Author Topic: Audio Server /Headless Audio Player/ (now with Tidal HiFidelity Streaming)  (Read 93040 times)

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Offline lithium_deuteride

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Eliminating the supposedly noisy Macbook w/ a dedicated streamer should in theory improve SQ.  Right now I don’t find the MacBook noisy but you never know until you hear an improvement right?

When I play Tidal, Roon identifies MQA tracks as MQA.  Not sure if that means my Hugo TT2 is MQA ready.  BTW, MQA tracks do sound better to my ears.
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline lithium_deuteride

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I read the Bluesound Node 2i improves a lot compared to the Node 2.
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline alvinbaronsia

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Eliminating the supposedly noisy Macbook w/ a dedicated streamer should in theory improve SQ.  Right now I don’t find the MacBook noisy but you never know until you hear an improvement right?

When I play Tidal, Roon identifies MQA tracks as MQA.  Not sure if that means my Hugo TT2 is MQA ready.  BTW, MQA tracks do sound better to my ears.

So upgraditis it is hehe.

MQA is a standard of recording, encoding and decoding music, so technically speaking, if Rob Watts doesn't decode the music to the MQA standard, then it's not MQA. Any DAC can still play MQA files, but it won't "sound" MQA as it may not follow MQA standards. So the MQA files you hear that sound better, is better because the music was converted to 24/48 and not because it's MQA per se, and of course, the Hugo is a nice DAC.

I read the Bluesound Node 2i improves a lot compared to the Node 2.

Let me know how it turns out against the MBP.







Offline alvinbaronsia

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My friend just asked me to compare in depth the Chromecast Audio and his CXN, and I take back what I said about streamers not making a lot of difference. After volume matching, the CXN is definitely cleaner sounding and immediately noticeable... the pace is also very slighlty slower and vocals and midrange have a little more body, highs are more extended and have a little more bite.

Offline bogart.2006

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question sa mga experts natin...

currently, i'm running my plex server installed on my seagate personal cloud. medyo di maganda ang user experience kasi mabagal siya. may lag when scrolling through the library and playing songs. akala ko nung una, it was just the system reading the media library. pero mabagal pa din after it has cataloged the HDD.

would the performance improve if i use another device as the plex server? something with higher specs than the NAS? Eto lang kasi yung specs ng Seagate NAS ko: 

CPU           Marvell ARMADA 370 88F6707 A1 SoC @ 1.2 GHz   
RAM   512 MB Samsung K4B4G1646D

I was thinking of replacing it with a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

CPU:  Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.4GHz
RAM:  1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM

If I use that, will the performance improve? 

By the way, I only use it for music, not for videos
 
« Last Edit: Jul 29, 2019 at 10:10 AM by bogart.2006 »

Offline istan

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Try ssd?

Offline bogart.2006

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Try ssd?

you mean for the network storage? actually, if you're just accessing yung music files direct, mabilis naman. pag pinadaan mo through the Plex server, dun bumabagal

Offline sultan72

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Eliminating the supposedly noisy Macbook w/ a dedicated streamer should in theory improve SQ.  Right now I don’t find the MacBook noisy but you never know until you hear an improvement right?

When I play Tidal, Roon identifies MQA tracks as MQA.  Not sure if that means my Hugo TT2 is MQA ready.  BTW, MQA tracks do sound better to my ears.

both tidal and roon can do the first mqa unfold up to 24/96 so it will work with most dacs.
i find qobuz to sound better and best of all it does not need any proprietary encoding/decoding to play hires music.

Offline alvinbaronsia

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both tidal and roon can do the first mqa unfold up to 24/96 so it will work with most dacs.
i find qobuz to sound better and best of all it does not need any proprietary encoding/decoding to play hires music.


If you have an all MQA system (streamer and DAC), is it supposed to sound the same as all MQA systems? It is a standard right, so the sound should be standard as well? So in that case, my bluesound Node 2 should have the same sound signature as a full Meridian MQA system? Not including THD improvements due to higher quality parts of course.

Offline sultan72

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If you have an all MQA system (streamer and DAC), is it supposed to sound the same as all MQA systems? It is a standard right, so the sound should be standard as well? So in that case, my bluesound Node 2 should have the same sound signature as a full Meridian MQA system? Not including THD improvements due to higher quality parts of course.

i don't have an "all MQA system" so i wouldnt know for sure. am no expert just an enthusiast but i know dacs and streamers have their own sound mqa or not, well to my ears anyway.
for 24/96 tracks (in general, it really depends on how it was recorded or mastered), i prefer the sound of qobuz parang mas "lively" vs tidal na it sounded "veiled" or dull. very subjective and others may hear differently.
ang importante lets just enjoy the music and whatever gears we have.



Offline lithium_deuteride

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I installed the SOtM pair of sMS-200ultra and sPS-500 power supply.  Sounds great in my setup. Big leap in SQ after a week of burn in.  Digital music has truly come a long way.

Just wondering if one can use the PLDT Fibr modem as a switch or is it better to give that role to the router as is the usual?
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline scoob

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Please recommend a music server/player for a Windows PC.  Currently using Jriver (trial) and malapit na magexpire.  Preferably free but willing to pay (<PHP5K).
Requirements:
1. User friendly
2. No need to add any hardware
3. Plays hi-res music (flac, dsd)
4. Can be controlled using phone (iPhone).

Thanks in advance. 

Online noob

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Please recommend a music server/player for a Windows PC.  Currently using Jriver (trial) and malapit na magexpire.  Preferably free but willing to pay (<PHP5K).
Requirements:
1. User friendly
2. No need to add any hardware
3. Plays hi-res music (flac, dsd)
4. Can be controlled using phone (iPhone).

Thanks in advance. 
am using foobar 2000, it is free

Offline jh@meeh

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Audirvana
LG OLED
Kef Reference
Denon Receiver
Power Sound Audio
JL Fathoms

Offline at_sunset_blvd

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The NeverEnding World of Tweak'n...

Offline scoob

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Thanks, i will try Audirvana.

Online noob

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in the later posts of this thread: https://www.pinoydvd.com/index.php/topic,173856.0.html
 they recommeded Musicbee (free daw).

Offline saltuhin

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  • sound is in 3D. shouldn't yours be?
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musicbee is free. maganda ui, may phone remote, customizable display, magaling kumuha album art. coming from foobar mas gusto ko ito.
Without the proper image, all else is background music.

Offline scoob

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in the later posts of this thread: https://www.pinoydvd.com/index.php/topic,173856.0.html
 they recommeded Musicbee (free daw).
Salamat sir, nageffort ka pa talaga to look into old posts. Appreciate it. Will try musicbee din.

Offline scoob

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musicbee is free. maganda ui, may phone remote, customizable display, magaling kumuha album art. coming from foobar mas gusto ko ito.
I also use foobar before. I find it not so user friendly. I spent a lot of time googling to learn how to use it. Unlike JRiver and Audirvana madaling kapain.

Offline scoob

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I'm looking for an app (for iPhone) that I can use to turn on and off my Windows 10PC.  I tried iShutdown and Off remote by bridgetech but i can't make any of the 2 to work.  Any recommendation?

Offline laukong

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I'm looking for an app (for iPhone) that I can use to turn on and off my Windows 10PC.  I tried iShutdown and Off remote by bridgetech but i can't make any of the 2 to work.  Any recommendation?

wake on lan and Panic's Prompt

Offline lithium_deuteride

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Please recommend a music server/player for a Windows PC.  Currently using Jriver (trial) and malapit na magexpire.  Preferably free but willing to pay (<PHP5K).
Requirements:
1. User friendly
2. No need to add any hardware
3. Plays hi-res music (flac, dsd)
4. Can be controlled using phone (iPhone).

Thanks in advance. 

IMO, nothing beats Roon.  $120 per year.
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline lithium_deuteride

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I set-up an Intel NUC as my new Roon server running ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit).  This replaced my 2010 MacBook Pro which takes forever to boot up then initiate Roon.  Same SQ level as far as I can tell, the only advantage being I can keep the NUC powered on 24/7 (electricity consumption being negligible), providing instant access to my music.
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline alvinbaronsia

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I set-up an Intel NUC as my new Roon server running ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit).  This replaced my 2010 MacBook Pro which takes forever to boot up then initiate Roon.  Same SQ level as far as I can tell, the only advantage being I can keep the NUC powered on 24/7 (electricity consumption being negligible), providing instant access to my music.

OT: replace your macbook pro hdd with an ssd, boots up in 20 seconds or less. WIth the classic aluminum look, it gives new life to your macbook.

Offline JoeyGS

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Try Daphile ... headless, wireless device control, free, will work on old PCs, sounds good to me

I'm looking for an app (for iPhone) that I can use to turn on and off my Windows 10PC.  I tried iShutdown and Off remote by bridgetech but i can't make any of the 2 to work.  Any recommendation?

Offline jh@meeh

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I set-up an Intel NUC as my new Roon server running ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit).  This replaced my 2010 MacBook Pro which takes forever to boot up then initiate Roon.  Same SQ level as far as I can tell, the only advantage being I can keep the NUC powered on 24/7 (electricity consumption being negligible), providing instant access to my music.

Try to use Iso Regen by Uptone Audio and SOTM USB Card.
LG OLED
Kef Reference
Denon Receiver
Power Sound Audio
JL Fathoms

Offline bogart.2006

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uso ngayon sa AP ang headless audio player

Offline lithium_deuteride

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Try to use Iso Regen by Uptone Audio and SOTM USB Card.

I use SOTM gear - a switch and a network bridge with its own psu.
Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL

Offline lithium_deuteride

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Here's a pic:

Lyra | Nottingham | Musical Fidelity | CEC | SOtM | Chord | Accuphase | Harbeth | REL