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iTunes Volume Control on OS X


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This has taken an interesting turn.

 

I do think many of us struggle to understand Peter's English and that may contribute to some misunderstanding. That said, I disagree 100% with Peter's comments about this site being for convenience only. I won't begin to explain why I think this comment is false, other than suggest people read some of my articles.

 

I think most people around here are quite aware that software makes a difference.

 

I really don't have much else to say about this one.

 

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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Oh boy, how to improve my english ...

 

Ok Chris, you sound harsh. Please don't. Apparently I offended you. It is the last thing I wanted. And might you have read it in my poor english : I sure did not say that whatever I think happened, was intentional. I think I even said the opposite.

Please let me try to explain via another angle : I started the player, and the phasure forum with it, for users who hardly touched PCs, and the player should take away all the tweaks necessary for e.g. Foobar to have a decent sound. With it, I help(ed) people setting up the general environment, not much different from what happens here at CA, AND WHICH IS GOOD, BEAUTIFUL, AND GIVES THIS FORUM ALL THE CREDITS IN THE WORLD. Ah, shouting. Sorry.

There is a difference though : when a say, inexperienced user (and they are there every day) asks for whatever conveniency, all the others start to shout that this player is about SQ SQ and more SQ. I try to serve that one user the best I can, but the others are afraid that SQ will degrade by whatever it is I will do to make life better for that one user. So top priority is sound quality, and this is not different from CA.

But how to keep it up visually, when you're overloaded with all variants of (installing) music servers and stuff, while in the end there should just be one or two real solutions ?

 

Chris, this is not negatively meant. Not at all. But I just see what happens (being here from rather the beginning), and it is not related whatsoever to intentions. Yours.

 

I think most people around here are quite aware that software makes a difference.

 

When it is "bit perfect" ? okay, so I just missed that all. I'm sorry. But :

 

Matt, you're open to it for sure (like everyone of course), but communicating over it is difficult for me. I'm afraid we're talking apples and organges. Look :

 

Okay, so you're stating that bit perfect is not the only thing that's important. I don't understand this.

 

To me this "proves" that it is okay that everybody around here thinks software makes a difference, but then not software which outputs the data bit perfectly. I don't know how to understand this otherwise.

Now please tell me that I am wrong, at observing that you think that all software is good, as long as the output is bit perfect.

 

Are you resampling in software ?

 

OF COURSE NOT (although the player can)

Oh, was I shouting ? hehe

 

Ok. If we can all agree about even softare which outputs the bits as they went in (proven by comparing the output right before the DAC with the input hence the file on disk) *can* make a difference, then the whole discussion isn't necessary.

 

Can anyone tell me, from players in the implied category, which one sounds the best ? count XX out please, and keep in mind that the authors involved, themselves say that there can't be a difference.

I hope I made my point.

 

Matt, I hope you can get it going and that you use Vista for it. I trust that you will say as loud that it sounds bad to you and why, or the other way around if you think so. Only if you think you can't hear the difference, or that it is so minimal that you're not sure, I kindly ask you to keep on looking for the real differences.

Try your *worst* recordings. Or at least not the best.

 

Chris, may it be needed, I apologize. I mean it.

Peter

 

 

Lush^3-e      Lush^2      Blaxius^2.5      Ethernet^3     HDMI^2     XLR^2

XXHighEnd (developer)

Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer)

Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer)

Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier)

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I shall give it a real good try when I have some time - hopefully Sunday evening.

 

It's never going to play my WAV's though is it ? Such a shame, I've got 100's of GB's worth of them :-(

 

If I need some help I'll sneak you a post for some advice.

 

 

HTPC: AMD Athlon 4850e, 4GB, Vista, BD/HD-DVD into -> ADM9.1

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Matt,

 

I have downloaded and am trying to use your player but all my files are in AIFF format.

 

I know I said somewhere (can't find it in this thread) at answering your question about it, that XX would play AIFF. This appears not be true (I thought it did but never tried really).

But I will be working on that now ...

 

Sorry for lying ...

Peter

 

Lush^3-e      Lush^2      Blaxius^2.5      Ethernet^3     HDMI^2     XLR^2

XXHighEnd (developer)

Phasure NOS1 24/768 Async USB DAC (manufacturer)

Phasure Mach III Audio PC with Linear PSU (manufacturer)

Orelino & Orelo MKII Speakers (designer/supplier)

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Digital volume controls typically truncate the digital audio data words. This is why the LSB's of the HDCD were eliminated and the light for HDCD turned-off. This can result in a loss of resolution depending on the system and how much you turn the volume down.

 

However, digital volume controls can be very useful for remote-control if the situation is optimized. There are a couple of things that make the situation optimum:

 

1) If there are "padded" bits in the data word beyond the actual data, the LSB's (least-significant-Bits)

 

2) The volume is already close to a comfortable listening level so that only small downward adjustments are necessary depending on the track

 

Both of these are achieved in my new Overdrive USB DAC.

 

First, 16-bit USB data from ripped CD's etc. is padded automatically up to 24-bit, giving 8 bits or 256 voltage levels of adjustment before any data is actually affected. It is still bit-perfect, but 24-bit/44.1kHz sample-rate.

 

Second, the integral volume control in the Overdrive USB DAC allows one to set the volume at a comfortable level manually while playing a low-level track. Then, when louder tracks are played, the remote digital volume control in your player application (iTunes etc.) can be used to ratchet-down the volume a small amount without impacting resolution. The volume control in the Overdrive is EXACTLY like connecting the line-outs to your amps. There is absolutely nothing added to the digital or analog signal paths.

 

Both of these innovations together provide a remote-digital-control of volume with no impact to the resolution or sound quality.

 

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

 

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