bigshot
Headphoneus Supremus
I would think that the sound measuring stuff by MiniDSP would be at least in the ballpark of correct for noise floor. I can't see the image though. What was the reading?
How are you finding the lossy tracks above 128 in the listening test I sent you? Have you determined your threshold for the three codecs there yet? When you're done, I'll let you know what other people have found. There is a range but it's narrower than you would expect.
I find that computers are really a troublesome source of ambient noise, and we are all using them now for media consumption. I struggled to build a desktop computer that was inaudible from listening range at low/medium work loads. The loudest component is the PSU, and it's not fan noise, just hum. I'm very happy with what I accomplished, partially by using fans that shift the noise to a lower, less detectable frequency. But even though I dropped the computer a few db, I still have a minimum ambient of 31db in my house because of the damn roads nearby. In rush hour it gets to 35db, but when there is little traffic I can occasionally see noise floors just below 30db. That's not with an expensive mic though, so the numbers might be off.
Anyway, if anybody wants any help with computer cooling, feel free to PM me, I love the subject matter, and am always happy to give people some pointers on lowering computer ambient noise.
I do have a quick suggestion there......
The computer I currently use to play music is a Raspberry Pi.... running Volumio.
It's about three times the size of a deck of cards.... and totally silent (no fans or other moving parts).
I have a USB hard drive connected directly to it; and it's connected to my pre/pro via USB.
(Volumio plays FLAC and all the other popular formats..... )
Volumio is free, and the Raspberry Pi (including a case and power supply) is about $60 total.
For a minimalist, and totally silent, solution it really is hard to beat.
it just suggests that the self generated noise is really close to the noise in the room despite measuring close to the computer, so not a "quiet" room. I don't get much improvement from a physical seal and isolation of the mic(of all the mic not only the opening for the capsule). I'm using a Behringer EMC8000 and someone reported it to have 32dBA of noise floor. which is weirdly in line with what I just got(mine isn't weighted).I would think that the sound measuring stuff by MiniDSP would be at least in the ballpark of correct for noise floor. I can't see the image though. What was the reading?
There is a broad range of rates and codecs there. The point is to find your level of transparency. Artifacts are artifacts. They are either there or they aren’t. The differences between the samples aren’t a graduated scale like frequency imbalances or distortion levels. We’re talking here about either/or... either there are artifacts, or there is sufficient bandwidth to reproduce the sound transparently. You will be able to tell if it doesn’t matter or not.
When the test is done, you can pull the file apart and A/B them against the known lossless file using foobar, but if there are no artifacts, the results will be the same.
ABX testing is not fun to me, especially when you're close to the threshold of audibility and really have to strain to hear any difference.
It's not. All of those mics, and even really good measurement mics like the Earthworks M30 ($700), are too noisy for good room noise measurements. It's the 1/4" capsules. The good low noise measurement mics, like the B&K 4179 capsule, are all 1" capsules and very expensive. But then you get -5.5dBA. Otherwise all the 1/2" stuff is 14-18dBA, and the 1/4" stuff is in the 20+ range.I would think that the sound measuring stuff by MiniDSP would be at least in the ballpark of correct for noise floor. I can't see the image though. What was the reading?