Lizard_King Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Hello All, I am sure most of you remember my earlier postings. A Buddy of mine brought over a Power book G4 aluminum 1.67 GHz laptop and i liked it . We hooked it up to my system and the SQ was good, very close to my Think-pad . I just last night, picked up a 15 Inch, aluminum Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz , dual layer DVD/Cd burner, 100 GB hard drive, etc. I installed Play and is much better than Itunes for SQ. I have listened streaming FLAC files from my desktop and the mac speakers sound good. I am using Tiger 10.4 and this unit can go up to 10.5 Leopard. I will place it is my system , probably this weekend. I am having fun with it, it is new for me. I have the Hi resolution version so the screen looks nice. I need to do a little work on this unit and will probably need as new battery. More to come. Are you surprised that I am now using a mac which is my third computer? Liz Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
cfmsp Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 "Are you surprised that I am now using a mac which is my third computer?" Yes, and No. enjoy yourself, clay Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 "Lizard King has a Mac - Alert the media!" I'll start working on the press release. Keep us up to date on your impressions and the experience. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hey Chris, The Powerbook G4 is nice . I have not placed it into my main system yet, hopeful to do that this weekend. When I stream FLAC files over wireless , the sound on the laptop is really nice. Do you know if I can use my external hard drive which uses NTFS and uses that which a drive on the Mac that can read NTFS without and danger of hurting me hard drive? Liz Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 As long as you just connect the drive and read from it you'll have no issues. Fortunately OS X can only read NTFS so it's even better. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Hey Chris, here is my results from first test. I did try a portable hard drive (USB) on both USB inputs on the mac and in both times, there was not enough power to spin the drive up. The person that sold this Mac laptop told my I will probably have to replace the Power (DC In) board as told her by Apple. I hooked the Mac into the system last night with my DAC on the left USB input and my external hard drive (NTFS) on the right USB input. I could not open the largest folder yet I saw the name and the report was zero items. I used the smaller folders and played 4-5 songs and listened. The Mac did not sound as good as my friends did in my stem a short time ago. I tried the DAC into the right USB input and I could not connect the DAC as the computer did not see the unit. No doubt, I must replace the power (DC in) board as the USB connections are not giving out enough power. That also affects the battery so I probably will have to replace the battery. I am thinking about the Newer technology battery as opposed to the Apple battery. What do you think of that that? Liz Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Lizard King... A lot of older laptops (both Mac and various PC ones) didn't have enough power to run portable (USB powered) HDD via USB. I',m not sure replacing the power board would work - can you add a AC PSU to your portable HDD (you can with most I've come across). Occasionally you can get adaptor cables that allow you to take power from 2 USB ports. Eloise Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Elf, I have been using the AC adaptor the whole time. I must replace the Power (DC in) board as I can't carge the battery or get enough power to the USB ports. Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 An update so far. I am really digging use this older Powerbook G4. I have ordered and received, a new Power (DC -IN ) board and a hook/latch assembly. I have looked at manuals and videos for replacing the board and it will be a pain in the butt. I have listened to music both as Cds and as files ripped and i feel that the current stable version of Play is a much better sounding then Itunes. I use Leopard 10.5.8 as the OS and like it better than Tiger. I am told by the guru the music will sound better with leopard. He also tells me that my unit will sound better than a Mac Book/Mac Book Pro. I have heard that Atlantic Records engineer Barry Diamente uses a aluminum Powerbook g4. I will go over a friends and within his workshop, we will replace the board and hook. Once i can get that done and get a working battery, That should improve the SQ even more. This Mac has the potential to replace my IBM stink pad with Windows XP SP3 fully tweaked for Audio. Are there any tweaks that I should use for the Mac like disabling Spotlight a or journaling? The laptop does not have IR port. From what I can tell, the Apple Remote transmits using IR. I can use blue tooth so the thought of using an Itouch is a possibility. Does anyone have any suggestions for a Remote control that I can use one day with play, not Itunes? More to come. Liz Out Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
cfmsp Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Lead the way, Liz! "I have heard that Atlantic Records engineer Barry Diamente uses a aluminum Powerbook g4." You can ask Barry, he posts here regularly, although I'm not sure he's using this particular model for any reason related to audio performance. clay Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Hey Clay, A buddy of mine uses the same DAC as you and also has a 15 inch aluminum Powerbook G4. He brought that front end over to my place last month and i have to say via Fire wire , it sounded good. A little different from my setup yet good. Do you know BD's SN here on CA? Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
cfmsp Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 "Do you know BD's SN here on CA?" Just search CA for Diament, then you can PM him. OR, just create a new thread with Metric Halo in the title. ;0 clay PS, yeah, I love my Macs -> Firewire -> Metric Halo EDIT: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/users/bdiament Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted March 11, 2010 Author Share Posted March 11, 2010 The mac is being repaired! Mother Nature has been cruel (water in the home) so my main system is down for now.Once i get that up and get my Mac into the system, I should be rocking and rolling. Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 My Powerbook G4 Model A1138 (The best Powerbook G4 Apple made) is now fixed. Al I need to do is get a new battery. My Audio system is still down till I get either carpet or Tiles down since water damaged the floor. Without Doubt, Play kills Itunes in SQ. I will still use Flac and can't wait till I try the mac with the Hi-Face. Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
cfmsp Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 Liz, thanks for the updates, I too am surprised that Play doesn't seem to get more, well, 'play' here. A great sounding app and it's free. Doesn't have the interactive iTunes integration, and therefore neither does it have the integration snafus that other players have. You can rather easily make your itunes library available. Someone gave me a script to automate it even. And of course, it's not LIMITED to only the file types that iTunes can play. cheers, clay Link to comment
TheRocker Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 Yes, Play is good! I have been using it since I ditched Windows for OSX, and I agree it sounds better than iTunes - maybe something to do with Play using 32 bit precision internally? Peter Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 I have finally heard the Mac in a system (Not my own) and WOW. Hey all, My System is still down till the new rug or tiles go in. I finally had the chance to use my G4 powerbook A1138 in a high end system using the M2tech Hi-Face. I brought my H-face to this guys system a month ago and he loved it so he got one. Marco from M2tech send me new drives for my Mac which uses a non Intel CPU and i run leopard 10.5.8 as the OS. I installed the software, rebooted the mac and the setup was simple. Using "Play" I had to setup Play to output to the Hi-Face. I used a song that I had just before, played with my XP laptop using Media Monkey with the Kernel Streaming (Steve monk) plug in meant for Winamp. The SQ seemed better to me, I heard a more open and engaging sound. I net followed the advice of my Guru and i turn off all of Spotlight. My buddy said right away the sound was better, more open and I agreed. Next up, I used Onyx to disable Journaling and the improved the SQ more! When my room is ready and i get the system back up, I will use my Mac for certain. I went to check out my friends sons one year old Mac Book Pro. He uses Songbird and plays tunes into a Fender guitar amp. I had my flash drive with me , loaded with WAV files (I use that in my Car and my pioneer can play WAV) and we compared songbird with play. The app Play sounding better, he at only 15 agreed. I showed his how to use max to convert the WAV files to Apple lossless. I really liked using this older Mac laptop. Though if came out in October 2005, this was a top of the line $2500 unit. I upgraded the ras to two Gigs DDR2- Pc4200, I have a 100 Gig HD, 1440 resolution, 1394A and 1394B with a dual layer internal burner. The G4 will drive my stem and I will have to get back working and save up and use a Mac Mini and output the video to my HDTV. The G4 does get Hot so I will probably go with a Thermapack HeatShift Laptop Cooler for Mac. has anyone used this and can you suggest a good colling solution? Liz Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
Lizard_King Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 The system is back up! Hey all, After nearly 3 months, my great audio system is back up and is now driven by the Mac! I had commercial grade carpet and padding laid down down and that should open up the sound a little. I use tubes so the sound will require some time to settle in. Tonight was the third night and i have to say the quality is getting better. I had compared the sound of my IBM with XP tweaked to the Mac and the mac was a little more open sounding in a friends system. I then applied a few tweaks and the SQ was very nice and better. He then hooked up his Dell and the mac won. I am loving the SQ and I expect it to get better over the next few days. The M2tech Hi-face is really something great. I am using "Play" and FLAC files. I have an external enclosure (aluminum) or order and I am going with a 2.5 inch 9.5 mm Sata drive and going to use Fire wire to reduce the CPU cycles and also, no data going over the USB bus. The fire wire will allow me to not need a switching power supply so that should improve the SQ even more. I will report on the progress of the system and the external drive. Down the road, I am hopeful to use a Mac mini so I can use the laptop as a computer again. To been heard from again - Liz Powerbook G4 15 inch Aluminum, \"Fidela,\" M2tech EVO (BNC)with RF attenuator,dedicated PSU, Stereovox XV Ultra (BNC) Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1 Level B Signature Upgraded to 12AU7 tubes, ARC SP-16L Tube preamp , VAC PA100/100 Tube Amp), Vintage Tubes, Furutech ETP-80, (Alon 2 Mk2, (upgraded tweeters, Usher Woofers), Pangea Power cords, Omega Micro Active Planar PC. Signal Cable Silver Resolution ICs. Link to comment
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