Setting up Vista 64bit for music and should I download (BUY!) HD instead of buying cds?

[spacemanspliff]

So I have a 1Tb drive and 64bit vista. X-Fi titanium pci-e card used to transport via optical to my receiver. Capable of 24bit/96khz and most dolby headphone codecs.

What player? Winamp + asioforall? What dvd player? I don't mind spending some $$ for decent software but not more than $100 please.

Where should I buy music if I want to skip buying physical cds?

Just using stereo settings all the way through from start to finish.

Thanks. vista is just new to me and I hate the hunt and peck method of learning. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Orcin]

I use J. River Media Jukebox to play FLAC files in Vista64. It's free, and very functional. I have tried ASIO4ALL and DirectSound. Both work very well with it.

I can't help you with the online source. I use EAC to rip FLAC, and I use iTunes for my portable library (AAC 256VBR). EAC works fine in Vista64.

 

[Scrith]

Vista64 is the best Windows OS for music playback, in my experience. DirectSound sounds just as good as KernalStreaming, ASIO, and WASAPI to me (and to my wife, in blind tests). You will hear 10,000 opinions on here (and elsewhere) about what sounds best...but most of them are just someone's opinion, and remember that people tend to believe whatever they read last, so most of them are just echo'ing something that someone else told them. TRY THINGS OUT FOR YOURSELF, PREFERABLY USING BLIND TESTS (otherwise I guarantee you will hear whatever someone else told you to hear).

Audio data-wise, CDs are really your only option right now unless you are really into music that nobody would buy if it weren't in HD. Aside from a couple of exceptions (the best one that comes to mind is the Plant/Krauss album that is available at HDTracks), the only way to get the music I actually like (and I like most everything, honestly) is from CDs (or downloading losslessly encoded CD-quality data from somewhere). By the way, I've also done blind tests with my wife using the Plant/Krauss album from CD (16/44) vs. the HDTracks 24/96 version...the differences were minimal (she actually preferred the CD version for a couple of songs)...so don't believe the hype about high-res until you can compare them (again...objectively...using blind tests) for yourself.

My recommendation is to concentrate on equipment upgrades. The X-Fi sound card is the weak link in your system, no matter how great the computer gaming websites say it is (it is great for gaming, though). I'd consider something like a used Benchmark DAC1 USB so you can supply a decent analog output to your receiver. Beyond that, speakers and amp are most of the equation when it comes to high quality sound, in my experience. My breakdown of what is responsible for the sound you are ultimately hearing is something like this (assuming you're using losslessly encoded audio data that is arriving at the DAC without errors):

Speakers: 80%
Amp: 10%
DAC: 8%
Cables/Power: 2%

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrith /img/forum/go_quote.gif By the way, I've also done blind tests with my wife using the Plant/Krauss album from CD (16/44) vs. the HDTracks 24/96 version...the differences were minimal (she actually preferred the CD version for a couple of songs)...so don't believe the hype about high-res until you can compare them

That album is pretty much the WORST one to choose to compare redbook vs. hi-res b/c both are pretty bad, all pointing to a bad-sounding master tape. They both sound like they went through compressor-from-hell with near-zero dynamic range. Both versions are recorded so hot that I need to lower my volume at least 6 dB from a "regular" CD I rip myself with EAC.

For hi-res downloads, I actually like the current choices on HDTracks. At first glance through the titles, not many albums seem all that interesting, but sampling through the albums one-by-one, there are some real music and sonic gems in there, including:

Mari Kodama Beethoven Piano Sonatas 21, 23, 26 (for those who think most piano recordings sound thin and bodyless..)

Janowski Brahms Symphonies 1-3 (GREAT sound and music!)

Musica Pacifica "Fire Beneath My Fingers" (Everyone should have this as sonic and baroque reference)

I Furiosi "Crazy" (for something different yet intoxicating)

Divertimenti (for how strings *should* sound)

MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 Hartmut Haenchen (A must-have for Mahler fans)

Marta Gomez "Entre Cada Palabra" (beautiful voice)

Also, Boston Symphony website sells 24/88.2 KHz downloads for only $10, and I highly recommend the James Levine recordings of the Mahler 6th, Mozart chamber album, and Brahms German Requiem.

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Vista64 is the best Windows OS for music playback, in my experience. DirectSound sounds just as good as KernalStreaming, ASIO, and WASAPI to me (and to my wife, in blind tests). You will hear 10,000 opinions on here (and elsewhere) about what sounds best...but most of them are just someone's opinion, and remember that people tend to believe whatever they read last, so most of them are just echo'ing something that someone else told them. TRY THINGS OUT FOR YOURSELF, PREFERABLY USING BLIND TESTS (otherwise I guarantee you will hear whatever someone else told you to hear). Audio data-wise, CDs are really your only option right now unless you are really into music that nobody would buy if it weren't in HD. Aside from a couple of exceptions (the best one that comes to mind is the Plant/Krauss album that is available at HDTracks), the only way to get the music I actually like (and I like most everything, honestly) is from CDs (or downloading losslessly encoded CD-quality data from somewhere). By the way, I've also done blind tests with my wife using the Plant/Krauss album from CD (16/44) vs. the HDTracks 24/96 version...the differences were minimal (she actually preferred the CD version for a couple of songs)...so don't believe the hype about high-res until you can compare them (again...objectively...using blind tests) for yourself. My recommendation is to concentrate on equipment upgrades. The X-Fi sound card is the weak link in your system, no matter how great the computer gaming websites say it is (it is great for gaming, though). I'd consider something like a used Benchmark DAC1 USB so you can supply a decent analog output to your receiver. Beyond that, speakers and amp are most of the equation when it comes to high quality sound, in my experience. My breakdown of what is responsible for the sound you are ultimately hearing is something like this (assuming you're using losslessly encoded audio data that is arriving at the DAC without errors): Speakers: 80% Amp: 10% DAC: 8% Cables/Power: 2%

I agree with most of this except the DAC being only 8% important. I feel is is the starting point for good sound and having gone thru a few DAC's I can say there are big improvements to be had. I do agree that speakers/ headphones are most important though. I A/B tested (16/44.1 vs 24/96) a song from Carla Lother downloaded from HDTracks with my RS-1 headphones and could hear a slight improvement. I feel that the improvements can be heard and appreciated more the better your equipment. A decent soundcard like yours to a HT receiver will probably not reveal an improvement.
Buy used CD's from Amazon and eBay- I never pay more than $5-8/ shipped and I rip them and have a hard copy for the car.

 

[spacemanspliff]

I actually have a USB input on my receiver. One of maybe two receivers made lol. I think the other is an Outlaw? I use the x-fi for gaming purposes. I have yet to load any music on my hd yet.

Hmmm. I do not think I can use both usb and the x-fi without causing a conflict. Maybe I will try taking the x-fi out and just going usb out. Since eax is all software in Vista anyway.......

Still, what player works best? WMP is not an option? Or what? Thanks.

Oh and HD looks like a no go then. What is a good cd DL site then? We have zero good stores locally so I would like to be able hear a bit before I buy.

 

[tim3320070]

Amazon lets you sample most CD's before buying them- they are poor quality but it works. It's, IMO, is the best deal for buying CD's. I have had zero issues.
I have a Musical Fidelity V-DAC (USB DAC) that is quite good. They are $300 new. Huge amount of info on them on this site.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Amazon is good for me. Thanks, I will try them.

Um, guys/girls/things?/ let us pump the brakes a bit.

I have a really, really, decent dac in my receiver. It is on the level of the dac1 and also has usb input.

So, ditch the x-fi, go usb from the mobo? Not sure if that is best for gaming.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If I can make a semi-thread hijack, where can you (legally) download hi-rez? I've looked a few times but didn't find much. Also, how safe is your investment with these places? I one of them goes under or gets bought by some corporate tyrant who changes the TOS to make you pay more? Those are what worry me - I even knocked off buying from iTunes because I don't know if I'll be able to access my music in ten years. Which is why I've always kept CDs around. When I transition back into computer as source (the collection is getting too big), I plan to put my discs in storage as a backup. How do the rest of you handle that?

 

[Ham Sandwich]

J. River Media Center is my favorite player. It has great library and file management and I like browsing by cover art. It also does great playback (perfect gapless and bit-perfect). However, the Explorer extensions won't work in Vista 64 (they work in 32 bit only). So you lose the convenience of being able to right-click on a directory or file in Explorer and play it in J. River Media Center. They have plans to get Explorer extensions working in 64 bit, but I don't know when that will happen.

You can have multiple sound cards/interfaces in the computer. So you can have both the USB to the receiver and the X-Fi. One will be your default Windows system sound and the other(s) can be selected by audio applications that know how to select and use other available audio cards/interfaces.

The better media player programs can select which audio interface you want to use. The sucky ones (like iTunes) can only use the default Windows system sound card. So if you use J. River Media Center/Jukebox, Foobar2000, or one of the many other "better" media players you will be able to use both your X-Fi and USB and be able to switch between them.

 

[jacc1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I can make a semi-thread hijack, where can you (legally) download hi-rez? I've looked a few times but didn't find much. Also, how safe is your investment with these places? I one of them goes under or gets bought by some corporate tyrant who changes the TOS to make you pay more? Those are what worry me - I even knocked off buying from iTunes because I don't know if I'll be able to access my music in ten years. Which is why I've always kept CDs around. When I transition back into computer as source (the collection is getting too big), I plan to put my discs in storage as a backup. How do the rest of you handle that?

There are a few places where you can legally buy HD music. The two main ones are HDTracks and itracks. Your investment should be safe with either of these sites because they do not use DRM to encrypt or limit the files in any way. The files are available in either lossless flac or wav formats which if they ever become obsolete can simply be converted to whatever the new standard is.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Ok. I will give the J. River usb a try. Shouldn't be too difficult. I hope.

Hey, would you also use the usb for dvds? Or does it matter? Surround goes via usb just fine right?

 

[Ham Sandwich]

J. River Media Center can be difficult if you want to make it so. It is highly configurable with options for many choices. You can also get complex in how you choose to manage your library. But just installing it and getting going is easy and as you learn more you can choose to get complex if you want.

J. River Media Jukebox is a free version. It is audio only and limited in some options. J. River Media Center is the paid version. It does video as well as audio. Jukebox has ASIO if you want bit-perfect playback. Media Center 13 has both ASIO and WASAPI for bit-perfect playback.

You won't get surround sound over USB. The connection is likely USB 1 which does not have the bandwidth to handle surround sound. USB 2.0 has the bandwidth but I don't know of any USB 2.0 audio interfaces that support surround sound, and any that did would require custom drivers.

 

[apatN]

No just use your x-fi's s/pdif. Use foobar2000/Kernel Streaming with it and you are all set.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Just slapped Winamp on there and played some flac files I have. Very decent sound. I think an external headphone amp would add some dimension to the sound but very decent indeed for a receiver. Good enough for now anyway.

I have to finish the room. It is a friggin mess atm. So many damn boxes to move out! lol

Don't even want to think about placing my speakers. That is going to be a nightmare to get right.