this May well be a silly suggestion, but just wondering whether anyone has actually tried combining PGGB files and an mscaler? Maybe remastering with PGGB to 384 then letting mscaler double to 768. I am just fantasising that I could get to save storage, bypass the Dave’s usb input and ease the load on the mscaler all in one hit!
Well I can easily play my testfiles via Mscaler in passthrough.
But as I see it and for my personal needs the whole point of PGGB for me is to NOT need to use my Mscaler, but instead playing directly from my mbp via usb and Qutest via Audirvana or Pure Music.
I am happy that my old laptop works with both Mscaler and PGGB but I see no point in combining them.
For future travels unless I run into unexpected problems once I get a mac capable of processing PGGB my Mscaler will stay back home.
But from what little I have heard so far from PGGB it seems good enough and clearly better than Qutest playing non upscaled files.
I am also happy that I never jumped on the super-expensive ROON "Streamer Boat" so many audiophiles have jumped on at high costs , now reading both here and over at AS that people are now having to upgrade or change the Innous or whatever platform they used because of their models not being able to process 16FS files. Even the super expensive Innous and others have less processing power than my old mbp it seems. Optimised for music they boast ,but not even an i7 processor onboard some of those.
Luckily for me both Qutest and my mbp do so with ease. And very good results to my ears.
I am actually still very happy with my Mscaler and have no plans to sell it even if I fully go ahead with PGGB.
And I can actually with the three test-tracks I have, quickly shift between mscaler via optical and CD player to mbp via usb Qutest PGGB simply by pressing the left button on my Qutest without having to pull cables or turn off anything.
Mscaler has transformed my take on cd.
A well recorded cd sounds very good indeed via Mscaler.
Better than ever before,imho.
The one notable difference between cd and hi res is still the slightly more audible noise floor from cd, via headphones especially.
Via my big speakers it is no issue, I don´t really hear any noise from my listening position about 5 metres from the speakers during most tracks unless I play very very loud.
My take on PGGB from my hi res test-tracks is that noise is almost completely absent even via headphones.
I have been suspecting that the noise I always heard ,faintly hissing in the treble was either my noisy laptop and/or usb connection.
I now suspect I may actually have been hearing quantization noise all the time until this.
I am still waiting to do one final comparison between Mscaler and PGGB with a track I know very well directly from recording sessions to finally confirm what I suspect is going on here.
There is a mention about quantization noise being lowered with noise shaping with PGGB over at AS. And although not big, maybe even inaudible with a lot of recordings, and the type of always loud music, some listen to.
But it is NOT inaudible via non-compressed high dynamic range 24/96 symphonic music. The slightly lower noise ,I can now hear between my test-tracks Mscaled and PGGB ´d via HEKV2 headphones is significant enough to have become a bit addictive.
"Burbster" mentioned exaggerated colours on TVs for sale to impress customers. And I agree as a pro photographer.
But in audio terms that is NOT what I hear with PGGB.
Very clean and possibly even a small step closer to mic-feed than Mscaler is my current take on PGGB.
PS Sorry if I am repeating myself here.
I can´t remember if I already posted this observation here or only over at AS?
Cheers CC