First DAC, have a year's worth of learning, but a week to make a decision.

[AudiophileWannabe]

Thanks MW,

 

I checked the Applications/Utilities/AMS and verified the rDAC USB device's setup. It showed 24/96.

 

Cold restart, then launch Pure Music.

I select the rDAC as my output device (Build-in Output plays through laptop speakers). Ensure the sampling is still 24/96.

I've tried 3 USB cables, all the same, one is a "Monster" USB cable (didn't help).

 

Then I play it, and it crackles.

 

So, to help isolate the problem ...

It would be great is I could force iTunes to play in 24/96.

I've read on here in many places that iTunes can only handle 44.1khz.

Is this true, is the latest version able to play higher?

 

Because, iTunes plays fine.

 

Thanks,

 

Mark.

 

[bdiament]

Hi Mark,

 

"...I've read on here in many places that iTunes can only handle 44.1khz..."

 

Whoever said that is simply not correct.

iTunes can handle 24/192 with no issues whatsoever.

 

Of course, your DAC needs to be able to handle this as well.

And it is a good idea to make sure Audio/MIDI Setup is set to match the resolution of the file being played, in order to avoid the internal, sonically degrading sample rate conversion.

 

With Audio/MIDI Setup at the right settings and a capable DAC, 24/192 (or 24/96) playback in iTunes is wonderful.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

[audioengr]

Mark - assuming that you have the settings correct in PM, then periodic crackles may be due to large I/O service latency in your computer.

 

You may need to turn-off everything unneccessary including screensaver and virus scanner. These can interfere with servicing of the audio stream and cause small dropouts. The fact that you can play 44.1 but not 96 is telling.

 

If you have a faster computer that you can dedicate to playback, try this. If you have another laptop or can borrow one, try this.

 

Also, memory size is critical. 4GBytes is considered minimum. If you are using USB, remove all other USB devices, including keyboards, mice, disk drives etc..

 

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

 

[mwheelerk]

Barry is correct. iTunes can support high resolution. In this thread (or another) I had said that the Apple TV does not support 24/96 so maybe there was some confusion on that point.

 

[AudiophileWannabe]

 

I will retract the "here" portion of iTunes sampling rate.

It may not have been here. Sorry ...

 

I am using a new macBook pro - i7, 2.8GH, 8G RAM (the 15" grandpa as of two weeks ago).

I'm not using anything else on the USB bus (at least external devices). I've disabled power saver & screen saver, and run it plugged in.

 

I've been working from a sample that is local to the hard drive (AIFF encoded, ripped using XLD) as Steve N. originally suggested.

 

This is the sample rates and depth defined in the user guide....

Supported sample rates:

USB: 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz

Optical: 44.1kHz, 48kHz

Coaxial: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176kHz, 192kHz

Wireless: 44.1kHz

Bit depth 16-bit, 24-bit (except wireless)

 

Regarding the recording, again, I'm ignorant.

Until I do more reading ... All I can say is that they're AIFF format. To be honest, I'm not sure what rate that would be.

 

Thanks again for all your replies, I'll get there.

 

Mark.

 

 

 

[mwheelerk]

I am really sorry for your struggle Mark and I hope my suggestions are not missing the point.

 

This is what I would do to minimize the variables. Close everything. Open Finder>Utilities>Audio Midi Set Up. On the box on the left is your DAC device showing and is it selected? Is the little speaker symbol next to it indicating it is the selected audio device? Under format set them to 96,000.0 and 2 ch - 24 bit. Close Audio Midi Set Up. Open iTunes. On the iTunes bar select View>View Options. Go to the Album List View. Select a song you know is 24/96. Scroll to the right. Does it show you a sample rate of 96,000? The Bit Rate should be between 2400 and 3000 (for a 16/44.1 AIFF file that number would read 1411).

 

It really shouldn't be any more than that. When you play 24/96 does your DAC have an indicator (light or read out) that tells you the incoming sample rate? My has worked like a champ on 24/96 on both my iMac and now the Mac Mini that I put in last week.

 

Sorry for being repetitive on this but it just reads to me like to much is going on and maybe just the straighest line possible will help or at least identify the issue (PM, your DAC, whatever). I really do hope you get it because it is very enjoyable listening to the quality of 24/96. I just downloaded John Coltrane Ballads from HD Tracks in 24/96 and I am going to go enjoy it with some wine right now.

Mike

 

[audioengr]

I'm afraid I have not tried PM on a PC, only on Mac. Worked flawlessly for me on Mac.

 

I have both PCs and a Mac Mini that I use, but I use the Mac Mini for most of my playback. It is more trouble-free. I compared PM, Amarra 1.2, 2.1 and Ayrewave on the Mini the other day. They were all pretty close IMO, but I prefer Amarra pro 1.2 with EQ. Most dont realize how effective and transparent this EQ is. I was reticent to use it at first, but it turned-out to be essential for my room at RMAF, so I use it back home now too. This is reason alone to get Amarra Pro. Its not like the old graphic equalizers that mucked-up the sound. This is actually helpful. If you have a spectrum analyzer, microphone and a pink noise track, you can do wonderful things with a few dB of non-detrimental EQ.

 

Steve N.

Empirical Audio