The Computer Audiophile Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I'm with you on that, as I am interested in the truth and reality as well. It does get difficult when discussing subjective items like the sound of speakers, amps, DACs etc... Of course we all have different ears as well. Maybe that's another reason for blind testing :-| Personally I like to listen to components or music for an extended period of time over the course of days or weeks or even months. After this time it is easier to spot weaknesses and strengths. It's kind of similar to when CDs first came out on this day in 1982 (happy birthday CD). Many people in the high-end industry thought it was the best sound they'd ever heard. The a few weeks later they realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The new Abso!ute Sound has a little paragraph in an interview about this exact CD situation. Anyway, good conversation mpmct! Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
mpmct Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Chris, nice to have a civilized conversation about all this, thanks for that. Again, I look forward with anticipation to more and more top-shelf recordings, and in hi-def -- with sincere hopes they will be that much better sounding. If they are, I'm in with the first of 'em. :-) If the nice people at Reference Recordings suggest that their hi-def versions deliver up even more than their excellent 16/44s, I'm definitely in for the look-see, when I have the equipment. Best regards, Michael Link to comment
[email protected] Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hey. I was interested in the software you used to achieve the import to iTunes. I am having mixed success. SOme work like a charm and I can verify it in the Summary page of Get Info. Others just refuse to import. Some of my 24/96 Flac files I downloaded will play in FLac. I can covert to aiff and play them as well. I am using the finder quicklook. I took your lead and converted to 24/96 Wav. On none of these can I import to iTunes. It just does nothing. Please decribe your software and settings so I can copy what you did. Thanks Getting back into High end audio after divorce. Link to comment
watchnerd Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I convert from FLAC to ALAC using XLD. These all import into iTunes (on OSX) just fine, even crazy huge files like 24bit/192khz files. No playback issues to report. However, what they won't do is play back on iOS devices at that bit rate. MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
[email protected] Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hello and thanks for your reply. XLD is one of the software solutions that I am using. The other is Soundconverter. I am also running LION on a 2010 Mac mini. Last night, I was able to load these huge Flac files into iTunes. here is my experience. I acquired these FlAC Files: Queen A Night at the Opera 24bit 96khz 5.1 DTS Eagles Hotel California 24bit 96khz 5.1 DTS George Benson Breezin' 24bit 96khz Clark Terry One on One 24bit 96khz I cannot convert directly to ALAC from FLAC on any of these. The file produced plays from Quicktime 7 player and from Finder, but will not import into iTunes. AIFF fails to play for these as well, although I can import them. Other Flac files that are 16 bit,44khz/96khz will import fine, but I have to take an intermediate step of converting to WAV. I found that if I converted to WAV first, as suggested here, I am able to import into iTunes and convert to ALAC there. So I found a reasonable workaround. Then I listened to the files from the 5.1 FLAC. The conversion process seems to have used only the front channels and thrown out the back channels. Of course, I don't have a 5.1 setup, so I am only guessing. They make for an interesting listening experience. When I play the original FLAC 5.1 files on VLC, everything appears normal. Conclusion Lion, may be causing problems with XLD and Soundconverter on direct FLAC to ALAC conversion. Don't bother trying to convert FLAC 5.1 files. If I can find burning software that will allow these to be played in my Oppo 83, then that will be a good alternative. FLAC to Wav seems to be a working alternative. The files play well and using Audirvana they sound fantastic, even though they may have lost some quality in the double transcode. Thanks to you and everyone that has provided guidance doing this. I am now scouring the web for high quality 24/96 files of my favorite music that I own on CD. The improvement over ripping from CD is significant. While I am still in the process of rebuilding my sound system, I listen to music using my Mac Mini, iTunes, Audirvana player to Beresford Caiman Gatorized. For critical listening I use Ultrasone 2900 cans. Getting back into High end audio after divorce. Link to comment
James1776 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Your 24/192 files on the iPOD are being reduced to 16/44.1 for playback... Ceasarnotary, I download all my Hi-Rez to my J-River MC system in FLAC, then I use the program to convert a copy to WAV which I load on a flash drive for my iMAC based system and have no problem at all with that. That said, iPOD's do not do Hi-Rez. I have found you an argument; I am not obliged to find you any understanding – Samuel Johnson Link to comment
watchnerd Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 "Your 24/192 files on the iPOD are being reduced to 16/44.1 for playback..." It would if I would let it. But I turned off the downsample feature, so it just refuses to sync them. However, 24/192 plays just fine with external DAC. MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
James1776 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 why do you think you have 24/192 files on the iPOD? I have found you an argument; I am not obliged to find you any understanding – Samuel Johnson Link to comment
watchnerd Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I don't and never said I did. MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
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