Article: The exaSound PlayPoint Stereo/Multichannel Streamer Review

[IslandMD]

George, congratulations on developing such a versatile, cutting edge product.

 

Of the available options my preference would be to use the PlayPoint as a UPnP renderer. I prefer my DLNA server to be JRiver running on a HTPC because Minimserver still does not support SACD iso files (AFAIK) and I have too many SACD iso files to consider ripping them to dsf. In addition, I think that JRemote is far nicer than BubbleUPnP as a control point.

 

Regarding gapless support, I understand from the article that Ted has tested the Minimserver + BubbleUPnP combo which does provide gapless. However, this does not mean that JRiver/JRemote will play gapless. I know this because of my recent experience with the new Cambridge Audio 851N streamer which played gapless with BubbleUPnP but not with JRemote.

 

George or Ted, have either of you tested gapless with JRiver/JRemote?

[IslandMD]

Thanks George. I've found that one of the best ways to batch extract dsf from SACD iso files is using JRiver. Even so, the process is long and tedious since the program just outputs a string of dsf files. The proper artist and album folders need to be reconstructed manually. In addition, the dsf files need re-tagging as well. Still, it's something that I will eventually get around to doing once I finish extracting all my DVD-A iso files.

 

Assuming I don't mind using DSD over DoP and I don't have any DSD files sampled > DSD 64, will the PP do gapless with JRiver/JRemote?

[IslandMD]

Thanks Ted. After writing my post I did some research on this site regarding SACD conversion and learned about the various pitfalls, including JRiver converting DSD to PCM before DSF and the potential SACD > DSF clicking issue. Luckily I never got past the testing stage for SACD conversion and still use my iso files with JRiver. Even more luckily I've now learned about (Computer Audiophile user) Bogi's SACD conversion tool that converts SACD>DFF>DSF to avoid the clicking issue and also automatically writes tags from the iso to the DSF. A very nice solution if it works well. Have you tried it?

 

For DVD-A iso conversion I use Foobar to create multichannel FLAC files. This works very well and the resulting files play properly. As anyone who has looked at the native tagging found on DVD-A iso disks knows the tags are often a mess. In addition, there is generally no standardized DVD-A disk layout. Many contain various combinations of stereo, multichannel, alternate versions, redundant tracks, set-up tracks, etc. so any attempt at batch conversion will probably produce an unusable mess. As a result, my first step was to create accurate tags in Foobar and separate each DVD-A iso into it's constituent parts using Foobar's tagging tool. Then I would use Foobar to convert each iso into it's stereo or multichannel component (leaving behind the garbage tracks often found on these disks) and finally re-tag the FLAC files so that they are properly searchable in my collection.

 

The process for DVD-A is labour intensive but produces great results. Unfortunately (fortunately?) my SACD iso collection is more than twice as large and I wouldn't want to attempt to convert it without a batch process.

[IslandMD]

Sorry Ted. I can't agree on the ripping issue. Once your DVD-A iso files are properly tagged in Foobar using it's built-in tagging tools, it's a lot easier to rip DVD-A iso files compared to using DVD Audio Extractor. I've tried both. Of course, Foobar is unbelievably configurable and the ease of use will really depend on how your metadata is displayed and how the GUI is configured. A huge bonus is that once the DVD-A iso files are properly tagged in Foobar the converted tracks are also properly tagged and require almost no further work.