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Vade_Forrester

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  1. 1. Roon. The software for music lovers. 2. PS Audio Redcloud OS for DirectStream DAC. Free upgrades keep improving the DAC. 3. Tidal. Streaming service for audiophiles-good sound and good content. Never buy another CD.
  2. Chris, pardon a somewhat off-topic message, but what was your impression of the Explorer2's performance with non-MQA (i.e., standard PCM) encoded music?
  3. If you want a hi-rez download, try The Avison Ensemble's entire Il Cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (includes Four Seasons) on Linn. It's played on period instruments, but doesn't have as extreme tempos and phrasing as some period instrument performances. Vade Forrester
  4. So the MF S/PDIF output impedance is 50 ohms? I thought S/PDIF coax was a 75 ohm impedance system. Or is it ok if the output impedance is lower than the load impedance? Vade Forrester
  5. The hat is very high quality, nicely done. Only quibble is that it's not quite big enough for my fat head (7 5/8). Vade Forrester
  6. I use an iPod Touch to provide music when I'm away from home. It's an IOS device. Due to its size, I think it's much more suitable as a portable music player than an iPad. I also use a Wadia 170iTransport to connect the iPod to an external DAC. A portable DAC/headphone amp the size of the iPod would be useful. So would additional storage and battery capacity for the iPad/iPod Touch. The ability to play FLAC files would also be nice. I see little advantage to using hi-rez files on an iPod, unless perhaps it's one of the Classic models with a hard drive. The limited storage on an iPad or iPod Touch means a few hi-rez albums would fill up the storage capacity fast. I don't mean you should use MP3 files, just CD-quality files.
  7. I haven't tried it with my K701s, but the Bryston BHA-1F headphone amp has balanced inputs.
  8. Obviously, the answer is highly individual. For me, the purpose of a music server is to play back my music collection. That means I first have to find and select the music I want to hear and then listen to it. So both UI and SQ are important, although I'd probably sacrifice a little UI convenience if it meant better SQ. Vade Forrester
  9. I have the same problem, and haven't found a good solution. So far, I've organized my collection by conductor, then by piece, then by performer. So I have a folder named Beethoven, then inside that folder, another folder named Symphony #7, then inside that, a folder named Carlos Kleiber where the actual music files (plus cover art and liner notes) are stored. That can be a lot of work, plus if you're interested in cover art, can be even harder to deal with; but at least it lets me find most music in my collection. But that doesn't work for albums which are collections of assorted pieces by different composers, like one of the Baltimore Consort's albums. A Windows program called Sonata claims to be designed for classical music collections. I haven't tried it yet. Vade Forrester
  10. Matt, I think you're spot on; the interface between your music files and whatever device you use to find and select music could stand some improvement. I recently made a slight improvement in my system by getting a 7" Android tablet computer to use as my remote. It uses the MPDroid app to control the MPD database on my Auraliti PK100 player. Although the app seems a bit awkward, it works, and the screen size is a major improvement over the iPod I used initially. And a 7" screen tablet is way cheaper than an iPad or 10" Android machine. Since I dedicated the tablet for use as a remote control, I didn't need the computing power or screen size that would be useful in a general-purpose tablet. So that has improved my visibility a lot. But there's still the problem of finding a particular musical piece or letting you easily browse your music collection. I haven't yet found a really good solution for that. I have a lot of classical music, and most musical cataloging apps don't handle that well. I hope this thread produces some ideas on how to improve that aspect of the server experience. Vade Forrester
  11. I think the decision would depend on whether there's a lot of music you like on SACD. If there is, it's worth considering an SACD player. I think SACD releases seem to be predominately classical, which is just fine with me, but if you prefer other genres, SACD may be a bad investment. I'd hedge my bets by getting an SACD player with digital inputs so you can use the internal DAC to play HD computer audio files in case new SACD releases suddenly dwindles dramatically. Vade Forrester
  12. Ben, while I2S would appear to be a great interface, there's no standard for I2S cables or connectors. I've seen HDMI, Cat 5, and proprietary interfaces used by devices with I2S inputs. That may limit availability of connecting cables, or require you to build your own. Vade Forrester
  13. I'm confused-what advantage for playing back music does an eSATA drive provide? Isn't USB 2.0 way faster than needed? For file transfers, sure, the extra speed is handy, but for music playback? I've seen some claims that 5400 RPM drives sound better than 7200 RPM drives. Vade Forrester
  14. Rick, I went to Radio Shack and got some cheap audio plugs and some 50K resistors. I soldered the resistors across the terminals on the plugs and now have break-in loads so I don't have to burn up tubes by turning on the preamp. Should work with balanced or unbalanced plugs. The plug quality doesn't matter; you're not listening to anything, just passing current through the output circuit. Vade Forrester
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