Thx Paul, I too am a "Mac" man and have been from the get-go!! I love watching your audio advice and learning lots & lots even though I had my own audio shop here in New Plymouth NZ back in the 1980s .... Happy 2023 !!!
Several years ago I bought a Musical Fidelity VDAC II after reading Sam Tellig's review of it in Stereophile. I put it beside my stereo system, I ran a TOSLINK cable from my 2008 iMac and that DAC. I was stunned at how easy it was and how good the thousands of tracks on my computer sound. I use iTunes with Bitperfect; I replaced the iMac with a mac Mini and now use USB to get more bandwidth early this year and am very happy with the system. It's nice to sit in my easy chair and select tunes from my 6,000 track library to fit my mood. If you think Chicago is cold try living a block from the North Atlantic and enjoying a lovely NE gale. I can tell you it feels much colder in front of my house than it did when I was on top of a mountain in Korea with the thermometer at -30 degrees and a stiff breeze to help it along.
Interesting, stuff, Paul. I currently stream audio utilizing a Buffalo NAS server. Twice in 2 days the playlist in the ZaraRadio Automation (on my Windows PC) I use to stream my audio-- has "disappeared" somehow due to Buffalo NAS--the reason i say this because after re-starting Buffalo NAS, I was finally able to stream Audio as I normally did--all day--but sometime during the late evening the audio stopped--leading me to believe there has got to be a better "option". I do have another PC (Windows) which i don't use "actively" (mostly as a "Back-Up)--that I was thinking of using as a server for the music (mp3). As I'm NOT a "D-I-Y", how difficult would it be for the Backup Windows PC to become my music server?
Step 1: get a cheap NAS (synology is nice both hardware and software, inluding DSD and losless streaming), Step 2: put a drive in it (or two if it is dual), Step 3: install media server for it and you're done! Now count your money you left with because you did not bought overpriced crap and get yourself some nice stuff :D
I'm using a GnuBee NAS (from Crowd Supply) with OpenMediaVault using MiniDLNA plugin. Completely open source software and hardware. Bleeding edge, but I've learned a lot.
Here also, raspberry pi B3+, openmediavault and miniDlna andere four Flash drives. Very Nice performance. 4k video and 24bitt192khz no problemo. No encoding on the spot, Just normal file sharing. Used with Yamaha waxd10 andere Chromecast audio
Paul, I've been in this hobby for a few years. Yet I find your videos so helpful. They cover so many topics and are short and sweet. All your videos are worth saving in a knowledge repository (which they already are on RUclips). Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge with it - highly appreciate it!
On the weather note, I am a Montrealer and we know cold but the worst I experienced was in Minneapolis. I don't know what the deal is but it is really cold out there.
Glad I found your site and resources... I struggling to set up Jriver with yamaha streamer etc. Not used to streaming music ..I'm an old had CD man and trying to update my system... will persevere Thanks !
The Oppo GUI sucks. I have owned Oppo's since the BDP-83 SE and every model has gotten marginally better, but the GUI is still sub standard of devices costing a fraction of the cost. I won't upgrade from my current BDP-105 D because the GUI has not improved enough to drop another $2000.
@@DodgyBrothersEngineering You wont "upgrade" because they dont make them anymore, however Panasonic now makes a 205 clone, looks pretty good. As for OPPO GUI, if theres better I would like to see it. For 560 bucks, Oppo was hard to beat. Thinking of getting a 205 from Ebay or somewhere, as a matter of fact
I bought my brother in law a 205 recently (before announcement) and there is still limited stock left, but where can you get a 205 for 560 bucks it is a $2000 player?
Everything about the Oppo GUI sucks tell me one good thing about it and I can tell you five that are wrong. It is clunky and unnecessarily difficult to use. It doesn't have simple things that you can get on a $100 player, like being able to get to the bottom of a long list of movies on the Network and roll over back to the top. Oppo forces you to scroll all the way back to the top. It is painfully slow to search the network, you have to go up more levels than necessary to come back down to play an audio file. It is just really poorly thought out.
well, it is not just apple, even on linux, with pulseaudio, everything is resampled and mixed to some default parameters chosen to balance "good enough quality" versus "not too much processing" by a sound server, it's the design followed by the common operating systems nowadays; you can get around that, but you have to fiddle (or buy software, as you suggest for the mac)
Living in Victoria TX it's not far off from the gulf. Regionally speaking, when it's 30 degrees it's same difference of Chicago. Except I think they being higher north they can't get Cold Cold but the moisture in the air really does make a difference.
They are discontinued but the OPPO has two USB 3 plugs in the back and a nice interface, my entire {digital} music collection, some vids, etc is on a one TB drive, you play a selection you get album art, info, on your screen.. J River was nice but a hassel, however when it worked it was kismet.
Meaning you will have to leave that PC on the whole time. Better is a cheap power efficient home NAS (Network attached storage) server. Like the ones made by Synology or Qnap
Regarding the 20yr old aspect, assuming your components are that age ... you'll need a streamer/network device (Renderer) which can communicate with the music Server and output, most likely, RCA analog to your amp. An additional component is a phone/tablet app to act as a Controller to choose your source (Server) and destination (Renderer) and provide transport controls (eg play, pause, stop, skip).
I am using a Mac with Amarra which allows me to equalize the room although still it convrt DSF to PCM before sending to de weiss dac via usb.But the problem is organizing and looking for the music in my Solid state hard disk 1Yb in the mac. Roon is excellent for managing music much better than JRiver so difficult to manage.But with Roon I have not the sonic advantages of Amarra.The room equalization is incredibly good it use Difac software.
Foobar on a pc or andriod works just as well with out all the bloat. Plays sacd.iso as well. Open up the files in the network n you can play off any networked device. Mr apple wont let you do thar.
With my 28 year old audio gear, I run XRL out from my ARC LS 15 pre amp into my Exogal Comet Plus external DAC My streamer is the Audiolab 6000N and I connect that into my Oppo BD 105 via spdif ( l want to use the Oppo DSP for sub control) then out from my Oppo ( bypass it's internal DAC ) into my very good Exgogal DAC via spdif The Audiolab uses DTX Play-Fi app for lots of steaming options with lots of features all controlled from my Samsung S10 phone
When people tell me that they use Apple computers I usually shake my head and say that the only thing an iMac is good for is editing or playing music, and I stand by that, they have far superior audio support than any PC that I know of which is ideal for Hi-Fi, I just can't bring myself to drop so much money on a slow computer.
Get Roon. It's great! I tried JRiver and could not get it to work; the set up is beyond me. I was using itunes but it sucks. They keep changing it and it can only play apple formatted music. It keeps loosing album art. Like all apple programs it does what it wants and takes to much crap to get it to do what you want it to do. If you want to play DSD, FLAC, HD FLAC on itunes you can forget it. Roon will play from multiple librarys and not rearrange things like apple itunes does. If you get the trial subscription you will wind up paying for the service. Good luck!
Just buy one of the cheapest 2 bay Synology servers. And drop two drives in it. This can serve as NAS but can do so much more like a VPN server, media server backup etc. Synology servers run an on Linux based OS and have a very user friendly user web interface. Be smart, don't use overpriced apple crap. Put your money where it can work for you, that is in speakers, dacs and amplifiers.
I am a real fan of PS products but think we could do without theses daily videos. Perhaps because of the frequency, the videos reveal the limits of Paul’s knowledge (example: his advice re computers) and inconsistencies (example: recommending ridiculously overpriced interconnects). Less would be more.
itunes .. woooah, you gotta be joking. An absolutely terrible piece of software and Apple are forever changing it. Just when you get used to seeing things in one place, you're forced to upgrade, then it's gone. I've had it with Apple, and especially itunes. For me Windows is way better and you can do things your own way, not be dictated to by Apple.
hello Paul. it is end of 2023 and this info is so simple and relevant. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks Paul! I think this is exactly the project to take on as I work remotely during these next few days of snow coming in!
Thx Paul, I too am a "Mac" man and have been from the get-go!! I love watching your audio advice and learning lots & lots even though I had my own audio shop here in New Plymouth NZ back in the 1980s .... Happy 2023 !!!
Several years ago I bought a Musical Fidelity VDAC II after reading Sam Tellig's review of it in Stereophile. I put it beside my stereo system, I ran a TOSLINK cable from my 2008 iMac and that DAC. I was stunned at how easy it was and how good the thousands of tracks on my computer sound. I use iTunes with Bitperfect; I replaced the iMac with a mac Mini and now use USB to get more bandwidth early this year and am very happy with the system. It's nice to sit in my easy chair and select tunes from my 6,000 track library to fit my mood.
If you think Chicago is cold try living a block from the North Atlantic and enjoying a lovely NE gale. I can tell you it feels much colder in front of my house than it did when I was on top of a mountain in Korea with the thermometer at -30 degrees and a stiff breeze to help it along.
Interesting, stuff, Paul. I currently stream audio utilizing a Buffalo NAS server. Twice in 2 days the playlist in the ZaraRadio Automation (on my Windows PC) I use to stream my audio-- has "disappeared" somehow due to Buffalo NAS--the reason i say this because after re-starting Buffalo NAS, I was finally able to stream Audio as I normally did--all day--but sometime during the late evening the audio stopped--leading me to believe there has got to be a better "option". I do have another PC (Windows) which i don't use "actively" (mostly as a "Back-Up)--that I was thinking of using as a server for the music (mp3). As I'm NOT a "D-I-Y", how difficult would it be for the Backup Windows PC to become my music server?
Step 1: get a cheap NAS (synology is nice both hardware and software, inluding DSD and losless streaming), Step 2: put a drive in it (or two if it is dual), Step 3: install media server for it and you're done! Now count your money you left with because you did not bought overpriced crap and get yourself some nice stuff :D
I'm using a GnuBee NAS (from Crowd Supply) with OpenMediaVault using MiniDLNA plugin. Completely open source software and hardware. Bleeding edge, but I've learned a lot.
Here also, raspberry pi B3+, openmediavault and miniDlna andere four Flash drives. Very Nice performance. 4k video and 24bitt192khz no problemo. No encoding on the spot, Just normal file sharing. Used with Yamaha waxd10 andere Chromecast audio
Paul, I've been in this hobby for a few years. Yet I find your videos so helpful. They cover so many topics and are short and sweet. All your videos are worth saving in a knowledge repository (which they already are on RUclips). Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge with it - highly appreciate it!
On the weather note, I am a Montrealer and we know cold but the worst I experienced was in Minneapolis. I don't know what the deal is but it is really cold out there.
Great Boulder aerial shot
Glad I found your site and resources... I struggling to set up Jriver with yamaha streamer etc. Not used to streaming music ..I'm an old had CD man and trying to update my system... will persevere Thanks !
Plugged an one TB hard drive into the back of my OPPO 203, music, videos, pics, easy peasy. Their interface is pretty good.
The Oppo GUI sucks. I have owned Oppo's since the BDP-83 SE and every model has gotten marginally better, but the GUI is still sub standard of devices costing a fraction of the cost. I won't upgrade from my current BDP-105 D because the GUI has not improved enough to drop another $2000.
@@DodgyBrothersEngineering You wont "upgrade" because they dont make them anymore, however Panasonic now makes a 205 clone, looks pretty good. As for OPPO GUI, if theres better I would like to see it. For 560 bucks, Oppo was hard to beat. Thinking of getting a 205 from Ebay or somewhere, as a matter of fact
I bought my brother in law a 205 recently (before announcement) and there is still limited stock left, but where can you get a 205 for 560 bucks it is a $2000 player?
Everything about the Oppo GUI sucks tell me one good thing about it and I can tell you five that are wrong. It is clunky and unnecessarily difficult to use. It doesn't have simple things that you can get on a $100 player, like being able to get to the bottom of a long list of movies on the Network and roll over back to the top. Oppo forces you to scroll all the way back to the top. It is painfully slow to search the network, you have to go up more levels than necessary to come back down to play an audio file. It is just really poorly thought out.
I am guessing you are referring to the upcoming 9000 model not current offerings www.techradar.com/au/reviews/hands-on-panasonic-dp-ub9000-review
Thanks.
well, it is not just apple, even on linux, with pulseaudio, everything is resampled and mixed to some default parameters chosen to balance "good enough quality" versus "not too much processing" by a sound server, it's the design followed by the common operating systems nowadays; you can get around that, but you have to fiddle (or buy software, as you suggest for the mac)
Living in Victoria TX it's not far off from the gulf. Regionally speaking, when it's 30 degrees it's same difference of Chicago. Except I think they being higher north they can't get Cold Cold but the moisture in the air really does make a difference.
I'm a songwriter, can I stream demos from my own server in 96k 24 bit quality?
Sure! That should not be a problem.
They are discontinued but the OPPO has two USB 3 plugs in the back and a nice interface, my entire {digital} music collection, some vids, etc is on a one TB drive, you play a selection you get album art, info, on your screen.. J River was nice but a hassel, however when it worked it was kismet.
Gee, all I had to do, on my main PC, was turn on media streaming and I can now stream from any PC on my network.
Meaning you will have to leave that PC on the whole time. Better is a cheap power efficient home NAS (Network attached storage) server. Like the ones made by Synology or Qnap
Check out Plex Media Server, that is a great program
I now know rather more than I needed to about winter weather in the U.S.A. After five minutes listening to this rambling I lost the will to live.
Regarding the 20yr old aspect, assuming your components are that age ... you'll need a streamer/network device (Renderer) which can communicate with the music Server and output, most likely, RCA analog to your amp. An additional component is a phone/tablet app to act as a Controller to choose your source (Server) and destination (Renderer) and provide transport controls (eg play, pause, stop, skip).
I am using a Mac with Amarra which allows me to equalize the room although still it convrt DSF to PCM before sending to de weiss dac via usb.But the problem is organizing and looking for the music in my Solid state hard disk 1Yb in the mac.
Roon is excellent for managing music much better than JRiver so difficult to manage.But with Roon I have not the sonic advantages of Amarra.The room equalization is incredibly good it use Difac software.
Foobar on a pc or andriod works just as well with out all the bloat. Plays sacd.iso as well. Open up the files in the network n you can play off any networked device. Mr apple wont let you do thar.
With my 28 year old audio gear, I run XRL out from my ARC LS 15 pre amp into my Exogal Comet Plus external DAC
My streamer is the Audiolab 6000N
and I connect that into my Oppo BD 105
via spdif ( l want to use the Oppo DSP for sub control) then out from my Oppo
( bypass it's internal DAC ) into my very good Exgogal DAC via spdif The Audiolab uses DTX Play-Fi app for lots of steaming options with lots of features all controlled from my Samsung S10 phone
Very helpful review Paul - thank you
I use Jriver and I’ve been pleased with it. The help wiki is not much help though.
His Basic stuff is just his brain 😂 it’s twenty years old 🤣
Roon Rock on a NUC inside a fanless case - heaven
When people tell me that they use Apple computers I usually shake my head and say that the only thing an iMac is good for is editing or playing music, and I stand by that, they have far superior audio support than any PC that I know of which is ideal for Hi-Fi, I just can't bring myself to drop so much money on a slow computer.
Arlen Moulton What do you mean? You can get a much better or worse pc.
At one point I owned over 40 computers, and I never heard a PC that sounded better than my old iMac, the built-in audio doesn't seem to be as good.
I have to disagree with that. My HP laptop sounds shit and my custom built pc sounds great I didn't even get a sound card as I had planned.
Laptops sound bad, that's common knowledge. What Hi-Fi system do you have by the way?
Depents on the audio chip used on the motherboard, not on the computer ore os used. Better seperat dac used
Get Roon. It's great! I tried JRiver and could not get it to work; the set up is beyond me. I was using itunes but it sucks. They keep changing it and it can only play apple formatted music. It keeps loosing album art. Like all apple programs it does what it wants and takes to much crap to get it to do what you want it to do. If you want to play DSD, FLAC, HD FLAC on itunes you can forget it. Roon will play from multiple librarys and not rearrange things like apple itunes does. If you get the trial subscription you will wind up paying for the service.
Good luck!
30 degrees is below zero?
Think - what temperature scale is he using?
Just buy one of the cheapest 2 bay Synology servers. And drop two drives in it. This can serve as NAS but can do so much more like a VPN server, media server backup etc. Synology servers run an on Linux based OS and have a very user friendly user web interface. Be smart, don't use overpriced apple crap. Put your money where it can work for you, that is in speakers, dacs and amplifiers.
I am a real fan of PS products but think we could do without theses daily videos. Perhaps because of the frequency, the videos reveal the limits of Paul’s knowledge (example: his advice re computers) and inconsistencies (example: recommending ridiculously overpriced interconnects). Less would be more.
itunes .. woooah, you gotta be joking. An absolutely terrible piece of software and Apple are forever changing it. Just when you get used to seeing things in one place, you're forced to upgrade, then it's gone. I've had it with Apple, and especially itunes. For me Windows is way better and you can do things your own way, not be dictated to by Apple.
all talk no action ..we don't want to know your life story
Is some one using BitPerfect? I see only bad reviews on App Store about that app.