tdme_tj

Kevin, Welcome to Computer Audiophile! I use a Mac Mini with BT Keyboard and Mouse and they haven't ever created any conflicts with the USB connection to my AVI ADM9s. I cannot foresee why it would be a problem with your system. When you say that you can't get the Mac to show the DAC as a device, are you referring to the Sound Pane in the System Preferences? If so, make sure you have the Output option selected, rather than the Sound Effects or Input options. If you do have the Output option selected, what devices are displayed? You should have a line item for Internal Speakers, are there any other line items listed? In my system the USB DAC set in the ADM9s show up as USB Audio Codec. If there are no other line items available, you may want to restart your MacBook Pro to see if there is a potential issue with the drivers not being fully plug and play compatible under either Leopard or Snow Leopard. My understanding is that the USB drivers used in OS X do not support 24/88.2 (or higher) data streams by default. Devices that operate at these resolutions often "provide" their own drivers to OS X, so it is important to make sure the connections of the devices is sequenced properly. First, disconnect the DAC USB cable from the MBP and then restart your computer. You may want to power down the Ultra Link III and disconnect the AC Mains cable while doing this just to be sure no logic devices in the DAC are "locked up". Once the computer is up and running, reconnect the AC Mains to the DAC and power it up. After the DAC is powered up, reconnect the USB cable to the DAC, then plug it into the MBP. Finally, open System Preferences and select the Sound pane, and the Output option. Does the USB device now show up in the list? If so, select it as your Output device option and have fun listening. If not, you may want to check the settings in Audio Midi Setup. Audio Midi Setup is the "Control Panel" for Core Audio in OS X. You will find Audio Midi Setup in the Utilities subfolder of the Applications folder on your MBP HD. When you open Audio Midi Setup (in Snow Leopard, in Leopard the layout is a bit different than described) you will have a Panel that has a Device Pane on the Left Hand Side, and user options on the Right Hand Side. Select the Built In Output device option in the Audio Devices pane. Then, in the drop down menu on the Right Hand Side of the panel, check to see if the USB device is available. If so, select it then set the appropriate resolution (bit depth and sample rate) for the music you wish to play, then quit Audio Midi Setup. Once this is done you can open iTunes and you should be able to play. If the PS DAC does not show up in the Audio Midi Setup drop down menu, you will need to do some additional trouble shooting. If you have a Mini Toslink to Toslink optical cable you can connect it to your DAC instead of the USB cable and see if the MBP recognizes the device (in either the Output option of the Sound pane in System Preferences or in the Built In Output option of Audio Midi Setup as an Optical Digital Audio line item). If the MBP cannot find the DAC via USB or Optical connection you should contact PS Audio to determine if there are any known issues regarding connectivity with a MBP running your OS (Leopard or Snow Leopard). If the MBP sees the DAC via the optical connection you should try a different USB cable just to make sure your Kimber Kable hasn't been damaged. If the USB cable swap allows the MBP to see the DAC, then you have a cable compatibility problem. If not, then once again you will need to contact the good folks at PS Audio - I am sure they will be happy to help walk you through the setup to determine if the fault is with the unit itself or the setup. I hope this helps! ATB, TDME_TJ

Mike, I have used my Mini with both 4m and 6m optical cables without experiencing a single "dropout" or any apparent loss of connection. At different times and during different demos I have used Audioquest Optilink A, Optilink G and Optilink 1 with a Mini Toslink adaptor on the Mac Mini end and the standard Toslink connection at the input side of AVI ADM9.1s. As the Brits would say, this has always "...worked a treat" so I wouldn't expect any problems. However, as always, YMMV! I also have a client who uses a 5 or 6 meter length of Lifatec Optical cable that is factory terminated with a mini Toslink on the Mac Mini side and a standard Toslink for his ADM9.1s. He has never complained of any signal loss in the 9 or 10 months he has been using his system. The Lifatec cable struck me as being a pretty good value when I had a chance to try it out, so you may want to check it out. Best regards, TDME_TJ

Rom661, All in all this should be fairly easy but you may still run into some issues with album artwork. Since it is getting late right now we can break until tomorrow. However, I can give you a basic tutorial on what I would recommend doing, and what I have done in the past for myself and clients. Keep in mind that in using this method you will not be able to capture your old Playlists and possibly your Ratings information. The only way to get that information back (and info regarding music to accompany any iPhoto Slideshows or other iLife background music) would be to reconnect the old HD and find your original iTunes Library folder/file. The following is a step by step procedure I have used in the past (given the above caveats and warnings): 1. Open iTunes 2. Open iTunes preferences under iTunes in the Finder Menu Bar 3. Select Advanced in the iTunes Preferences pane 4. Confirm that the listed iTunes Music Folder Location is the correct folder on your Firewire drive. If not, select Change and point iTunes towards the correct folder on the Firewire drive 5. Deselect (uncheck) the box next to "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to library". (This step prevents duplication of your entire iTunes Music Folder on your HD). 6. Select (check) the box next to "Keep iTunes Music folder organized". 7. Select (click) OK at the bottom of the iTunes Preferences pane. 8. Open an OS X Finder Window 9. Navigate in Finder until you have located the iTunes Music Folder on your Firewire Hard Drive. 10. Make sure you can view both the Finder Window (showing the iTunes Music Folder on your Firewire Hard Drive) and the iTunes Player Window (the iTunes user interface). 11. Drag the iTunes Music Folder from your Firewire Hard Drive to the Library header in the upper left hand section of the control pane of the iTunes Player Window and drop it (there should be a Green "+" next to the folder you are dragging and Library will be "outlined" when you have the folder in the proper location). 12. This action will create a new iTunes Library or "card catalog" for your iTunes Music Folder (this step will take some time as iTunes will index your entire music collection, so you may want to let it run overnight). 13. After iTunes finishes indexing the iTunes Music Folder and creating the new iTunes Library folder/files, you will be able to access all your music within the iTunes Player Window. The following steps allow you to tie up some loose ends. 14. Open iTunes preferences under iTunes in the Finder Menu Bar 15. Select Advanced in the iTunes Preferences pane 16. Select (check) the box next to "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to library". You want this on so future CD rips to your iTunes library will be saved in the proper location. 17. Confirm the box next to "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" is selected (checked). 18. Select General at the top of the iTunes Preferences Pane. 19. Select Import Settings... in the lower third of the General Preference Pane. 20. Select AIFF Encoder in the drop down menu. 21. Select (check) the box next to "Use error correction when reading Audio CDs". 22. Select (click) OK at the bottom of the Import Settings pane. 23. Select (click) OK at the bottom of the iTunes Preferences pane. After this procedure you should have all of your songs with ID tags in your iTunes Library. You will need to search for Album Artwork using the "Get Album Artwork" option under the Advanced menu drop down list in the iTunes Menu Bar, and recreate any Playlists and possibly the Ratings that you had set up before. If you have an iPod that has your complete library on it you should be able to use it to help recreate your Playlists and Ratings (by hand, unfortunately). This should get you most of the way home, but feel free to ask any additional questions that may come to mind. ATB and happy listening! TDME_TJ *Note - Just posted this procedure and saw that Rom661 had cleared things up with Chris. I will leave this as it is in case anyone needs this information in the future.

Rom661, Not having any information at all in the iTunes window can be relatively good news, depending upon how you encoded your music files when you originally ripped them to your HD. If they were encoded as either AIFF or Apple Lossless via iTunes the process will be fairly painless, though you may have some limited issues with album artwork. If the original rips were done in WAV format, or in AIFF or Apple Lossless using software other than iTunes, then you stand to have more significant problems with ID tags and album artwork. Personally, I am an AIFF and Apple Lossless fan and I use iTunes almost exclusively, so I don't spend much time, if any at all, working with WAV files or other CD ripping software. If you are in the same camp as I am (ripping via iTunes in Apple Lossless or AIFF) then I would be comfortable helping you get your iTunes library up and running. If you were in the other camp(s), then I would feel more comfortable having either Chris or another CA member walk you through the process so you can maximize the likelihood of saving/preserving any album artwork and ID tags (and any other Metadata) that could be salvageable. Finally, the back up that you have available, is it a full system or user folder backup, or is it just a backup of your Music Folder on the firewire drive? If it is a full system or user folder backup, is it current/up to date, or have you added any music to the library since the last backup? Let me know and I will get back to you ASAP. ATB, TDME_TJ

Rom661, No worries. You won't be consolidating, although the process you will need to undertake is similar. First thing that we need to know is what happens when you open iTunes? What does the iTunes window look like when you select music in the left hand control pane? Does it display any information at all (do you see a list of any of your tunes when in "List View" or is it a totally empty window)? I will be online for a while longer tonight so if I hear back from you by say 1:00AM EDT in the US, I may be able to help you out yet tonight. Regards, TDME_TJ

Rom661, Sounds like you are doing some worthwhile upgrades to you Mini and have just had a fairly simple and common glitch. While you are pointing iTunes to the right music folder location (think of this as "the stacks" where the "books" are stored in a real world library), you have probably lost your iTunes Library file (which is analogous to the "card catalog" in a real world library). Chris has done an excellent job of going over this in the Computer Audiophile Academy, and you can find his helpful article at: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/How-Move-iTunes-Library-Music-One-Computer-Another-Part-I What has probably happened is that when you swapped out your old internal HD for the SSD, your iTunes library file (the "card catalog") was in your user/music folder on the old HD and now cannot be seen by iTunes. When you had the SSD installed the iTunes library file couldn't be found so you end up with either no tunes in your iTunes music pane, or the dreaded exclamation points next to each tune. So, you still have all the "books in the stacks" but iTunes can't find them because the "card catalog" is gone. If you still have access to the old HD via Finder you can simply drag the iTunes Music Library files/folder onto the same location on the new SSD. If not, things get a bit more involved, but really not very tricky, especially since you have all your music backed up (or at least that is the impression I got from your initial posting). If you do not have access to the old HD, you can recreate the iTunes Library file (the "card catalog") fairly easily, though it does take some time. The biggest issue when doing this is the possibility of creating a full set of duplicate Music files (doubling up the "books in the stacks"). Not the end of the world if you have plenty of HD space, but it can add a bit of time to the process. For now, take a look at the link above and then let us know if the old internal HD is available via Finder or not (I believe new Mac Minis can accommodate multiple internal HDs/SSDs, so I am not certain how your machine is configured). Once we know that, one of us on CA should be able to "talk" you through the process. TDME_TJ

BEEMB, While the Mac Mini itself can be "unclipped" with a putty knife, the power supply for the Mini is a separate Brick that is sealed, much like an iBook or MacBook AC Adaptor. To get into these devices requires some warranty voiding semi-destructive disassembly. The reason for this is that Apple doesn't really want folks tampering with potentially lethal voltages, protecting their customers for harm and their company from liability. IF a change in the PS can result in better performance, I don't know why someone wouldn't just produce something in a separate chassis and fit the same PS plug that Apple uses. Of course, I am sure that the PS connector on the back of a Mac Mini is NOT a standard part! ATB, Tom "TJ" Jankowski

Martin, You are very welcome, my apologies for not being able to answer your more specific questions regarding the best upgrade path in the MS world. It seems that you and I probably have complementary experiences but in the Microsoft and Mac worlds, respectively. I am sure that the members of the Computer Audiophile community who are exceptionally well educated in this area will get back to you soon with their experiences, observations and recommendations. I'll keep an eye on the thread and add whatever information I can as the discussion develops. Best regards, Tom "TJ" Jankowski -- Overture Imports, Inc. www.overtureimports.com (734) 995-1812 Voice [email protected]

Martin, Congratulations in advance for making the decision to enter the world of computer sourced music. Once you have made the transition to an audiophile quality computer sourced system, the thought of going back to playing music the "old fashioned" way will make you shudder! I will limit myself to addressing your questions about the AVI ADM9.1 since that is the product with which I have the greatest familiarity. I am one of the principals of Overture Imports, the US importer and distributor of AVI products and I use an ADM9/10" Subwoofer system at home. The system I am currently using is comprised of a Mac Mini (1.83Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4Gb of RAM) and a NewerTech 1Tb MiniStack V2.5 HD running into a pair of ADM9s and the ADM 10" Powered Subwoofer, as well as an LG 42LG30 LCD HDTV. The Mac Mini is often controlled by my iPhone using the Remote app or, more recently, the Rowmote app (if I want to toggle on the iTunes visualizer.) The system is often used with any one of a number of turntables in order to play my vinyl collection (depending upon what I can liberate for a few days at a time from my business partner's hifi shop!). The ADM9.1 features a very high quality, multi input line level preamplifier. As you have noted, one of the inputs is a full range analogue input which can be used with your Rega P3 TT and dedicated phono preamplifier (if it is the Rega Fono I can tell you from considerable personal experience that this combination works very well indeed). The other two inputs are digital Toslink optical and they feed a high performance Wolfson DAC capable of handling up to 24/192 data streams (due to the Toslink standard, these inputs are currently limited to 24/96 max high res material). The preamp stage offers control of volume level, muting and input selection via infrared remote control using the Phillips RC5 remote codes. In the past we have compared the performance of the ADM9 preamp section to separate component preamps and have found that it is competitive with models costing significantly more than a pair of ADM9.1s. If the system features only a single analogue source and no more than two digital sources you are all set with using the ADM9.1 built in preamp. If you require additional inputs for a wider variety of sources, we would recommend using a high quality passive switching network running into the inputs on the ADM9.1 master speaker. While we do not currently have a dealer in the Seattle area for the ADM9.1s, we do offer a 14 day in home trial period when the speakers are purchased directly from Overture Imports. I am sure a number of Computer Audiophile community members who are ADM9.1 owners will be happy to provide you with their opinions and observations of the system's sound quality. And, of course, we highly recommend Chris's detailed review of the ADM9s and 9.1s on this very site as an excellent summary of what we hear from the system. Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions, or if we can be of any further assistance. I will be happy to post any answers to the forum, or you can give us a ring or drop us an email if you have inquiries you would prefer to take "off line". ATB, Tom "TJ" Jankowski -- Overture Imports, Inc. (734) 995-1812 Voice [email protected]

To the Computer Audiophile community, I am Tom "TJ" Jankowski of Overture Imports, the US importer and distributor for AVI products. Over the last few weeks Overture Imports and AVI in the UK have been working on revamping the marketing of the AVI-d Digital Lifestyle products here in the US. I have let Chris know about these changes and he requested that I post an update to the Computer Audiophile community to keep the readers fully informed. Overture Imports will now be selling the AVI-d Digital Lifestyle products direct to consumers. This change has resulted in a substantial decrease in US prices. The new prices, effectively immediately, are as follows: ADM9.1 in cherry or walnut finish - $2250.00 per pair ADM9.1 in gloss white, gloss black or Santos rosewood - $2495.00 per pair ADM 10" Powered Subwoofer in satin black - $1750.00 each All prices include UPS Ground shipping within the 48 contiguous states. Overture Imports is in the process of establishing an online store for the direct sale of the AVI-d product line. We hope to announce our new online store to the Computer Audiophile community in the next few weeks. In the interim, please feel free to contact Overture Imports by email at [email protected] or by phone at (734) 995-1812 if you should have any questions. You will also be able to find new pricing information on our website at www.overtureimports.com early next week. Many thanks to Chris for allowing us to share this information with the Computer Audiophile community. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming... Tom "TJ" Jankowski -- Overture Imports, Inc. 618 South Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Andrew, You can use a regular Toslink optical "cable" to connect the Airport Express, however you also need to get a "mini Toslink" to Toslink adaptor. Audioquest makes a Mini Toslink adaptor and they sell for no more than $5.00 here in the US. In my experience more and more Audioquest dealers are stocking the adaptors along with various grades of Toslink "cables". With respect to connecting the DAC directly to your computer via USB you will need to configure the audio output for the USB CODEC in the DAC. On a Mac you do this by opening System Preferences and selecting the Sound pane. Once the Sound Preferences opens there will be an Output option. Selecting Output will then give a list which should include Internal Audio and USB Audio CODEC. Select USB Audio CODEC, make sure the Mute option is not checked then quit System Preferences and start playing your favorite tunes. I'm not much of a Windows user any longer, but the process should be similar. You should find a Sound pane somewhere in the Control Panels, then once again select USB Audio CODEC in the Output "sub-pane". I hope this is helpful. Best of luck and happy listening. TJ

Computer Audiophile has been an unparalleled resource over the last year. I am sure all of us are looking forward to ever more informative, interesting and thought provoking observations, articles and essays in the coming year.<br /> <br /> Tom "TJ" Jankowski<br /> Overture Imports

Tim, I am Tom "TJ" Jankowski, one of the principals of Overture Imports, Inc. in Ann Arbor, and we are the North American importers/distributors for AVI. First off, I would like to thank you for your interest in the AVI ADM9.1s. We are currently awaiting our first allocation of the ADM9.1s and the 10" Subwoofers from AVI. This initial order is coming via sea freight, and now that the ship has made way all of us here in Ann Arbor are as anxious as a six year old on Christmas Eve! The current ETA for the ADM9.1s is October 6th. We plan to formally introduce and demonstrate the ADM9.1s and the 10" Subwoofer at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver the weekend of October 10th-12th. If Denver is a convenient travel location for you we would be happy to have you give them an audition. Just stop by room 433 (Atrium Level) at the Marriott Tech Center. Since building up a qualified dealer network for the AVI-d Digital Lifestyle products will take some time, we will be selling the ADM9 series speakers and the new 10" Subwoofers directly to consumers with a 14 day evaluation period. The retail price for the ADM9.1s in standard finishes (natural cherry and walnut) is $2999.00 per pair and in premium finishes (gloss white, gloss black and Santos rosewood) is $3299.00 per pair. The 10" Subwoofer will retail for $2150.00 a piece (available in basic black only). All of these prices include UPS Ground shipping in the lower 48 states and exclude sales tax. I look forward to becoming an active member of the Computer Audiophile community and wish to thank Chris for both the opportunity to communicate with all of you as well as for his hard work on such an invaluable resource. Cheers for now! Tom "TJ" Jankowski -- Overture Imports US Distributor for Quadraspire AV Furniture and North American Distributor for AVI Ltd. www.overtureimports.com