Amarra for iTunes at RMAF...

Hi Antipodes_audio,

I have had the same experience. I have found that sending cds ripped as AIFFs on the mac in itunes without Amarra, with the digital output settings set to 24bit 44.1, and sent to my upsampler causes quite a change in "air" to the presentation when compared to 16/44.1. That is just one setting change! Obviously some recordings can suffer, but most well recorded tracks sound much better.

On the PC, which is custom built and running Vista, I have music production software which uses its own ASIO, and depending on which software is running, the same computer with the same interface etc sounds very different. So hardware changes are a whole other story!

To be honest I have given up for the time being with my source. The flexibility I have now far out weighs any slight changes in presentation. At the moment my system sounds great and I cannot really complain. I stay interested and listen to what new equipment I can, and keep my software up to date. I think this computer source quality situation will run for quite some time. I guess Amarra with a firewire interface is the best compromise at the moment.

The non pro music playback software on the PC still seems a little under developed to me. Sonics aside.

To answer your first para Tbg - familiarity and control are the main reasons - but also the wealth of free applications for the PC. Now I am learning more about Unix I can see that you can get a lot of control with Macs too. But I can't help myself, I prefer to build my own Mac than buy a Mac - I, of course, use the retail software. In particular, having zero moving parts (the music is stored externally) and a fair amount of power and 8GB of RAM is beneficial to sound and no Mac quite meets that spec.

On the software availability side, for example, I use a DSP board I have heavily modified out of a Rane RPM 26z in a system where I am designing an open baffle speaker. The Rane can do a lot of DSP stuff, but I really just use it for the digital cross-overs. The Rane software is just brilliant for real time design changes from the listening chair via wifi and a mouse. It is great for hearing immediately the change from 12dB/octave slopes to 24dB, for example. But it only runs on a PC.

Similarly I use TrueRTA for in-room measurements - free on a PC. Were I to use onboard crossover software on the Mac and output through a Lynx card, again, there is readily available software for the PC. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places for Mac software, maybe its there and it is just expensive, or maybe I should look at Parallels.

But the more I use Unix, the more I like it, I have to admit. I was put off initially by Macs because Apple wants to make all your decisions for you, but I am learning how to get under the hood now.

ntipodes_audio
Blindjim, you have accused me of a few things, and with no justification.

Me>> Accused? Do tell.
Please do tell me exactly what I have acused you of and where I made such an accusation in my posts here? You’ll have my most profound and sincere apology for it/them. Truly. I’ve looked over it/them a few times and only see where I asked a question, and indicated a feeling you might be biased towards Macs as my worst comment…. So? I’m biased towards tubes. Life moves on. No harm no foul. Sheesh..

Nothing else did I see which could possibly have been intended or considered to be untoward.

You>> What is it you have to hide?

Me>> Chief, I’m an open book. Ask anything of me and you’ll get the truth as I know it to be.

On my personal page I list where I live. That I’m a private member… not a dealer. Did you?

Nope. You didn’t.

I list my system and keep it updated. I get involved. I learn, listen, and share what experiences I have had, and have done this for some time now. I participate regularly to those ends.

When one reads between the lines they then, become the author. As you have done here.

If there is indeed a rant herein, it is your own… and quite an invalid and persistent one. In fact you make me out as accusatory, and then escalate your errant perspective of my commentary to be a personal attack!

You do understand the meaning of the words you choose don’t you? That’s kind of important.

Take a few deep breaths Anti… and only put those words back into my mouth which I’ve spit out…. Not your ill conceived inferences of my statements. Just copy and paste them below if you wish. That way it’s undeniable.

Need another ex of how you try to bend my words?

You>> This is a forum Blindjim - a place where people state their opinions without the need to state their scientific evidence, or have to repeatedly say IMO ad nauseum. Your attack of me for stating my opinion says a lot about you buddy.

Me>> My attack. Of you. That’s rich. The English language obviously poses some challenges for you, huh buddy?. You might want to get used to that IMO too… it’s very prevalent around here, among other web shorthand phrases.. SOTA, FWIW, RMV, RWV, lol, etc.

You>> Your accusations of bias and some percuniary motive show you up for what you are. No I don't sell Macs. Do you accuse everyone that has an opinion that is different to yours of being a vendor of what they like?.


Me>> OK. At the risk of further slander and as my curiosity now has the better of me, just what am I, given it sure seems as you do know?

Asking a question is not an accusation.

Good we know, or better still I know you are not a dealer of anything other than cables. Super.

In this thread I’ve noticed your stance for computer based audio has an emphatic nod towards use of Apple computers with a noticeable disdain for pcs used to the same ends. To wit your orig intimation that only a Mac is designed/able/configured, in fact you chose the word ‘optimized” for music streams. I believe you said optimized. I wasn’t sure as it was misspelled but it fit spelled right or not. That’s no biggie really… I got the drift of it..

**I’ve included further proof of this noticed condescension using your own words below. Eg., copying and pasting.

You>> …so I feel I should be allowed to post my opinions without personal attacks.

Me>> You so like that word, ‘attack’. Grow some thicker skin or take the measures necessary to diminish your paranoia. I’ve not yet attacked you. And probably won’t. It’s not my bag dude.

If anything I’ve found forum posts quite resemble emails… neither venue conveys tone, or intent nearly as well as spoken communications. But there we are… entirely open to being misread and therefore misunderstood. One can also fall prey to another whose ego seems to have been injured, be it truly the case or not.

you >> Lets just take one last point from your rant. You state you disagree with me that we should attempt to create a sound system in its own right.

Me>> Disagree? Yep. Ya got me there. It’s OK to do that right? Disagree, I mean. I disagree that ONLY one road leads to Rome. Simple, huh?

You>> I believe that deciding an USB device should perform well on anyone's PC is counter to just about anything else audiophiles seem to agree on, therefore I use a Mac for music (only) and PCs for everything else.

Me>> Well, there it is… USB SUCKS ON just about anyone’s PC. Where exactly did you come to divine this golden nugget from? I suppose there has been some published concensus which says that somewhere. You should forward this info to Gordon Rankin, John Stroncher, and all those other designers which are pretty well vested into audio via USB, ASAP

Whenever someone contends that one particular methodology is ‘best’ they profess their own prejudices and intolerance for some other.

In this hobby/forum the word best is both chocolate and vanilla, for it is in the ear of the beholder what truly is best. If those ears aren't full of ice cream, they'll know!

You>>. Your position is that that is unreasonable. Do you, Blidjim, insist that your speakers should be good plant stands too, use your DVD player as a CD transport because they jolly well should be able to do both jobs, insist on a teflon coating on your amps so that the fried eggs don't stick? So why insist that computer audio should be dumbed down to run on your workhorse, general purpose PC?

Me>> bingo! We have a winner in the condescending predisposition of computer based audio hierarchy AS YOU SAID, AND I’LL QUOTE
“… Computer audio should be dumbed down to run on your workhorse, general purpose PC?”

Me>> Nope. And if that ain’t attitude I don’t know what is. How's it feel to have just slighted any number of pc USB audio users and designers all in one fell swoop?

Now that you mention it I do have two open ports on my main speaker, but they are in the rear of them, so I’ll nix the notion of placing plants in them… but thanks. I’d never have thought of that before. Good Idea… well for front ported speakers maybe.

Eggs on amps? I do applaud the novelty but I see only poached as being viable and I’m not keen on Eggs Benedict anymore.

I’ve also almost completely stopped using the cup holder on my disc player for beverages. Well, almost. Now and then I'll use it as a TV dinner tray for like a Hot Pocket or something. Do remember, I use a pc for music and it has no cup holder, anymore.

I’ve no idea what has gotten your goat so profoundly here…. However I’ll not stand for anyone who twists words or pulls them out of thin air to make something poor out of something that is not…. As you obviously have attempted to do here…. To me. You are simply dead wrong completely. Infatically off the beam, as it were.

I’m no pc advocate and have no true allegiance to them at all. I’ve said as much in this very thread. Were circumstances different, I’d likely have a Mac in addition to the few pcs I already have. I’ve spent some length of time and energy to devise what I feel is my own personal SOTA hard drive based audio solution and it’s far more than merely pluggin and playing different devices into them.

I’ve arrived at my solution as compared to other one box CDP s previously and now available as it is to me to do. There’s more to it than plug and play. Period. If one takes the time to shut down services Bill Gates thinks are needed which aren’t actually, not for audio playback anyhow. So streamlining the OS is important and I’ve done that completely with my main audio source pc… My “workhorse” pc doesn’t receive those levels of attention. Nor is it needed or necessary.

Memory, front bus speeds, CPUs, drivers, etc. and which media player works best with all that... it's all important. It's all been addressed in my dumb ol' PC.

My take on anything is that it should be made available for everyone at least on some level and at some point. That was my main reason for posting here … to ask ‘when’ for pcs, in this Mac oriented thread. Mainly because no one else had asked yet.

Anti your veiled apology is not accepted. The only injury you’ve endured herein is by your own hand. By misconstruing the Audiogon membership and me personally, that anyone would think of promoting an attack on another posters comments. No one does that sort of thing here and sticks around too long.

You’ve not been a member long enough to see this as a reality yet. In fact you don’t even post what country you consider home. You don’t post your system, any reviews, etc. you’re as anonymous as they come. You’ve only served up input on a few instances.

Additionally as a self proclaimed cable dealer you failed to list even that info on your page here.

Why? What do you have to hide? No declaration of country, none of being in truth a proclaimed dealer. Well compared to me you have apparently something to hide, so you must feel everyone else does too.

I wish no one here any harm, injustice, or libel of any kind. Ever. I feel you should seriously rethink all of this and try to be less paranoid… So keep your shirt on, buddy. This is a pretty safe place and the people here are informed, informative, and friendly most all of the time. Get a grip. Dig some tunes and try to not read to much into what is posted as being personally invasive, it seldom is. It wasn’t here. That’s for sure… well, not on my behalf anyhow.

I apologize to the other posters here for having to take up your thread to vindicate myself from innocuous unfounded, and arbitrary comments made to me by another poster. Sorry.

Good luck Anti Pod

Oh my goodness. There is just too much irrelevant BS there to respond to mate. Let's get back to topic.

In my experience I have gotten better sound from MACs than PCs, despite being prejudiced against MACs. Particularly when Amarra is brought into the equation - provided you use an appropriate device for getting the bits off the computer. And I have found the MAC is better to be fairly powerful and have 8GB of RAM. All of this is IMHO of course.

Now its your turn. This time, instead of wondering about my biases and motives, and my insistence on spelling using English rather than an American version of it, how about you let us know what you think sounds best.

You're very special indeed. I thought as much. Probably just a child too.

You're right on one point, all of your commentary as it pertained to me, was irelevant BS... or you would have substantiated it with facts as anyone would. I dispatched each one of your statements in turn.

you had your opportunity to stand up for yourself and you chose to ignore it. it should be quite clear now you are the one full of BS and not worth another moment of my time.

Good luck.. and IMO, BTW... I'd not bandy about that English vs. American business around here very much, or keep using it as a crutch. Relations, good manners, and all that. Do try to show a better face down the road. Right! Carry on mate.