Mac Pro (before 2014) works

[Superdad]

I think A+ loads songs directly to RAM from the FW drive. ... I run the MP headless and can use ethernet instead of wifi. I am also curious about HQ Player, though it may not be as user-friendly as A+.

 

Hi Jerry:

 

What machine do you use for headless control of your Mac Pro? If it is another Mac on a desk, than you ought to check out my direct Ethernet tricks at:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f8-general-forum/uh-oh-i-beat-my-sd-card-trick%3B-bypass-your-ethernet-switch-and-make-your-external-drives-sound-close-ram-disk-using-apple-thunderbolt-ethernet-adaptor-and-second-network-connection-18475/

 

And as a long-time A+ user (and the first to proclaim 1.5.10 the SQ champ), I can assure you that despite its memory pre-loading, the live interfaces connected to the computer still matter. Please skim my extensive report on FireWire drives (mostly OWC like you use coincidentally) at:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f8-general-forum/my-deep-dive-media-storage-interfaces-musical-differences-heard-between-chipsets-firewire-400-800-universal-serial-bus-industry-standard-cables-connectors-and-communications-protocols-between-computers-and-electronic-devices-sata-flash-drives-sd-cards-and-network-shares-warning-may-cause-seizures-dbt-crowd-and-flat-earth-naysayers-18108/

 

I'd mention SD card booting, but I see that the Mac Pro lacks an SDXC card slot.

 

And yes, HQ Player is a different interface that A+, but is not that much different in operation to the pre-2.0 A+. From an SQ standpoint I find that A+ does a better job getting around CoreAudio than HQP (unless I use my music mini as a Linux/NAA). But HQ Player's Polysinc filters are better than anything that can be accomplished with iZotope in A+. And I am just talking PCM here.

For those with DSD capable DACs, Miska's extraordinary SDM algorithms--taking Redbook up to whatever max rate your DSD DAC can handle, and doing so all in one step (that's where your computer horsepower comes in handy!)--are what put HQP on an entirely different plateau than other players.

 

Ciao,

AJC

[jerry_rig]

Hi Alex,

 

I'm using my 2012 Mackbook Pro Retina and Screen Share to control the MP. It has one Thunderbolt and no ethernet port, though I do have a TB to ethernet adapter. Not sure how the direct ethernet trick would work. My 480 GB OWC external SSD drive has only FW 800, ESATA or USB 2.0 connection. I have a collection of DSD files ripped from SACDs with my PS3 and they sound simply amazing.

 

Jerry

[Superdad]

Hi Alex,

 

I'm using my 2012 Mackbook Pro Retina and Screen Share to control the MP. It has one Thunderbolt and no ethernet port, though I do have a TB to ethernet adapter. Not sure how the direct ethernet trick would work. My 480 GB OWC external SSD drive has only FW 800, ESATA or USB 2.0 connection.

 

Jerry:

Yeah, my direct Ethernet trick won't work for you with a laptop that does not have a native port. I tried the Thunderbolt>Ethernet Adapter as the desktop side port and the SQ was a big step backwards (so I use the adapter for my desktop machine's connection to the LAN and web--and share it with the music mini via the switchless EN>EN connection).

 

The other thing I am curious about is how you are attaching your OWC SSD to your new Mac Pro since that computer does not have FireWire or eSATA ports. If you are connecting via USB, then you real may want to switch to a Thunderbolt enclosure as using USB ports for drives when your DAC is USB has, in my experience, been a big hit to SQ. Of course I have no experience with the new Mac Pro, so I won't presume to say anything definitive.

The easiest way for you to test this is just to put a few tracks on the computer's internal drive and then unhook the USB drive entirely. That should tell you right away about any differences.

 

Regards,

--Alex C.

[jerry_rig]

The other thing I am curious about is how you are attaching your OWC SSD to your new Mac Pro since that computer does not have FireWire or eSATA ports.

 

I am using Apple's FW 800 to TB adapter cable. It seems to work well.

[Superdad]

I am using Apple's FW 800 to TB adapter cable. It seems to work well.

 

Makes sense. Enjoy your system!