2. pc-audio
  3. 147704-3105

Personal confuser Audio which aspect has the greatest impact on SQ?

Hello all,

it usually goes with out saying that ‘everything’ in the audio system makes a difference in sound quality. as we all know, Everything Matters.

PC audio has metriculated into new vistas which now and then beg for more digital hardware such as, NAS, servers, ethernet renderers, USB converters, bridges, additional clocks, dual clocks, dual DACs (one per ch), and outboard power sups for many of these listed gizmos to boot.

even the media management and or streaming software seems to have its own influenece on the sonic presentation.

so lets try to sort out where the REAL money needs to go in the digital turn table arrangement, if indeed there has been significant changes in your opinion.

i read yesterday that the error correction used in iTunes is a very poor idea on that theme and it can in fact degrade the ripped product dramatically as it averages out multiple errors rather than addressing them individually, thus destroying or severely degrading the end result of your ripped cD.

as well, in the digital signal path we were concerned with pico seconds of jitter or distortion, degrading the sound quality, now we are faced with worrying about even smaller ’portions of these same pico second’ anomolies.

furthermore, there are the cabling and interfaces which must be connected so the signal can be found, accepted, and converted to analog, USB, AES, BNC, SPDIF, HDMI, I2s, Ethernet, and TOS..

at times even the overall lengths of the digital cables became quite impactful.

and we all know the dAC has been for darn near ever, either the ONLY link, or the most crucial link in this equation, but has it now been upstaged or set aside in its import for the quality of sound being produced?

IOW, has the bridge, renderer, power supply or cable tech become so improved the DAC is no longer the primary vital, highest priority ingredient for achieving better sound quality?

or….

Are the aforementioned digital ‘incidentals’ or accessories far less significant factors in achieving improved audio quality and the DAC still remains the most important key to obtaining great sound??

many thanks
blindjim
mahler123
3,063 posts
 
Well I hope that your personal security situation has stabilized.
I used the Oppo as a bridge for a while when my Bluesound was dead in the water.  If only they had developed a better app before folding their tent....it can be used but it isn’t very elegant.
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 

@mahler123>
I hope that your personal security situation has stabilized.

OP>
it seems to have, though the mail box has none and as such its an ongoing concern, and has been a serious issue twice now.

luckily a former close friend, since passed, had a friend well up in the Sheriffs department, a detective who bvisited me and some uh, 'neighbors' and things have quieted down a good bit. I think the nonsense is still going on but its not going on here, and that's my primary remaining issue.

@mahler123>

  I used the Oppo as a bridge for a while when my Bluesound was dead in the water.  If only they had developed a better app before folding their tent....

OP>
whose app, Oppo or Blue Sound?

I thought if I were using the MAC and A + to feed the Oppo, the UDP 203 would essentially be a silent partner. acting only as a conduit or bridge to the dAC.

BTW, putting the A+ remote app onto my iphone and ipad sure made using A+ easier.

now I gotta figure out how to generate playlists inside A+ made of files itunes doesn't support, using ONLY the keyboard. or very sparringly the mouse as I can magnify the screen to see it better when absolutely necessary.

well, that and integrating a streaming service.

BTW2,
huge thanks for pointing me to Audirvana Plus. Good call!

also, I've decided if I do use a formal audio 'bridge' it will be one that accepts input from ethernet on the local network. with a NAS, it makes more sense.

given every decent music streaming/renderer has some lofty price tags, those will be, if at all, final additions of pure convenience.
mahler123
3,063 posts
 
The Bluesound app is decent.  I had a problem with my entire Bluesound system where I couldn’t use it or get it fixed for several weeks...detailed here and in the digital forum.  Anyway, I was using the Network function of the Oppo to control my NAS.  The Oppo app is terrible.  Audirvana worked much better using my PC, but that limited me to usb and I couldn’t use the pc and listen to music simultaneously.
  I don’t think the Audirvana can be used with the Oppo...I thought it was for pc only...perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong.
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
@mahler123>
, I was using the Network function of the Oppo to control my NAS.  The Oppo app is terrible.  Audirvana worked much better using my PC, but that limited me to usb and I couldn’t use the pc and listen to music simultaneously.
  I don’t think the Audirvana can be used with the Oppo...I thought it was for pc only...perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong

OP>

first off, my iMac is on a wy fy connection.

so is my UDP 203.

now do understand i’ve not fully completed this link, but…..

once Audirvana got fully licensed I turned on the UDP 203.

then I opened Audirvana plus.

using the file menu for A+ I looked at the output audio settings in PREFERENCES, and clicked onto that box and it dropped down showing the 203 as an output device.

I THINK IT SHOWED UP AS ‘OPPO’.

not being able to navigate the OPPO menus at that time or since actually due to other priorities, I’ve not tried it out.


OPPO support sent along an email as I asked specifically about this scenario and they said:
From the Home Menu of you OPPO, you will need to select Network. From Network, there should be a listing for Audirvana and you will need to select that. After Audirvana is selected, do you then get audio?

(as said, I’ve not tried though it seems as it should work)

OPPO WENT ON TO SAY….

You will not need to change any settings and you will be able to output the audio from any of the outputs on the player. If you are currently using a HDMI connection for audio, you can use that.

the only output from the oppo CURRENTLY in use is using HDMI to a sony LED 31 inch HD flat screen

i’ve been using it only to view/listen to Blu Ray movies so far and very sparringly.

soon I’ll get it into what I said the other day in this post about a rearrangement of my office gear.

in another email Oppo said ROOn labs was a slam dunk as the 203 is roon ready.

but go ahead and try it with the oppo on first and then fire up A+ and see if Oppo is a choice in the audio output. devices menu.

they are all DLNA, right? it should fly and there’s a wy fy connection for you. violin!

one last thing… just before being curious about all this when I fired up the 203 there was a firmware update which I let be installed.

Oppo 203 does allow its menu accessibility so it used to speak menus and so forth but it did not after the update so it likely needs to be turned on once more. I think that did occur before on one other update. can’t recall exactly.

try it out!

good luck!!
mahler123
3,063 posts
 
That’s interesting.  However, I am thinking that will only work if you intend to use the DAC of the 203.  I would prefer to use my Bryston DAC.  It seems weird that 
one could have Audirvana on the pc, have the Oppo use it to find music, then instead of play it through the Oppo pass it to another DAC, thereby adding what seems to be an unnecessary link.
  I could try this, but frankly I am not that interested, as I am just starting to to enjoy the sound of my Bryston BDP3 as a transport, which is an order of magnitude better than the Oppo, the PCwith Audirvana, or Bluesound.
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