[eron]

Quote:

No, the built in music player with allow playback of any resolution provided you have an idevice dac that's capable of that resolution. It's the internal dac that's the limiting factor. Even using flac player, the internal dac is still limiting high res playback and it will get downsampled.

 

So according to the guy below, it will all be down-sampled to 16/44.1? So high res .flac converted to AIFF should be good enough on a iDevice with no quality difference from playing from an iOS flac player?
Quote:

There are NO iPods at the moment that will play 24/96... the hardware does not support it, it's all down sampled to 16/44.1
The current Classic's can decode 24/48 but still down sample to 16/44.1 to play.
 
There is talk on here about the iPad 2 playing 24/96 through the Camera Connection Kit but the songs have to be encoded as AIFF and manually transfered to the iPad, iTunes will not sync the files...
 

 

[moodyrn]

That's correct, but bypassing the internal dac allows playback of high res files at its native bitrate. But for many people it's a matter of convenience by going with flac.

 

[AML1]

If this is the case, how come the folks at High Resolution Technologies say (the following is taken from the FAQ for the new iStreamer:
 

it is a high performance external sound card/audio interface that has been specifically designed to exclusively interface with modern iDevices such as the iPod Touch® (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen), iPod Classic®, iPod Nano® (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gen), iPhone 4®, iPhone 3GS®, iPhone 3G®, iPhone®, iPhone5®, iPad®, iPad (3G)®, iPad 2®, the New (2012) iPad®, and the iPad Mini®. The iStreamer AC redirects the digital music stream from the iDevice to itself, bypassing the iDevice’s own internal Digital-to-Analog converter (DAC) and uses its own DAC instead, taking over the job of decoding the digital bits into analog music, allowing a far higher level of sonic performance than if listening directly from an iDevice
 

*iDevices are limited by Apple to play music files with a maximum resolution of 16bit/48k, so one cannot play any “Hi-Res” files (24bit/96k, etc.). Basically, if you can load it onto or play through your iDevice, the iStreamer AC will play any given stored or streaming file at its full native resolution up to a max of 16bit/48k.

 

[moodyrn]

That's what I said. The devices(meaning hardware) are limited. That's why you need a compatible dac to bypass the internal dac. I think you are confusing hardware with software.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Here is some information regarding sample rates from the Hifi-M8 Blog
Make of them what you will
_______________________________________________________________________
 
Hifi-M8 blog 2013/05/07 (May).
http://centrance.com/products/new/blog/2013/05/07/questions-and-answers/
 
 
[size=13.333333015441895px] Yes, but for me, it’s not about what data bit rates the M8 is now capable of processing, but what the various legacy and current idevices are capable of transmitting to it.[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px] For the iUniverse, we can already play 16/24 bit files and 44.1 / 48 kHz Sampling Rates now. We are still working on higher res than that. It’s too early to tell which devices could do which things, but I’ve posted sometime back on the blog about the devices that “may” give you better resolution and those that will not, due to their internal limitations. Basically, consider that all iPads, phones above 3GS, and modern iPods, including Touches will be fine with higher res. Stuff prior to that, including classic iPad, is stuck at 16/44.1 or some such. Nothing we can do about that.[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px] For the USB Universe, we’ve been at 24/192 for awhile.[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px]  [/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px] ___________________________________________________________[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px]  [/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px] And an OLDER post (March 2013)[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px] http://centrance.com/products/new/blog/2013/03/15/status-report-part-3/#comments[/size]

[size=13.333333015441895px]  [/size]

Here are the questions:

Q: Will HiFi-M8 support 24/96 Audio from iDevices?

A: Well, well well… This one ended up being a can of worms…

We are committed to making HiFi-M8 the best portable DAC/Amp out there. That means that we are also committed to making it so that it can play the 24/96 content from your phone and tablet. We are trying hard to make that happen. We had to jump through some hoops and may have just devised a tricky way to enable 24/96 without losing support for older iPods.

These models will likely support 24/96:

iPhone 4 and up, iPad 2 and up, iPod 6G nano, iPod 4G touch.

After plowing through a lot of documentation, it would appear that other iDevices will be unable to play 24/96 content. This is not a CEntrance limitation, but an Apple limitation. Older products cannot do 24/96. By the way,we are talking about off-the-shelf product here, not modded or jail-broken units.

 

Q: Will HiFi-M8 support old iPods?

A: Now that we know what WILL support 24/96 we can by method of deduction also figure out which units will NOT support 24/96 (it’s all the other ones.)

For the sake of this conversation, we’ll call them “legacy products”. They will only support 16/44, and possibly 16/48. This includes most iPods and the early phones (3G and 3GS).  The legacy products communicate over an older mode, while the modern products communicate over a newer mode.

As mentioned above, we are devising an advanced detection scheme to determine which product is before us. Once you plug it in, we will perform some tests to see what you’ve plugged in and then switch our product into the appropriate mode.

Our goal with this (as with many other things) is to have the cake and eat it too. Has that modus operandi ever been in question?

[size=18.399999618530273px]2 Responses to this post.


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  Posted by expatinjapan on 15.03.13 at 12:42 am
  
  
  The question is :will these latest iphones/touch etc be able to play the 24/96 natively.
  In the past it has seemed that it is down sampled to 24/41
  
  
  
  
•  ​
  
  Posted by admin on 15.03.13 at 12:42 am
  
  
  We believe that moving forward more devices will offer native support for 24/96. However, this is Apple’s domain…
  
  _____________________________________________________________
  
   
  
  
   
  [size=13.600000381469727px]`For the iUniverse, we can already play 16/24 bit files and 44.1 / 48 kHz Sampling Rates now.`
  [/size]
  
  
•  

 

[pspivak]

I too look forward to the high resolution capabilities of the HiFi M8, but that is not the only reason I have invested in it.


Just because something is recorded is high resolution does not necessarily mean that it will sound great. A high resolution poor recording (poorly balanced, bad mastering, not great source material) will still be a poor recording.



I look forward to listening to music.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

I too look forward to the high resolution capabilities of the HiFi M8, but that is not the only reason I have invested in it.
Just because something is recorded is high resolution does not necessarily mean that it will sound great. A high resolution poor recording (poorly balanced, bad mastering, not great source material) will still be a poor recording.
I look forward to listening to music.

+1.

The conversation is about sample rates at the moment and the possible technological boundaries and capabilities of the Hifi-M8.......of course our preference is to listen to well recorded, well mastered recordings and with that we would also like the chance/and or option to listen to them using higher sample rates.

Considering the past limitations of idevice capable dac/amps it is a curiousity many of us pre-order folks want answered, hopefully in the affirmative towards higher rates.

Is more better?, not always - but in this case maybe yes.

But as you wrote in the end is it about the music, hopefully well recorded, well masteredand in high native bitrates

 

[pspivak]

+1.

The conversation is about sample rates at the moment and the possible technological boundaries and capabilities of the Hifi-M8.......of course our preference is to listen to well recorded, well mastered recordings and with that we would also like the chance/and or option to listen to them using higher sample rates.

 
Me too. I just don't want to loose sight of my "primary objective". And thanks for the first impressions from the show.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Me too. I just don't want to loose sight of my "primary objective". And thanks for the first impressions from the show.

yes, it can be easy to fall for chasing the 'audio rainbow' and i have been guilty of that myself, when it all comes together though - audio/music, gear and technology .....bliss.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

I too look forward to the high resolution capabilities of the HiFi M8, but that is not the only reason I have invested in it.  
 
 
Just because something is recorded is high resolution does not necessarily mean that it will sound great. A high resolution poor recording (poorly balanced, bad mastering, not great source material) will still be a poor recording.
 
 
 
I look forward to listening to music.

Well said.  I down sample my 24/96 to 24/44.1 for iTunes / portable.  When played back to back through the same rig, I can't tell the difference.  In *most* cases, the 24/96 is maybe better recorded and mastered, so that is why I am buying most of my new music in 24/96 FLAC.  I also go straight to ALAC, and just keep the FLAC for archival protection.  Bottom line to me is that the format is not that important to me, s long as it sounds good.
 
EDIT - I listened to "Trampled Rose" on the Raising Sand album (Allison Krauss / Robert Plant) back to back 24/44.1, 24/96, 24/44.1 again.  Used iTunes with Bit Perfect (Bit Perfect is a cool app store app ($10) developed to allow bit perfect data transmission, and on the fly sample rate and bit depth switching with iTunes - check it out).  I could not really tell a difference.  *Maybe* the 24/96 sounded a bit blacker between the notes, with a better noise floor, but most likely not, just placebo.  Anyway, it was fun, and I now have zero issue with downsampling the 24/96 to 24/44.1.  And yes, I will still continue to buy music in 24/96 FLAC for the reasons stated above.  Would a *better* rig change the outcome?  Maybe.

 

[InternetSandman]

I haven't read through the entire thread so forgive me if this question has already been answered, but does the HiFi m8 have a release date yet, whether confirmed or just speculative?

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

I haven't read through the entire thread so forgive me if this question has already been answered, but does the HiFi m8 have a release date yet, whether confirmed or just speculative?

I'm going to bug Mr. Goodman a lil bit (we're on the headphone panel together at T.H.E Show Newport in 2 weeks) - see where the HiFi-M8 is in terms of production!
I've been waiting, drooling more like it...

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

Quote:

I haven't read through the entire thread so forgive me if this question has already been answered, but does the HiFi m8 have a release date yet, whether confirmed or just speculative?

 
They are running with an "Its ready when its ready" attitude currently.  The blog hints once in a while, but nothing definite.  I'm one of the last pre-orders, and I'm not expecting anything till July/August.  And I wouldn't be surprised if I had to wait longer...

 

[bmichels]

2 very Quick questions:
- what chip is used for the DAC ?
- does it has Line-in for use With an external DAC ?

 

[placebo-fi]

Hey Michael, for the Hifi-M8 version with the 3.5mm/toslink combo jack, does the optical output works with a computer source? I would like to use the Hifi-M8 as a USB to Toslink converter to feed my receiver, if possible.