HDMI vs. USB - From a Frustrated Multi-channel Audio Fan

[ted_b]

My tutorials show you how to make a view where SACD ISOs only bring up one or the other layer (2 ch or multichannel).  It is simple.   Here is a screenshot (example is 2 channel).

[Frans Keylard]

18 hours ago, ray-dude said:

 

Frans, do you have an ISO extract process/tool pipeline that is reversible?  Having ripped 200+ SACDs, I'm really leary of tossing the ISOs without full confidence that I'm not irrecoverably tossing something that was missed or dropped or changed in the extract process

 

No, I do not.

 

I keep all original SACDs stored safely in sealed containers, and ripping straight to DSF takes 5 minutes per disc (ISO is faster). My whole purpose for ripping is to be able to meticulously tag, organize and play the 2ch and 5.1ch versions from my NAS library.

 

I do not care about ever recreating the physical media. 18 years ago that was my motivation for switching to FLAC - I truly thought that was why I was ripping CDs (and later DVD-As, and BD-As) to FLAC. The truth is that I never actually recreated a single archaic CD, or any of the other formats from the "archive". 

 

Either way - I would not never want to play a clunky ISO as part of my signal chain, they can go to some dark corner of my NAS, but not take up real-estate in my library. I feel the same about WAV files for what it's worth.

 

[ted_b]

Dark corner of your NAS is good (or even offline) I was under the mistaken impression you were deleting them from your storage.

[bmoura]

20 minutes ago, ted_b said:

Dark corner of your NAS is good (or even offline) I was under the mistaken impression you were deleting them from your storage.

 

I'm guessing that you could set up a JRiver view with Ted's instructions to access those DSD ISO files for playback as a separate category using the video tutorial mentioned above. 

 

[HamDog]

ted_b, when you click on one of your albums in Jriver, the bottom portion of your screen changes and shows you the track listing for that album.  How did you get it to do that???  When I single click on an album, nothing happens.  If I double click, then it starts playing from the first track.  It doesn't give me a track listing.  I've been pulling out my hair trying to figure this out since last night and can't get it!  

 

I know it's probably something simple.  But I'm just an idiot!  Thanks for any help.

[ted_b]

Let's take these JRiver tips off this thread, so send me a PM with a screenshot or two.  You probably need to simply pull up the album file view from the bottom of the screen?

[Nexus3]

On 12/10/2017 at 8:54 PM, HamDog said:

What do other multi-channel audio fans do?

 

Muddling through  ?️ or hoping ☮️ that Google saves the day ⚛️.

[Kal Rubinson]

On 12/10/2017 at 2:54 PM, HamDog said:

What do other multi-channel audio fans do?  What combination of products do you use and what are your headaches?  Does everything work ok for you?  Does anyone recognize an easy fix for any of the above symptoms I've posted?  Any feedback/advice is appreciated.

1.  I have used both HDMI and USB with success.

2.  Win-based streamers using JRiver or Roon.  USB out to e38 or a trio of Benchmark DAC3s.  HDMI out to Marantz 8805 or NAD M17v2.

3.  I see these problems posted all the time, so you are not alone.  OTOH, I have stopped using ISOs (all DSF now) and I do not use playlists.  Channel mapping is a soluble problem but I can offer help only for JRiver and Roon.

[HamDog]

It's been six months and I'll post an update.  I am now using Jriver.  The transition from Foobar to Jriver took some time as I was reluctant to learn new software.  Moving my playlists was utterly difficult and time consuming.  Although Jriver has a tool for converting playlists from Foobar, it does not work for individual tracks in SACD ISO files, so all those tracks had to be re-created in Jriver.

 

But since I have started to solely use Jriver, my system has worked flawlessly.  I am very happy again!  The Exasound e-38 has been solid.  The only reboots required are for Windows updates.  And Jriver has some very nice features that weren't available with Foobar.  I much prefer using USB over HDMI.  HDMI can sometimes have handshake issues which require reboots.  This does not happen with USB.  However, as I discovered, USB does require drivers which limit ones ability to use playback software.  

 

I still refuse to try Roon because it can't handle SACD ISO files.  I refuse to extract all my files to DSF.  Also, I'm not keen on paying a monthly fee since I'm playing my own files.

[Frans Keylard]

Thanks for the update! I still use JRiver for library maintenance / tag management / video playback, but all music playback goes via Roon + Tidal. Earlier I said something about batch converting all ISOs to DSF for Roon. This was well worth it! Never looked back.