[grokit]

Quote:

Unless Apple allows the download and playback of high resolution 24 bit 192mHz, its days of dominating the market will end.  Take a look at this article.  http://donaldscarinci.com/rumors-of-the-death-of-itunes-might-not-be-greatly-exaggerated/

 
They need to bring back Cover Flow or all is lost anyways.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Unless Apple allows the download and playback of high resolution 24 bit 192mHz, its days of dominating the market will end.  Take a look at this article.  http://donaldscarinci.com/rumors-of-the-death-of-itunes-might-not-be-greatly-exaggerated/

 
I don't buy that premise for a minute. The vast majority of consumers don't use hi-res files.
There's a couple errors in your article, too.....
 

In other words, if you copy a CD using “Apple Lossless” you have an exact duplicate of all information on the CD without chopping the highs and lows to create a small file size.  Of course that also means that the average size of an album is now about eight times larger than it would be if you ripped it as ACC, AIFF or MP3.  Therefore, eight times the memory is needed to store your music on your hard drive.  But who cares?  Memory is cheap and the sound quality on playback is noticeably better.

 
 It's not ACC, it's AAC. Also, Apple lossless (ALAC) is not 8x larger than AIFF....AIFF is like WAV, so it would be even larger than ALAC. As far as playback quality being "noticeably better", that varies widely from person to person. In theory it would be correct, but that's not always the case in practice. Lossy encoders have improved a lot from the old days, enough so that the difference between them and lossless often is inaudible to the listener.  And memory is cheap for home use, yes....but not so much for portable use.
 
 

 

[skamp]

So much fail in so few lines… that guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

 

[skamp]

OK, I'll bite.

192mHz

192 millihertz? What? That's not a typo, it appears more than once. He means kilohertz (kHz).

Today, one or two Terabyte hard drives are priced as low as $125 and they are not much bigger than an iPod classic. Larger and more affordable memory storage means that file sizes could be larger.

Yeah? And where are the terabyte DAPs?

In other words, if you copy a CD using “Apple Lossless” you have an exact duplicate of all information on the CD without chopping the highs and lows to create a small file size.

Lossy encoding doesn't chop off low frequencies. It does act on high frequencies, but at high bitrates, it's rather minimal, and because of various reasons such as masking, it's effectively inaudible.

Of course that also means that the average size of an album is now about eight times larger than it would be if you ripped it as ACC, AIFF or MP3.

Like Achmedisdead said, it's "AAC" not "ACC" (that really makes him sound like a proper noob), and AIFF is uncompressed PCM. Maybe he's thinking of AIFF-C, which allows for compressed audio.

Memory is cheap and the sound quality on playback is noticeably better.

With properly encoded AAC, not really, no. ABX logs or get off my lawn.

These downloads are about the price of an SACD, but they have no restrictions on sharing except for the warning that they cannot be resold or used commercially.

[citation needed] I highly doubt that HDTracks customers are legally free to share their purchases with anyone but their immediate family (if that!).

There are so many factual mistakes in his blog post, it's ridiculous.

 

[Thraex]

Minor updates:
added Seagate Wireless Plus 1TB as portable wi-fi storage (GoFlex Satellite discontinued).
added HRT microStreamer and Schiit Modi (both at MAX 96Khz) USB DAC/Amps which are reported working without an additional USB charger or powered USB HUB, but for me the limit of 96Khz make them not the best choice since I seek maximum quality and compatibility with my highest freq files.
added the Meridian Explorer which at 192Khz is a better USB DAC/Amp compared to iBasso D7 (better sound, smaller, it plays also 176,4 Khz files and it's more pratical with digitally controlled analog volume control = no more need to reach the physical knob to change the volume so it could stay inside the bag).
The Explorer it's a major update to my portable setup under any aspect!
 

 
I still need to test the even more expensive Centrance HiFi-M8 which could put the end to my search for the perfect iPad/iPhone battery powered DAC/Amp, it's bigger than the Explorer but I could avoid the use of a USB battery charger to power the USB DAC/Amp which is more important even than reaching a physical knob to change volume.

 

[jazzman7]

Quote:

added HRT microStreamer and Schiit Modi (both at MAX 96Khz) USB DAC/Amps which are reported working without an additional USB charger or powered USB HUB

I can confirm this configuration for 96kHz (can't confirm 24bit without a lot more effort):
 
24bit/96kHz WAV or ALAC -> iTunes 10.7.0.21 running on Windows -> WiFi ->  iPad Mini running iOS 6.1.3 with stock Music app pointing to shared library -> CCK -> USB to mini USB cable -> HRT microStreamer flashed to latest uS_1V2.bin firmware->  headphone jack
 
The 96k light on the microStreamer lights up, and there's sound (very nice sound, I might add!)
 
I also got 24bit/96kHz files to play out of a Fiio E17 in the same above setup, but using an old USB hub I have that has an option for power but that I leave unpowered (so it works something like the T3 USB hub).  The E17 reports 96kHz/24bit when I play either WAV or ALAC files. 
 
Thanks for all of your hard work!
 
EDIT:  And since my post is still the latest post, I can update progress a couple of days later:  After getting the Seagate Wireless Plus 1TB drive, I can confirm that the standard Seagate Media app (from the iTunes App Store) also streams 96kHz files from the drive, AND it allows downloading files to the device, from which 96kHz is also playing.  Both types of playback light up the 96k light on the microStreamer. 
 
Some drawbacks:  1)  The player has to be the Seagate Media app, because the audio files are not put into the standard iTunes library.  2)  The method of downloading appears to have to involve the Seagate Wireless Plus, because it builds a proprietary database for the files.  There's no way to side-load the data (I checked under the Apps section in iTunes for a possible Seagate Media folder on the device to dump files into, but there's no audio/video data accessible there).
 
The Seagate Media app is totally barebones, but it does allow folder access, and it does play back 96kHz files.  It could be a useful option for some, especially if they want the device for other things -- extra storage, a no-fuss WiFi hotspot, and so on. 

 

[bjast]

Thank you for the very useful thread post about streaming 24 bit audio on an iPad.

I ended up purchasing the Seagate Wireless Plus to try streaming 24 bit tracks to an iPad Retina, and have a few quick questions:

1. What audio format were the 24 bit files you streamed to an iPad from the SW+?

2. Were you able to run AIFF files on Seagate's Media application for iPad? I have found the Seagate's iOS app to be very finicky about running AIFF files.

3. Do you know of a way to get the drive to 'stream' & play audio files to any other iOS application - one that might be able to play 24 bit files either in AIFF or FLAC format? (I don't want to 'copy' these files to the iPad each time I want to play them.)

Thanks

 

[bjast]

Can anyone help me with the questions above - please?

 

[JoeFonebone]

I store only 16/44 and 24/96 FLAC files on the Wireless Plus and stream them to my iPad using the following apps: 8-Player, AcePlayer and Remote File Browser Pro. I dont like the way the sort by metadata, so I just browse by file folders. I listen to albums, and use 01-song title, 02-song title, etc. file naming.

 

[danrc3]

This is a great thread, thanks for putting it together. I have been dreaming about a Meridian Explorer setup, and I really appreciate seeing the details spelled out.  I plan to run a setup with my iPhone 5 and a Meridian Explorer in my car.  The biggest question for me remaining is just powering a usb hub.  Perhaps a simple question, but I am confused on how the Phone CCK 'talks' to the Meridian Explorer.  If they just share a USB hub connection, they automatically transmit data to the DAC?  Or does it need to be a special type of hub?  Let me try to explain my confusion. If you have a usb hub, powered either by a wall outlet, or powered by the bus connection to the host computer, I assume that the host computer signal is the only data that is shared between connected devices.  I assume the host computer sends power and data through the connection to the peripherals.  But, what if you want to just connect the peripherals to each other with a powered hub?  I don't understand how to connect the data between two connected devices like the Phone's CCK and the DAC, AND have power supplied through the main usb connection.  When using an external battery pack like the original post, I assume the 'main' usb connection made to go to the host computer is instead hooked up to the external battery pack, which provides only power and no data.  Does the hub then somehow know to connect the phone/cck and the DAC?  
 
Thanks for any help on this.  I envision a scenario where I replace the external battery in your setup with a simple 12v (cigarette outlet) USB charger.That is what I am hoping for...

 

[jazzman7]

I think your question has a simple answer.  Using the CCK, the iPad is acting like the host computer, and the Meridian is the peripheral device.  The powered hub is needed to add "juice" to the USB connection so that the iPad does not have to provide as much power, if any at all.  This is how I understand what is going on. 

 

[DScarinci1]

Yes, I am new to the hobby--about a year--and I am loving it.  I appreciate the constructive comments people have made to my blog posts and I will make the corrections.  However, if anyone is suggesting that compressed files sound just as good as uncompressed files, then you are either not using high end components or you need a hearing check.  
 
If Apple iTunes is your play back software and if you are listening through ear buds then you are absolutely right.  Stay with compressed music files and long live Apple.  Once you run those files through a program like J.River and through a good DAC like the PS Audio Perfect Wave Player or something high end, the difference in sound quality is immediately noticeable, even to people who are just casual music listeners.  So to those people commenting on the substance of the quality issue, I suggest that you test this for yourself on good equipment, open your ears and open your mind.
 
Finally, to those who do not believe that digital High Resolution Audio (HRA), the new name for 24 bit 96kHz or greater, is not future of audio, then lets just wait a few years and see.  Since the time I wrote my first article--the piece on the death of iTunes--Sony has jumped into the Hi Def game, Music Direct began competing with HDTracks and iTrax is now rating digital downloads for compliance with true High Resolution Audio standards.  All of this has happened within the last 6 months.  If you don't think that is evidence enough of where the market is moving then I have cassette tapes to sell you!
 
Donald Scarinci

 

[DScarinci1]

Yes, I am new to the hobby--about a year--and I am loving it.  I appreciate the constructive comments people have made to my blog posts and I will make the corrections.  However, if anyone is suggesting that compressed files sound just as good as uncompressed files, then you are either not using high end components or you need a hearing check.  
 
If Apple iTunes is your play back software and if you are listening through ear buds then you are absolutely right.  Stay with compressed music files and long live Apple.  Once you run those files through a program like J.River and through a good DAC like the PS Audio Perfect Wave Player or something high end, the difference in sound quality is immediately noticeable, even to people who are just casual music listeners.  So to those people commenting on the substance of the quality issue, I suggest that you test this for yourself on good equipment, open your ears and open your mind.
 
Finally, to those who do not believe that digital High Resolution Audio (HRA), the new name for 24 bit 96kHz or greater, is the future of audio, then lets just wait a few years and see.  Since the time I wrote my first article--the piece on the death of iTunes--Sony has jumped into the Hi Def game, Music Direct began competing with HDTracks and iTrax is now rating digital downloads for compliance with true High Resolution Audio standards.  All of this has happened within the last 6 months.  If you don't think that is evidence enough of where the market is moving then I have cassette tapes to sell you!
 
Donald Scarinci

 

[Thraex]

1. What audio format were the 24 bit files you streamed to an iPad from the SW+?

2. Were you able to run AIFF files on Seagate's Media application for iPad? I have found the Seagate's iOS app to be very finicky about running AIFF files.

3. Do you know of a way to get the drive to 'stream' & play audio files to any other iOS application - one that might be able to play 24 bit files either in AIFF or FLAC format? (I don't want to 'copy' these files to the iPad each time I want to play them.)

Thanks

Hi bjast:
 
Any audio format could be streamed to the iPad (FLAC too), the main problem is which app you use in combination with which server as I've explained in the OT. Lots of software problems even if you succeed to make the hardware side to work: most apps are not bit-perfect, not easy browsing, metadata missing, compatibility between different software servers...
With the Seagate Media server (DLNA basic functions) I use 8player or the dedicated Seagate app.
Check with your external DAC which bit/freq it'll receive with FLAC or AIFF. I have no more a DAC able to display the incoming data, nor I need it now since I use all WAVs. I'm sure 8player will receive FLAC and AIFF, still unsure if bit-perfect. WAV+8player=bit-perfect guaranteed!
 
AIFF files are a bad experience for me too: more problems to achieve the goal than with WAV. If you want to stay pure (without decompress/decript lossless files like FLAC and ALAC) convert to WAV any file using dbpoweramp ripper which automatically creates a Folder.jpg file for each album art, needed in each album directory to show covers with WAVs.
 
 

 

[Thraex]

  This is a great thread, thanks for putting it together. I have been dreaming about a Meridian Explorer setup, and I really appreciate seeing the details spelled out.  I plan to run a setup with my iPhone 5 and a Meridian Explorer in my car.

Hi darc3,
 
if your iPhone is not jailbroken, so to be able to use USB audio out, you'll not be able to use ANY USB DAC, Meridian Explorer included. Only ipad can use USB audio out officially.
Better you get some dedicated to iPhone DACs listed in the end of the OT (but limited to 16/48) and maybe read it more carefully to understand better the problems involved. I know it's long but you need just to read instead of experiment yourself how many hours you take to sort it out!
 
I've just edited the important point 3) to be more clear for beginners...