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KarolG

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  1. Thanks for your detailed reply! I have some hopes to build my CAPS based on Atom D2700. It has improved GPU versus D525 and it looks like the design may be still fanless. As for NAS I still prefer single-HDD fanless. RAID 10 is not a real backup and for music library I can do weekly backup for external HDD. This would also work as ISO storage. I want my tags to be saved in music files so DSF is a winner for me.
  2. Here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD you can read To reduce the space and bandwidth requirements of Direct Stream Digital (DSD), a lossless data compression method called Direct Stream Transfer (DST) is used. DST compression is compulsory for multi-channel regions and optional for stereo regions. This typically compresses by a factor of between two and three, allowing a disc to contain 80 minutes of both 2-channel and 5.1-channel sound.
  3. Thanks for the link. I see ISO playback is not yet supported. I assume DST is not supported as well.
  4. Uncompressed DSD file is almost the same size as equivalent 24/88.2 WAV. FLAC compression reduces the WAV size considerably and this doesn't cause any problem with decoding. People commonly use FLAC-8 vs default FLAC-5 as there is no problem with lacking resources during unpack. It looks like it is not the same with DSD/DST. I would like DSD to be compressed. I use single-HDD NAS because I prefer fanless design. I hate even the most quiet fan as this is just dust-collector. For single-HDD NAS I am limited with storage to 3TB and of course I save all ISOs as a backup (PS3 YLOD danger!) BTW, how to compress DSF/DFF file with DST if it wasn't originally compressed in ISO ?
  5. If there are minor differences as both are DSD "wrappers" I can assume software players will often support both. So no danger I will be stuck with the format which lost "DSD format war" I also wonder if DST compression will be supported by software players. I see Foobar plugin uses much of computer resources to unpack DST. DSF file compressed with DST would be an equivalent of FLAC for PCM. The thing is I am about to build CAPS-like server and wonder of its horsepower to support features like "theatre view" or decoding DST.
  6. Hi, I just bought MyTek and looking for native DSD playback software. JRiver MC seems to be a good choice. So far I converted my SACD ISO files to PCM 24/88.2 but now I must re-convert them to either Philips DSDIFF (*.dff) or Sony DSF (*.dsf) file format. Bot are supported by MC. I have read elsewhere DSF has better tagging. I need to decide which one to use before I will re-convert my ISOs. I have just downloaded sample album from Blue Coast and it looks like 24-96 WAV files have the same size as DFF files. These files are quite big. For WAVs I can compress them using FLAC but for DFF files I see the only possibility would be to use DST compression. Will MC support DST compressed DSD (*.dff or *.dsf) files ? How about supporting direct SACD ISO playback in DSD mode? Similar to Foobar plugin. I would avoid re-conversion to separate files. I am not sure how would tags be stored into files in case of ISO playback. Additional cue file? What is your experience of DSD playback ?
  7. Hi, I am going to play native DSD using my MyTek. This means I need to re-convert my ISO files to either DFF (DSDIFF) or DSF file format. What format to choose? I plan to use JRiver MC. AFAIK JRiver doesn't support ISO playback - but even if it did I still wonder if to use separate files because of tagging. I think this would be good idea to have tags inside files in case I moved to another playback software. Do you have any experience of DSF vs DFF regarding tagging?
  8. Hi, http://bluecoastrecords.downloadsnow.net/discount More info here: http://dsd-guide.com/ Only today the whole album for $0.01 in DSD and/or 24-96 format. Good opportunity to compare formats with MyTek !
  9. Hi,<br /> <br /> Thanks for the review!<br /> <br /> Does such interface isolate DAC from the music server good enough to make server specification not important?<br /> I mean to buy such a device and then build media server without taking any care of the quality of the components (sound wise). I could make some $$$ savings on the server side and this would justify Alpha USB price.
  10. Let's not start another DSD vs. PCM war What really matters for me is not if DSD is superior to PCM (or not) but what kind of release is available for me to buy for the best possible digital version. If the best digital version currently available for "I Robot" by The Alan Parsons Project is DVD-Audio (HDAD) then I want to get it. Unfortunately for many releases the best digital version currently available seems to be DFF file ripped from SACD. I mean releases like MoFi or Analogue Productions. I just want to play them all using one device in the best possible way. I am aware recording companies want me to buy the same stuff all over again - but now we not only listen but also measure and view the music using our computers. It's not so easy to make me buy another version before I do Internet research first Now Mytek opened for me the new possibilities. Now I learn how to use them properly
  11. Ted, It is interesting you said on-the-fly DSD-PCM conversion is not all that bad. I assume you tested it with Pure Music. Software conversion takes a lot of time and resources (in many cases DST-DSD decompress first) but many SACD players do the "hidden" conversion on-the-fly. I always wondered what is the "magic" in the software converters causing them to be so slow.
  12. So far to listen to SACDs from music server one needed to convert DSD files to PCM. This is a lossy conversion and there are various factors to consider: sample rate, dithering method, non-clipping gain adjustments (to follow +6dB spec but not to clip), the software to use (Audiogate, Saracon, Foobar plugin), high frequency noise cut-off level, etc. This is all not necessary for native DSD playback. Many high-end gear owners claim the CD specs (16/44.1) are often enough to achieve audio nirvana. I believe this may be true if DAC is good enough (or does some interesting inside processing/conversion/enhancement to the signal). I have a question for SACD ripping enthusiasts who use Mytek DAC. How do you compare the DSD-to-PCM converted tracks sound quality vs. CD (Redbook) layer rip of the same SACD? Is it worth all the trouble to convert DSD-to-PCM or just rip the CD layer using EAC and leave SACD layer to DSD domain? I assume I will hold PCM files in my library for future use (eg. test another DAC).
  13. Hi, I think of C.A.P.S. 2.0 as a music server for the Mytek. In the CAPS thread it is suggested that I could skip the SOtM tX-USB card ($339) and use $8 SYBA SD-VIA-FW1E1H PCI FireWire card instead. The price difference is huge and is justified by extra tX-USB features: "own power line noise filter, individual ultra low noise regulators to power up to two attached USB devices, onboard ultra low jitter clock, onboard PCI host controller, and separate power connector". In some previous posts it was suggested that USB and FireWire interfaces in the DAC don't really differ and should perform equally. The question is if the above statement is still valid if I use cheap FireWire card in my server without all of this filtering implemented in the tx-USB? Do USB and FireWire interfaces at Mytek differ in terms of noise/jitter resistance?
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