[Currawong]

I have already bought Decibel. It has been my default for a while.  

 

[SoupRKnowva]

i prefer audirvana to decibel or Play, though i did like decibel quite a bit. i running optical out of my MBP into my AGD sparrow

 

[uelover]

Quote:

The 32-bit forcing of MIDI is actually happening WITH and WITHOUT DAC, so it doesn't seem to be related to the DAC.

I went to check out the setting.. Mine's running at 16bit...
My USB/SPDIF converter supports input up to 96khz 24bit though..
 

 

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

I've got 10.6.6  Go figure?

My MacBook is about two years old…I have OS 10.5.8, just before they upped it to 10.6 Snow Leopard. I have no need to upgrade, and my guess is that S. Booth has stopped fiddling with Play now that Decibel has been launched as a commercial entity. Those glitches in Play aren't likely to be fixed.
 

 

[turimbar1]

Quote:

Give Decibel and Play a try.  You'll really like the sound quality, and a Mac Mini has the best stock optical output of any Mac.  Decibel uses 64-bit floating point operation, whereas Play is 32-bit.  They each have their upsides, but they both kill everything else out there in my opinion.  Amarra really doesn't even come close.  Unfortunately Decibel only gives you a 24 hour trial period, which is really weak.  I paid the $33 to buy it though since I am waiting for my modified Transporter to be repaired (which sounds better than any direct-from-computer digital output).  But if you don't mind the very poor user interfaces on these two programs and only care about sound quality then give them a try.  Play is free.
 

lol, I would hope he already has, seeing as he began this thread. Audirvana in hog+integer mode IS very impressive, even without a DAC, lol.
 

 

[Eating Pie]

Quote:

1000ps = 1ns, fyi.

Oops.  Yeah, that's a difference all right.  
 
Seems like there are some relevant bits about jitter that really put that number in context.  The article at Stereophile and relevant bits follow:
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/halide-design-spdif-bridge-usb-spdif-converter-measurements
 
Quote:

The USB Prober program revealed that the Halide Bridge operated in asynchronous isochronous mode, as specified. The "eye pattern" of the S/PDIF data waveform was wide open and free from timing uncertainty at its start and end (fig.1), and the Audio Precision System SYS2722 calculated the jitter in the S/PDIF datastream to be a very low 345 picoseconds peak. For reference, the other three USB–S/PDIF converters I have tested—theBel Canto USB Link 24/96, Lindemann USB-DDC 24/96, and Stello U2—respectively measured 2.91 nanoseconds (2910ps), 444ps, and 395ps, all with a 50Hz–100kHz measurement bandwidth.
...
Tested with the Esoteric D-07, with which I thought the Halide Bridge worked well, the TosLink output of my MacBook gave 1049ps p–p; the MacBook via the Stello U2 actually increased this slightly, to 1090ps, while the Halide Bridge reduced the measured jitter to 780ps. This indicates that the Halide's Streamlength code works as advertised.

 
That 345 peak is considered low, with the Bell Canto coming in at 2910ps!  Suddenly the MacBook looks at lot better.
 
-Pie

 

[jronan2]

Someone recommended that I try audirana. I downloaded it and been using it the last 2 days, I think it a good program, especially being free. I am still trying to learn the interface with the limited time I've used it. But I cant seem to find any EQ options, am I blind, not looking in the right spot, or the program doesn't allow such an option? I apologize in advance if this was a dumb question.

 

[ttan98]

Quote:

Someone recommended that I try audirana. I downloaded it and been using it the last 2 days, I think it a good program, especially being free. I am still trying to learn the interface with the limited time I've used it. But I cant seem to find any EQ options, am I blind, not looking in the right spot, or the program doesn't allow such an option? I apologize in advance if this was a dumb question.

No equalizer.
 

 

[kwkarth]

VOX

 

[jronan2]

I'm grateful that it's free and sounds good, but that sucks

 

[ajreynol]

I like Decibel.

Sounds great.

Still, Fidelia's plug-in support is just so darn good. Idk, I'll just keep using both. I wish either offered a column browser like iTunes.

 

[jronan2]

You like decibel better than audirvana?

 

[ajreynol]

meh, they're pretty much the same when it comes to audio playback. as such, it just kinda comes down to which interface you prefer.

IMO, of course. it's a game of millimeters.

I appreciate the fact that I can control what's playing in Audirvana with my Apple Remote. Can't do that with Decibel or Fidelia. But it's all minor. I'd stick with the free option unless you want serious control...at which time I'd recommend Fidelia or Amarra.

 

[iamoneagain]

Quote:

meh, they're pretty much the same when it comes to audio playback. as such, it just kinda comes down to which interface you prefer.

IMO, of course. it's a game of millimeters.

I appreciate the fact that I can control what's playing in Audirvana with my Apple Remote. Can't do that with Decibel or Fidelia. But it's all minor. I'd stick with the free option unless you want serious control...at which time I'd recommend Fidelia or Amarra.

 
I posted this before but I'll post it again.  This is simple hack that lets you sort of use the iPhone Remote.  If you don't switch to other programs, the Apple IR remote then controls play/pause/ff.  Also works with Audivana.  I requested the Decibel have the option for the IR remote to work no matter what program is selected.  Sounds like they might add as option.
 
I'm still undecided on which if Decibel or Audirvana sounds better but Decibel definitely runs better.  When I first switch back to Audirvana, I think it sounds much better but then it sounds a little thinner.  So I stick with Decibel since it just works better.
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Audirvana-Decibel-Remoteapp
 
 

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Vox is nice and simple. I love how PM integrates with iTunes, plays native FLAC, hog mode, memory, and hybrid, gapless, et al. Fidelia was nice too, and I wish PM had the pre-ring/post-ring filter options. I thought there were differences in SQ between all three, with Fidelia having its own unique signature, lush. Vox was a nice step up from iTunes, but sounded grainy in comparison to PM. PM has the most similar sound quality to my big rig, and so it became my choice.   
 
Quote:

VOX