Beamerman

Thank you all for the replies. I'm mostly interested in the technical side of this, not so much the subjective (and completely not interested in 'black magic'). When I use something in my audio system I like to know (and understand if possible) the underlying principal behind it. With these add-on programs this is not yet the case. So it does not alter the bitperfect data stream but sounds better. I guess the difference must be in time then, being jitter. I can for example imagine that the add-on SW takes control over the processes running on the cpu and thereby controlling/reducing the load of the system with results in cleaner supplies and thus less noise/jitter. Since my HiFace USB->spdif interface is assynchronous this should however not affect my sound... ok I'll stop being boring and try the demo's Again thanks for your input. Rene

I understand that there are features that iTunes doesn't offer (e.g. FLAC), what I don't understand is how these programs improve bitperfect audio. The website states things like 'Experience a level of detail and spaciousness from instruments and vocals that will blow you away!', this makes me believe that it will alter the original bitstream with effects etc. Are these programs in the same league as the good old 'equalizer' and 'loudness button' for example? I will try the demo's, thats a good tip.

Probably a silly question but I can't seem to find a decent answer, hopefully some of you can help me out. I'm using iTunes on a Mac Mini and was wondering why one would need add-on software like Amarra? An audiophile wants bitperfect data, which iTunes delivers what's there to enhance? Only advantage I can think of is the automatic bitrate selection, this is something I have to do myself in the 'audio MIDI setup' when using only iTunes. But is there more? Sonic improvement? Any advice is welcome! Rene Mac Mini -> HiFace -> MF TriVista SACD (used as DAC) -> AR SP9 -> Nakamichi PA7 (by Nelson Pass) -> B&W 801's

Due to the 48kHz indication on my DAC I assumed that the HiFace/Mac combi did not switch to 44.1kHz. With the scope I proved that it does and the 'problem' lies in the DAC front panel indication. Since the sound is crystal clear (no ticks) its safe to assume that the DAC locks to the 44.1kHz input signal and only the indication is faulty.

Just out of interest I've checked the S/PDIF signal from the M2Tech with an oscilloscope and see that the bit width gets about 10% smaller when I switch from 44.1kHz to 48kHz on the Mac. So that seems to be correct and the explaination from M2Tech makes sense. My Wadia DAC looks for it frontpanel indication at the status bits, but the HiFace does not support this. Problem solved, now lets listen!

aha, sorry for my false statement. I'm quite new in the computer audio business, that might explain it Reading the first post again I also think that velasqte is looking for complete remote control of his Mac, not only controlling the media. I use the 'share screen' option on my Mac Book Air for that. When you say 'huge improvements' and 'midfi iTunes' player, are you referring to the audio quality or the program in general? Is there a computer audio 'tutorial' somewhere for new-bee's like me (to prevent reinventing the wheel and false statments in the future.

I've used an iPad and iPod touch to control the audio content on my headless Mini, both pretty unbeatable with Apple's remote app (with iTunes). In the end I even prefer the smaller Touch because it does every thing you need while being very portable and easy to use with one hand. Only disadvantage (as far as I can see) is that you are forced to use iTunes if you want to use remote app René

@goldsdad; Your reply seems to match with the info received from M2Tech. Thanks for the input!

Yes correct drivers are in place. I'm using iTunes for playback and also tested it with Play, but same results here. I asked M2Tech about this issue, here is there response; You may already know that an S/PDIF stream carries not only audio data, but also some ancillary information (not audio) which give more details about the audio data being transferred. Amongst the information is the sampling frequency. These information are seldom used to configure a DAC, but they're often used to indicate the sampling frequency value on the front panel. Chances are that your Wadia DAC uses those information to tell you whether the input data are 44.1kHz or 48kHz. hiFace doesn't encode these information in the S/PDIF flux: the bits used to encode the information are always "0" which means: "48kHz sampled data". This is why you always read 48kHz even when you set the Mac to output 44.1kHz. But please be sure: if you hear the right sound, you're listening data sampled at the sampling frequency you have set on your computer. So all seems fine. I will check the bitstream (width of the bits) with an oscilloscope just be sure.

Hi, I've been reading quite a bit on this forum but this is my first actual post, hopefully someone can help me out. Yesterday I received the well known M2Tech HiFace (usb -> spdif converter) and connected/installed it between the Mac Mini and my Wadia DAC12. It all works (that is, I can hear the music being played) but the Wadia indicates it is receiving a 48kHz signal while the format in the 'Audio MIDI Setup' is set to 44.1kHz. This doesn't seem right since the source material is also 44.1kHz, I want the DAC to play it at 44.1kHz (otherwise an unnecessary conversion (resampling) takes place). When I use the build-in optical SPDIF from the Mac, the Wadia follows the format settings without any issues. What am I doing wrong...? René