itunes & stereo speakers - beyond Airport Express Base Station

[lovinthehd]

Aah, you had better research this some more. It is NOT Lossless. It fits in an M4 container, does not use error correction, in fact it was developed to be the audio component of quicktime which is a lossy compressed audio video format. It is NOT like a zip unzip file. It uses "prediction" processing which ls not even close to Linear PCM. It was developed to be a replacement with better fidelity for MP3 files but I actually prefer MP3's that are encoded with the LAME encoders at "insane" levels 320kb per second. But those still do not sound as good as uncompressed files. My acoustic stuff was designed to meet my own maniacal standards and have been proven in top recording studios. That is incidentally my background. I ran a company in the 70's and 80's that designed, equipped and installed the largest recording studios in Nashville. Have you ever heard an Ampex ATR100 1/2 inch two track playing masters? If not you need to find a new reference point for your comparisons.


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Not deep into the ALAC construction but from what I've read it is similar to FLAC, simply a lossless encoding, just particular to Apple. Shouldn't sound any different in any case. It should yield the same original file on unpacking. Please cite some actual sources for your information if you don't mind....

 

[SRL Acoustics]

Why add another "pre amp" into the mix? The simplest way to stream audio is from the source is via dlna client like serviio to a headend like chromecast, nvidia sheild, etc. and you can cover video as well with some. DSD and other high resolution audio is simple playback of source material

The Focusrite is not acting as a preamp. It is performing the digital to analog conversion with great precision. Then you run the analog signal to your preamp with high quality wiring. It would sound GOOD.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Focusrite is not acting as a preamp. It is performing the digital to analog conversion with great precision. Then you run the analog signal to your preamp with high quality wiring. It would sound GOOD.

Define high quality wiring. You mean sufficient?

 

[SRL Acoustics]

Define high quality wiring. You mean sufficient?

I use Mogami cable with silver soldered connectors such as Neutrik brand.

 

[lovinthehd]

I use Mogami cable with silver soldered connectors such as Neutrik brand.

Thought you might be referring to cable foolishness...I'd just consider that sufficient. Now back to ALAC being audibly different let alone a different file upon unpacking....

 

[Irvrobinson]

Aah, you had better research this some more. It is NOT Lossless. It fits in an M4 container, does not use error correction, in fact it was developed to be the audio component of quicktime which is a lossy compressed audio video format. It is NOT like a zip unzip file. It uses "prediction" processing which ls not even close to Linear PCM. It was developed to be a replacement with better fidelity for MP3 files but I actually prefer MP3's that are encoded with the LAME encoders at "insane" levels 320kb per second. But those still do not sound as good as uncompressed files. My acoustic stuff was designed to meet my own maniacal standards and have been proven in top recording studios. That is incidentally my background. I ran a company in the 70's and 80's that designed, equipped and installed the largest recording studios in Nashville. Have you ever heard an Ampex ATR100 1/2 inch two track playing masters? If not you need to find a new reference point for your comparisons.

ALAC is lossless; you're all mixed up, and you've apparently misinterpreted the Wiki page.

 

[SRL Acoustics]

Not deep into the ALAC construction but from what I've read it is similar to FLAC, simply a lossless encoding, just particular to Apple. Shouldn't sound any different in any case. It should yield the same original file on unpacking. Please cite some actual sources for your information if you don't mind....

It is not totally like FLAC. FLAC is a true zip unzip process that takes significant processing. ALAL is a compressed format that uses light processing because it is not totally unzipping. They are spreading misinformation. It uses "prediction" processing which estimates future signal based on past signals. This is a form of interpolation that is not accurate. This would never pass a null test with an AiFF signal. This much is on Wikipedia. You have to dig through the footnotes to get all the information but I would advise not to use it to store a cd or album collection. Disk space is cheap. Store uncompressed signals.

 

[lovinthehd]

It is not totally like FLAC. FLAC is a true zip unzip process that takes significant processing. ALAL is a compressed format that uses light processing because it is not totally unzipping. They are spreading misinformation. It uses "prediction" processing which estimates future signal based on past signals. This is a form of interpolation that is not accurate. This would never pass a null test with an AiFF signal. This much is on Wikipedia. You have to dig through the footnotes to get all the information but I would advise not to use it to store a cd or album collection. Disk space is cheap. Store uncompressed signals.

I don't use apple at all, iTunes in my opinion simply sucks. Not planning on reading thru wikipedia to support your claim in any case either.

 

[SRL Acoustics]

see below post

Hey there, "Lossless" is complete misnomer for ALAC. I made no mistake in the encoding, I used the best compressed format in iTunes on the Mac which they touted as ALAC and AIFF for the identical track. The difference was clearly audible to me. Cymbals had sort of "zipper" sound on the ALAC, so I didn't even make it past the intro to call it off. The Mp3's I was referring were encoded with the LAME encoders. Google that. That is more recent technology that uses the MP3 container but is totally new software that uses advanced concepts that are still being refined see http://lame.sourceforge.net I used it in Audacity, a free editing program, and the LAME encoder is a free plugin for that platform. ALAC is nowhere to be found with audio pros.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hey there, "Lossless" is complete misnomer for ALAC. I made no mistake in the encoding, I used the best compressed format in iTunes on the Mac which they touted as ALAC and AIFF for the identical track. The difference was clearly audible to me. Cymbals had sort of "zipper" sound on the ALAC, so I didn't even make it past the intro to call it off. The Mp3's I was referring were encoded with the LAME encoders. Google that. That is more recent technology that uses the MP3 container but is totally new software that uses advanced concepts that are still being refined see http://lame.sourceforge.net I used it in Audacity, a free editing program, and the LAME encoder is a free plugin for that platform. ALAC is nowhere to be found with audio pros.

Well, it's not a misnomer as it stands for Apple Lossless Audio Codec So you haven't actually compared files? Just used your "ears"?

 

[SRL Acoustics]

I don't use apple at all, iTunes in my opinion simply sucks. Not planning on reading thru wikipedia to support your claim in any case either.

Where do think ALAC came from? Apple! I don't use iTunes either. Not for music playback. I use Signalyst HD player, the most advanced available. But it reads the iTunes library format. which I have 1 Terabyte of uncompressed AIFF files. I see, so you read the headlines, but don't bother to ask questions and dig out the truth.

 

[SRL Acoustics]

Well, it's not a misnomer as it stands for Apple Lossless Audio Codec So you haven't actually compared files? Just used your "ears"?

I could run a null test on the signals I have the software that can do that but what is the point? I already know they would not be identical files and I also know that the sound I heard with my ears told me what I needed to know. Do you not trust your ears? Do you buy audio equipment based solely on the spec sheets? I sure don't because all equipment sounds great based on the spec sheets. But I hear vast differences between different brands of the same thing. I have spent my life in music and professional audio. To do that you HAVE to use your ears. They are your greatest asset.

 

[lovinthehd]

I could run a null test on the signals I have the software that can do that but what is the point? I already know they would not be identical files and I also know that the sound I heard with my ears told me what I needed to know. Do you not trust your ears? Do you buy audio equipment based solely on the spec sheets? I sure don't because all equipment sounds great based on the spec sheets. But I hear vast differences between different brands of the same thing. I have spent my life in music and professional audio. To do that you HAVE to use your ears. They are your greatest asset.

We're talking about whether the file is the same on unpacking....not your aural fantasies.

 

[lovinthehd]

We're talking about whether the file is the same on unpacking....not your aural fantasies.

Oh I'm so hurt you disagree. You can't answer the question apparently.

 

[highfigh]

FWIW bluetooth and wifi aren't the same. Bluetooth isn't quite as hi-fi in any case. Altho not familiar with Apple Airplay particularly pretty sure it's wifi based, not bluetooth.

Bluetooth has come a long, long way in the last couple of years.

 

[everettT]

The Focusrite is not acting as a preamp. It is performing the digital to analog conversion with great precision. Then you run the analog signal to your preamp with high quality wiring. It would sound GOOD.

But if your preamp or avr is running say XT32, then it would convert back to d to digital again. Not many units with multi channel analog inputs either and most also apply processing also. The preamp comments where in quotes as some of their products act as a preamp as well.

 

[SRL Acoustics]

But if your preamp or avr is running say XT32, then it would convert back to d to digital again. Not many units with multi channel analog inputs either and most also apply processing also. The preamp comments where in quotes as some of their products act as a preamp as well.

That is to say microphone preamp.