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Sound levels: Apple lossless vs. original CD

I have been following many threads on this as I try to set up my computer based server system. I have gone out and purchased a Mac in order to simplify all the issues vs. a PC based system.

I have been recording in Apple lossless format and I find there is a noticable difference with lower quality as compared with my inexpensive CD player that I am using (an inexpensive Panasonic).

I am playing both methods back through a DAC - Musical Fidelity X-Dac v8 (the latest model).

The data stream from the CD player is via optical output miniplug - through an optical converter to digital coax cable (there is no cable available directly from optical mini to coax). The data stream from the Mac is via USB output to the DAC USB input.

First - the music via the inexpensive CD player sounds better. There is a noticable difference in the voices being more forward from the music (less compressed?). The Mac sounds excellent - but the CD still sounds better.

Second - the sound level from the CD player is much louder (perhaps 25-35%% louder). If I am streaming digital bits from both sources, why is the CD player much louder than the Mac? This doesnt make sense to me??

Lastly - would there be any reason to copy in AIFF rather than Apple lossless? It seems now - but I just want to get the lastest view.

Any help is appreciated ! Thanks !
markny
spiritualized
138 posts
 
Elf73 I have over 3000 Cds digitized to 3 external hard drives. I encoded to ALL, because to my ears, it was indiscernible from AIFF & WAV. My understanding is that ALL works similar to ZIP files, completely bit for bit lossless.
MarkNY I did some testing this afternoon, between my computer setup and my CD player. It was completely unscientific, so please take this for what it is. It was immediately apparent that my CD player outputs much louder than my USB DAC. I have a DK integrated with a meter on the front panel that meters the output of the device you are listening to, so this was easy to verify. With the CD player engaged, a wealth of detail and layering jumped out at me. Switching to my computer setup, the result was initially disappointing. Much more muted, not as much depth and less low end information. Of course, as I raised the volume to match the Cd setup, all the missing layering and depth started to reappear. The two setups still sounded markedly different, but I feel this is to be expected between any two components. If I was asked if I was hearing a difference between the file types, I couldn't honestly answer. But my gut tells me, it's more likely to be a difference between the components.
rbstehno
1,431 posts
 
i have compared the different import methods and i settled on apple lossless. i use a toslink cable that goes into a jitter reducer device then that feeds into an external dac. i also feed my cd players into these jitter devices and they work well. they clean up the signal before feeding into the dac. the jitter reduction devices make a big differencein the quality of the sound. i use an audio alchemy dti in my den with an adcom gda-700 dac and a monarchy dip with a manley dac in my audio room. the monarchy is a better device. in my rec room, i go straight into an audio alchemy dde from an airport express device using a toslink cable.

i read a couple of articles on the web that indicated usb connections were not recommended for audio connections. stereophile also did a review of a new dac a while back that provided usb connections and they preferred the other toslink/coax connections.
markny OP
7 posts
 
Thank you for confirming this ! It is exactly my experience thatyou also seem to have confirmed. The USB output is initially very disappointing when doing an A/B comparison between the CD player and the Mac. However, when I raise the volume on the amp when the Mac is playing, it does sound much better and the detail re-emerges.
The question is - while both sound good - why do they sound different if it is a lossless format, and in both cases I am playing a digital stream through the DAC which should be identical ?
Thanks,
Mark
spiritualized
138 posts
 
MarkNY I'm not sure how the USB input is implemented on the Musical Fidelity X-DAC. But, my initial suspicion would start there. Perhaps some more knowledgeable members can chime in and shed some light on the USB implementation in the Musical Fidelity DAC?
rdc2000
27 posts
 
On my XP playing apple lossless through a Sonos the gain from the Sonos was definitely lower than from the cd player. Once the levels were matched (I can do this permanently on the preamp) the sound quality from both sources was as close to identical as I could tell.

ALL is not the issue...
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