Napalmhardcore
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2013
- Posts
- 342
- Likes
- 47
Hi,
Over the past three years I have been steadily getting more and more into audio. I've now arrived at a point where I want to hear for myself what music "should" sound like to the extent of wanting to try and ensure bit perfect audio. I'm currently investigating different options, but the more I dig, the more questions I raise. As I raise more questions, the questions become more difficult to find answers to.
When it comes to PC audio, the information is not too difficult to find. I realise that with PC audio, there are hurdles to overcome such as 1) Getting your sound card/DAC out of the case and away from that noisey environment (which was one of the first things I did when I began my quest for better audio by using an external USB sound card). 2) Ensuring your sound card/DAC will fulfil your requirements (as my requirements have changed, I'm currently investigating options) 3) USB can reportedly be noisey itself and there are various devices designed to minimise this noise. 4) You must also ensure you have software that is compatible with the appropriate drivers (ASIO etc) to ensure the audio is output correctly. As it seems a PC is not ideal by default, I've been wondering if it might be better to buy a device specifically intended for audio rather than try and address the problems of using a PC as a source.
This has lead to a new line of research on my part and one where the answers don't seem to be out in the open. As I may be looking at upgrading my current AV receiver, I was wondering if I could kill two birds with one stone, as many of the receivers support FLAC via USB nowadays. There are also networking features available (which I haven't looked at the ins and outs of yet). While the manual (for the Yamaha RX-V581 in this case as it is a prospective buy) says what file formats are compatible, it doesn't have any information on how this is handled and whether it upsamples the audio. I've also looked at various compact hi-fi systems that also do not offer up this information.
I'm now left wondering, is it the norm for dedicated audio gear to playback bit perfect audio or is this something reserved for high end equipment? Basically I want something that will playback my audio files and CDs as they should natively be played without having to worry about noise. I'd also like to be able to use it for less critical but convenient listening duties (such as Spotify or when I quickly want to play something via Bluetooth).
Any insight would be much appreciated.
Over the past three years I have been steadily getting more and more into audio. I've now arrived at a point where I want to hear for myself what music "should" sound like to the extent of wanting to try and ensure bit perfect audio. I'm currently investigating different options, but the more I dig, the more questions I raise. As I raise more questions, the questions become more difficult to find answers to.
When it comes to PC audio, the information is not too difficult to find. I realise that with PC audio, there are hurdles to overcome such as 1) Getting your sound card/DAC out of the case and away from that noisey environment (which was one of the first things I did when I began my quest for better audio by using an external USB sound card). 2) Ensuring your sound card/DAC will fulfil your requirements (as my requirements have changed, I'm currently investigating options) 3) USB can reportedly be noisey itself and there are various devices designed to minimise this noise. 4) You must also ensure you have software that is compatible with the appropriate drivers (ASIO etc) to ensure the audio is output correctly. As it seems a PC is not ideal by default, I've been wondering if it might be better to buy a device specifically intended for audio rather than try and address the problems of using a PC as a source.
This has lead to a new line of research on my part and one where the answers don't seem to be out in the open. As I may be looking at upgrading my current AV receiver, I was wondering if I could kill two birds with one stone, as many of the receivers support FLAC via USB nowadays. There are also networking features available (which I haven't looked at the ins and outs of yet). While the manual (for the Yamaha RX-V581 in this case as it is a prospective buy) says what file formats are compatible, it doesn't have any information on how this is handled and whether it upsamples the audio. I've also looked at various compact hi-fi systems that also do not offer up this information.
I'm now left wondering, is it the norm for dedicated audio gear to playback bit perfect audio or is this something reserved for high end equipment? Basically I want something that will playback my audio files and CDs as they should natively be played without having to worry about noise. I'd also like to be able to use it for less critical but convenient listening duties (such as Spotify or when I quickly want to play something via Bluetooth).
Any insight would be much appreciated.