[Robert Wortman]

Clearly, you are not “getting it”.

Not understanding the assertion and not agreeing with it aren't the same thing. You believe than an error free transmission of data to a DAC can be differentiated by ear from another error free data transmission to a DAC due considerations other than data errors. I don't. It's a common argument and can be applied to USB cables, SPDIF cables, hard drives, servers, etc. There are people on both sides. People like me say bits are bits, people in your camp say yeah but..... I could be wrong. So could you.

 

[numbercube]

There are people on both sides. People like me say bits are bits, people in your camp say yeah but..... I could be wrong..

The people on your side always have one thing in common. They are not accustomed sufficiently to very good audio gear. That probably takes a decade and thousands of hours of listening to good recordings.
With your PSB speakers, you certainly don't have to worry about transports.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

 

[earnmyturns]

A statistically valid test can be applied to a single person. Medical tests are a different matter as you can't both treat and not treat the same person over and over until you get a statistically valid sample. You can, for example, easily prove whether a given individual can foretell the results of a coin flip. In the same way, you can easily test whether a single person can hear the difference between audio gizmo A and audio gizmo B.

As I said, my wife has been able to reliably distinguish between certain digital source As and Bs, when I use the same tracks but randomize between A and B. In fact, I've had her walk into our living room from running an errand and say that the music sounds better, just as I switched to a new digital source she did not know about. Even in cases where I might not have been able to. But she might well be an outlier, especially in our age group. And it's kind of funny that males seem dominate this hobby when they lose high-frequency hearing earlier than women

 

[golfbravobravo]

Mister Blues-- I will try to explain my network solution in very simple to understand way--from one Non-Geek to another.

The music travels to each endpoint over the ethernet in HTTP, which is a data stream.
The system I have described is easy, functional, and believe it or not, is a protocol used on big mainframes, to single board computers. So you too can be a "networking expert".
Hope this is more helpful

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http) is for communicating to and from websites, it's not the underlying protocol for ethernet.

Cheers

 

[Robert Padgett]

The people on your side always have one thing in common. They are not accustomed sufficiently to very good audio gear. That probably takes a decade and thousands of hours of listening to good recordings.
With your PSB speakers, you certainly don't have to worry about transports.

"They are not accustomed sufficiently to very good audio gear."
Hmm, is this snobbery, elitist or just an attempt to insinuate that you have a more perceptive ear, because of your experience with "very good audio gear"?
Snobbery only works if you are an otherwise very impressive individual.
Elitism means you have had access to more resources, and purchased expensive gear, despite not knowing what "good" really sounds like.
Having access to "very good audio gear" seems to be a rather subjective analysis based on your exclusive experience.

All of this is to say, that I will gladly acknowledge that I have heard systems that cost $150,000, systems which cost over $500,000 (Vinyl, BAT Tubes and VonSchweikert loudspeakers, in a custom-designed listening room--he literally told the Architect of his Multi-million dollar home to start with the listening room, make it perfect, and then build the house around it.) and my own rather modest Affordable Audiophile reference system.

I have reviewed a single pair of interconnects that cost $6K and a loom of high-end cables which cost $7K more.

And without insulting anyone, I can say that it is all about the Music, not the equipment.

Sweeping generalizations like "people on your side" implies that you are somewhat different.

Different is not always better.

More expensive is not necessarily a good scale of comparison, either.

And one would think that 'a decade and thousands of hours of listening' qualifies you to sit in judgment.

Sorry on all accounts.
Unless you have found a way to jump into your trousers in one fell swoop, may I suggest that you put your pants on one leg at a time...

 

[earnmyturns]

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http) is for communicating to and from websites, it's not the underlying protocol for ethernet.

@Robert Padgett is correct if his networked setup is using DLNA, as I believe it is. DLNA uses HTTP for its media transport. See slide 13 of DLNA for Dummies.

 

[golfbravobravo]

@Robert Padgett is correct if his networked setup is using DLNA, as I believe it is. DLNA uses HTTP for its media transport. See slide 13 of DLNA for Dummies.

Both your and my statements are correct! Do you know of any music using DLNA?

The original statement (and that http is a mainframe protocol) is incorrect.

Cheers

 

[dieslemat]

Yawn....

 

[EricDH]

I’ve owned the Pioneer PD-S95 transport! Very rare, very massive and possibly the beefiest CD player I’ve ever seen aside from a Sony SCD-1 SACD player. I had to let it go because I found it lean in the bass.

That lean in the bass must have been caused somewhere downstream the transport though. I used to have the Wadia 830 CD player (the baby Wadia) with the stable platter transport, and it had a lot of weight and slam in the bass. Not bass heavy, but it certainly deep and taut.

 

[US Blues]

Mister Blues-- I will try to explain my network solution in very simple to understand way--from one Non-Geek to another.
I have all the music on a server computer--in my case an Intel NUC with external hard drives attached (3-total 10Tb in storage)
I put together two Raspberry Pi Single Board Computers ($35 each) and they are attached via ethernet to the server.
The music travels to each endpoint over the ethernet in HTTP, which is a data stream. On the RasPi computers are HATs, which convert the stream to digital data a DAC can understand. I use one each of the Allo DigiOne SPIDF HAT and another HiFiBerry SPDIF HAT. I recommend the HiFiBerry ar $25, which functions the same as the Allo which is twice the price.
The SPDIF signal feeds the DAC, the DAC makes an analog signal which is amplified for either Headphones or Speakers.
I use the Linux OS on both the server and RasPi computers and utilize the OpenSSH as my "network".
Each end-point must Sign-in to the server, and once signed into this private network, either endpoint can play any music file on the server.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me... Networking is sometimes called the "black art" of computing and I was quite intimidated by protocols, and net addresses, and netmasks and firewalls, etc.
The system I have described is easy, functional, and believe it or not, is a protocol used on big mainframes, to single board computers. So you too can be a "networking expert".
Hope this is more helpful

Thank you Robert, that is very helpful. My understanding is Dr. Ivana is baking a Pi of some kind, perhaps seeing what comes from the Schiit Kitchen will be of further help.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

"They are not accustomed sufficiently to very good audio gear."
Hmm, is this snobbery, elitist or just an attempt to insinuate that you have a more perceptive ear, because of your experience with "very good audio gear"?
Snobbery only works if you are an otherwise very impressive individual.
Elitism means you have had access to more resources, and purchased expensive gear, despite not knowing what "good" really sounds like.
Having access to "very good audio gear" seems to be a rather subjective analysis based on your exclusive experience.

As a professional snob, elitist, pain in the ass, devils advocate, doting Constanza owner etc...
I can say I truly hear a difference in sets, makes, brands, combinations, methods et al and can so choose what I like most.
A discussion in what's to like and what's not to like is a BIG waste of time.

 

[RCBinTN]

Whew. Finally caught up on the cacophony of noise this thread's turned into, my two conclusions are:
1. @earnmyturns wife has better ears than do I
2. If I ever decide to stream music, I will get Roon.

Cheers mates, eh!
RCB

 

[winders]

So...if you're ripping to lossless (not playing the CD), does the 'other crap' issue become a non-factor then?

No, it is still a factor but a different source. That other crap comes along with whatever you use to feed the tracks to the DAC.

 

[winders]

It really is good, isn't it. I was going to get carried away and buy some tubes. Meh... Schiit's stock tube gets the job done.

You think so? Get a WE396A tube and associated adapter and tell me, with a straight face, that "Schiit's stock tube gets the job done."