment where I just fell in love with the sound. Now I am frantically trying to figure out what I should do....don't want to be stuck with what I have after its too late to send it back, if there are better options for me. Does that make any sense? Sent from my iPhone On Apr 4, 2012, at 12:03 AM, "Computer Audiophile" wrote: Greetings, tpoole638 Computer Audiophile notifies you of new comments: -------------------------------------------------------------------- New comment: Author: ccclapp Title: "audiophileness" ...certainly I intended no offence by my comment questioning your ipad. I completely agree that CA should be accessible to all and $ is not the measure of one's "audiophileness". In many respects it is/shold be the opposite. Part of CA is learning and making it work for all of us in whatever form is best for the individual. For me, I am learning about room correction and DIY high-end to 1) use what I have to the fullest and 2) get lots of bang for my buck with changes Having said that, I guess it all boils down to balance. The larger the constraints, the more balance becomes critical and the harder the job. My point, expressed without sufficient understanding, was that with an ipad source it may be harder to evaluate the subtleties of the various other components all above have discussed. Based on that, figuring out how to use the camera kit to maximize ipad output might be a good early step (as others have suggested). Also, trying headphones (on returnable basis) might help you remove expensive speakers from the mix, during your evaluation of DACS, etc. Figuring a way to control your variables one at a time, will help you better know the strengths/limitations of each component. Your weakest link, will always hinder your evaluation of the rest of the chain. PS: Aren't you tired yet, of the "ask 100 people, get 100 different answers" syndrome? :-)__________________ -Caleb C.A.P.S v2.0>Mytek 8X192>Lexicon MC12b>Theta Dreadnought>Infinity Prelude MTS>Sonos>JRiver MC>12TB DataTale eSATA Link: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/My-new-system-underwhelminghow-do-I-improve-sound#comment-139689 -------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an automated message. Please do NOT reply to the sender address! To manage your subscriptions go to http://www.computeraudiophile.com/user/10216/subscriptions -------------------------------------------------------------------- Direct unsubscribe link (thread): http://www.computeraudiophile.com/s/del/node/nid/57502/-1/10216/21402375fbbea5f16eac919c5a961525 NID

Yes, it's true one of my main sources is an iPad; however, I also play CDs (16/44) played from my PS3 to the DAC via optical cable. The iPad has a selection of AIFF files as well. I simply do not have the funds to spend on a good computer setup with everything needed to have a great sounding system based on a computer. That will have to come in time and knowledge gained. I love music, and I love listening to music even more. I am convinced that music can sound pretty good from my sources. I have been told that by others on this site, and I played music at a dealer through my iPad + DAC; however, they were connected to Mcintosh amp and pre-amps that cost a few grand each!

Yeah, I figured I would get that response to that question...I just wanted to throw that out there anyway. I am just trying to cover everything. I will try removing the Dac from the system tonight as previously suggested. I saw a suggestion on here about the iPad camera connection kit....I bought one of those and connected it to a USB cable to my DAC, but I couldn't get it to work. Anybody know why?

"I cannot tell from the thread if it was confirmed that the speakers are in phase. This sounds very similar to a problem I had where the builder of my speakers has inadvertendly switched the inputs on one of the speakers around and I could not for my life figure out why it sounded so bad on some recordings - especially female vocals" --How did you find this out? How would I know if that might have happened?

I tried to upload some pics of my room, but I could not get them to attach for some reason. I have until April 7th to return my speakers or amp; I have almost 2 months to audition the Peachtree DAC*it. I have received alot of things to think about...I am purchasing the book recommended in some of the previous posts. I moved my speakers from the back wall exactly 2 feet each....that's about the best I can do at this point. Does anyone know about the Polk RTi A7s? (See below) http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107RTIA7C/Polk-Audio-RTi-A7-Cherry.html For those of you who know alot better than I do, please look over the specs of the Polks and see if they might be a better choice. Someone mentioned earlier that I should not have bought gear without listening beforehand. There are not any decent audio dealers in my area, so Crutchfield's 60-day no-money-back return policy was the best option I had for audio gear that I can afford. There is one dealer somewhat close to me, but they sell extremely expensive speakers, and they have yet to embrace high-end digital audio (no DACS, etc available for listening or purchase). Let me ask you all another question: if you had to choose between the Polks in the above link or a bigger amp, which do you think would be the better choice? Thanks!

"Of course, if the harshness is coming from uneven boomy bass, you would have to move things around more. But somehow I doubt it because you describe needing to turn up the volume." -The harshness is not coming from uneven boomy bass...in fact, the bass is the best part about the sound. I am really pleased with the bass. The rest of the sound is the problem. And yeah, I have to turn it up fairly loud to get a sound quality different from my old stuff. My new system sounds alot louder than my Bose. ALOT LOUDER. But that is it really. Like I said, it sounds marginally better, and given the money spent and the equipment in the new system it should. It should sound much more than marginally better...the adjective I should be using is something like "other-wordly" better, or I should be saying something like the two are not even comparable. The bass is much clearer and cleaner. The bass is "other-wordly" better. Again, that is the only part of it that is though.

Someone commented that there should be no way I am getting more sound from the Bose/ipod than the NAD+DAC. I did not mean to say that I was getting more sound from the Bose....I am definitely getting more sound (loudness primarily) from my new system; but not really any significantly BETTER sound. Marginally better for sure, but not that much better. And, like I mentioned before, the same album I listened to to compare the two was more pleasant to listen to from the Bose because harshness was not present. I have found after buying this equipment that my primary priority is on sound quality...particularly in regards to the music being 3-dimensional, dynamic, space between instruments (especially in the mids & highs), and crisp, clear, highs. I am not particularly concerned anymore with it being mind-numbingly loud, although I do like it loud every now and again.

Thanks for all of the advice/comments so far...I really appreciate it! First, let me clarify something - I think I may have misspoke when I said that at times it sounds pretty good and other times it does not. What I meant to say was that there are some songs that sound really good...more songs do not sound all that great. I have not heard any same song sound good one day, then sound bad the next. I meant that there are some songs I have played that sound pretty good. The most notable that I can think of is "No Quarter" by Led Zeppelin. Honestly, I feel like I have had the opposite of the "break-in" effect happen to me. As I have played music on my system, it has not "opened-up", but seems to have progressively sounded worse as time has passed; it seems to sound more muddy than it did before. That could be my mind playing tricks on me though too, who knows. It seems that way though. I will educate myself more on room acoustics and speaker placement. I have to shamefully admit that I was given advice to to that, but I never did. The reason I did not learn more about that is because I feel like I am very limited in how I could setup my system in this space. I honestly don't know how I could set it up any differently, given the size of the room and my limitations. I measured just now, and my speakers are 1.5 feet from the back wall and 7.5 feet apart from each other. If I pulled them out any further, the left speaker would be right next to a chair. I will research room acoustics though, given what everyone has said about it so far. As to the amp, I asked about that before I bought it, and I was told that it should be ok; however, I still have time to return these items without charge if I want to do that.

@ AudioDoctor - I am indeed using iTunes on my iPad. I use the iPad to play AIFF files. I use the Apple TV to play my iTunes Match content. When using the iPad, I have the volume to the maximum, and I have the EQ settings OFF.