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Post by pinkie on Jan 10, 2015 10:58:48 GMT
As for record sales and SQ - The industry is beginning to recognise there is a substantial niche market that plays vinyl on grounds of superior sound. Are you able to offer any evidence for this, or is that just a romantic ideal that appeals to your preferences? The marketing explanation I offered, accords not just with my understanding of how business generally, and the leisure / entertainment industry specifically work, but also reported press comment. There are posts on this forum about vinyl being purchased to put on the wall unplayed. I cannot think of one person I know who is NOW buying vinyl for HiFi reasons (my wife would be the single exception). I could name 25 people buying vinyl today who weren't 3 years ago, but none of them for hifi reasons. Regarding sound quality - I think the issues are less clear cut. The real divide is analogue and digital. Real music is analogue - an unsampled constantly varying state . (I realise I am caught by the definition I was going to give of analogue as a copy. An analogue is a copy of something). The issue with CD's was they were not analogue. Not that they were not vinyl. Reel to reel studio master tape is not vinyl, but is analogue and has "that sound" as far as my interests and tastes are concerned. Or are we suggesting vinyl has magic oofle dust properties that enable it to surpass master tape? Given that most of the new vinyl is an analogue medium for replaying digitally recorded material - the issue is no longer a simple analogue / digital one. The recent Dave Migden CD - made with analogue techniques has got me thinking about this a lot. Whilst I only have a toe in the water of "state of the art" digital at the moment, at this stage in the game, I have a preference for vinyl - mostly. Is that a "taste", a "colouration" rather than a recognition of accuracy and realism? I think it takes us back to the NLP thread. If both vinyl and cd are analogue/digital hybrids why would I prefer vinyl (and I definitely do). Both have a conversion process to do (RIAA for vinyl, numbers into voltage levels for digital) and both are likely to have imperfections (and digital is not perfect, or all cd players would sound the same - the conversions are done better or worse). Maybe that "vinyl sound" is due to its imperfections being greater at the frequency extremes. Vinyl does a much better job, at least potentially, of being a perfectly accurate copy in the middle. And that 400-1500Hz band which is the easy bit for vinyl is the bit we (or some of us) are most tuned to. Its where vocals , violins and guitars are. Vinyl is probably much more compromised (at least potentially) by conversion inaccuracy in the bass - but whilst bass clues are part of music, they are not that primary focus (at least for me) that the mid-range area is. I think that is why / where electrostatic speakers excel. Also speakers like the Lowthers with no crossover in that region. Puzzling - but fun
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Post by pinkie on Jan 10, 2015 9:20:50 GMT
Hopefully vinyl will sustain it's modest resurgence enough for most new titles to be available in the format. I think that is possible. Not because vinyl sounds better. That plainly isn't the reason for its new popularity. It may survive because it offers an opportunity for a marketing technique called "price skimming". Like with a book, where the product is really the words written, you can sell that same product to different people at different prices. Some people pay £20 for the hardback, usually the first to be available. Some £10 for the early release quality paperback. And some £5 for the eventual penguin version. Same product - different prices. In an industry troubled by piracy, and stolen revenues, the opportunity to "skim" a part of the market with a premium version is going to be spotted by any competent marketing manager. The consumer appeal responsible for the recent growth I think will sustain now it has become apparent. It is based around the tactile experience, the relationship with the media, and to a degree the collector aspect.
Does that create a market for a relaunched PT anniversary? That was the question for the 2nd pint. I think not. The new market is for modestly priced players. But maybe it provides an excuse for a nostalgic flagship. Maybe.
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Post by pinkie on Jan 9, 2015 20:08:53 GMT
Richard, how does the HiFiBerry DAC+ output compare with the Digi+ output into the DaCapo? I haven't directly compared. I'd need to run another ethernet cable. But since the digi+ is identical to the cd6, then comparing cd6 with Berry dac should be the same as comparing digi+with the dac.
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Post by pinkie on Jan 9, 2015 19:34:20 GMT
Are you still using a SMPS with the 'Berry? A decent linear one should improve thing further. I was. I can try the battery pack with the Berry dac (when the replacement Pi arrives). But the digi+ was being used with the smps too, to no obvious detriment. I am caught between an enthusiasm to play with my new toys, and a mounting pile of work that has to be in by 31 Jan. And, since I had to see clients in burgess hill and Hove today, which is close to Newhaven, I got further distracted by a funky lunch with Arthur in "the hope" (a public house). He was high as a kite due to more top reviews for LSD, although since they were in a Greek magazine I couldn't understand a word. I could see the 4.8/5 score though. Saw its big brother the SDG - super deck grande, which has a bigger plinth, and a 12" f5 as well as a 9" Which didn't help get any work done
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Post by pinkie on Jan 9, 2015 8:21:42 GMT
Raspberry Pi - Berry Dac - NOT a review I have been waiting for others to comment on the Pi card Dacs, to give me a reference against which to compare other Dacs, and it occurs to me that if everyone just waits for someone else to comment, it will be an empty page. This is therefore a quick impression - not a review. Bear in mind this blog started because I visited James (Sovereign) and he came here, and neither of us have a compatible bit of equipment between us. So I wanted to try file based audio and plugged my laptop into DaCapo and bought the cheapest (Maplin) usb to dacapo adaptor I could find. The target has therefore so far been to equal a CD from a transport and the method, to compare a CD on one dacapo input with a file stream on another - with the files synchronised, and a switch between the inputs. This has been a coarse filter - but achieved its purpose. So - with the Pi on ethernet, the Dave Migden FLAC and CD, and the coax connection for both, we achieved "identical" - well - we couldn't tell them apart after half an hour, and it had taken no more than a couple of minutes on all previous comparisons. So - we tried CD into DaCapo (our constant reference) against Dave Migden FLAC via ethernet to Pi with Berry DAC on coax. And we were back to a big and obvious difference. This time I was quicker than Sue (but I was sighted, she was doing it blind - and I kept my peace), but it took Sue no more than a minute. The differences were not huge, and I felt the Berry was a good performer, the equal or better of the £300 to £1000 Dacs I have recently listened to at a dealer - but that is just an impression. Certainly it was good enough to take seriously. So - what differences? For me, just a bit cardboard. Not quite as real and "live". It wasn't a tonal thing, or colouration. It wasn't bright or dark. It wasn't harsh or "forward" or "hard". Just a bit less real. For Sue, "its the snare" . On "that one" (CD) it sounds like a real snare. On "the other one" (Berry Dac) it is a noise I remember was a snare, but its just a noise. I think Sue's description is probably best - if you except that is a caricature of the issue. The Berry is not bad at all. In fact - on a superficial appraisal it may be one of the best non-DaCapo dacs I've heard. But it got ballotted out pretty quickly on the A:B tests we had been doing as prelimanary evaluations. It isn't going to be replacing DaCapo for red book .
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Post by pinkie on Jan 9, 2015 8:05:25 GMT
Black Hawk - one of our Pi's is down The problem was the sd card holder - which won't hold the card. I can get it to work (just) with a bit of tape over the card. Since this appears to be a known problem (albeit less than on earlier Pi's) it is on its way back to the vendor for replacement. Just thought we should mention the rough with the smooth
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Post by pinkie on Jan 9, 2015 7:59:23 GMT
Having lost the sight in my right eye in a badminton accident, the issue is entirely academic for me. The fully sighted members of my family tried it once and showed no interest. Regardless of my handicap, I understand it is a dead duck - 1 sky channel, low volume sales of bluray, it looks destined to go the way of betamax when the new very high resolution TV's become commonplace. I think 3D is one of those innovations that will be passed over for ultra high definition.
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Post by pinkie on Jan 8, 2015 16:44:13 GMT
Nowt wrong with a cap Chris. But those are plus-two's. Probably plus-one and a halfs. That is one gorgeous looking dog though
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Post by pinkie on Jan 8, 2015 16:42:57 GMT
Unfortunately, all cross sections of people have their 'Harrys'. How many times have you been in a group where someone loves the sound of their own voice and feels the need to express an opinion on absolutely everything? I find such people very tiresome. It's the taxi-driver syndrome (well London cabbie). Or in my case the "Osteopath" syndrome. I find it particularly amusing when they inform me of matters in my own field of expertise.
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Post by pinkie on Jan 8, 2015 8:01:47 GMT
The battery pack arrived, has been fully charged, and plugged into the main (ethernet / DaCapo) system, and a couple of tracks listened to (2 of the Mary Blacks). First impression was initially additional detail, and then, a suggestion of digital "hard". I mention those only to note how easy it is to "notice" things, which I may well find when I go back and put some proper hours in were not there at all. However, if and when I ever do find the time, all the bits needed for playing are now in place (except perhaps a Caiman Dac to try). Or a Benchmark Dac... Or an AHB2... Bloody tax returns!
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Post by pinkie on Jan 8, 2015 7:57:15 GMT
Thanks. I'll maybe try some CD restoration when I get serious about library building. I haven't yet checked whether the "inaccuracy" is enough to spoil play. I had wondered whether there was some "digital treatment" or "super-super rip" that could be applied to tracks id'd as imperfect.
In fact, it has managed an "accurate" rip of the last track on my Mary Black CD, which skips badly during playback. Interesting to note how it can rip "good" tracks in seconds, and took nearly 15 minutes to rip one track, stuck for what seemed like ever at 14%, but grinding its way through each stage real slow.
My next issue before i go to much further is to sort out a library. I tried putting a couple of tracks in another directory and adding them to the music library, but neither WMS nor LMS found them. Worse, WMS and itunes don't find FLAC files, and Kies3, which can find them, and play them, and transfer them to the Android, can't read the meta-tags properly (and although I used the big word, this is new territory, so be gentle with me).
I can feel the tug of JRiver, challenging me to fix its defects, cos it does this bit so nicely.
Maybe the solution is to just convert the files I want to synch to LAME MP3's, using dbpoweramps excellent, lightening fast, batch converter, to another directory hidden from the LMS library, and synch those to the Galaxy with WMS. I need to solve the logistics before I start getting more than a handful of files in the library.
And then there's 24 bit 192K to revisit. And fettling (another post)
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Post by pinkie on Jan 7, 2015 19:21:59 GMT
I've just ripped one of Sue's Eva Cassidy CD's using db poweramp. The CD has spent much of its life out of a case on the floor of Sue's car, and so , unremarkably 50% of the tracks reported as "inaccurate" rips - although they appear playable. What do I do now?
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Post by pinkie on Jan 7, 2015 9:31:01 GMT
LAME should only required if you're transcoding to MP3. The Squeezebox players all play MP3 without any problems, and without having LAME installed on the server, so I'm not surprised to hear that the HiFiBerry player is similar in this respect. I'm quietly impressed with the way you've grasped this project Richard, and you've turned a few corners and had a few epiphanies in the process. How are you getting on with driving LMS? Thanks Chris (?) It's been fun, although completely the wrong time of year for me. But I've had lots of help There is no problem playing MP3's on the Pi. However, I think the LMS settings refer to the Pi since they are on a device dependant page - they are specific to Pi2 or Pi3 (my 2 "squeezeboxes" - don't know what happened to Pi1). I think I probably do have LAME on the PC now somewhere (not least after downloading dbpoweramp - but probably before then). I just thought I didn't because I thought LMS on the server was telling me I didnt, when actually it was a reference to a client setting. Anyway - all seems to be working very happily at the moment. I am finding my way with LMS - a few occasional frustrations (I managed to change the GUI to text only without realising how, or how to get it back at one point) - but I mostly just play music from an android app (Can't get the apple app working on my wifes iphone5 - but she can control using her Galaxy tablet). Once the tax return season is out of the way I need to sit down and organise, rip, and build a library - maybe on another server (its on my work PC at the moment, and drive space is going to be an issue). But DEFINITELY not before February!
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Post by pinkie on Jan 7, 2015 9:19:45 GMT
What I like about a true wi-fi range extender is there is no faffing about with different SSIDs, they appear to extend the range of the SSID to new parts of the house and work seamlessly with the original router, as long as they can see a wi-fi signal of some description. I installed a TP-Link TL-WA854RE in Ruth's house, only cost about £16 or so. Very effective and trouble-free. It's worth trying and you can use more than one.
Now you tell me! It was a typical impulse buy for me. It has the benefit of 750Mbps speeds, and a couple of aerials for extra range. The Pi is never moving, so once on the right network, it is fine - everything else selects the best network. Happy to have a working solution (and the bonus it will be easier to work on the patio in the summer, if we are unable to move to France before then). Just made me realise though it is yet another device I own that won't just plug into the wall with French sockets
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Post by pinkie on Jan 6, 2015 21:43:54 GMT
I had an REL Storm. I used to have a spare set of preamp outs but not anymore. Still, I'm sure I can make up a lead or use a splitter. I don't like the idea of those Speakon leads. I have a bk xls200ff and can't praise it enough. The high level (speakon) input works wonderfully and the ability to blend a low level signal from the 5.1 amp which has no filter, whilst setting gain separately for low and high is brilliant. A tiny delicate touch of extra bass on the 2 channel below 50hz,and a slightly less subtle dose of full on bass from the 5.1 subwoofer channel
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Post by pinkie on Jan 6, 2015 17:41:02 GMT
I think "all seasons" is tricky. Like Gordon, I have electrostatics at the moment, and like him, with a sub-woofer. The ESL's are so directional in the treble, that if you sit in the seat that is outside the speakers (to the right of them) all you can hear is the sub-woofer. So my main system is a "sit down and listen properly" system, and useless as a cocktail party system. I have a Nad 3020 in the kitchen, at the moment with a couple of JBL bookshelves behind a curtain, but prior to that for a short time with some Lowther Fidelios, and that was a gorgeous "cocktail" system. With the recent Pi experiment, I am now able to have "cocktail" music synch'd in the living room, and kitchen, and provided the sub is turned off, and volumes are reasonable, that works nicely enough. But my "sit down and listen" system is heavily biased towards "real" "live" and "acoustic" - working well with simple balads, acoustic jazz, chamber music and to an extent full orchestral. It is not the most convincing reproduction of Pink Floyds "The Wall" that I have ever heard (although not bad with the sub) And my main system is integrated with the AV set-up and so has yet another "season" it has to perform for. That works surprisingly well - really dramatic home cinema (the bizarre bit is how good football matches are). But there again is a compromise regarding seating position, since if the Quads are bought far enough into the room for the optimal listening experience they block the view of the TV for peripheral viewers All seasons is tricky. My systems have always been compromises of one sort or another. And I am not persuaded I have yet heard anybody elses system that is "perfect".
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Post by pinkie on Jan 6, 2015 8:05:11 GMT
Switching to 5Ghz has fixed it. MP3's play fine too, so the missing LAME on the Pi was not the issue. My BTHub (I now appreciate) is dual band and so the original wifi experiments, on the main system, close enough to the router elected to use the "n" network which has a sufficiently high streaming rate. The new booster adds 2 networks, using the same password as the original but with a 2 or 5 added to the network name, and you have to choose. I chose 2 and should have chosen 5 which now plays flawlessly. My battery pack should arrive today, although I am probably too busy to play properly until the weekend. I also now have a bit-perfect rip of Damien Rice "O" and can make some others, to re-evaluate whether the "match" between computer audio and the Cambridge CD6 output was due to file type or WiFi v ethernet. It occurs to me that earlier evaluations which had shown the computer audio inferior may not have included the Dave Migden material (the only material which I KNEW to be a bit perfect FLAC before now) It's a constant learning curve... I recall a joke about a barrister whose expert witness explained in the clearest and simplest terms to the elderly technophobic judge about "what this computer network thing does". After half an hour of perfect explanation, the Judge shook his head and said "I'm afraid I'm none the wiser". "No" replied the barrister "That is assuredly true, but you are now considerably better informed"
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Post by pinkie on Jan 6, 2015 6:42:50 GMT
Wrong one Indeed, she isn't that attractive She isn't that naked either, but it was still a little disconcerting. I downloaded dbpoweramp on trial shortly after, and it is a lot more friendly. I have an issue with the dac Pi in the kitchen stopping play after about 90 seconds and then either resuming automatically or needing to be paused and restarted. This is on WiFi, which for all the Sq difference worked fine on the digi+. It is on a newly installed WiFi booster network at 2.4ghz. I'll try 5ghz. Whilst looking at the lms server audio settings I noticed that it reported LAME was not installed. After an hour wasted trying to install it, I downloaded dbpoweramp & then realised the audio settings which reported no LAME were for the pi device. Any ideas? Has anyone else tried the squeezebox route? It only costs the price of a micro sd card!
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Post by pinkie on Jan 5, 2015 19:19:10 GMT
I suspect you downloaded EAC from one of those sites that bundles crap into the installer ( this is the designer's website). I didn't get any of that and like EAC for its ability to retrieve a decent rip from a slightly dodgy CD, of which I have a few (none show anything visually). However, EAC is not for the faint of heart since it requires LAME and FLAC plug-ins to be installed pretty much manually. The result, though, is the best sound quality rips. Thanks again Martin. This is a nice clean download, in spite of the Union Jack link taking you to a page with a bit of English, lots of German, a very attractive naked lady with her arms across her breasts, and the word Porn... It turns out it does what it says on the tin and downloads EAC and EAC only. The tick boxes offered me a FLAC option - so maybe this is a new enhancement and I don't need to install the plug-ins you mention. We'll see I'm battling with double files for my amazon downloads which appear in the amazon folder and the itunes folder, and therefore duplicate tracks on LMS. I have deleted the Itunes folder for now, and hope that hasn't lost me any purchased items.
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Post by pinkie on Jan 4, 2015 8:32:58 GMT
After market mains cables! Ah. That was one of a couple of places I was trying hard not to go. I'd forgotten you were here to go there for me.
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