[Andrew_WOT]

That might be outdated. Did you see this?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb...ort-for-android.704065/page-297#post-16168878

I do go into developers option and force LDAC to high bit-rate and BT sampling rate to 96kHz.

Thanks, that's a bit vague, I was trying to find some more details on UAPP forum and documentation on what it does exactly and couldn't.
Wish UAPP worked with offline downloads, kills benefit of it for me as I am mostly on Qobuz offline content when on the go.

 

[Daffie]

Thanks, that's a bit vague, I was trying to find some more details on UAPP forum and documentation on what it does exactly and couldn't.
Wish UAPP worked with offline downloads, kills benefit of it for me as I am mostly on Qobuz offline content when on the go.

Big +1 for this!

 

[kumar402]

I'm using Qobuz and Apple Music. Qobuz because I use Roon with HQPlayer and it's so easy to stream it to my streamer. Apple music is not that easy to stream bit perfect but has all Bollywood music that I like. Only option is Airplay for Apple music which is limited in band-width.

 

[Kingrex]

Speaking of CPU load difference between live streaming and offline FLAC decoding.
Qobuz live streaming.

Qobuz Offline Content


JRMC (Jriver) offline FLAC decoding

Can you make a graph of a WAV from the internal hard drive. And there are probably 10 chips working in your computer during any process. Not just a cpu. Some good servers Taiko, Innuos, Antipodes, Aurender have specialized circuit boards designed for them that allow individual power supplies to go to various chips to isolate the noise they make from interfering with other processes. Its not just a cpu in a computer that makes noise. Its also poor SMPS.

I'm not a computer tech. But my business is consulting on electrical infrastructure to support high end audio/video system. Most of my clients have a $250k or greater audio system. Most are good systems that resolve detail very well. They will tell you, as well as I because I hear it on my stereo, WAV files are more open, natural and lifelike than FLAC.

Why headphone listener might not be as aware is, I have noticed many of this crowd are using some sort of processing to EQ a headphone for tuning that suits your taste.

Most 2 channel/speaker audio enthusiast do not do this. It is sacrilege. Some using Legacy systems will. Some play in Roon or HQ player(filters). But most are strait, clean, unaltered files sent to a DAC. You can easilt hear the sound has changed between a WAV and FLAC file. I am very new to headphones. It may well be headphones sound better with digital processing and a FLAC file. It may be your music tasye play well with filtered files.

My 2 channel stereo with WAV files off the hard drive are by far the best performance as far as digital goes. Especially when playing classical or Jazz. My vinyl and tape are much better than my digital at the equipment level I am able to afford. With certain music. If I'm playing some random Lorde or Van Halen, I don't really notice as much.

 

[TYATYA]

I found Qobuz even better than my cd from the same distributor.
They send to Qobuz digital copy. I bought a physical cd from them then i rip to flac.
Big wow when I listening to streaming of a same track

 

[Kingrex]

I found Qobuz even better than my cd from the same distributor.
They send to Qobuz digital copy. I bought a physical cd from them then i rip to flac.
Big wow when I listening to streaming of a same track

You also have to consider the release version. Release version is a big deal in the vinyl world. Every version has an engineer behind it altering the master for production. Some apply way to much filtering to make it play well in a car. This is very apparent with Vinyl. I have one Led Zepplin 2 that just sucks. It lacks all life. I have another that is amazing. I have a CD that is ok. A bit thin. The Qobuz version is also thin. Especially when compared to my tape. The tape was a copy of a European Production master. Its just huge, explosive and detailed. Source very much matters.

 

[TYATYA]

You also have to consider the release version. Release version is a big deal in the vinyl world. Every version has an engineer behind it altering the master for production. Some apply way to much filtering to make it play well in a car. This is very apparent with Vinyl. I have one Led Zepplin 2 that just sucks. It lacks all life. I have another that is amazing. I have a CD that is ok. A bit thin. The Qobuz version is also thin. Especially when compared to my tape. The tape was a copy of a European Production master. Its just huge, explosive and detailed. Source very much matters.

I am aware of it.
Album art are identical and w/o addition infor as remaster or so

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I have noticed many of this crowd are using some sort of processing to EQ a headphone for tuning that suits your taste.

True, this is another CPU and fidelity killer as you can't do exclusive bit-perfect stream to DAC with EQ.
Streaming, EQ, all this adds much more CPU load than meager FLAC decoding. Some players like JRiver allow full decoding and playing wav from memory, if even small footprint of real time FLAC decoding has impact on sound.

(thing that was never measured accordingly to article I linked earlier)

1. If we measure the power rail that feeds the main processor in the DS we can clearly see identifiable disturbance patterns due to audio decoding and network activity. These patterns do look different for WAV and FLAC - WAV shows more clearly defined peaks due to regular network activity and processing, while FLAC shows more broadband disturbance due to increased (but more random) processor activity.

2. If we measure the power rails that feed the audio clock and the DAC we see no evidence of any processor related disturbances. There is no measurable difference (down to a noise floor measured in micro-volts) between FLAC and WAV in any of the audio power rails.

3. Highly accurate measurements of clock jitter and audio distortion/noise also show no difference between WAV and FLAC.

The extensive filtering, multi-layered regulation, and careful circuit layout in the DS ensure that there is in excess of 60dB of attenuation across the audio band between the main digital supply, and the supplies that feed the DAC and the audio clock. Further, the audio components themselves add an additional degree of attenuation between their power supply and their output. Direct and indirect measurements confirm that there is no detectable interaction between processor load and audio performance.

An Linn engineer about the Linn DS

 

[Kingrex]

I am aware of it.
Album art are identical and w/o addition infor as remaster or so

It doesn't make sense. In my world, a stored file is always better than streaming. A very small number of people with say a $40k Taiko server tied to a $120K MSB select may say they can't tell the difference. It makes me wonder what may be out of sync in your system to make stored files sound so bad. Maybe its just you ripped it to FLAC and not WAV. I know people redoing all their rips because the figured out they did not like FLAC.

 

[chesebert]

Why short, based on my tests it's the same if not better than my CD rips, might be because of different releases, seems like they have a lot or rereleases of old albums. And you have full access to WASAPI exclusive and ASIO drivers, somehow I have much cleaner sound than from JRiver.

Possibly true, given CDs are generally older releases, and Tidal distribution copies are not simply CD rips. Also in a cheaper dac that provides native MQA support, it is very possible that MQA version will sound better than CD version due to easier reconstruction filter implementation with MQA.

None of my dac/streamers is native MQA so I had to use the app to do the initial unfolding, and the result was not great compared with Qobuz or my old rips.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

It doesn't make sense. In my world, a stored file is always better than streaming. A very small number of people with say a $40k Taiko server tied to a $120K MSB select may say they can't tell the difference. It makes me wonder what may be out of sync in your system to make stored files sound so bad. Maybe its just you ripped it to FLAC and not WAV. I know people redoing all their rips because the figured out they did not like FLAC.

You realize that FLAC is LOSSLESS compression, there is no possible loss of data, not even a single bit of it, same as zip, etc.
CD rip always rips wav first and only then compresses data into format of your choice. You can decode FLAC back to WAV and it will be same, bit to bit, as rip done to WAV only.

 

[chesebert]

You realize that FLAC is LOSSLESS compression, there is no possible loss of data, not even a single bit of it, same as zip, etc.

I think the problem may be the conversion from flac to PCM in the streamer/dac and the digital noise from the processor is not well contained/regulated thus resulting in pollution of other sections of the PCB/components.

The solution is easy : just convert to PCM before sending it to the streamer/dac.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I think the problem may be the conversion from flac to PCM in the streamer/dac and the digital noise from the processor is not well contained/regulated thus resulting in pollution of other sections of the PCB/components.

The solution is easy : just convert to PCM before sending it to the streamer/dac.

With all stuff going on on a modern PC in a background, mosquito buzzing one block away will probably have more effect.
It's honestly X-files/aftermarket cables voodoo zone, things that can't be measured, but as with most everything in audiophile world, start getting very real as soon as you start believing into and anticipating them.

 

[.Sup]

I am using Apple music probably since its release and I'm very happy. Catalogue is big and sound quality is excellent. I wish it would be easier to find new music suited to my taste so I mostly listen to the same stuff over and over. Mac unfortunately isn't bitperfect so I use an old iPhone 6s Plus with CCK connected to my DAC. I did notice that the digital output of my iPhone 12 mini is quite a bit lower in terms of volume than 6s' whereas iPad pro 2019 is on the same level.

 

[Kingrex]

I am using Apple music probably since its release and I'm very happy. Catalogue is big and sound quality is excellent. I wish it would be easier to find new music suited to my taste so I mostly listen to the same stuff over and over.

I have wondered the same. I may be older than you guys. But I find it hard to find new music I like. I started studying what it is that I liked about 60, 70 to 80s music. What I found was not only layering of instruments, but a true technical skill with the artist. Drummers that threw little strikes and hits off beat in the right spot. Guitarist that walked notes into the vocal lines. Creativity with instruments used.

Todays Taylors and Adele artist are so boring. A drum machine, no tallent band, or at least hobbled with heavy chains, crap production with way to much Comp/Exciters, pitch control. There are a few unique artist that could be good but fall flat from a total lack of craft. Sure you can make an album in your bed room. But until your a band with 4 people injecting their own trade, striving to be the best in the world, your wasting good vinyl.

And that brings me back to streaming services. Some of the best music is old. Like a good Art Blakey. Streaming services use reissue versions that have robbed the life in the music. Even CD can be rubbish if you get a bad reissue. There are probably 20 reissue out there. Which are good. If you happen to find the right version with a good engineer behind it, the magic can be found. But its pitching quarters in the dark. Its easier to find a good vinyl version as there are forums dedicated to what year, what plant, what engineer etc made thr best product.