My Digital Library sounds Good, but Not as Good as CDs

[plonk]

I have about 1800 CDs stored on an external Seagate 1.5TB drive in uncompressed AIFF or WAV formats. The sound is good on my high end home theater system, but not as good as CDs.

 

My set up is: Seagate external drive thru a Kimber USB to a WDTV, then optical cable to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC digital to anaolog converter, then Audioquest analog cables to my system.

 

The sound is good, but not as good as just playing CDs thru a 400 CD changer.

 

Can anyone suggest what I am doing wrong? My home system is high-end with Martin Logan speakers, separate components, all Audioquest cables, etc. I was expecting the digital sound to be a little closer to the pure CDs.

 

I am relatively new to the digital audiophile world and was hoping to receive some advice. I did not find anything on this in searching the forums.

 

Thanks

 

 

[ldolse]

You probably need something other than a WDTV. First I've heard of it on any audio site, so no telling if it's even bit perfect. Odds are the optical out is probably on the budget side, so that could be part of the problem as well. If there is a volume control on the WDTV try turning it all the way up and using your preamp to control the volume as well.

 

If you're looking for something simple in a similar vein you could check out the Squeezebox Touch, that's gotten lots of positive feedback from other users.

 

[Erwin S]

I think you are using a very basic DAC. From what I have read, the Wyred4Sound DAC2 is very good for the money. Just an example. I would be looking at this if I did not accidently stumbled upon a demo Weiss DAC2 for fair price.

 

http://www.wyred4sound.com/

 

Also promising is the $300 Emotiva XDA-1 but this one is not yet for sale.

 

BTW, 1,800 is a good number!

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Plonk - My first guess is the WDTV is up or down sampling the audio or processing the audio output somehow. What version of the WDTV are you using?

 

[plonk]

Thanks for all of the quick responses! My WD TV is Generation 1 and has the latest firmware update 1.03.01. It does not upsample to my knowledge.

 

The Musical Fidelity V-Dac does upsample to 24 bit, 192kHz. It received very good review at $299. Do you think that is part of the problem?

 

Thanks again,

 

[ldolse]

I doubt it's the V-DAC. Quickest way to determine that for sure is to use the digital out on your CD changer and plug it into the V-DAC. If the CD changer sounds worse through the V-DAC then it's the DAC and not the WDTV. I'm guessing that the changer would improve using the V-DAC though...

 

The WDTV wouldn't upsample, though I did check out it's specs, and it does downsample all non-44Khz content to 48Khz. But it may very well be doing something else to change the bits, or it may just create more jitter than your CD changer.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Good idea ldolse. I'm willing to bet there's a volume control in this chain somewhere.

 

[Christopher]

Hi Plonk,

 

I hear you. Some time ago, I was in the same place as you.

 

Thanks to the good folks at CA, I benefited from solid advice and now find computer-based audio superior to any CD player that I have owned.

 

While I don’t have a quick fix for you, here are a few tests that you can run in an effort to identify potential areas for improvement.

 

Test 1

Download a song online that you already have on CD. Even though the downloaded file may be compressed (i.e., iTunes), you should compare the downloaded recording to your CD rip and native CD playback. If the downloaded song sounds better than your CD rip, then you know you may have issues with your rip strategy.

 

Right about now you may be thinking...but I’ve already ripped 1,800 CDs!? Please keep an open mind...your CD rips may be fine.

 

If a downloaded file sounds better, try re-ripping your CDs with either MAX or XLD. Below are links you can explore...

http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html

http://sbooth.org/Max/

 

Test 2

If rips are not the issue, then try excluding the Western Digital TV box.

 

Your Musical Fidelity V-DAC should have a USB input for computer-based playback. While I don’t own a V-DAC, I briefly checked the following link: http://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/V-Series/V-DAC/V-DAC.asp

 

If possible, try going directly from your computer via USB to the V-DAC and then going out from the DAC with RCA cables to your stereo components. While it may be inconvenient to unplug and bypass the WDTV, I hope you decide to explore this test.

 

Personally, I'm very curious to know if computer>USB>V-DAC>system outperforms your CD player.

 

Test 3

If the above tests do not yield improvements, try introducing a different computer. Since you already have your music on an external Seagate 1.5TB drive, you should be able to interchange and swap computers with relative ease.

 

Before buying anything, I suggest borrowing a laptop with a fast processor and at least 4GB memory (preferably 8GB). A MacBook Pro may serve you well if you're familiar with Apple products. It’s possible that friends, family and/or co-workers will happily lend you their laptop for a few days as you run tests.

 

These are just a few thoughts. Please let us know if any of the tests above yield positive results.

 

Best regards,

Chris

 

 

 

 

[harrypt]

I have a WDTV that I use only for video. I have a very high end cd player with digital input so it can be used as a DAC. I didn't suspect the WDTV would be very good, but not very good would be a kind description. There is supposedly no up/downsampling or any other manipulation going on in the WDTV, but it sounded to me like something very wrong was going on. It sounded dull, rolled off at the top, soggy on the bottom and with a terribly unfocused image.

 

You didn't specifically say but I assume you are comparing the cd player digitally through the DAC to the WDTV through the DAC? That is rather than the WDTV>DAC to the cd player alone? We can assume if you're happy listening to the CD through the DAC, then the DAC is not your complaint.

 

So, Chris' tests are good advice, I'd have assumed that you know you have good rips but it is a valid question to ask. If you are confident that you know how to rip properly then you need to look at the WDTV.

 

Since you already have your music on an outboard drive, I would suggest finding some way to connect another source such as a computer, Squeezebox etc. to your DAC and compare that sound to the WDTV source. Most here will agree that the direct out of a computer is not the ultimate ideal, but based on my listening, I bet it's better than the WDTV and if you hear a big difference, it will point to the the WDTV likely being the weak link.

 

[wgb113]

All good suggestions, especially starting with the free one of running the digital out of your CD player through your V-DAC and comparing first.

 

While I'm sure the V-DAC is good for the $$$ it could simply be that it's a slightly different "flavor" than what you're used to hearing from your CD player.

 

Definitely check into the cascading volume controls as well. Crank them all up to 100% and then use the one on your amp/receiver to control the actual volume during playback.

 

Bill

 

 

[plonk]

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions. Let me address them as best I can:

 

The Musical Fidelity V-DAC outboard DAC absolutely sounds great when I hook it up my Sony ES 400 disk changer. It is well worth the $299 I spent.

 

When I hook it up to the WDTV thru my Seagate hard drive with the 1800 CDs, the V-DAC also makes a huge improvement. So I am ruling out the V-DAC is the problem.

 

The Sony ES alone using its internal DAC still sounds better than the WDTV thru the V-DAC. The sound is not bad; just definitely better quality thru the CD player.

 

I am confident with my ripping strategy as I am fairly computer savvy, worked for HP and Compaq for 12 years.

 

There are no volume controls on the V-DAC, Seagate external drive or the WDTV that I can find.

 

So, I am leaning towards the thought that the WDTV may not be of the quality standards that most of you are used to. It does not have asynchronous USB when I understand could make a difference.

 

Does anyone feel if the SqueezeBox is that much better than a WDTV, or maybe I should spend more $ for something that offers the asynchronous USB?

 

Again, thanks for the support!

 

 

[John]

No surprise that the wdtv is the problem. I bought one out of curiosity and threw it in the trash after a couple of hours playing around. Suggest you do the same (unless you want it for video). Yes, the squeezebox is that much better, as is an Apple TV or airport express or a cheap netbook or an ipod in an nd-s1 etc... (got 'em all).

 

Asynchronous protocol is dictated by the DAC not by the server. Typically another level of $'s altogether. Get rid of that source before worrying about new dacs.

 

- John.