Mallette Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Well, not exactly, but something I wrote in another thread recently caused me to act on my own blabber last night after work. I've a system in the downstairs family room I set up just after our move to Seabrook last summer. It's my old Denon HT reciever with Frazier Mark IV's. We don't have a TV or anything in there and the PAW wanted the place to be pretty much a gathering point rather than a media center, so I had nothing going there but the FM tuner. However, this system also feeds the poolside system and there are times I want to listen to something other than FM. It is my eventual intention to put a Buffalo LinkTheater or similar networked media device down there, but that will be a while. So...I dug an old laptop out of my audio/IT closet along with my M-Audio Audiophile USB I'd purchased for some (as yet incomplete) location recording experiments last summer and went to work while the PAW was herding the cats (kids) to dinner and setting the table. The old laptop came up without a problem and got on my wireless network and mapped the media drives. Quick visit to the M-Audio website for a driver download and install, and by the time I was called to dinner I was listening to the 24/96 Brahms Quintet from Linn downloads, as well as able to access all my digital audio collection and playlists. That, with nothing but a reasonably unobtrusive black laptop added to the room. Total cost, nothing out of pocket and the PAW approved. Of course, if you had neither of these items around I'd estimate you'd be out around 300.00 or so on Ebay to get them. OTOH, the sound quality of the M-Audio Audiophile USB external sound card is phenomenal and equal to just about any CD player on the market. All that, and it does up to 24/96 as well if you want to archive your LP's or download the (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) Linn Master digital recording files. Even if you are digitalphobic, you may have a secondary system around where this would work for you for casual listening. If not, it could be a fine addition to your main system if you've desired the convenience of immediate, no fumble access to your digital music, the huge sonic advantages of hi resolution digital, and the niceties of being able to put together unlimited custom playlists. I've seen USB external hard drives as cheap as 70.00 for 250gb recently. That's around 350 CD's worth. So the the limits of an old laptops HD are not a problem. Hey, try something new...I won't tell. Dave Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Dave...I am sure you are right....I need to try something new. I guess I am a digitalphobic...even my cdp has tubes. There is something inherently unromantic about getting music through samples of 0s and 1s. Music should come from the interaction of a stylus and vinyl or a tape and tape head[] My purchase of a cdp keeps me just one step from being an analog dinosaur. Seriously.....I wish I was more comfortable in the digital arena....and you did promise not to tell if I stray from my analog roots...right? Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 That's really cool Dave, I might be calling you for help someday for help with that type of thing. For now though PAW? I could only find Parents Are Watching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 No problem, Mr. "X"... Bear in mind my music room contains nearly 10 times as many LP's and 78's as digital sources, and, in fact, it was my quest to determine why CD's offered neither "perfect sound" nor "forever" that led eventually to digital satisfaction. As my signature would suggest, I've no source bias I can think of. Good music, well performed, and well recorded, that is all I as and I don't care how it's delivered to me. True lovers of music will use needles, magnets, lasers, guitar picks, bows, or whatever to get to that happy place. IMOH those who eschew ANY method of accessing a great performance of transcendental music are biased...and bias is NOT scientific or rational. We are on the verge of cheap, reliable, and, at least for audio purposes, limitless storage. It will be practical to record your LP's at 24/192. I've done this and only the most analytical of ears would be able to tell the difference between the digital and analog versions, and even then, the differences would not be significant unless one was looking to support a bias. What I am saying is that for the true lover of our fragile analog inheritance, it will soon be IMPERATIVE that one preserve that inheritance rather that destroy it one play at a time. Judgement day is coming... Loosen up, have some fun, listen to the MUSIC, not the medium... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 That's really cool Dave, I might be calling you for help someday for help with that type of thing. For now though PAW? I could only find Parents Are Watching? Sorry. I've been gone awhile. "PAW"=Perfect Audiophile Wife. Got to calling her that in my old house where she graciously accepted my 'horns into our bedroom as it was the only room in the house with corners, along with the beer-swizzling hornheads who visited... Great lady, never bats an eye at my latest insanity. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Mr.X....good rib...after 275 post haven't got around to posting an avatar! You made my point....intimidated by digital but please..Tarheel or Chuck will do. No offese intended in my response to your original post....I read it and was impressed with your creativity and was thinking...that would be cool to feel that comfortable with digital technology. I guess I was thinking about all the young folks who know music through ipods and mp3s only who have never heard good equipment and analog sources. You may have read more into my post than was there. I thought the winking smiley might have given it away that my comments were tongue in cheek. Again....I did not intend to rain on your parade...sorry if it seemed that way. That said....I don't see the future of analog being quite as dire as you do perhaps but certainly it needs to be preserved as faithfully as possible. I think there may be more turntables and cartridges being manufactured now than was the case when digital was not an option and the selection of new vinyl has increased dramatically over the last twenty years. There is room for all music (well..maybe not rap) and musical formats and I don't ignore the potential of any of these. Anyway.....good post. Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Alrighty, Chuck (if that's your real name)...[] I reviewed your post and my response to it and can only assume your concerns about "raining on my parade" are due to your tender number of posts and lack of experience with mine. I haven't been offended since my first 100 posts or so, when I was offended by EVERYBODY on the forum, including some of the best, like the late lamented Mobile Homeless et al. I am so jaded now I actually have no idea what you are talking about. I took your response as genuine interest... I am NOT certain at all what you meant by "...I don't see the future of analog as being as quite as dire as you do..." Unless we determine some way of building DACS into our brains the only future in audio IS analog and the TT and LP market is certainly far more alive today than 10 years ago when we record heads were considered a rather pitiful lot living in the past. What I meant was that, whether tape or disc, there is no way to play either without some degree of irreversible damage. The laser TT is the only exception to that, and my understanding is that it is still not perfected and remains out of reach for most of us. While it may sound insane, I believe that it will be possible in the not too distant future to optically scan a record on a flatbed scanner and have a computer analyze and produce the music from the image of the grooves. That would be COOL! Anyway, I am long since out of the "offense" business and come here for fun, friendship, and most of all to LEARN. Kind regards, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpines Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Dave, I am using a Stereo-Link 1200 USB DAC (www.stereo-link.com) and absolutely love the sound and the convenience. No, the sound is not quite as detailed on the mp3's as a CD but so very close, that for general listening, ease of storage/playback, and playback versatility, it's the best $200 bucks I've ever spent. The sound is better than any of the "audiophile" internal sound cards I've ever had. For audio playback only purposes, is there a significant difference between the M-Audio unit and the Stereo-Link unit? I'm no expert in such matters, I selected the Stereo-Link unit on the basis of USB and price (about $200). I'd drop $250 in a minute if you can tell me the M-Audio unit will deliver better sonics. Thanks, Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpines Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Forgot to mention, good interconnects make a big difference. I'm using Kimber Hero's on the USBDAC's analog out and the difference over the factory supplied cables is notable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Tough one, and I can't answer. As I mentioned, I purchased the M-Audio for some experiments based on Marvel and some other forum members recommendation of M-Audio products as being outstanding and equal to most DAC's, including the Revolution at around 100.00 or less. I don't think I paid but 150.00 for the external Audiophile USB model. I've not really done any critical listening with it, but my brief experience last night was most promising. If you want what, IMHO, is as good as anything at any price, I'd certainly recommend the Card Deluxe. It's about 375.00, but a $tereophile reviewer compared it favorably to a $$$$$$ Mark Levinson DAC. About 4 years ago we had an A/B with it in my MBS-5 Digital Audio Recorder and a Rega Planet in a pretty well set up blind test with some forum golden ears in attendance. It came in very slightly ahead. I've done a LOT of location recording with it and all I can say is that I've never heard anything out of it that was not present during the performance...which is all I ask. That is NOT to say the Audiophile USB might not float your boat...just my honest admission that I've not spent real "quality" time with it. I'll let you know if I hear anything that bothers me, but I suspect I will find it more than adequate for the 150.00 it cost. Came back to add: My opinions may loose all credibility when I tell you I've never heard any difference whatsoever from one interconnect to another, nor do I understand the science behind that. I believe that you, and many others, do, and that's a good thing. Also, I see no difference in storage/playback between MP3 files and wav files. OTOH, I cannot tolerate MP3 as the vast majority of my listening is acoustic music and I've never heard an MP3 played on any price system where I could tell an Amati from a Strad...and that is important to me. I actually record even my 78's at 24/88.2 as there is an obvious and major improvement over 16/44.1 and with storage so cheap space is not an issue. Dave Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtnfoley Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 That's really cool Dave, I might be calling you for help someday for help with that type of thing. For now though PAW? I could only find Parents Are Watching? Sorry. I've been gone awhile. "PAW"=Perfect Audiophile Wife. Got to calling her that in my old house where she graciously accepted my 'horns into our bedroom as it was the only room in the house with corners, along with the beer-swizzling hornheads who visited... Great lady, never bats an eye at my latest insanity. Dave She got any sisters? [] I'm also into CRT HT, so any prospective female would have to be especially understanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 CAUTIONARY NOTE So I finally had a few minutes to really listen last night. Sounded great until about two minutes into a Poulenc clarinet/piano piece I recorded a few years back the LSD kicked in. Sounded like a ring modulator. Bit of parsing possible issues confirmed the old laptop was really old...USB 1.0. Trip to Circuit City today and 30.00 later I had a PCMCIA USB 2.0 adapter. All is well and the sound is really superb. Doesn't take long when it is your own material and you remember what it sounded like on location... Still don't have enough time with it to suggest the Audiophile USB is the equal of the ESI or Card Deluxe, but given it's family room and pool duties it really doesn't matter. Having my entire digital collection available in an unobtrusive, fiddle-free form factor makes the PAW happy (loves the music, can live without all the boxes and cables required to get it) and I am certainly not hearing anything that is not worth the (in my case, about 30.00) small investment. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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