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mingojj

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  1. I generally don't reply to these Forums or even read them because I'm too busy trying to make the best media servers we can. I think that Chris is the only guy I know that could really do a good job in comparing all of these servers. I did want to reply in general to this thread to make several points as we see them: a) This forum largely serves the DIY crowd. We serve people who not only don't want to build the server, but also need help in learning JRiver. Thus we sell two things -- our servers, and 1-year of complete telephone support along with remote desktop control. We estimate that this service costs us on average about $1500 per server! And we still aren't making enough revenue to pay me a salary! Thus, our prices will go up when I pass the business along to my son. b) We design our servers NOT as electronics engineers but as empiricists. We change our builds after buying and trying many components, including PCI-card-based USB outputs, after receiving suggestions from our panel of real engineers. As a result we think our way of doing SPDIF "the best" beats USB done "the best." The guy who thinks I'm a nut job is right -- we aren't making more than a positive cash flow. BTW, we no longer think latency is an issue of significance, and with respect to "drives" I was referring to the potential for "wow" in the spinning drive inside a CD player, not a computer drive. We have rewritten our web page that mentions this subject to correct the sloppy language. c) Finally, we were worried that only the DIY crowd can really be able to "upgrade" every couple of years, as computer components improve. So we offer a policy of installing upgrades at our true cost of parts and labor. Chris and this site have taught us the bulk of what little we know about this subject; our advisors do the rest. And, mostly, we agree with the commentators that deplore the fact that the websites of many media server makers offer almost no information that can be really helpful to the consumer. Best, John Mingo Managing Director, Baetis Audio
  2. Finally got it. I already had Red October running. Red October HQ didn't seem to help, but the following combination really solved every problem -- remember we are talking about a Zone in which JRiver is showing the video of a music concert while down-mixing the 6 channel MKV file to 2 channels. Once you have set up this Zone, go to Tools/Options/Video and check-mark the following 2 boxes: a) Hardware accelerate video decoding (if possible) b) Video Clock (adjust audio to smooth video) Checking either of the two boxes on their own doesn't seem to fully do the trick. With these settings, we have no problems whatsoever with audio/video syncing on either a concert or a regular movie. Thanks to JRiver, we can now listen to truly great audio from a 48khz/32-bit concert on a blu-ray disc (with the monitor actually showing the concert for us Philistines). Still another way to bring great sound to your 2-channel set-up.
  3. I have a problem that I have not found an answer for on the JR Wiki. On one of my machines with MC17...122 the video and audio gets out of sync on ripped blu-ray files (ripped to mkv). This seems to happen only on a few ripped concert files (e.g., Celine Dion's Live in Vegas blu-ray disc, KD Lang with the BBC in London). Is there some setting I can choose under Options/Video/Advanced such as the seemingly obvious AV sync setting in this category? Have others had the same problem with these same blu-ray discs. I use makemkv to rip to mkv. Any help would be appreciated.
  4. Actually, this is a topic in which a lot of people might be interested, so I'd love Chris to chime in. To me, the big advantage of JRiver is that I know, using Wasapi event style, I can perfectly bit stream audio of all types and quality, using one of the PC's SPDIF outputs, if it has one. Whether this coaxial digital output is via a separate PCI sound card or via direct connection to the motherboard, the output's sound quality will depend mainly on the quality of the DAC. In the case of the gentleman comparing iTunes with JRiver's MC, the more important A/B question is: does iTunes even allow an SPDIF output from the PC? If the answer is no, then the comparison should be run comparing the PC's USB output using iTunes versus the PC's SPDIF output using JRiver set on WASAPI event style. And if there is more than one SPDIF output -- e.g., optical versus coaxial RCA -- then which of these is better? <br /> <br /> All of my own research over the past year+ has indicated that, with the same external DAC, the more direct the SPDIF connection the better the sound, and coaxial SPDIF connections are better than optical SPDIF connections. Since I started to build media computers with SPDIF connections directly to the motherboard, using JRiver software, I have heard of no one doing this kind of A/B comparison: the same computer loaded with both iTunes and JRiver, with the computer using, say, a coaxial RCA SPDIF output when using JRiver, and iTunes using a USB output. Since JRiver plays ALAC files as does iTunes, it should be these files that are used for the comparison. <br /> <br /> Now, this A/B study would still not get at the other clear advantages of JRiver: 1) its ability to use downloaded hi-def audio files in FLAC format (e.g., 96/24 or 192/24 files); 2) its ability to use DTS Master and DD True HD files (i.e., the sound tracks from blu-ray discs); 3) its ability to play ripped blu-ray files with highest quality video as well as audio (mainly of concerts, since we audiophiles would never actually watch a movie, right?); 4) its ability to play streaming concerts through its software rather than use the PC's browswer and Windows digital audio manipulation; and 5) its ability to use DSD (SACD) files albeit with digital signal processing. All the rest of the comparisons -- mainly having to do with ease of use, remote controls, sexiness of the theater views, etc -- while important, don't answer the question the gentleman is asking -- from the point of view of audio quality is there something that JRiver is doing that iTunes cannot?<br />
  5. Again, very very helpful review, Chris. In looking through a couple of my systems this afternoon I realized that you were referring to Windows (in Sound) indicating a device to which the computer is attached. Your Berkeley DAC shows up because you have it hooked up via USB, which is a 2-way device. Same thing happens with HDMI under Windows audio controller. But for those of us who use the computer's SPDIF output directly to a a DAC (Berkeley or otherwise), all the user will see in Windows is something like "Digital S/PDIF" -- the user going to Properties for that device might find that you are hooked up via an optical or coaxial S/PDIF device, but not which device you are hooked up TO. Or, for those like me who use a coaxial BNC output from the motherboard's SPDIF header (if it has one), the Windows controller might not separately identify the output device (only that it is S/PDIF). Just thought folks would like to know. And yes, I already had the Advanced properties set for Exclusive mode (both boxes checked). But, writing down stuff like this is very important, and takes LOADS of time, so you are doing all MC devotees a GREAT service. Thank you. thank you.
  6. Chris: thank you. thank you. You have solved my problem. When I get the machine all built and tested out, I'll call it the CA Special. John.
  7. An update for anyone interested in this thread. The ASUS website says specifically that their PCIe card (Sonar STX) will handle only 44.1/48.0/96.0/192.0 -- no mention of 88.2 or 176.4. I have an e-mail out to ESI (the Juli PCI card)regarding what rates their cards will support using their drivers. Will get back to you. mingojj
  8. Thanks to everyone for their comments. I have NO problem with my multi-channel system: the HDMI connection, with Microsoft driver, allows all 7 resampling frequencies to be bit-streamed perfectly by jRiver (w/o DSP). I've also now solved one half of the problem with my 2-channel system, using an integrated 2nd generation iCore 3 card with Win 7. That is, I simply uninstalled the Realtek controller. This causes Microsoft to install a driver for the SPDIF coax digital output to my Alpha DAC that can have all but one resampling rate bitstreamed w/O DSP -- 176.4 So now, for Chris especially, the following question -- of the three cards you mentioned -- ASUS Sonar STX, ESI JULI, and Lynx AES16e -- have you actually seen these hooked up to an Alpha (or any DAC that shows the received resampling rates) which shows 88.2 and 176.4 coming in? The websites show that a) only the Lynx will allow AES-XLR digital output, and b) none of the 3 specifically state that they will handle all 7 resampling rates w/o DSP (the rates naturally handled by the Microsoft driver when HDMI is hooked up to a multi-channel DAC). Of the 3 cards, the Lynx at $799 looks like it will do it, but still, I'm not sure. Thanks again, John
  9. Chris: I see that someone has a similar problem to mine. I am running within my multi-channel home theater set-up a Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit computer using a 2nd generation SandyBridge CPU (Core i3 3.1Gh) with integrated Intel (2100) graphics and sound card. This PC is connected via HDMI to a Marantz AV7005 pre/pro, Krell 5-channel amp, and Wilson Audio fronts and Wilson center and surround speakers. The Realtek controller running the integrated sound card, when HDMI is being used, recognizes the Marantz pre/pro and then utilizes a Microsoft driver which permits all 7 resampling rates to be bit-streamed via the jRiver MC16 software without any DSP being utilized. That is, MC16, with Output Mode unchecked, can send audio files to the pre/pro in 32, 44, 48, 88, 96, 176, and 192khz resampling rates. I have double-checked this by getting a Reference Recording HFx sampler with 176.4 khz files and also some 88.2 files. jRiver runs these through the HDMI connection to the pre/pro without saying that it needs to use DSP. The music resulting from this set-up is quite good, the best I’ve ever had within my HT set-up. So, I then tried to see what would happen if I hooked up this PC to my 2-channel system in my main listening room. Unfortunately, my Berkeley Alpha DAC has no HDMI input (although there is an RJ-45-type jack that the manual says might be used for HDMI in the future). When hooking up the PC’s Toslink or S/PDIF coax output to the Alpha DAC, the Realtek audio controller cannot recognize the DAC and so I must use the “Realtek Digital Output” designation for the playback device. Here is where the trouble begins – the Realtek Digital Output, when used as the default playback device, utilizes a Realtek driver (not the Microsoft driver used when HDMI is connected). This Realtek driver permits only 4 resampling rates to be bit-streamed: 44, 48, 96, and 192. So, when I play an audio file with 88 or 176 resampling rates, the MC16 software must use DSP to send out a 96/24 signal to the DAC (in the case of 176.4 files) or a 44.1/24 signal to the DAC (in the case of 88.2 files). As a practical matter, the resulting DSP-influenced sound is still quite good, but like other audiophiles I’m always looking for “perfect” and therefore am trying to see how I can achieve true bit-streaming with MC16 for these two resampling rates when NOT hooked up to a DAC via HDMI. I see two possible fixes: 1) Try to use the Microsoft audio driver that automatically is employed when hook-up is through HDMI, instead of the Realtek driver when the playback device is not connected via HDMI; or 2) Use a PCI-based sound card whose driver permits all the important resampling rates and which has, preferably, an AES output (SPDIF coax RCA is a second choice). I am not interested in any card that has only a USB digital audio output. If I wanted to fix just the 88.2 khz problem I could use an updated Realtek driver which I understand is very new (September 2011; but I haven’t looked for it yet). But I’d like to solve both resampling-rate problems if possible. Can you provide any advice, including for option 2) the brand and model of sound card? Obviously I’d rather find a way to change the driver rather than buy an additional sound card. One thing I think I know is this is NOT a jRiver problem, since it requires no resampling for any file when the Microsoft driver is used when connected via HDMI.
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