Digital Audio for Dummies

I am so confused about what to choose for ripping and then  how to merge streaming  into my several stereo systems. And what if I want to do LPs too?

I have had recommendations for the Naim Uniti Core for ripping and storing digital music.  I’ve heard that Roon might be better.  Or maybe it’s just different.  I’ve just today heard about the gear recommended in this thread, Bluesound and Sony.  How to choose??

There are several servers out there that can rip CD's and stream music from services like Tidal.  They get their stream via wired Ethernet or WIFI. Once you get one of these, you are stuck with the audio quality that delivers.  Not much you can do if you don't like it. 

Roon can run on handheld devices, PC or Mac.  It is usually selected to enable streaming of Tidal.  If you are not planning to pay monthly for streaming services and only play your local files, there are many other options.

For most people that want great sound quality and networked audio, the choose the Ethernet to USB converters from Sonore, called "renderers".  These devices can drive USB to the DAC of your choice.  They require wired Ethernet from your router or switch to the renderer, no WIFI.  With these renderers, you can use many different playback softwares including:

1) Linn Kazoo/Minimserver/BubbleUPnP

2) Lumin/Minimserver/BubbleUPnP

3) Jriver

4) Audirvana Plus

5) Roon

6) Linn Kinsky/Minimserver

There are two different types of renderers supported by these playback controllers:   UPnP/DLNA and Roon RAAT.  You have to decide which you want.

Some playback software and renderer hardware supports only DLNA, others support Roon RAAT.  The Sonore devices support both. Also, some of these control softwares do not support streaming.

Virtually all my music is classical or opera and I’ve read with increasing despair that it can be very hard to get the right tags on classical music, so that’s one issue.

If you rip to FLAC while connected to the network, you will get all of the tags available.  The rippers also compare checksum to other peoples rips automatically.

Which one preserves the audio quality best?

.wav files are the most accurate, but some tags will be lost.  You still get album art, artist, date, sample-rate, format, composer etc.  All other formats compromise SQ IME.

Which software is best for managing playback?

Every one is different and a personal choice.  Most people like Roon.  Lumin, Audirvana Plus and Jriver are good too.

The question you should be asking is:

What playback/control software delivers the best sound quality?

They are not all the same by any stretch.  Big differences here.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

One immediate question is sound quality. It seems that a $29 optical drive isn't going to read CD's as accurately as what I have now.

Not true.  A CDROM drive in a Mac Mini reads perfectly every time. Using XLD, it is checked on the network against many other rips.  XLD makes sure that the data is correct and the OFFSET is correct.  This is an area where I believe some custom rippers in these all-in-one devices fail.  Offset can and usually does affect sound quality.

I would hate to go through all the work of ripping all these CD's and then have digital data with less integrity than what I have now. At least owners of megabuck transports might question this.

Nothing to worry about if you use a recent CDROM drive and XLD or dbpoweramp.

An extension of this question might be this--Do some feel that their sound is BETTER after they went through this transition. (I suppose it's possible if less jitter, better DAC, etc. But if just feeding a digital signal say to the Lyngdorf, it seems the best you would do is equal, but not better).

There is no doubt in my mind that my hardware playing .wav files beats ANY transport on the market.

The Lyngdorf may be an issue here.  If it has a reclocker on its digital inputs, then you are stuck with the sound of that.  Reducing jitter of the source will improve SQ, but maybe not a lot compared to a DAC with no reclocker on the input.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

I’ll tell you what I use:

An Interchange UPnP/DLNA renderer driving my DAC using my Reference BNC S/PDIF cable.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=156409.0

You can use this with any DAC that has coax input.

I play music with Linn Kinsky controller and Minimserver/BubbleUPnP for server. All 3 freeware.

You can connect this with wired Ethernet or use my WIFI adapter. Same exact SQ either way.

Best SQ I have experienced in 22 years of designing and modding computer audio interfaces. ~16psec of jitter at the end of the coax cable across 75 ohms termination. The playback software is critical.  Change it and you lose the magic.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

How can we both start with the same data on a Redbook CD and it ends up sounding better an a system like yours as opposed to a conventional CD player? I'm not challenging you here, it just doesn't make sense to me. Where is the "improvement" occurring?

Primarily lower jitter, as well as the capability to play hi-res tracks.  I recently played many re-mastered Beatles albums, all 24/44.1 rather than 16/44.1.  They sound amazing.

If you want your transport to have lower jitter, then the Synchro-Mesh can deliver that. ~20psec at the end of the 4 foot cable.  Never run less than a 4 foot digital cable because you will get more jitter.  Even coax cables add jitter:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.0

To my way of thinking the best I could hope for in this process is to not loose any data that I have on my original CD.

CD players and transports are far from perfect, but losing data is not a concern unless it is from the early 80's.  Jitter is the biggest issue with most digital audio.  See the jitter from this transport and how the Synchro-Mesh reduces it:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154408.0

Not a minor improvement.

The real appeal of computer audio is not only lower jitter (depending on the hardware), but streaming services and playing hi-res files.  I have many 24/96 and 24/192 files in .wav format downloaded from HDtracks.  Rolling Stones Let it Bleed in 24.176.4 is amazing.

With the right DAC and Ethernet interface, the sound quality will not only beat the best CD players, it will beat some of the best vinyl systems. I have customers that have sold their vinyl systems and vinyl and converted to digital audio. You can read the feedback on my website.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio