BAASnotes.com - Bay Area Audiophile Society

I’m using a used 15″ Intel-based Macbook from late 2006. I know other models would give me the best sound from a Mac, but I can’t afford them.

You should get excellent sonics from the MacBook. It should not be the weakest link in the digital chain.

Do you use an external drive and software other than iTunes to rip CDs to your Mac computer(s)? Some folks use a Plextor PX-Premium CD-RW drive and AccurateRip XLD software (or something like that). They say the sound is much better.

I use the standard Mac internal drive (which is quite good). I also own a Plextor, but cannot hear a difference when using it (one exception below).Using my library (~1600 disks) for the samples, my own (informal) testing yielded the following results for Mac ripping software:

• iTunes
  • By far the easiest and fastest, but 2-3% of disks have an audible error (which I find unacceptable)
• Max
  • Rip takes 1.5x longer than iTunes, but error rate far less than 1% (acceptable to me)
  • Fairly easy to set up
• XLD
  • Rip takes ~3x longer than iTunes, but no errors encountered
  • Somewhat difficult to set up, and some manual reconfiguration necessary for every disk
  • I find both the rip times and difficulties unacceptable for normal use - I only use this for “problem disks”

A note about the ‘audible errors’: In my experience, these only occur in the first several seconds of “Track 1.” They are most commonly momentary dropouts. This behavior suggests to me that they are caused predominantly by “disk offset” issues. XLD explicitly allows the (power) user to compensate for the offset. It has other cool error-avoidance features as well. But it’s hard to live with….

Do you use a special USB cable? From whom?

I run Firewire, which I generally recommend for Mac users. I have never heard a USB or Firewire cable make a difference. But some in-the-know folks claim that they do. (If so, this would be another ‘audiophile mystery’ to scientists.)

Is it FLAC files that won’t play with iTunes on a Mac.

Correct. (iTunes can be made to play FLAC, but it’s not worth the effort!)

What converter do you use? I tried hunting for one, but couldn’t get it to work.

Max does a great job (as does XLD). I recommend using MP4/Apple Lossless format. I have never heard a difference between lossless compression and no compression.But a Mac using Firewire is a far more robust machine than PC/USB. To give you an indication, I often receive email, browse the web, download a file, and backup a hard drive simultaneously - while listening to flawless 24/192 (losslessly compressed). The only way that I’ve been able to adversely affect playback is to play (at 1x) the same CD that I am ripping (at 4x)!

Tags: Audiophile, Bob, Music Server, Technical // 4 Comments »

Sorry for the delay in posting…I’ve been very busy at work and at home (building my first pair of speakers).To say that the event was a success perhaps undermines it. Quite simply, it was great - the music, the SH “war stories,” the system, and the venue all came together.Perhaps one of our members sums it up best:

Today was an absolutely breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime (well, until Steve comes back) experience. Some of the best sound and music I’ve heard in 29 years as an audiophile! John Lennon came to life in that room, as did Peggy Lee, James Taylor, etc… I actually got a little choked up by the raw emotion that superb system and recordings conveyed. I told Steve that and he said “Good, I like to make audiophiles cry!”Thank you for putting this together for us. I’ll never forget it.             - Alón Sagee

What more can I say?Just one thing: for a great listening experience with great people, visit Audio High in Mountain View. You’ll enjoy it, for sure!Thanks much - Steve and Audio High.

by Bob Walters

Tags: Audiophile, Bob, Events // 1 Comment »

I have the Linkwitz Orions and I recently added a music server. I am running a Logitech Transporter with the Modwright Platinum  analog stage. I run the software on a Netgear NAS. No need to have a PC running to make it work and the NAS has mirrored drives, so my music is backed up.

I have also found some excellent software for ripping CDs that collects all the CD tracks, composers, music catagories etc., with little or no input from me. I use FLAC and the sound is tremendous. Add to that the ease of accessing my music library.

This is all controlled with a remote or from a PC which displays album art. There are so many ways to stream music and it is all confusing. I listened to a Berkeley DAC but it was difficult to evaluate due to all the other system and room differences. I really chose the Transporter due to the ease of use and some positive press.

I am very happy with my choices.

Tags: Equipment, Member's Systems // 4 Comments »

CNN Money has an interesting article about the beginnings of Monster Cable, one of the first big Bay Area audiophile success stories.

Worth the read, the piece describes how Noel Lee started an industry - a habit that has stuck with the Valley throughout the years.

by Bob Walters

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Click here to find out more about the event.

It looks like there will be two identical sessions, one on Saturday the 27th and one on the 28th.

The event represents a collaboration between the Computer Audiophile website, high-end hardware and software vendors/manufacturers, and retail sales organizations.

I know some of the players involved, and content should be very good. There will be hardware demos, and maybe a product debut or two. The session will last 4 hours or so.

However, both the format of (e.g., panel discussions) and the level of (expert or novice) the content is unclear.

The venue is Fantasy Studios (very cool). Cool poster too!

Cost is $279 per person, including refreshments.

by Bob Walters

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Attend our Steve Hoffman show, and then buy some music:

Bob

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On Saturday, May 16th, we will have a very special guest speaker:  Steve Hoffman.

Steve is one of the best mastering engineers in the business, and his re-mastering work gives him access to some incredible material. (He is also a huge audiophile.)

At his presentation at CES, he played some “raw” Beatles and Sinatra stuff that was breathtaking.

To learn more about Steve and his skills:

• Check out his work;
• Listen to his many excellent disks - one of my favorites is Donovan’s Storyteller (CD is now $40 and climbing)
• Read some of his interviews or check out his quite-active forums

To make things more interesting, we’ll have a world-class system set up at Audio High in Mountain View, one of the Bay Area’s leading audiophile boutiques. Just look at the product lines that they carry - we’ll have terrific sound!

You must be a member of BAAS to attend. More details will follow….

by Bob Walters

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Yesterday, about 30 BAAS members were treated to a fine demonstration of state-of-the-art digital audio.

On center stage were the pioneering products of Steve Nugent’s Empirical Audio. The key product highlight was the introduction to the new Overdrive DAC. Also on hand was a Pace Car tr-clocking/jitter reduction device and Steve’s personal Parasound JC-1 monoblocs.

The sound that they produced  through the Ficion F-300 speakers (supplemented by 15″ Rythmic Signature subs) was driving, extended and accurate. Great stuff!

But the true highlight of the day was Steve himself, and the wisdom and common sense that he shared with us about the past/present/future of digital sudio. Steve is a natural educator, and he helped many guests sort through the obstacles that they had encountered. In particular, he demonstrated jitter and the sonic contamination that it causes.

We ended each of the demos with a quick comparison with my highly-modified Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC (I call it my “Beta DAC” <g>). My opinions are biased by ownership, but I’ll say that the Empirical stack sounded great - at half the price.  

So many thanks to Steve (and Janet and Lucy), and we wish them all the best.

by Bob Walters

Click for more photos…

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Empirical Audio will be showcasing all of ots products and demonstrating its new Overdrive DAC at our April BAAS meeting this weekend in Santa Clara, CA.

Locus-Design has also provided some USB cables, and we will have a Revelation Audio Labs I2S cable as well.

But, most importantly, Steve Nugent - designer, CEO, and audiophile - will be on hand to explain what really matters in digital. Steve is very active on internet forums, and quite giving of his expertise.

Finally, we’ll have a modified Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC, modded Parasound JC-1’s, Ficion F-300 floorstanders, Rythmik 15″ subs, AKG K-10000 earspeakers and a vintage EL-84 amp to drive them, and more….

It should be great fun!

by Bob Walters

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The news is out - the Fab Four discography has been remastered for CD release in September.

Changes are aplenty, supposedly all for the good of the audiophile cause.

And what better release date than “number nine” times three - 9/9/09?

by Bob Walters

[Special thanks to Aaron.]

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If you are into audio, toys, and experimentation, check out this fantastic web site.

Notes:

• Requires the latest Flash Software
• Better if your computer is hooked up to your sound system (yet another reason to do so!)
• Can be addicting

Quite enjoyable whilst facilitating learning!

Enjoy!

by Bob Walters

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This archive site by Syracuse University hosts some of the most unusual recordings for download on the internet. You see, the original recordings are almost 100 years old!

A wide variety of music genres is represented. Indeed, there’s something for everybody here.

The site streams MP3, but also offers WAV downloads. Most of the originals are on wax cylinders, with digital transfers typically made via a Benchmark ADC.

I really enjoy the stuff - you might too!

(A similar site is run by UCSB.)

by Bob Walters

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Last Saturday, we had another great event, this time featuring two technologies that would drive by-the-numbers audiophiles batty:

• A room/acoustic treatment system consisting solely of small metal “cups”; and
• Cables whose outer layer contained a powered “EMF” element.

Say what? How could these designs possibly affect the sound at the listening position, let alone improve it? Well, subject to a couple of small caveats, about 30 audiophiles agreed that they did effect changes for the better. (This is tantamount to blasphemy in some folks’ minds, cf. these forum threads: Stereophile 1, Stereophile 2 and AudioJunkies.)

First, the ART system. Synergistic CEO and designer Ted Denney began with a fascinating tale of their genesis that included single-handed trans-oceanic sailing, Buddhist temples, and advanced metallurgy. Then on to the demonstration, wherein we played various tracks with and without the various ‘ART pieces’ (couldn’t resist).And damned if the didn’t make a difference - often a big one and almost-always for the better (IMO). To my ear, the more bass content in the piece, the better ART worked.

OK, but how do they work? Resonance, of course. The little devils vibrate and - like Shakti Holograms or absorbent panels - when placed in strategic positions (e.g., first-reflection points) they diffuse the reflected sound field. Thus, the ear gets more direct sound energy and the brain is less confused. Not as exciting as magic, but cool nonetheless.

As for the Tesla cables and PowerCell, we did not have the opportunity to compare them to anything, and so few real conclusions could be drawn. We did hear them in the powered and unpowered state, and the system sounded much better with them powered (as one would hope). But who’s going to buy them and not power them? Kinda like listening to an electric guitar without the amp. It plays music, but….

We thank Ted and Jason, and wish Synergistic Research the best. You can learn more about Synergistic here.

by Bob Walters

Tags: Bob, Equipment, Events // 2 Comments »

Early last year I began listening to a number of dac/music server combinations with the hopes of discovering a better alternative to my 16 bt/44k cd player. I’d already been considering a used turntable and phono pre as one possible option. But I had sold all my records years ago and the thought of buying back into vinyl all over again was a tough swallow. Fact is, my modified Shanling cdt-100 tube player sounded pretty good and was silky smooth, even did upsampling to 24/96k and native HDCD. Well, that player is now for sale on Audiogon. In the end, my listening and research paid off and now I have a pretty solid music server storing all of my 500+ cd’s and much downloaded music on a 4TB NAS drive (along with reams of photography).

Now, is that really such a big deal you might think? So, my cd collection is now ready for eBay. Yeah, I’ve got my Redbook collection, along with a handful of HDCD albums and HRx DVD’s, accessible from a networked hard drive. Big deal. So what’s it sound like? Well, my answer to that is pretty darned good, significantly more analog than my previous digital rig (to get the attention of some of you vinyl hard-liners) but more importantly, the collection is unified, like a jukebox, so that I find myself playing all of my music, discovering stuff I didn’t know I had, and actually feeling so in touch with my collection that I actually want to commence lessons in guitar (yet again). And piano. And maybe after that, sax… It’s amazing! Read on. You might too…

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It is another bad day for audiophiles.

The label that many of us - including myself - turned to since the early days of CD is radically changing course (i.e., heading south). Click here for the details, as reported by Home theater Review.

One can only hope that they will outsource their new recording sessions to high-quality studios - like Blue Coast and Yarlung.

by Bob Walters

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Nope, it’s not the neat real-time spectrum analyzer (RTA). Nor is it the tone generator.

It’s the “Electron Tube” of course!

Who would have thunk it? (My guess is that the candle was its inspiration.)

Yours for only $0.99 (plus an iPhone).

Bob Walters

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Most of us blogged about the “big audiophile toys” at CES - as it should be.

But there was lots of other interesting stuff, some of it relevant to our hobby.

One such device was the Pogoplug, which - coupled to a suitable micro-hard-drive and USB DAC - promises to become the world’s smallest music server.

Also, check out the SheevaPlug (pictured).

Neat!

Bob Walters

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As is usual, new sources have popped up disparaging some aspects of our hobby.

The latest that I have encountered is from the ILikeJam blog,  which sports one of the more unique “mission statements” that I have seen (not repeated here).

That blog’s links lead to the “usual suspects”: a cable autopsy, Doug Self on subjectivism, and Ethan Winer. I must add that I find some humor in the names in this context - “Self” and “Winer” - but that’s just me.

I will also hasten to add that I agree with very little of what is said in these pieces. But I do consider the claims as important reading to the serious student of high-end audio.

Bob Walters

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We all know that there are many great places to download hi-res music. If you don’t know them, Dan Weiss has published a nice list here (bottom of page).

But did you know that there is also tons of FREE music, including hi-res, just waiting to be downloaded?

And legitimately - not through Pirate’s Bay/Torrents.

Let’s use this thread to start a list. Anyone knowing of a good free downloads site, please post it as a comment. Hi-res (at least 24/88) sites preferred, but CD-quality (16/44) is OK too.

I’ll start. The Internet Archive is a splendid source. Try the Ryan Adams “das Haus” concert (24/96) - it’s very nice!

Enjoy the music - and post some sites!

Bob Walters

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I recently ordered the very inexpensive M-Audio Firewire 410 ( $299.95) in hopes of finding a cheap way to get high resolution sound out of my computer.

IT WORKS!!!!

It was a bit of a hassle setting it up properly. The sticker on the equipment said to install the drivers first, before hooking up the Firewire 410.

I first had to juggle around Firewire connectors, and eventually went from my primary Firewire connector (4 pin) out to the Firewire 410, then via a separate Firewire connector to my Firewire external drive.

Since 4-pin Firewire connectors do not provide external power, I then had to connect the external power supply. I turned it on with the button on the upper right of the unit.

On restart, Windows XP found the new hardware, and it went through the driver installation again. When it indicated that the drivers were properly installed and ready to go, the computer had to be restarted before the drivers took effect.

I had already connected my ER-6i earphones hooked up to one of the two headphone connectors, and I got the Windows startup wav clearly through the earphones.

Then I just had to go straight to the HRx example I had previously downloaded from my Crown Imperial HRx disc. I played the Strauss Festival Intrada file as clear as a bell with wonderful power. There seems to be a much cleaner sound coming through the Firewire connection to the Firewire 410 with virtually no interference from my router, which is only about 4 1/2 feet away.

The setup with a Mac will undoubtedly be easier, and here you probably really will need to have the drivers installed first, as indicated in the instructions. By the way, I have read horror stories about using the other included software for producing your own music. I only installed the Firewire drivers, and that’s all you need to use this wondrous device as a DAC.

Only Line Outputs 1 and 2 (and the headphones) can output 24-bit 176.4 kHz and 24-bit 192 kHz, but all the others can apparently output at 24-bit 96 kHz, so you can output sound for a complete surround system, at a suitable sample frequency for the AIX surround files.

Tomorrow I need to go and buy at least 2 of the male mono phono jack to female RCA connector adaptors so that I can output to my sound system, but in the meantime I have been blown away listening  through my earphones to the various 24-bit 96 kHz high res files I have downloaded from HDTracks - really hearing the wonders of them for the first time. I have other stuff I need to do tonight, but I can’t take the earphones out.

I previously listened to these files diluted via the USB connector of my computer to only 48 kHz - they sound amazing via the Firewire connectors and the M-Audio Firewire 410.

I LOVE THIS!  THERE IS JOY IN MUDVILLE TONIGHT!

Based on my experience, I’ll bet the RME Fireface 400 and Apogee Ensemble work very well indeed when used as the system DAC.

Now here’s what happened the next day….

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