dschamis

Yes - I also tried to stream an MQA both via the Tidal app and via BubbleUPNP from my phone to my AVM60 and on both occasions it came in at 44.1. The next question I have is if I attach the Chromecast Audio directly to my Brooklyn DAC via optical digital cable, will that pass the MQA signal? I'm actually not sure that it matters much for my setup but I'm still kind of curious.

Yes - an appliance like device is exactly what I mean. Here would be the perfect thing for me. I have a Google Chromecast Audio connected to my Anthem AVM60 pre/pro via a digital optical cable. It would be great if I could stream hi-res from the Tidal app on my phone (which supports Chromecast) to the AVM60. If this didn't work I agree with Miguelito - an appliance (Bluesound, whatever) that would connect to the AVM60 digitally and pushed hi-res LPCM (or the like). I don't think this exists yet - I'm going to play around with the Chromecast later. It is capable of hi-res, but I bet that this won't work - I'll report back.

Yup - that was my impression as well

I contacted Tidal support and asked the question - they responded (pretty quickly over the weekend) with this not quite clear answer - I think the short answer is NO: Hello David, Thank you for contacting TIDAL Member Support. In order to listen to the MQA format to its fullest extent, your equipment needs to be MQA capable. Otherwise, you will not be getting the full MQA experience but you will still have better quality than HiFi. If you do not use a DAC at all, the TIDAL client will decode the MQA in 1x unfolding. A DAC which is MQA capable will do 4x MQA unfolding. With the desktop and/or a non-MQA DAC you will get 24bit/88.2 (96) kHz . The stream quality of each album depends on the labels’ engineering of the album. Please ensure that the "passthrough MQA" is not enabled if you do not have an MQA DAC. Please visit the MQA website for all MQA-enabled devices http://www.mqa.co.uk/customer/our-partners. Further information on TIDAL Master with the desktop app can also be found at https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000397069-TIDAL-MASTERS. Please refer to this article as it is informative. http://audiophilereview.com/cd-dac-digital/mqa-master-streaming-on-tidal-rules.html If you have any further questions concerning this, please do not hesitate to contact us. Have a nice day! Best Regards, Kassandra TIDAL Member Support

Why can't you stream optical from the Bluesound Node 2 to a DAC or pre/pro? Does the Bluesound not just convert the MQA to LPCM?

Is it yet possible to be able to stream Tidal MQA to a compatible DAC (e.g. the Mytek Brooklyn) without a computer attached? It would be really nice if a DAC had MQA streaming built in. Thanks in advance. David

I'm running 1.0.5 and BitPerfect appears to be stuck on "Stopped" in the pulldown menu - any idea how to unstop it? Thanks, David

I have spent more than a year testing and using various Drobos (two FSs and two classic Drobos). I have used them for general data usage and backup, but I'm particularly focused on music (I have an iTunes catalog of mostly lossless music ~500GB) and pictures (I have a catalog of mostly RAW (DNG) files of ~800GB).<br /> <br /> I would strongly encourage people to only use Drobos as a low-priced ADDITIONAL backup - I would not use a Drobo as either my primary data drive or my primary backup solution.<br /> <br /> I have had numerous problems with them through the years, including the two major issues:<br /> <br /> - Full loss of data on a Drobo FS - this was my worst problem - I spent a long time with Drobo support on the phone - while they claimed it was a problem they had never seen before (hard to believe), in the end they couldn't do anything other than hope I had other backup (which I did). The problem was some sort of "header error" - whatever that means. I was told that the data was still on the drives but the Drobo was not able to get to it - not exactly a comforting fact. I had a similar less fatal issue with a classic Drobo, but that was solved with DiskWarrior; although it was quite stressful for a while and required DiskWarrior which is a $100 purchase.<br /> <br /> - In any casual performance comparisons, I have found the Drobo FS to be much much slower than just about any other NAS device that I have used or tested. To be clear, you do not need any fancy testing to notice this - my wife was able to notice.<br /> <br /> After throwing in the towel with Drobo I went with a QNAP and I can assure you there is no comparison. While it is more expensive, the additional features and options, coupled with the fact that it actually performs its primary function of actually protecting your data, make it an absolute no-brainer. The obvious disadvantage is that all the drives have to be the same, but relative to the performance losses and the massive increased risk of data loss with the Drobo, this is really not such a big issue. I have a 6-bay QNAP running RAID5 with a hot spare.<br /> <br /> I have come to believe that the way to think about Drobo is that it is a super low-cost option (effectively, the ability to mix and match drives makes it very low cost) that can fit in to a backup scheme as a secondary or tertiary backup (which I use and makes sense to use), but I would not use it as either your day-to-day drive or your primary backup.<br /> <br /> David

Would BitPerfect work with a MacMini connected to a receiver (which can obviously accept hi-res audio) via an optical digital cable? Or does it only work with a USB connection? Thanks, David

I'm using this one with my MacPro externally - works great with Parallels:<br /> <br /> http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MRF8BDSD12X/

Chris - great job on this - I enjoyed reading it and ordered DSOTM immediately - looking forward to ripping this tomorrow night.<br /> <br /> Thanks again!<br /> <br /> David

I went with the Grace m903 and a pair of Focal Solo6Be monitors. I got everything set up today and it sounds great. This is exactly what I wanted (for more than I wanted to spend, but that's standard procedure). Thanks for the help, especially to AudioDoctor who got me looking at the Grace. David

If I have 16/44.1 Apple Lossless files that I ripped from the original redbook CDs and have now went out and bought the 24/96 version from hdtracks.com (and converted the flac files to Apple Lossless), is there any reason not to just replace the 16/44.1 files in iTunes? I use iTunes to stream music around my house via both Airplay and Logitech Squeezebox Touches. If and when I copy a file down to my iPhone to listen to (which is much less frequent these days now that I use MOG) I convert to AAC 256k anyway. So my question is, is there any good reason at all not to just replace the 16/44.1 files in my iTunes catalog with the 24/96? Thanks in advance, David

Which is the best / most convenient at output sample rate switching?

I need some advice on a DAC and monitor speakers for my Mac Pro. I just set up a studio/office in my basement. The room is about 25'x15' (or so), with a relatively low ceiling (~7'). I have my computer set up on a large desk along the wall. I would like a pair of monitor speakers that will sound great for music, but not over power the room. The main purpose of this set up is for listening to a range of quality from downloaded MP3s and 320k MP3s on MOG, to 24/192 flac downloads from hdtracks. I have been thinking about the Focal CMS65s with an Apogee Duet 2 DAC. Questions: 1. While I think the Focals are a pretty straightforward decision, the Duet 2 is much more complicated. I would like to run XLR to the speakers, and also have the ability for a headphone and a mic. I don't NEED portability, but on the other hand for a comparable price and quality its nice to have. I also want a DAC that has a volume control (which I think the Duet 2 has). So the question is how do you feel about the Duet 2 in this set up? 2. Are the CMS65s the right choice here for a room of this size and the Duet 2? 3. Is there something better (for a reasonably comparable price) that might be less portable but work great with the Mac Pro? 4. As far as speaker placement goes, am I better having them at ear level on my desk, or above the desk on a shelf? 5. For the Duet 2, do I need the breakout box or are the breakout cable that come with it OK? Thanks in advance - any answers to these questions will be very helpful. David