[PaulBoy]

Hi folks! I am waiting for a Meier Corda Aria to arrive (damn u Head-Fi

) & have read some interesting threads here especially about the Aria's DAC which is used via USB and a PC - in my case that would be a laptop & raises a number of questions about how to get the best out of the DAC? - most threads relate to using the PC as a storage device with files in FLAC format (?) I have a huge collection of CDS already on my laptop in mp3 format (256kbps IIRC) - how much will FLAC improve output compared to my existing mp3? - I use CDex to extract mp3 from my CD's & believe I can add a utility to convert to FLAC (as external decoder?)
Can I just listen to a CD in the laptop & output through the DAC / Aria or do you have to burn to HDD first?
How much space does a CD worth of files in FLAC format take up?
Assuming its more than the equivalent files in mp3 format I would need an external HDD (my laptop only has 40gb HDD) what type of external HDD would be best (USB2 or Firewire?)
I hope you can help? - Paul

 

[ootput]

I'm not as knowledgeable as the rest of the h-f folk, but here are my ideas:

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulBoy how much will FLAC improve output compared to my existing mp3? - I use CDex to extract mp3 from my CD's & believe I can add a utility to convert to FLAC (as external decoder?)

Flac is a lossless format whereas mp3 is not. Once you get your Aria up and running, you'll soon be able to notice the inherent flaws of the mp3 format. Mp3 is a lossy format in the sense that if you were to try to convert it back to wav, you won't end up with an exact image of the CD data.

It's not a good idea to transcode mp3 to flac format as you'll probably end up losing more audio data in addition to the data lost when you went from CD to mp3.

Quote:

Can I just listen to a CD in the laptop & output through the DAC / Aria or do you have to burn to HDD first?

Sure you can, but you'll probably get fed up with the constant CD-rotation. Preserving the quality of the CD in the flac container is a much better idea as you won't encounter the above problem.

Quote:

How much space does a CD worth of files in FLAC format take up?

When dealing with the same CD source, a flac file can often be 10 times as large as the mp3, if not more.

Quote:

Assuming its more than the equivalent files in mp3 format I would need an external HDD (my laptop only has 40gb HDD) what type of external HDD would be best (USB2 or Firewire?)

If you can afford the space, I'd suggest getting an external HDD on any interface. Personally, I'd choose the usb2 interface as this appears to be more common than firewire.

My personal database (stored on pc) includes flacs or shortens of my favorite albums. Albums that I rarely listen to end up as mpc's (musepack - a much superior lossy format than mp3,) which frees up some room for flacs that I listen to often.

 

[PaulBoy]

ootput - what an excellent reply! answered most of my questions too! you obviously weren't put off by me being in Pomland (you'll be pleased to hear I'm not a Pom - I just live there!) any way ...

Quote:

When dealing with the same CD source, a flac file can often be 10 times as large as the mp3, if not more

10 times as large? A copy of a CD takes up 700-800mb so how large is the equivalent CD in FLAC? ...

Quote:

If you can afford the space, I'd suggest getting an external HDD on any interface. Personally, I'd choose the usb2 interface as this appears to be more common than firewire

So USB2 is OK speed transfer wise compared to firewire? ...

Paul

PS - keep the answers / comments coming ...

 

[StevieDvd]

Hi,

What is meant is that when you rip a CD a typical track may be 35mb to 40mb in WAV format (uncompressed) and can drop down to say 3mb as a compressed mp3.

Would also advocate USB2 as it's more readily available and better resale option if you need to sell later.

Next you'll be checking out Foobar or an equivalent player that can support ASIO to get the best sound from your laptop via usb port. Just search for usb asio and asio4all for info.

Steve

 

[ootput]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulBoy ootput - what an excellent reply! answered most of my questions too! you obviously weren't put off by me being in Pomland (you'll be pleased to hear I'm not a Pom - I just live there!) any way ...

Coincidentally, I'm not a Aussie - I just live here (originally from Houston,TX)

Quote:

10 times as large? A copy of a CD takes up 700-800mb so how large is the equivalent CD in FLAC?

I own a Radiohead (OK Computer) album that takes up roughly 362 mb in Flac files. Mp3 rips of the album (depending on the quality) can start at 40 mb or so.

I think that compression can also vary depending on the album genre. For instance, I'd get much smaller flacs from a Techno album as opposed to, say, any of Rachmaninov's Concerto's owing to the complexity of the works.

Quote:

So USB2 is OK speed transfer wise compared to firewire?

Firewire is slightly slower than USB2, whose transfer rate is 400 mbps compared to USB2's 480 mbps.

One of the benefits of using Firewire, though, is that it's isosynchronuous; this means that each daisy-chained Firewire device is allotted the full 400 mbs to use. USB2 doesn't support this - with each device having to share the bandwidth.

 

[PaulBoy]

ootput ...

Quote:

Coincidentally, I'm not a Aussie - I just live here (originally from Houston,TX)

that explains it then

I have tried extracting a CD to .flac format using CDex (after downloading the external decoder & setting up CDex as described here (http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/cdextip.html) problem is that when I then play the .flac version in Foobar there appears to be one .flac file followed by a .flac.flac file of the same name (?) Foobar plays the .flac file but then stops when it tries to play the .flac.flac file
Have I messed up the extraction in CDex or is it something in Foobar I have done wrong ?
Maybe I should use something other than CDex? (or Foobar?)
Hope you (or someone) can help?
Paul

 

[ootput]

I won't lie: I don't know too much about CDex. I quit using it in favor of EAC once I realised that I was owner of a few damaged cds, and that CDex wasn't up to the task of ripping them properly.

I'm of the opinion that most Flac users @ Head-fi use EAC as their ripper of choice. EAC has served me well throughout the years, and I can personally vouch for the quality of the resulting rips. When it comes to actual encoding, however, any app will do (provided they're using the newer versions of the codec.)

The problems that you're having seem to stem from the naming of the rips; it's something that CDex may be responsible for.

You should check out a local thread that addresses most frequently asked questions: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=161569
There are some fantastic howto's linked from that thread too.

One point from that thread that I'd like to reinforce is that you should be completely aware of the settings you choose before commencing the rips. You don't want to regret having used sub-optimal settings for encoding after having encoded a 10 gb library

 

[PaulBoy]

OK will try EAC (wasnt that in Finding Nemo

) but DHL just dropped my Aria off so off to give it a blast

Paul

 

[richpjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ootput Firewire is slightly slower than USB2, whose transfer rate is 400 mbps compared to USB2's 480 mbps. One of the benefits of using Firewire, though, is that it's isosynchronuous; this means that each daisy-chained Firewire device is allotted the full 400 mbs to use. USB2 doesn't support this - with each device having to share the bandwidth.

If you have the option of going Firewire instead of USB I'd strongly recommend that. ootput explains quite nicely the theorectical maximums of the two protocols and the daisy chained benefits. In my experience, there is a noticable difference in speed between the two. USB is certainly more common and slightly cheaper, but most Firewire drives also support USB.

I'd love to hear your impressions of your new amp - I have toyed with the idea of picking one up for work and this is high on the list.

 

[PaulBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richpjr If you have the option of going Firewire instead of USB I'd strongly recommend that. ootput explains quite nicely the theorectical maximums of the two protocols and the daisy chained benefits. In my experience, there is a noticable difference in speed between the two. USB is certainly more common and slightly cheaper, but most Firewire drives also support USB. I'd love to hear your impressions of your new amp - I have toyed with the idea of picking one up for work and this is high on the list.

richpr - thanks for that - as to my impressions - well my current reference CD Kate Bush "Aerial" sounds great with more detail present than I have heard previously - as you will have read above my knowledge of DAC & PC as Source is in its infancy! - I did manage to rip a CD to my HDD in .flac but when I hooked up the Aria to have a listen I could not get much volume (despite having Volume on the PC set at Maximum) Theres a 19page thread about the Aria which has loads of stuff about Foobar etc in it but I'm sure someone will read this thread & put me on the right track re this volume issue!
Off for some more listening now

Paul

 

[Patu]

Yes use EAC for ripping. It's considered as a best ripper out there.

Typical size for one album in FLAC format is 300-400mb (usually under 400mb) if it includes only one CD.

 

[Max Minimum]

And just for further info... all of the lossless formats that I'm aware of compress the size of a cd to about 55% to 60% of the original size, so you can fit almost twice as many songs in the same amount of space compared to .wav rips, but substantially less songs than with lossy formats.

Also, 256 kbps is pretty high-quality. My guess would be that you'd rarely, if ever, notice the difference between that and lossless with your PX100's, but might notice it every now and then with your HD600's.

 

[PaulBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max Minimum And just for further info... all of the lossless formats that I'm aware of compress the size of a cd to about 55% to 60% of the original size, so you can fit almost twice as many songs in the same amount of space compared to .wav rips, but substantially less songs than with lossy formats. Also, 256 kbps is pretty high-quality. My guess would be that you'd rarely, if ever, notice the difference between that and lossless with your PX100's, but might notice it every now and then with your HD600's.

Thanks Max - sounds like I should experiment a bit with my existing mp3 collection first before re-encoding ALL my CD collection again in .lame (?)

Back to the external hard drive issue - I was thinking of a DIY approach (separate hdd & external enclosure) to save a few beans - to get the most from firewire what sort of hdd should I be looking at (?)

Finally (for now) - Can anyone assist with my query as to why when listening to .lame files using Foobar thru USB / Aria DAC there is a real lack of volume present on the Aria (despite XP Volume @ Max as described in the Aria manual)

Ta very much ... Paul