Computer Audiophiles Are Anti-Computer

[Purité Audio]

I m sorry to hear about the latency issue, I am still waiting for the USB module as I don't want to send for review a dac which requires a USB s/pdif converter.
I will bet that latency issue in mind though, so which power amps will you use instead ?
BW Keith.

 

[dallasjustice]

I m sorry to hear about the latency issue, I am still waiting for the USB module as I don't want to send for review a dac which requires a USB s/pdif converter.
I will bet that latency issue in mind though, so which power amps will you use instead ?
BW Keith.

He said he doesn't plan to fix it anytime soon. So I doubt the USB interface will address the problem. As long as the user doesn't need to lip sync the DAC with a movie or TV or needs to use a crossover, it should not matter.

 

[Opus111]

Some say the computer is noisy and therefore the noise must be stopped. What noise are they talking about?

I'd surmise its common-mode noise, from the computer's switching supply more than from the computer itself. Hence why many like to swap to a linear supply.

 

[Thomas savage]

He said he doesn't plan to fix it anytime soon. So I doubt the USB interface will address the problem. As long as the user doesn't need to lip sync the DAC with a movie or TV or needs to use a crossover, it should not matter.

Did you get the ' your the only guy in the world with this problem ' bullshit I seem to get that a lot from all corners...

 

[Opus111]

Did you get the ' your the only guy in the world with this problem ' bullshit

I got that from Nokia once - never bought Nokia since.

 

[AJ Soundfield]

I'd surmise

sur•mise (sər-mīzˈ)

• v.
  To infer (something) without sufficiently conclusive evidence.
• v.
  To make a guess or conjecture.
• n.
  An idea or opinion based on insufficiently conclusive evidence; a conjecture.

Yes, of course you would.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I get sublime sound via USB out of my Mac book Air. I do use the Wyrd in the chain as it has completely eliminated any dropouts. Listening to Christian Jacobs Live in Toyko now via Audirvana 2.5. Couldn't be happier.

I've always gotten great sound via usb from my Macs. Honestly I don't hear a difference between the air and the MacBook Pro that preceded it. Not even through a good headphone system. Now I send audio from my Mac to an Apple TV wirelessly. I don't know if that made a difference, because it happened with a shift from a headphone/near field system to the speakers on stands out in the room. It would be pretty hard, I think, to pick out any differences in digital transfer under those circumstances. It's a good question, though. You don't often see audiophiles discussing wireless.

Tim

 

[Opus111]

AJ you might find this website helpful in increasing your word power - https://www.vocabulary.com/play/

 

[Thomas savage]

I've always gotten great sound via usb from my Macs. Honestly I don't hear a difference between the air and the MacBook Pro that preceded it. Not even through a good headphone system. Now I send audio from my Mac to an Apple TV wirelessly. I don't know if that made a difference, because it happened with a shift from a headphone/near field system to the speakers on stands out in the room. It would be pretty hard, I think, to pick out any differences in digital transfer under those circumstances. It's a good question, though. You don't often see audiophiles discussing wireless.

Tim

I bought my sister a musical fidelity Mdac that had a wireless option that she uses a lot. It's much better wired though but she is happy with it.

 

[dallasjustice]

I ordered a Luxman 900u. It seems like a nice match with the JBLs. I'm temporarily using the smaller 700u and I'm mostly only using 1 watt of power, except the big peaks. The 900 is supposed to be a lot better and I really like the 700u.

I m sorry to hear about the latency issue, I am still waiting for the USB module as I don't want to send for review a dac which requires a USB s/pdif converter.
I will bet that latency issue in mind though, so which power amps will you use instead ?
BW Keith.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Getting back to the original post, I agree that there has been no reliable demonstration of any inferiority due to the use of a well-designed computer in comparison to a dedicated server which, of necessity, must contain a CPU. Moreover, the use of a "real" computer offers genuine advantages in adaptability, configuration and choice of software and all that is critical as standards are constantly shifting.

The point that "They only want a low power and low function computer which can only do one thing: playback 2CH music" hit me in a soft spot because I have reviewed 2 dedicated servers that, supposedly, were capable of multichannel support and, in both cases, they were constrained by their CPUs from doing so effectively.

 

[Cosmik]

Honestly I don't hear a difference between the air and the MacBook Pro that preceded it.

I would avoid even saying "I don't hear a difference" because I think it is dignifying the problem that the OP is highlighting. The irony is that using a different computer certainly does affect the sound: it is a physically different shape and you have placed it in your listening room. You could probably even measure the acoustic difference, unlike the difference in what comes out of the DAC.

 

[amirm]

I have lost count how many times I have argued this topic. It is yet again one of those affairs where the lay understanding is used over actual technical one. "Let's keep taking things out so that the system sounds better and better." It just doesn't work that way.

Take jitter which comes in all varieties. Study using random jitter have shown that threshold of detection is thousands of nanoseconds, simply because random jitter creates random noise so it is far less audible. Taking components out of that random jitter eventually makes it non-random and with it, jitter detection threshold becomes much lower.

The sound of a facet dripping one drop at a time is far more annoying than a steady stream.

And this is on top of no instrumentation shown that anything is happening with respect to these tweaks.

 

[RayDunzl]

The sound of a facet dripping one drop at a time is far more annoying than a steady stream.

Especially when trying to take a shower.

I still have some dislike for streaming, it just makes me anxious, like "Why am I listening to this when I could be listening to one of 37,562,374 other tracks?"

 

[John Kenny]

I have lost count how many times I have argued this topic. It is yet again one of those affairs where the lay understanding is used over actual technical one. "Let's keep taking things out so that the system sounds better and better." It just doesn't work that way.

Take jitter which comes in all varieties. Study using random jitter have shown that threshold of detection is thousands of nanoseconds, simply because random jitter creates random noise so it is far less audible. Taking components out of that random jitter eventually makes it non-random and with it, jitter detection threshold becomes much lower.

The sound of a facet dripping one drop at a time is far more annoying than a steady stream.

And this is on top of no

And I pointed out to you that the underlying problem is the reactive nature of the computer's power distribution network which injects noise into the ground when transient current draws are incurred. The solution is more likely to be found in a PS which isn't reactive than in trying to finagle a steady activity load on a computer - an impossible task, I would suggest, with a standard OS.

What the MicroRendu seems to address is this PS aspect with a focus on where ground noise needs to be attended to

 

[Thomas savage]

Choice paralyses me

Especially when trying to take a shower.

I still have some dislike for streaming, it just makes me anxious, like "Why am I listening to this when I could be listening to one of 37,562,374 other tracks?"

I am like this with underpants... Why wear these when I could wear 100's of other pairs... That's why I only have one pair!

 

[amirm]

And I pointed out to you that the underlying problem is the reactive nature of the computer's power distribution network which injects noise into the ground when transient current draws are incurred. The solution is more likely to be found in a PS which isn't reactive than in trying to finagle a steady activity load on a computer - an impossible task, I would suggest, with a standard OS.

What the MicroRendu seems to address is this PS aspect with a focus on where ground noise needs to be attended to

And as I keep telling you John, your technical arguments are in dire need of data to verify them. It is not enough to hypothesize things. Anyone can do that and that is why we have this thread. It is the marketing material for all of these audiophile tweaks. Come back with some measurements and controlled listening tests that demonstrate audibility and then we can talk.

 

[RayDunzl]

And I pointed out to you that the underlying problem is the reactive nature of the computer's power distribution network which injects noise into the ground when transient current draws are incurred.

Get an Equitech and float your AC around a new ground point.

If the (new) ground point's potential moves, so does everything else, relative change = none, and don't worry about it.

http://www.equitech.com/articles/bpng.html

 

[John Kenny]

What is it I need data to verify, Amir:
- That sporadic high current draws cause noise injection on the ground plane of the motherboard?
- That MicroRendu SEEM to be addressing this?

Bear in mind, Amir, you already put forth the suggestion from Keith Johnson, over on WBF, when you "asked him what can we do in PCs to make them sound better. He said, "always have them do something; never stop and start."
Did you not suggest to him that he was in dire need of data to verify this?

 

[Mivera]

I'm still waiting for Amir's measurement results of the general purpose computer, and USB bridge I sent in. Amir has enough gear at his disposal to dispel many myths regarding computer audio/digital interfaces.