I'm a newbie at this so please excuse my inexperience and long winded explanation.
I recently got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet to try using as a music server in my listening room running digital out to my MSB 24 bit 192k DAC. The first thing I did was to delete the compressed lossy files I had ripped to itunes and got rid of the itunes software. I then loaded Media Monkey Gold and started ripping my entire music collection to FLAC files using Media Monkey storing all my music on an external 2TB HD. I even downloaded DVD Audio Extractor and converted some of my DVD Audio discs to Flac successfully. Everything went smooth except for the 24bit 48k limitation of the Squeezebox and also some intermittent issues with freezing up and pausing of high res file playback. I then decided to buy an M-Audio Audiophile 192 card for my computer so I could just send the non down-converted digital FLAC files directly to my DAC and hopefully get better high res sound than the Squeezebox without data bottle-necking pausing and freezing. The sound card is now installed in my computer and I am successfully sending S/PDIF to my DAC but, it is somehow downconverted to 44.1k even when playing back 24 bit 96k files as evidenced by the display on my DAC. I know the files in Media Monkey are correct because the DAC display would switch to 24 bit 48k before with the same music files when using the Squeezebox.
Has anyone experienced this issue and know what I might need to change? I assume it's probably a hidden setting somewhere or maybe I need an add on for the Media Monkey to communicate properly with the M-Audio sound card.
I am running Windows Vista 32 bit SP2 with 4GB RAM and have all my music ripped to a 2TB external HD and have had no issues other than those described with my music files when using the Squeezebox Duet.
By the way, I should add, comparing the ripped FLAC files even as played through the Squeezebox to the same CD played on my DVD/CD transport in an A/B comparison using two inputs on the same DAC, the FLAC files have much better midrange and high frequency detail than the CD. The extreme low end, however, sounds tighter and also seems to have better resolution but definately has less slam and overall authority than the CD. (I'm hoping its a limitation of the Squeezebox) Overall, I like listening to the FLAC files better than the CDs because they just seem to have so much more inner detail and resolution, vocals are outstandingly easier to understand through the FLAC files and that tells me something is different. I'm assuming that the difference is mainly in the fact that imperfections in the CD optical system (scratches, spindle motor servo errors, tracking servo errors, data reading errors, clocking imperfections, and so on that require oversampling and error correction with a CD, all in real time) are the main source of digital signal errors in the CD playback system. And the FLAC lossless files are read and re-read over and over by the computer software until a somewhat error free file is generated and stored on your HD. Then, instead of the CD playback system having to do its best to read through all its related issues, the corrected error free file is simply read from your HD instead, providing a much better source of digital PCM streaming for your DAC to turn into music.
Am I on target here with my theories?
Thanks if anyone can help.
Bryan
I'm a newbie at this so please excuse my inexperience and long winded explanation. I recently got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet to try using as a music server in my listening room running digital out to my MSB 24 bit 192k DAC. The first thing I did was to delete the compressed lossy files I had ripped to itunes and got rid of the itunes software. I then loaded Media Monkey Gold and started ripping my entire music collection to FLAC files using Media Monkey storing all my music on an external 2TB HD. I even downloaded DVD Audio Extractor and converted some of my DVD Audio discs to Flac successfully. Everything went smooth except for the 24bit 48k limitation of the Squeezebox and also some intermittent issues with freezing up and pausing of high res file playback. I then decided to buy an M-Audio Audiophile 192 card for my computer so I could just send the non down-converted digital FLAC files directly to my DAC and hopefully get better high res sound than the Squeezebox without data bottle-necking pausing and freezing. The sound card is now installed in my computer and I am successfully sending S/PDIF to my DAC but, it is somehow downconverted to 44.1k even when playing back 24 bit 96k files as evidenced by the display on my DAC. I know the files in Media Monkey are correct because the DAC display would switch to 24 bit 48k before with the same music files when using the Squeezebox. Has anyone experienced this issue and know what I might need to change? I assume it's probably a hidden setting somewhere or maybe I need an add on for the Media Monkey to communicate properly with the M-Audio sound card. I am running Windows Vista 32 bit SP2 with 4GB RAM and have all my music ripped to a 2TB external HD and have had no issues other than those described with my music files when using the Squeezebox Duet. By the way, I should add, comparing the ripped FLAC files even as played through the Squeezebox to the same CD played on my DVD/CD transport in an A/B comparison using two inputs on the same DAC, the FLAC files have much better midrange and high frequency detail than the CD. The extreme low end, however, sounds tighter and also seems to have better resolution but definately has less slam and overall authority than the CD. (I'm hoping its a limitation of the Squeezebox) Overall, I like listening to the FLAC files better than the CDs because they just seem to have so much more inner detail and resolution, vocals are outstandingly easier to understand through the FLAC files and that tells me something is different. I'm assuming that the difference is mainly in the fact that imperfections in the CD optical system (scratches, spindle motor servo errors, tracking servo errors, data reading errors, clocking imperfections, and so on that require oversampling and error correction with a CD, all in real time) are the main source of digital signal errors in the CD playback system. And the FLAC lossless files are read and re-read over and over by the computer software until a somewhat error free file is generated and stored on your HD. Then, instead of the CD playback system having to do its best to read through all its related issues, the corrected error free file is simply read from your HD instead, providing a much better source of digital PCM streaming for your DAC to turn into music. Am I on target here with my theories? Thanks if anyone can help. Bryan