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Help for setting up a computer based new system


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Bonjour everybody,

 

after having spent weeks reading through this forum, I dare today write my first post.

Please forgive my bad writing as I post to you from Paris France.

 

I'm currently setting up my first real Audiophile equipment:

I chose to pair PMC twenty 22's with a Naim Nait XS2 amp, so that's the kit sitting proudly in my living room waiting for a source to join.

I've got almost all my music on CD plus a couple of Hi-res albums I downloaded. I ripped all of my CD's (into 16/44 AIFF) to my (2009) MacBookPro for the convenience of iTunes playlists. Thanks to all of you, I understood I had to look for a proper reading software to overrule iTunes, I'm currently trying Audirvana plus out.

 

So, to my questions:

I went, a couple of weeks ago, to my local dealer to try some DACs out. I brought my MacBookPro and we plugged it into the different ones. I quickly narrowed the choice to one of the tested DAC's, a PSAudio nuwave DAC.

The tests were done plugging in the Mac into the PSAudio by USB and using iTunes as player (I did not have Audirvana plus at the time). And I must say I was quite disappointed at the sound coming out through this setup, what ever the DAC, compared to sound I got through a CD player plugged to the Naim (Audiolab 8200CD and CambridgeAudio 851C).

Cd sounded crisp and bright, precise, while through the Mac and DAC the same tracks converted into AIFF (stored on the Mac's hard drive) sounded dull and muffled.

 

Was it because I was using iTunes as a player? Was it because the DACs were not suited to my kit (Naim NaitXS2+PMC 22s)? Was it because I should have stored the files on an external Drive and not the Mac's one to avoid the computer's proper OS to disrupt the signal by accessing to the Hard drive for its own needs? I'm planing to return to my dealer's for some new listening using Audirvana plus but I'm not sure this was the only explanation to my problem. Am I wrong to be expecting the same crispness of sound coming out of my computer+DAC as from a CD player?

 

Thank you in advance for your Help!

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iTunes could have been the problem. If AudioMidi wasn't set correctly. I would get the demo version of Audirvana and go try again.

 

Next, you say you liked the Audiolab 8200CD - have you tried the Audiolab M-DAC as there is a lot of shared circuitry / design in this.

 

The sound from a computer + DAC system should reach if not exceed a similar level CD player.

 

You may also like to try the Naim ND5XS streamer (given you have a Nait XS) thought hat is more expensive than the DACs you were demoing. Naim's new DAC-V2 would also match well.

 

Eloise

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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Thank you Eloise for your reply.

Here some more details about the test I did:

As my dealer and I were quite surprised by the disappointing results we got, we tried different setups.

We plugged the MacBook Pro via usb to the PSAudio Nuwave DAC and played alternatively the AIFF file of a track and then the same track from the CD I ripped through the Mac's CD player. I know that an AIFF file is not the iso image of the CD but, the dealer and I were really astonished as the sound from the CD played in the Mac was absolutely different from the sound produced by reading the AIFF file. The first being bright and detailed while the latter sounded kind of damped and thump. I thought I configured Audio Midi properly for the sample rates but I might did it wrong...

I still have some troubles understanding how the two setups could sound so differently while the Mac, reading either the AIFF file or the CD sent the data to the same DAC through the same USB port and cable and so on. Any clue?

 

Matt

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A couple more thoughts as to why there is large a large discrepancy in sound quality:

Which USB socket did you use on the Macbook? Check in system info that you are using one on a high-speed bus, preferably not shared with any other device.

If your dealer has one to hand, try a USB-to-SPDIF converter between the USB and your DAC (e.g. Musical Fidelity V-link192). Many DACs still produce inferior sound from their USB input.

ALAC iTunes library on Synology DS412+ running MinimServer with Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet running BubbleUPnP for control >

Hi-Fi 1: Airport Extreme bridge > Netgear switch > TP-Link optical isolation > dCS Network Bridge AND PS Audio PerfectWave Transport > PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Bridge Mk.II > Primare A60 > Harbeth SHL5plus Anniversary Edition .

Hi-Fi 2: Sonore Rendu > Chord Hugo DAC/preamp > LFD integrated > Harbeth P3ESRs and > Sennheiser HD800

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Thank you David,

 

I'll be checking the usb, but still, could you explain how the sound quality could be that different whereas I used the same usb socket and setup, switching between CD playback on the Mac's CD player and AIFF file read on the Mac?

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Hi Canard,

 

I'm pretty much a Newbie too but two things do jump out at me:

* First, what OSX are you running on the Mac?

* What version of iTunes?

* Finally, it seems iTunes might be the culprit here as iTunes playback causes the issues you describe. Check in Advanced Settings and make sure any tonal controls are turned off.

 

Keep us posted,

Scott

MacBook Pro, 16gb RAM, 500gb storage, McIntosh MA-6900, Paradigm Reference Signature 6 Towers, Cambridge Audio Magic Streamer 6, Mountain Lion, iTunes 11.0.X.

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Hello Scott,

 

I'm pretty sure that all tonal controls in iTunes were turned off at the time of the test, I'm running OSX Lion (did not upgrade to Mountain Lion by fear of slowing down my 2009 MacBook Pro), and the latest iTunes (11.0.2).

 

Matt

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Well then, if it were me, I would be switching out the USB cable, leaving all else the same. In my career, I found that sometimes we try to be so sophisticated in our troubleshooting and are shocked when the solution turns out to be something simple like switching out one cable.

 

From here on in, make only one change at a time until you narrow it down.

 

Other ideas: USB 1.2 or USB 2.0? Are the dacs capable of 2.0? Is your Mac?

 

Scott

MacBook Pro, 16gb RAM, 500gb storage, McIntosh MA-6900, Paradigm Reference Signature 6 Towers, Cambridge Audio Magic Streamer 6, Mountain Lion, iTunes 11.0.X.

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You may also like to try the Naim ND5XS streamer (given you have a Nait XS) thought hat is more expensive than the DACs you were demoing. Naim's new DAC-V2 would also match well.

 

Yesterday evening I took a closer look at the Naim ND5 XS streamer. It caught my attention and rose new questions:

 

What route should I go, regarding sound quality and user convenience (playlist, album browsing etc...):

-MacBook Pro (Audirvana plus as player) to DAC to amp? or,

-Naim ND5 XS streamer with NAS connected to it to amp, using the n-stream 3.0 app from Naim on my iPad?

 

Has anybody used a Naim streamer with a NAS and the n-stream app on an iPad to browse through albums and create playlists?

 

Matt

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Yesterday evening I took a closer look at the Naim ND5 XS streamer. It caught my attention and rose new questions:

 

What route should I go, regarding sound quality and user convenience (playlist, album browsing etc...):

-MacBook Pro (Audirvana plus as player) to DAC to amp? or,

-Naim ND5 XS streamer with NAS connected to it to amp, using the n-stream 3.0 app from Naim on my iPad?

 

Has anybody used a Naim streamer with a NAS and the n-stream app on an iPad to browse through albums and create playlists?

 

Matt

Personally I think the convinience of a streamer device plus NAS (or ideally a VortexBox or similar) is greater than a computer - especially if you don't have a computer to dedicate to the task.

 

As for sound quality - well there are so many factors to take into account thats an impossible question and you need to listen and compare.

 

Eloise

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dear Canard,

 

Interesting, and very good system youvhave. It is wellknown both the USB as Dig Out of the MacBook Pro is not amongst the best. For example the Mac Mini's will perform a lot better. Also the interconnect you will use - in case of the Dig Out - is important. One of the better cables is the Wireworld Supernova 6, but it hasits price.

 

definately have a listen to the ND5XS. It is an extremely good player with a DAC section that is close to equal to Naim's nDac, and goes very well with your Nait XS

Naim152xs - Naim150xs - Naim FlatCapxs - Naim ND5xs - Epos Epic 5 - QNAP 219 Nas

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Hello,

 

What is your source for this information:

It is wellknown both the USB as Dig Out of the MacBook Pro is not amongst the best. For example the Mac Mini's will perform a lot better.

 

​Scott

MacBook Pro, 16gb RAM, 500gb storage, McIntosh MA-6900, Paradigm Reference Signature 6 Towers, Cambridge Audio Magic Streamer 6, Mountain Lion, iTunes 11.0.X.

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