[bangsailio]

While most of the threads here focus on CD source AMPs, few are based on computer sources. with codecs improving everyday, I am seeking help of anyone who has already gone through this. Mp3 is of course, a useless codec; the codec market is focusing more on ogg and APE ( www.monkeysaudio.com ) which is completely lossless.

As a college student, money is hard to come by when you are trying to live and graduate. so ultra high end, super duper amps, sources, cables, interconnects cannot be had. so.. what is a decent setup?

I currently have HD600's on stock cables off a cheap cmoy off a M-audio Revolution. playback is handled on kernal streaming ( http://foobar2000.hydrogenaudio.org/ ) which bypasses windows internal workings (im not sure exactly). In any case, I can't upgrade my source, since well, its a computer. Possibly the PSU, but i doubt it would change anything signifigantly.

I have seen people mention attenuators, what is the difference between that and amps? is the difference from a cmoy to a meta42 substantial?

would you recomment a cardas or equinox cable? or is there a better upgrade path?

in other threads, others have talked about external DAC's. are they better than the revolution + kernal streaming? does the revolution's DAC suck that much?

thanks, sorry for the long post --

 

[lan]

On CODECs, look at MPC for lossy. I use APE because it's fast for encoding but FLAC is better in some ways.

There's a thread in the DIY section on modifying the Revo if you are brave enough.

Upgrading the HD600 cable to either Equinox or Cardas is a matter of personal preference. Both are substantial improvements.

Whether you use an external DAC or not, you should use kernel streaming (or ASIO). The Revo's DACs are good but there's more to a soundcard than a DAC. In the revo-mod thread, a guy said the 6 channel DAC sounds better than the one used for the 2 front mains. You can try this by using the "shift" feature of the ASIO plugin for Winamp or foobar2000.

I found that Audiophile 24/96's digital output was a bit better than Revo's. Also you can clock AP24/96 from an external source which makes it sound even better. For any of these cards, you can also add an anti-jitter device like Monarchy DIP, GW Labs DSP to clean up the signal going to your DAC.

Hmm, we should start Team Computer Source. hehe

Who wants to be president?

 

[pikawel]

I still plan on making a computer my source... I'd posted about it a while ago but still haven't taken action due to dollars.

"Also you can clock AP24/96 from an external source which makes it sound even better." - What's that mean? I only know computer basics... barely know audio basics.

 

[bangsailio]

Quote:

Originally posted by lan You can try this by using the "shift" feature of the ASIO plugin for Winamp or foobar2000.

what is this "shift" feature? what does this accomplish?

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally posted by pikawel "Also you can clock AP24/96 from an external source which makes it sound even better." - What's that mean?

The clock on the card is more prone to jitter since the inside of the computer is noisy. So when you listen to music (which uses 44.1khz clock) it just sounds a bit dull in my experience using digital out. I've not tried to listen to what it sounds like via the RCA jacks. Using an external device and connecting it to the AP24/96's digital input, you can set the card to use the incoming signal as clock. Now if this external device's signal is lower jitter it will make the soundcard sound better. This device could be a CD player.

Quote:

Originally posted by bangsailio what is this "shift" feature? what does this accomplish?

This allows you to play your audio on the other channels (surround, rears, etc.) instead of your 2 fronts. The Revo has 2 DACs. Shifting the audio will allow you to hear what it sounds like going through the other DAC. I've not tried this myself but you might as well try because you can.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangsailio Mp3 is of course, a useless codec; the codec market is focusing more on ogg and APE ( www.monkeysaudio.com ) which is completely lossless.

No offensive honestly.. but what the hell are you talking about? MP3 still has a purpose. In fact I can't find a use for OGG (open source... well the artist content is still protected). Monkey... forget about it. Lossless in its current incarnation is FLAC. Please explain?

 

[Multi]

Bangsailio, you have nearly exact same setup as I do. Except I bought Cardas cables and am just graduated as a poor college student

I think the Revo is a fine card, better than my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and infinitely more than my Sb Live! Although it was good, I felt something was definitely missing from my setup. While the Cardas improved the sound to my ears significantly, maybe a new amp or even a CDP source would do so even more. Although lan probably has better recommendations for you, because this is the limit of my experiences.

I nominate lan for president of team computer source

 

[minya]

Uhm, MP3 is far from useless. It's a great lossy codec, it's widely-used, and it's portable. I use --alt-preset extreme MP3s and Monkey's Audio exclusively.

I'm running an Audiophile 24/96 soundcard to a stock ART DI/O connected by Bolder digital cables into a Gilmore V2 amplifier. Awesome setup; I love it. Extremely convenient and it sounds great.

I'm using foobar2k with, like I said, high quality MP3s and apes. Not using kernel streaming though, because I got weird clicking/popping sounds every now and then. I can't detect any difference between DirectSound and kernel streaming, though, so whatever.

My DI/O is currently set to External Sync. Does this mean I'm using the Audiophile's clock? Should I try setting the Audiophile to slave and set the DI/O to 44.1khz?

Anyhow, I agree with lan as leader of Team Computer Source; I'd be his running mate, though.

- Chris

 

[SteeleBlayde]

You've got a workable set up right now, heres a few suggestions though:

Get an ART DI/O DAC, it goes for less than $100. If you have more money, get it modded. Lots of mod sites around. (Check out http:/www.boldercables.com/ for the modder I used.) Plug it in to the digital out of the revo. You could also consider getting a high quality digital cale for this.

If you are into DIY, you could get the op-amps in the Revo tweaked. Do a search here on Head-fi as well as on headwize for details. Maybe you could get someone to do this for you?

Upgrade your CMOY to a maxed out META42, thats a huge jump and the META42 is an amzing amp, regardless of the price (although the price makes it absolutely unbelievable).

As for the Senn HD600 cables: If you think the HD600 is too dark and muddy, get the cardas cable. If you want a more refined sound with the HD600 but have no other qualms with them, get the StefanAudioArt Equinox.

Hope this helps.

 

[Gojira]

Quote:

In fact I can't find a use for OGG (open source... well the artist content is still protected).

It's for compressing music with a psycho-acoustic (lossy) algorithm. That's what you use it for. Some people like it better than MP3. AAC is supposed to be better (depending on the specific encoder), and MPC is supposed to be the best of the lossy algorithms.

Quote:

Monkey... forget about it. Lossless in its current incarnation is FLAC. Please explain?

Ape is faster and more efficient than FLAC. It will produce either smaller files or faster compression times depending on your preference. It is supported by more applications than FLAC. I can use a mainstream media player (Media Jukebox) without even so much as a plugin. With MJ I can seamlessly burn APE files to CD (without having to convert as a separate step). APE has a winamp plugin as well as a standalone player (APE jukebox). What support does FLAC have aside from foobar?

As far as I can tell both formats are equally well represented (not very well) on P2P. The only difference may be the alleged support for FLAC in the upcoming Rio Pearl HDD player. If the Pearl turns out to be as good or better sounding than the Ipod and NJB3/Zen, I may have to convert all my APE files to FLAC. Other than that though, the greater speed, efficiency, and software support make APE the winner in my view. Also APE is now open source.