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santar

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  1. No notification from Amazon UK that they are stopping their unlimited storage plan. Should I be concerned?
  2. Yes, this is worrying. Do you mean we cannot trust the DR scores of any vinyl rips? Please clarify.
  3. Hi Damien, I have found what I assume is a bug with 1.5.6. Don't know if it was present with previous versions. When adding a DSD .dff album (one file) to iTunes via a .dff.cue file the last track is always missed, even though it is present in the cue file. It does not appear in the "Add to iTunes" window. (Adding the .dff file you just get one track in iTunes for the entire album with the metadata of the last track - the one missing if added via the .cue file). Have tried with a couple of different .dff album files with the same result. Thanks/santar
  4. Try Decibel (previously AyreWave) http://sbooth.org/Decibel/ Outputs multichannel hi-res (WAV/FLAC) on the hdmi output of the Mac Mini. Guess should also output to the LIO-9. Another player you can try is XBMC, which is a more comprehensive media centre. However I find the sound out over hdmi not as good as Decibel. May be different into the LIO. There also exists an app called Soundflower to map the sound output on the Mac which might be of interest. I am seriously thinking of investing in a LIO-8 as an upgrade from hdmi directly into an ARCAM AVR600. Let me know how you get on. Santar
  5. I agree that when it comes to reviews then there is only so much that Chris can undertake. However there are also forums (such as this one!) where discussions covering all aspects of computer audio can only but add to the site.
  6. Wikipedia defines an Audiophile as "a hobbyist who seeks high-quality audio reproduction via the use of specialized high-end audio electronics." Computer Audiophile then I understand as someone who uses as a music source a HD (or SSD) and personal computer, instead of a CD or vinyl disk. Now where does it imply that that this reproduction must be through a Boy's Own kit DAC or equivalent? The fundamental point is to produce music at a quality level as close to the original performance as possible. I find surround sound the most natural and unless I'm mistaken this means either a high-end receiver or professional equipment such as the ULN-8. I'm not talking about DVD playback but 96KHz 24Bit 5.1 WAV or FLAC's. I find I'm usually ahead of the curve (often too far). I have used a computer as my primary audio source for over 10 years. My original system was front ended by a Mac connected to an Audiolab 8000 DAC via optical s/pdif. This was limited to Redbook quality AIF but was the best available at the time. I still find it hard to beat the sheer musicality of that Mac/Audiolab 8000 system with EPOS speakers. What excites me now is to get even closer to the original by also watching the performances by adding video. I am talking about 1080 mkv files with Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio codecs. These give lossless 5.1 channels up to 192KHz 24Bit. Now what is the best HW and SW to play these files to "audiophile" standards? That is what I would like to discuss! Santar
  7. I am a receiver user for hi-res computer audio playback. There, I've admitted it. In my shame I have tried to keep this a secret but always knew that someday I could be outed. How did I sink to this? Well I have to confess to certain addictions.. - I love surround sound music. Especially for live and classical music. I have a large collection of hi-res 5.1 audio files. - I also like to watch music concerts, especially from Blu-ray with hi-res sound. Having separate amplification/speakers for stereo and video/surround playback is just not practical. I connect a Mac Mini to my Arcam AVR600 via hdmi and find the experience quite acceptable. I know that I am fooling myself because the jitter is too high but I just don't care. Of course advice and discussion on how to improve this experience is always welcome! Santar
  8. I too like 5.1 playback for certain music. Especially all concerts and progressive/electronic. The simplest way I have found for hi-res 5.1 is to use the hdmi output of a MacMini into a receiver using Decibel. For file formats Flac's or wav's. Also looking at streaming via the new Oppo - the reviews are very good but remains to be seen whether it will actually stream hires 5.1 from an external HD. Most of my 5.1 music is ripped from DVDA's. I also have some iTrax and 2L (but am not really a big fan of Norse folk songs). Now looking into ripping Bluray disks (Tom Petty's DtT). Nice to see other people with a similar interest. Santar
  9. AyreWave, the new Mac OS audio player from Stephen Boothe handles hi-res multi-channel WAV's or FLAC's. See the thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/AyreWave-New-OSX-Audio-Player-Released-RMAF I output multi-channel hi-res from a 2010 Mini over the hdmi connector to an Arcam AVR600 receiver. Santar
  10. Thanks for the comments Eloise. - I went back and rechecked all the settings and found "Dolby Volume" activated for the HDMI input I was using on the receiver. Switched it off and now everything hunky dory. Amazed by now much this degraded the sound. Santar - happily listening to Hotel California in 96KHz surround from the Mini
  11. santar

    Rip DVD-A on Mac

    The mlp decoder on the Mac version of DVDAExplorer does not work. You can use it with non-mlp encoded disks, otherwise you must use the windows version. I use version 2008.07.21 (Beta 3) on Parallels with xp and have not had any problems. Santar
  12. watchnerd, Try checking "Add to iTunes" then save the converted files to your iTunes music folder. You can then eliminate your steps 2,3 & 4. Santar
  13. XLD also gets my vote: - maintains correct bit rate and resolution even for hi-res files - maintains tag data (& gives you the option to edit) - can automatically add to iTunes - save to your iTunes music folder and the files will end up in the right place (as per iTunes prefs) If you want smaller files on a Mac you can convert to ALAC. This is Apple's lossless compression format. You can always convert back to AIFF/WAV/FLAC if required without loss of quality. Santar
  14. I find I am listening to music through AyreWave by default. Better sounding for me than Amarra or Pure Music. Interface a bit basic but I was sold when I found that AyreWave will play hi-res multi-channel Wav's or Flac's (via an hdmi connection to a receiver). However 1.0b2 seems to have broken this functionality as the files only play in stereo. I reverted to b1 (thanks to Time Machine) and I am now back with surround sound. Please do not abandon this feature! Santar MacMini (2010) 2.4GHz/4GB; external FW HD; AudioQuest Chocolate hdmi; AVR600; Kimber 8PR; B&W XT Series.
  15. Try xACT. I don't have wma to try but may work. Santar
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