2. pc-audio
  3. 1332713870

Should Sound Quality of Computer Audio be improved

Unable to respond to, "Mach2Music and Amarra: Huge Disappointment"- Thread. Other Members take free pop-shots!
Apparently some have more Freedom Of Speech than others! I
don't know how many times I have said it, I want Computer
Audio to succeed! It will only succeed if Computers are designed from the ground up to reproduce Music (Same minimum standard applied for Equipment of ALL Audio Formats)! This is common sense Audio Engineering Design. Bandaid Modifications cannot be substituted for absence in design to produce Music! Design it right to EARN the right to become a New Audio Format- same as all other Audio Formats! No Freebee's, No Cutting Corners! Lack of design is what's causing such varied results in S.Q. between
listeners of Computer Audio. I see about 50% negative
responses here on these Threads. It will continue to happen unless you fix it! Blaming me won't help! I am an
Engineer, and I can read results! 50/50 success/ failure
rate- you have an inherit Engineering Design Flaw for the
reproduction of Music via Computers! Shock! Suprise- since
they were never designed for Music! So when is someone finally going to properly design the Equipment/Computer
(From the ground up) for Computer Audio? Do we continue
to treat any real criticism as "HERESY" in the lack of
design in Computer Audio for Music? You tell me what I am
allowed to talk about, and we will both know!
pettyofficer
timlub
2,039 posts
 
Hfisher, Are you a church boy, for some reason when I read your last post, I have an uncontrollable desire to say
"amen brother"
dover
2,243 posts
 
My current DAC is 32-bit so all I need is the download resolution and voila - I'll have true 32-bit resolution in my system.
Sorry mate, all your 32 bit Sabre DAC is capable of is reading a 32 bit word. What comes out the other end is not 32 bit even if you could download 32 bit music.
The current 32 bit "DACS", as in chips, are really computer/video chips that have been touted for use in audio - mid-fi at best.
hfisher3380
167 posts
 
Dover...I might stand to be corrected regarding 32-bit, not sure, haven't really looked into it because 32-bit recordings aren't yet available - regardless, my point stands that computer audio and my digital front end is capable of far higher resolution than any redbook CD player. There is no such thing as the 32-bit CD that Petty keeps talking about. Likely never will be.

If you want to call my DAC mid-fi - well that is a matter of opinion and we're all entitled to our own opinion. The sound I get from my current digital front end certainly does not sound like "mid-fi" to me. I have had a number of high end CDP in my system, including the >$6K Ayre universal, and this sounds better to my ears.

I notice that you don't have your system listed, so it's hard for me to have a frame of reference for your opinion. But thanks for your comments on mine.

May I ask what DACs you have heard that have allowed you to come to the conclusion that they all represent "mid-fi"?
dover
2,243 posts
 
Emm Labs XSD1, Eximus, Mytek, Naim, Moon 750/650, AMR-77, Wadia 861SE with GNSC mods, Meridian 800 are some of the digital front ends I have heard extensively. Emm Labs was probably the most musical, but had the advantage of full AIR Tight amplification, ATC2/ATM3 monos. Eximus I think is pretty good value/performance.
Main point is you will probably get more resolution out of a 24/192 DAC than the 32bits SABRE based units.
The best digital I've heard extensively is a non red book standard custom built DAC that dispenses with the clock info from the transport and uses clock info extracted from the data itself, ( the only commercial DAC I'm aware of that does this is the Orpheus Heretage ), proprietory A/D & D/A algorithms that eliminate sine x/x errors inherent in all red book material and a few other bits.
hfisher3380
167 posts
 
Much more going on than the actual chip itself. The implementation is at least as important. My understanding is that Wavelength's proprietary asynchronous USB technology also dispenses with the clock information from the transport / computer. I'm no techno guru, but the sound I'm getting definitely does NOT sound like mid-fi to my ears. Indeed, it's the first digital front end I've had that can rival the natural, organic sound I get from the best analogue.
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