VPI

As I am further developing my computer as a source set up I have come to the realization that placing a Mac Mini in the rack might be my best option. Right now I can run audio from my Mac Pro or my Macbook Pro via, USB, Firewire or AES/EBU from the Pro. Unfortunately I do not want to give up the Macbook Pro as my listening room computer and the Mac Pro is several rooms away. My plan is to put the Mac Mini in the rack with iTunes and Amarra installed. Then I believe I can control the Mac Mini either by my laptop or with my Touch if I leave Amarra up as it interfaces with the Rowmote App. I could then take the Squeezebox out of the system and run USB or Firewire out of the Mac and into one of my many DACs. So what am I missing?

I must have missed something. Al, he was a good guy and seemed very knowledgeable and not the least bit like the normal NYC audio salesman. He actually talked me into buying the cheaper software as he thought it was all I needed.

Yep, I spent the afternoon at Ciamara in the city playing with gear and buying the Dongle. Really enjoyable afternoon. Sanjay sells Amarra and all the Sonic Studio, Weiss, Berkley Audio and Lavry DACs. He actually sells from his house which is only a few blocks from Dinny's house. He also makes custom speakers with custom amps/cabling. The set he had in his house used a 18" and two 15" NAD drivers and some sort of Beryllium horn loaded tweeters. Huge speakers but we couldn't really drive them hard as his kids were home.

Happy Birthday Vicki.

JP, what does the dongle look like. I am most likely going to run it on a desktop but I would like to be able to use it on my MacBook Pro as well for meets, etc.

As someone that had a little debate with Linux at Head-fi based upon his massive expertise in every topic I would recommend ignoring him. His opinion is fact, there is no questioning this.

Yes, you get full value when you upgrade.

I have been running through CDs getting a pretty large collection of AIFF together but it would certainly be much easier to keep them in ALAC. I really need a manual for the demo though. I cannot change core audio rates to 24/96 without getting a great Alvin and the Chipmunks impression as the higher the sample rate the faster the song plays. I assume since Amarra is running things it will allow iTunes to play the high res recordings at full rates without the Apple Midi controls set to 24/96. I have to transfer some hi-res music to the laptop to test my theory unless someone wants to enlighten me.

Well after playing with the demo for a couple days I have decided to buy Amarra. I am assuming since I do not plan to do anything over 24/96 and I do not care about the equalization I should get the Mini. Does anyone here have it yet?

Good, my shilling business is just getting up off the ground and I do not need you guys causing me trouble.

None of it makes sense but if people don't stop calling me a shill I will be forced to respond with force.

I bought it at Audio Connections but they have not gotten it in yet. I think there is still one person in front of me but AR does not seem to put out a lot of product or they don't give a lot to Audio Connect.

You're right I fixed it to make it more personal to the reader.

Nope, it is only the start up process and if you push the initializing button on start up you can turn off the feature altogether. My future Head-fi Review: "Dearest Reader, I have about 50.73 hours on mine now and while I thought I might lose her at hour 22.36 when the burn in process reached half-life and the low end and upper range switched places for a moment, it has really come back together and become part of a squeezebox set up that I would say bests my upper mid-fi CDPs (Cary CD 303/300, Meridian G-08, Esoteric SA-60). I figure with one to two thousand more hours the chip will be burned it and I can really listen. I truly love you Dearest Reader, Forever Yours." I had to throw in that scientific stuff so I look like a pro and can maybe get some freebies in the future.

He can get one new for a tiny bit more and it will be drop shipped from the factory. I paid $2,400 shipped.

He will upgrade to that one after he hears it at the NY meet. I am really enjoying it now. It is like a Swiss Army knife I can change the sound a song by song basis if I really want to but I have pretty much settled on filter 1 or 3 for the Squeezebox and have no complaints.

So I guess I am getting my ass kicked in Fantasy Football by a ghost team. 60 Point favorite my ass!

Great bit of modern Bluegrass. Punch Brothers - Punch

You can get the Dock and the new matching DAC from Wadia that is supposed to be coming out end of this month I think.

By the end of the year according to some accounts but first quarter of next on others. I have signed up for the beta program so maybe I will have one sooner.

If you make it onto the convoy to the NY Meet it will be there to play with. It has three HDMI inputs and soon I will be able to access network drives and control music play with my iPod touch as a remote which should be pretty slick.

Well I have a few hours under my belt with the new PerfectWave DAC and though it has its quirks, the sound ranks up there with some of the best digital I have heard in my system. I am mostly using Filter 3 which is MP Soft "Minimum phase soft knee filter. Low pre-ringing, minimal group delay, minimized post ringing, good phase vs. frequency, soft cut-off." I have the upsampling set to 96. PS Audio recommends the Minimum Phase Apodising Filter but I prefer Filter 3 out of the Squeezebox. I don't know what any of that crap means but this filter sounds the most like an excellent Vinyl set up, which I will always use as the standard. Sounds closest to my VPI TNT-HRX with Lyra Titan Cartridge with the same huge dynamics and to my ears maybe a little less bass. Same midrange richness and also has that wonderful ability to recreate the recording space, which is something I feel Vinyl will always do better than digital. The most interesting part is that the differences in the filters are not small, the changes are immediately recognizable and I think I just gravitated to the most analog filter to my ears. I definitely prefer it to the Weiss on all levels.

The first contender showed up today for round two of the great Squeezebox DAC shootout. The Perfectwave DAC is in the house. Haven't listened much as I am trying to figure out the millions of filters, etc. The packaging was very good with the unit wrapped in a nice cotton sack and riding in a suspended film cocoon for shock absorption. I don't have any I2S sources so I am having to settle for Coax out of the Squeezebox. Sound varies greatly based upon the filter used so I think this would not be the DAC for the Anal amongst us as you just get through sampling all the filters when the song finishes and you have to start all over. I wanted to thank Ron at Liquid Audio for getting this out to me so quickly, much appreciated.

I just bought one of his DACs Dinny so I can assure you he does have some, at fantastic prices.

Happy Birthday Wayne.