pc based audio

[John Roman]

I've been reading rather obsessively lately about pc based options for hi-rez downloads and playback. As usual, there is no lack of
sites saying how great their option is. So I stumbled on a couple of sites that seem very down to earth. That is they are of like mind.
Having enjoyed the Bottlehead community (and of course some of their wonderful gear, Extended Foreplay and Paramount's) for several years because of the folks that trade ideas as true enthusiasts. So, I'm hoping to get your take on these two sites:

www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com]www.cicsmemoryplayer.com and [url]www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com
Best regards,
John Roman

[glynnw]

Hi John - Both of these sites are well regarded as is the Asylum PC Audio site - a lot of crossover by users between these 3 sites.  The Cics stuff was just too advanced for me.  Although I am happy with my PC, I am still tempted to switch to the other camp and get a mac, which just seems to be an overall simpler solution, especially when paired with the Pure Music software.

[John Roman]

Hey Glynn,
Fortunately my brother is pretty savvy about pc stuff and I'll be seeing him over the holiday. Good time to start a project with him,
little does he know...
John

[2wo]

Have a look at this. incredibly easy to implement, which is a good thing because I have very little patience with computers.

Plugged it in, the network found it, my squeezebox found it. Feed it CD's and it rips them, tags them and gets the covers, automatically.

And it's free, donations accepted   

[bobster]

John,

Was there a product name or link in your post?  I couldn't see it.

Thanks,

Bob

[denti alligator]

In anticipation of the Bottlehead DAC it would be nice to get some recommendations for good (but cheap) PC sound cards that output digital signals only (i.e. do not do DAC themselves).

[John Roman]

Check out ESI-audio.com Their Juli@ has a good reputation. I've not listened to it yet but plan on putting together
a memory player that I may elect to use it in. The Juli@ goes for about $150
Best regards,
John

[denti alligator]

Thanks, John. Ordered it.
Until the Bottlehead DAC is revealed I'll be using the PC card in my S.E.X. amp, so anything will be better than the Audigy I have now.

[2wo]

The link to the Vortexbox is   Vortexbox.org

I did try to include a link, guess it shows just how computer savvy I ain't...John

[jrebman]

Glynn,

I just made the switch to a modified mac mini (modified by mach2 music) and use it with PureMusic with my Tranquility SE dac and it is many, many notches higher than even a tweaked Asus eee box and using foobar 2000 in kernel streaming with the incredible AQVox usb driver.  In fact, the modified mac mini is easly the best transport I've ever heard, even on dacs other than the Tranquility SE, and the stock 2010 unibody mini is really great with just a few software tweaks you can do yourself.  You can also use an iPhone or iPod Touch with the iTunes remote app to control a headless mini both with and without PureMusic.  PureMusic is a significantly better sounding playback engine than quicktime, which is what iTunes uses for playback.

HTH,

Jim

[glynnw]

Oh man - don't tell me that.  I am neurotic enough about my PC as it is.  I just looked at the Mach2 Music site and it really is appealing, but since retiring, money is really tight.  But I do appreciate your thoughts on this subject.  Maybe I could sell blood weekly for a while.

[Doc B.]

Hey Glynn, if you are using a PC try Reaper. It's not a simple player, it's digital audio workstation software and as such it's not easy to play more than one track at a time. But you can download an eval copy for free. I think it is much better sounding than Foobar and shows some hope for the PC camp.

[denti alligator]

I've recently switched from foobar to J. River Media Center. Am much happier with it in terms of layout, and it's supposed to sound better--though with my current set-up, I couldn't tell.

[InfernoSTi]

Just thought I would comment that I use AyreWave to playback audio on my Mac via my Beresford DAC:  http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/AyreWave-New-OSX-Audio-Player-Released-RMAF  I can manage my playlists in iTunes and with a single mouse click have it loaded into AyreWave.  However, it really shines on my FLAC tracks in hi-rez. I'm becoming a big fan of HDTracks (I missed all the earlier drama about sample rates). 

I suppose I need to try out some of the other software packages: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/Forums/Equipment/Software   But I'm pretty happy with the simplicity of AyreWave (simple is good for me...but this is a playback software, not a music management software).

[bobster]

The link to the Vortexbox is   Vortexbox.org

I did try to include a link, guess it shows just how computer savvy I ain't...John

John,

Thanks for adding the info.  The device looks pretty slick.

Bob