Optimizing input to Audiolab 8200CDQ?

[Musicophile]

Some recommendations, having been through a similar process earlier this year:

 

Airplay is not the best way to get optimum SQ. I have an Apple TV, and used to have an Airport Express. Very decent for occasional listening, but it get's much better with a direct connection.

 

A dedicated player is a must for a Mac. My recommendation goes to Audirvana Plus, especially the latest beta with Integer mode (it will be released as official new version soon). Made a great upgrade in SQ for me. PureMusic and Amarra are good alternatives, and all have free trials.

 

A further major improvement on my system was the USB/SPDIF thingy indeed, as you can see from my signature, a BelCanto mlink. Made a great difference on my system.

 

On the USB cable front, I'm more of a sceptic, but nevertheless got myself the cheapest Audioquest 1 for the looks and 2 for the peace of mind.

[Musicophile]

No! Right now I'm testing using a laptop right up next to the stereo. But the USB cable I grabbed is longish so I'll look for a short one.

 

But I do have some faint hope of getting bits from my desktop on the third floor catwalk down to the stereo without buying (yet) another computer just for playing audio. If it's not possible now would be a good time for me to hear that!

 

Long cables are always tricky. For USB it is pretty clear, it's specs pretty much forbid long distance. With properly implemented SPDIF it should in theory be possible, although I don't know anybody who tried.

[Musicophile]

If true this certainly would cheer me up: "Why longer is generally better for an S/PDIF Digital Cable" spdif

 

S..t and I just got myself a 0.75m BNC cable for my BelCanto.i just hope that my transitions are fast enough...

 

Half knowledge is dangerous, I'm afraid my system will sound worse to me now...

[Musicophile]

Never heard of that issue before. Are you sure it's Audirvana causing this?

[Musicophile]

That's this weekend's conundrum. I'll post a shortlist for testing and if you all have any advice--e.g. the Bel Canto mlink is the one I can get brought in by a local dealer; what would you compare it with for someone focused on classical listening, and particularly keen on timbre (nothing makes me happier than comparing instruments and thinking I'm hearing the varnish on the violin or the particular quality of one renaissance flute manufacturer vs another) and also all the usual stuff of soundstage, dynamic musicality and "being thereness"...

 

As you can see from my signature, I have the mLink and am extremely happy with it. To be fair, I wasn't able to compare it to any other SPDIF converter, but at least vs. the USB of my Exposure it was night and day.

 

The Belcantos are the newest on the market, only launched a couple of months ago, so there are no comparative reviews out there yet. However, from the extensive discussions on this forum, I'd be tempted to say you'd be safe if you compare it just to the Audiophilleo 2, they have a 30 day return policy with free shipping to Canada. This seems to be the current reference mid-price USB-SPDIF converter, and would set you back $579, vs. the $399 for the Belcanto.

 

Alternatively, if your dealer has it, the Belcano uLink, which Blake on this forum just got and is extremely happy with. The difference between the mlink and the ulink is an even better clock, and optical out. Here we're talking about $699 though.

[Musicophile]

Can they both be run without an S/PDIF cable? The Audiophileo says that explicitly (and comes with the USB cable)./QUOTE]

 

Belcanto needs an external SPDIF cable so you need to calculate this into the cost equation. Also, there's no USB cable with it.

 

However, didn't I understand correctly from your previous posts that you'd need a significant length of cable between computer and DAC anyhow?

[Musicophile]

No idea, you'd need to try. I'm surprised however that your Audiolab still sounds better from CD than when used with Audirvana. Must be a pretty good internal CD unit or a pretty weak USB implementation.

[Musicophile]

I haven't got the usb/spdif yet--somewhat distracted by downloading my first hi res files. Yikes! Amazing! Uh oh! Doesn't it get hard to listen to your old collection? Good thing it's "holidays" i.e. research time when I can work at home.

 

Arias for Guadagni - CDA67924 - Hyperion Records - MP3 and Lossless downloads

 

I took the mac mini downstairs for a direct USB hookup to the 8200CDQ and now the 2 downloads from HDTracks won't play (they do nothing, or play a couple of seconds and skip all over to other tracks) and the tracks from Hyperion have chuff-chuff sounds that come with an "error" reading on the 8200CDQ panel.

 

Are there a tips and tricks for optimizing I should know about?

 

You may want to clarify your playback setup. Is it still Audrivana?