baoshan

Thanks, Chris, for these interesting questions that broaden my knowledge. Tonal repacks lossless audio of a complete disc using FLAC (for PCM audio discs) or WavPack (for DSD audio discs). Tonal uses Apple’s FLAC implementation (not libFLAC), but that doesn’t change the fact that FLAC specification is limited to 8 channels. So 12-channel is beyond Tonal’s current capability. 🙃 Please try Tonal 1.0.12 (pending review by Apple) and see if the Merging Technologies interface appears. If it is still missing from Tonal, I would be grateful if you could send me a screenshot of the audio device in the Audio MIDI Setup app; I am curious to see how many channels it exposes. There may be other unknown issues because I have zero experience/knowledge working with virtual devices and multi-channel content, so please be careful (when playing multi-channel or even stereo albums using Tonal). Tonal’s always-bit-accurate strategy fails here because virtual devices may internally perform digital signal processing. I don’t know if they can identify and preserve DoP markers properly. I am pretty sure you know much more than me. Please correct me for factual errors.

Thank you, Chris! How time flies! It is the Audiophile Style community that brings it to life. I am so proud to introduce the new Tonal here — it does meet my standard for a product with originality and integrity. It can be downloaded for free now. Tonal uses a lightweight, configuration-free engine to support always-bit-accurate playback up to DSD 256. Users who do not need DSP usually find Tonal’s playback more predictable. Tonal also reveals the specifications of DACs and offers fine-grained volume control. For those who collect CDs, a Tonal collection is free of ripping errors. Tonal verifies Red Book discs using AccurateRip and uses CUETools to fix broken tracks automatically. It is the first macOS app with CUETools error correction built-in (although not in the traditional form). Tonal offers first-class support for classical music. The layout pays homage to the tradition. I wrote an article comparing Tonal with Apple Music Classical. Much of that article applies to other genres as well. Tonal pioneered a metadata language that is much easier than tag editing. Take this album as an example: The first track alone needs 9 tags (not counting album-level tags such as album title, genre, artwork, etc.). To describe all 7 tracks, we need 59 tags, which can be reduced to 17 lines — no more redundancy, no need to check over and over, and roles like baritone and soprano are also included: Last but not least, once albums are added to your collection, Tonal will not read the original files — it packs lossless audio data in a uniform (FLAC or WavPack) encoding in its managed directory. You no longer need to manage filenames and folder names by yourself. That being said, Tonal is a misfit in many ways — it does not fit everyone’s needs. For those who choose Tonal, Tonal won’t be their only player because: Due to the always-bit-accurate strategy, you can neither listen to 192 kHz albums on your Mac’s built-in speakers nor play a DSD album on a PCM-only D/A converter. If you cannot make an extra, standalone space for Tonal, whether internal or external, on a NAS or an SD card, there may be a better time for you to host your entire collection in Tonal. If such limitations are acceptable, you will find the experience exceptional. It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Like five years ago, I welcome criticism. I wish the community could try the new Tonal and provide valuable feedback. The free version has no restrictions on features or usage. You can add up to 20 (CD-quality or high-res) discs to build a mini collection of your favorite artists. I have vouchers reserved for those who have experienced the old (2018) version. Happy surfing on Audiophile Style, and have a nice day!

For members of Audiophile Style who gave Tonal a try in 2018 and left feedback (positive or negative), I would like to offer a free redemption code to express my deepest gratitude (PM me with a link or screenshot). I hope you can write an objective and positive review for the new Tonal app (no obligation), but in case of something you are unsatisfied with, please reach me first (via the “About Tonal” menu command).

I am presenting the new Tonal app (the old one here), which defines a better way to build and experience your audiophile music collection. To structure Tonal’s specifications and features in a compact yet engaging way, I am listing ten opinionated principles for good (software audiophile) players. I want to keep the post as short as possible. TEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PLAYERS 1. GOOD PLAYERS ARE INNOVATIVE Tonal introduces a new audio file format, a feather-light playback engine, and a groundbreaking music metadata solution. Built on these foundational innovations, Tonal creates its category. 2. GOOD PLAYERS ARE PREDICTABLE Tonal collects music into .tonal audio files — a lightweight audio format containing pure PCM or DSD data of a complete disc in a standardized encoding. The effects of different codecs and/or parameters are completely eliminated before playback. 3. GOOD PLAYERS HAVE CONSTRAINTS Tonal rejects lossy audio and incomplete discs. Red Book discs must be AccurateRip verified. Don’t worry, CUETools is included to fix broken rips automatically. Remember, we’re curating, not just collecting. These constraints make the playback even more confident and predictable. These constraints, in the end, set you free. 4. GOOD PLAYERS ARE ACCURATE Tonal is always bit-perfect. The whole app is engineered bottom-up from an audiophile engine that is canonical and featherweight —— only 4 SLOC in C (the theoretical minimum code footprint). Tonal also offers fine volume control at your DAC’s native resolution, enhancing your Mac’s native experience. 5. GOOD PLAYERS REQUIRE NO CONFIGURATION Tonal has preferences, but no settings, not a single. No need to tweak checkboxes, pickers, or sliders for optimal audiophile performance. Tonal automatically measures and optimizes all parameters on your Mac before the first note is played. Discuss the music and the sound with your friends, not the settings. 6. GOOD PLAYERS MAKE DURABLE COLLECTIONS .tonal audio files contain no music tag, making them absolutely stable once created. Collectors always hold bit-identical .tonal audio files for the same audio disc. Also, there is no duplicate music on your storage. 7. GOOD PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE Indexing your music collection using proprietary metadata sources is irresponsible: they may not last long. Tonal relies on only one metadata source: the Tonal disc catalog. Edit metadata easily in the browser-based Tonal Editor, which syncs your collection in real-time. The catalog is licensed under the (not revocable) CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Your collection and the metadata must outlast Tonal. 8. GOOD PLAYERS EMPOWER COLLABORATIONS Collaboration is the spirit of our community. The Tonal disc catalog is contributed solely by Tonal users —— community collaboration on music metadata is finally real. Improve data quality, or establish a style guide, there are many things you can do! Imagine a published discography of [name your favorite pianist] with your name on it —— only Tonal can make it happen. 9. GOOD PLAYERS ARE LOCAL Tonal is local first. You create no account to use Tonal. You can play and explore all your collections without a network connection. You can migrate or rebuild your entire library even without Tonal backend services. Tonal is subscription-free. Buy once and use forever. Apple wants developers to switch to a subscription model, which simply does not align with Tonal’s philosophy. 10. GOOD PLAYERS ARE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE Tonal does not treat the UI like a bazaar, letting recommendations, portraits, biographies, audio metadata, and various controls compete for your attention. Tonal is just 25 MB (universal build runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs). Tonal wants to be a tool —— a simple, precise, predictable, and working tool. “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart -- and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. Tools are just tools. They either work, or they don’t work.” —— Steve Jobs BUILD YOUR AUDIOPHILE COLLECTION THE HARD WAY A Plex-like app that monitors your folders and grabs music metadata automatically works well until it fails. No commercially available music metadata source meets Tonal’s standard, especially for classical music. You need to do it yourself. You also need to learn a new language (see the complete user guide to learn more). Seriously? Why? As an Asian, organizing (think Marie Kondo here, not MBA courses) is deeply rooted in my mind and body. When practicing organizing, my philosophy pivots around two points: Good methodologies are usually hard to get started, a great one may be even harder (if not the hardest) and demands a lifetime commitment. Measure the entropy (as in information theory, represents uncertainty) and reduce it to the minimum. You need to fight hard for this, at all costs, for all the time. Building a music collection, at the essence, is all about organizing. I don’t want to preach on intangible things. Once you understand how Tonal works, you will never look back. Tonal is neither for everyone nor for every audio file on your disk. Please read the complete user guide, at least twice. I am glad to answer any unanswered questions here. CODA The new Tonal app is available for pre-order today and is expected to be released on June 30. The introductory price is $99.99 (50% off the regular price). You won’t be charged until the day Tonal is released for download. Please read the complete user guide. The website may also help you understand Tonal’s purpose. There will be no free trial during the introductory period (no plan afterward). I prioritize finding people who just know Tonal is their long-awaited missing piece and helping them onboard. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Chris Connaker for offering me a great place to launch Tonal (for the 2nd time). Gratitude to David Bryant (WavPack), Matt Ashland (Monkey’s Audio), and Grigory Chudov (CUETools) for your wonderful work and kind support. Thanks to Mr. Spoon (dBpoweramp) for allowing Tonal to access the AccurateRip database. Thanks to Grigory Chudov, again, for allowing Tonal to access the CUETools database. Thanks to David Chesky for keeping me motivated and confirming “The sound is really nice.. !!!!”. Thanks to Kirk McElhearn for being the first user while he was busy reporting WWDC. This is my 20th year working on the classical music database I dreamed of, my 10th year working on Tonal, and the epoch year of the new Tonal. Thanks to music! Thank you all! PS The initial launch covers Canada, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The reason is simple: users collaborate on one single music metadata database (currently English). Please give me enough time to think about how more languages should be added. The playback quality of the old Tonal was well received, I also found a post on Roon’s forum praising its playback quality. The new Tonal shares the exact same renderer (only 4 SLOC in C). FYI.

In my In return (for my slow evolvement of the Tonal project), you can bypass the 20 discs limitation by holding “OPTION” key while clicking “BROWSE FILES”.

Dear Nondas, Sorry for the delay. I’ve uploaded a build which restores the delete function. No more bug fixes or new features for this build. Sorry again.

Thank you for your forgiveness, Gyorgy. The volume can be adjusted in the below build: http://binaries.ton.al/app/Tonal-20180510.zip Keyboard is still unsupported yet for Tonal is a “Sandboxed” app, and we bypassed CoreAudio services. But you can do it within the app, or the unscheduled iOS remote. Thanks again.

Tonal collects complete discs. It can be red-book rip or high-res. Separate Partial tracks of a disc are not supported. Single audio file with .cue or complete separate tracks of a disc are supported.

Hi tinnson, Tonal collects complete discs. It can be red-book rip or high-res. Separate tracks are not supported.

I think iMac Speakers support 192khz as well. 1. I’m seeking resources to support the further development of Tonal. It that way is blocked, I’ll figure out how much time I can allot by myself. iOS is unscheduled yet. Tonal (macOS) takes 3 years to reach the initial version. iOS will not come that fast. 2. Please have a look at this cabinet of metadata records. https://github.com/ICMD/Tonal-Metadata I’m sorry for I havn’t offered a formal tutorial about the metadata syntax. But if you have time, search your collected album and read the document (e.g., https://github.com/ICMD/Tonal-Metadata/blob/master/tocs/a/b/5/1/ab517c9159a6fff9ddc98db93b60ec5e.tm). Once you feel you’re comfortable about it, I’ll let you edit the metadata. All edits will be delivered to users in real time, and will be audited, so be careful. For classical music, there’re standards to comply with, we may talk more. My email is [email protected]. Thank you.

Hi Daviser, Currently only high sierra is supported. There’re reasons supporting this decision. Read https://medium.com/tonal-app/tonal-internals-part-1-audio-pre-processing-33966c169022 Wish you could have a try. :)

That’s unusual corente. iMac (late 2015) should support 192khz. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202730

Hi corente, Why not collect another 96/24 disc on the iMac and see if it plays well?

Hi corente, I wish the Giulini/Brahms boxset issue is fixed. Check it on your Tonal app and let me know if the result is satisfying. 96/24 is supported. The source format of your audio is irrelevant. All music is stored in a proprietary format. If you click the play button and nothing happens, it may because your device does not support 96khz sample rate. Do you see a buffering animation? What device are you using? Sorry for the trouble, again.

Please use this build: http://binaries.ton.al/app/Tonal-20180423.zip Right click the cover art from the grid view, a pop-up will be shown.