Computer audio and my closed mind

All general audio posts go here.
User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by karatestu »

montechristo358 wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:20 pm
karatestu wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:50 pm
Simon Hickie wrote: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:44 am

Yes. They take up more space on disk and are less good with metadata but you eliminate the need for the additional processing needed for FLAC files.
What do you use to rip the CD's Simon ?

I have never ripped a CD in my life. I don't even know how to use iTunes and we have got it (wife does all that).

I would not want to skimp on quality but then not knowing anything means the whole thing is a mine field littered with acronyms that I don't even know the meaning of. A steep learning curve for me to be sure to be sure.

I have been reading on TAS that slinger has just purchased a Pi and intends to use it in anger. I have so many things to look in to I don't know where to start. Also been reading about DAC's - Beresford seg looks interesting and is at an attractive price. I like the direct selling at trade price approach.

Stu (my head hurts)
Stu

I'd heartily recommend DBPoweramp as the ripping software
Noted
if you new to streaming then break it down into teh sections below

Files - always rip in the best quality you can, FLAC or WAV, my preference is FLAC, you can always convert to other formats later as a batch job. If you rip them as MP3 for example you are always stuck with that quality.
FLAC or WAV it is then. Fretless prefers WAV, you prefer FLAC
Storage, Where do you want to keep the files, PC,NAS, Hard disk attached to the Playback device? My preference is NAS, as you can keep the noisy computer bits and spinning hard drives away from your audio gear. You also don't need to leave a PC on
NAS it is then. What's a NAS ?
Playback - What hardware will you use to get the music int your stereo? This may have its own DAC or you may choose an offboard one.
Maybe a Pi plus an offboard dac
Control - How will you choose what to play? This may be a tablet or phone, physical or remote or the Playback device may need a screen.
Not fussed, but i have seen you can get a screen for a Pi

personally I use

DB Poweramp to rip to uncompressed FLAC
DIY NAS to store the files
Raspberry PIs as the playback devices. Some running Picoreplayer, others running Roon
Android Tablet for control using OrangeSqueeze or Roon Remote
I want to keep it all dedicated for high quality audio use only and if that means having a Pi (mini computer ?)and a add on storage device then so be it. Keeping the audio thing totally separate from anything else is what i want to do. Thing is I may in the future (never say never) do some streaming as well as playing back ripped CD's so it would have to be compatible with that also I guess. Asking too much ?????

Thanks for all the help. Getting to grips with this has already started and i want it to ultimately be as good as i can make it within a sensible budget.

Stu WHoops dooble post
Last edited by karatestu on Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by CN211276 »

I have ripped all my CDs to Flac. They are stored on a NAS and backed up on an external hard drive. I play them back from the NAS via my phone and the free BubleUp App. BubleUp also works with Tidal and Qobuz. I use a streamer which sounds a lot better than my computer.
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by CN211276 »

NAS is cloud storage. I have My Cloud and store other things on it beside music.
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

montechristo358
Posts: 278
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:35 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 19 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

technically NAS is not cloud.

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. Its basically a series of hard disks in an enclosure with PSU, Controller and Network Interfaces all built in (its a little computer with Disks) running some flavour of LINUX. You plug it into your network and any machine attached to your network can access it.

Key point here is its on YOUR network. Cloud Storage is stored on someone elses network even if the hardware is much the same. Google Music, Apple Music, TIDAL, Spotify e.t.c are all stored in the Cloud

Stu I assume you have a Broadband Router connected to your internet connection and it has some RJ45 ports on it. RJ45 looks like a bigger version of the RJ11 telephone plug

Image

typically your NAS plugs into this and so does you playback device, simplistically teh cable you use for this that has an RJ45 plug on each end is called a CAT5 network cable

Image

Your Playback device will also have a connected to your stereo either via RCA if it has its own built in DAC or it connects to your DAC via either SPDIF, TOSLINK or USB and your DAC then connects to teh Stereo via RCA.

if using an Apple or Android device as the controller it would connect to the Router via WIFI so that they can all talk
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU

Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU

Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers

montechristo358
Posts: 278
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:35 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 19 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

have a read of this Stu

https://roonlabs.com/index.html

Its as good as they say it is.
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU

Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU

Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by karatestu »

Hey, thanks for that. It all makes sense :dance:

Yes i have a broadband router aand it has several of those RJ45 ports on the back (3 unused).

I am unfimiliar with linux. Will look into network storage. Is it possible to build your own ? I hate anything with an smps - linear all the way for me. So a NAS is like a hard drive with psu, linux os and ports for connections ? I am familiar with cat5, it is how my laptop is connected to the router.

I will have a look at roon.

Many thanks, stu
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9290
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1487 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by Fretless »

The WAV vs FLAC thing is probably down to personal preference. On my installation I now prefer WAV but the files do need more disk-space and don't have the same indexing data, which makes them less convenient.

I have compared MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, ALAC, FLAC and WAV and re-ripped my CD collection several times to improve SQ. This is a result of my own compulsion to get the best sound I can, but that's just me.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

montechristo358
Posts: 278
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:35 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 19 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

Stu, yes you can get linear PSUs for a computer https://www.hdplex.com/hdplex-fanless-2 ... evice.html as an example

However the beauty of using a NAS is it can be put in another room, or even as in my case on another mains circuit to minimise noise. That said I assume you have a PC or Mac so it will have no more impact on things than leaving that on whilst listening.

Something to consider is is always make a backup copy of your music, once youve ripped it all you won't want to do it again.

Yes you can build your own NAS and its really easy. I personally did just that using UnRaid for a number of reasons https://lime-technology.com/what-is-unraid/ if you fancy a read. Thats another long conversation though and in your shoes I would worry about it yet

assuming you have a PC already, in your shoes I would rip a few dozen CDs and put them on a folder on your PC. Download the Roon Trial and run it on your PC pointed at those files. If you like what it does playing through your PC you can then look at what playback device you prefer.
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU

Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU

Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by karatestu »

montechristo358 wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:06 pm Stu, yes you can get linear PSUs for a computer https://www.hdplex.com/hdplex-fanless-2 ... evice.html as an example

However the beauty of using a NAS is it can be put in another room, or even as in my case on another mains circuit to minimise noise. That said I assume you have a PC or Mac so it will have no more impact on things than leaving that on whilst listening.

Something to consider is is always make a backup copy of your music, once youve ripped it all you won't want to do it again.

Yes you can build your own NAS and its really easy. I personally did just that using UnRaid for a number of reasons https://lime-technology.com/what-is-unraid/ if you fancy a read. Thats another long conversation though and in your shoes I would worry about it yet

assuming you have a PC already, in your shoes I would rip a few dozen CDs and put them on a folder on your PC. Download the Roon Trial and run it on your PC pointed at those files. If you like what it does playing through your PC you can then look at what playback device you prefer.
Cracking advice cheers :guiness;

How does one go about ripping vinyl then ? Do i need an ADC or something ?
DIY FREE ZONE

montechristo358
Posts: 278
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:35 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 19 times
Great Britain

Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

To rip vinyl yes you need an ADC that's another minefield though

When you rip a CD your copying the digital 1 and 0 exactly from the disc. Playback Dac aside the resultant file will sound exactly the same as the cd

When you rip vinyl you hopefully have a great sounding rig so your signal is great, however the digital file is going to be only as good as the ADC, most aren't that great. Even if you find the world's best ADC each side of the record will now be a single digital file. You now need more time to manually split them up

Add all that up and i usually just buy the CD second hand and rip those
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU

Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU

Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers

Post Reply