Apple versus PC

PC audio is a bit of a mine field - either with a Mac or a PC - perhaps in the stampede by companies to grab a share of the desktop audio playback market coupled with the inherent "non-standardness" of every PC running together hundreds of thousands of non-proprietary code - crappy and bug infested software is out there.

Software bugs, Digital volume controls, Sampe rate and bit conversions/truncations can all cause errors. Here is a useful resource

Whether you use Benchmark or another great sounding DAC it is critical to achieve "bit-transparency". The same issue exsists with DVD and BD players.

In some cases it all works fine and then your latest software "upgrade" may inadvertently wreck things - so it is a completely moving target....unless you have test instruments then how do you know everything is "bit-transparent" and how do you know it remains so?

I use MAC audio (iTunes) around the entire house streamed from my office to an airport express - so wherever I want. Great convenience. Ii love it. I buy a lot of music by listening on the Apple Mac speakers ....but I still BUY THE CD'S (if I can get them).

Call me old fashioned but my main system uses a Mac-mini to control everytihng (pick tunes and make a playlist from the comfort of the listening chair). HOWEVER, I use ordinary CD players (five megachangers) to produce the music (all software controlled using A1 Sony protocols). I have never had a problem with this setup and it ENSURES my audio reproduction chain is FOOLPROOF.

If you have a large CD collection and are worried about "bit-transparency" but want the convenience of software control and management of your music then I highly recommend my rather foolproof approach.

I will change one day my main system to all software but I am in no rush given the hundreds and hundreds of unhappy user reports where software got hold of the "bits" and lost something somewhere/somehow from a conversion.

Th e problem is it is INSIDIOUS....youu do not know you have a problem unless you are constantly making tests and cross checks...a simple software update could be enough to land youu in trouble without your knowledge. Thi smay sound extreme but lets face it - this is an audiophile forum!

Regarding Audioengr's comments if they were intended for me, I actually was bypassing the Kmixer on the PC and was well aware of how to set it up through months of screwing around with it and researching. I was running FLAC with ASIO drivers and it was true bit perfect on the dell laptop.

Regarding 16 bit versus 24 bit, I'm not certain, but I thought I heard you mention sometime back that if someone has a dac that upsamples to 24bit, don't upconvert at the source (i.e. the computer), as you're just throwing more "garbage" down the line (i.e. USB cable) to the DAC itself. Anyways, in both setups (MAC and PC), I definitely prefer the 16 bit sample rate at the computer and just let the DAC up-convert. It's crisper, punchier and seems to provide better separation/definition, both with the dell laptop and the IMac. The 24 bit sounds broader and more "blended", but doesn't give you the dynamics of 16 bit settings from the computer.

Every computer/setup is different I imagine, but in my case the IMAC is clearly beating out the Dell laptop (which has FOOBAR and a 750gig external drive feeding FLAC). The IMAC provides more detail now that it's been up and running for a few days and the higher frequencies aren't as harsh though the PC wasn't necessarily bright to begin with (the IMAC seems to work in better tandem with the DAC1).

Throw in the functionality and definitely I'm not regretting switching to MAC at all.

Got very close to picking up a MAC, then realised the extent to which the system/hardware options are locked down - this curtailment of flexibility/choice is an irritant to me. Doubtless for those with less of an engineering bent it is a godsend.

And I fully acknowledge that the BSD core of OSX is quite attractive...actually very.

Still I prefer the PC solution, larger market, more options. Take a silent pc, run XP Pro (dual boot Vista 64 if you want), foobar, Lynx AES16 and take digital out to an external DAC with wordlock. Order some HRx files and indulge.

Twists on the foregoing are myriad - e.g: instead of foobar: J River, iTunes, Media Monkey, WinAmp, WMP..., and if you have an aversion to Lynx, then consider M-Audio....

Choice. Flexibility. The challenge is you have to make it work, which is the "out of the box" benefit of the Mac...

2 desktops and 2 laptops later I went back and kiss up with the Mac.
My 5-yo iMac still runs photoshop and final cut pro without a glitch.
Now , strictly for music application my choice is Mac again.
Its benefits - it works and works beautifully.
MacBook Air/ iTunes to usb-in on my preamp with build in usb DAC
Very, very happy listener.

Mariusz

If you were running ASIO on the PC, that explains it. None of the ASIO's sound good IMO. You have to unmap or use kernel streaming.

Mac is more trouble-free I admit, but I dont think the upsampler is as good as SRC and Foobar 0.8.3. I dont like the sound of the new 0.9.x Foobar and SRC, so that explains that too.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio