Digitizing Yr Music Library - Hi Fi shiz

[D.o.S.]

More recent example of digital disaster:
https://blog.vellumatlanta.com/2016/05/ ... seriously/

[backwardsvoyager]

More recent example of digital disaster:
https://blog.vellumatlanta.com/2016/05/ ... seriously/

>using apple music
>using apple music as a 'freelance composer'
>apple, that has been ripping off and censoring artists for well over a decade

...

[D.o.S.]

All valid but ultimately secondary

[kbit]

Valid point.

But seriously is no one using an external DAC?

[D.o.S.]

UG is I believe but I can't help but shake the fact that they're a waste of money.

(edit: running on half an hour of sleep so I may be misunderstanding this piece of kit in my delirium).

[backwardsvoyager]

i don't use one but my main computer sounds good to me as-is, it's a gaming laptop and i have no fucking clue as to what makes the sound card good, but i've just been rolling with it cos external DAC's are $$$.
other computers i own or have used mostly sound like complete ass in comparison so i have zero doubt that an external DAC would be at the very least a small improvement to most people.

i was considering something like the HRT microstreamer but i can't shake the feeling that i'd be severely disappointed both in knowing that it's on the low end of what's available, and in spending $200 on a tiny box that doesn't do anything particularly extravagant. it's hard not to look at these things as an outsider in the same way we look at say, transparent overdrive threads on TGP.
obviously that's primarily designed for headphone use, the devices better tailored for proper speaker systems only get more expensive, and you'd want to be spending just as much if not more on the speakers themselves to get the most out of it, i assume. great if you're UG, otherwise it's up to you to decide at which point to compromise, because anything being value for money here is dependent on you a) having a lot of money, and b) being a committed audiophile.

[kbit]

Yeah I definitely get the tgp vibe with this type of equipment I was actually uaing my stereo amp to switch back and forth the other day between the same song playing on my CD player and a 256k mp3 coming from the audio out on my computer, and while the cd player did sound a bit better it wasn't a crazy difference. I should probably bypass the DAC and keep my amp until it dies, just wish it were smaller. Meh.

[D.o.S.]

If you keep your amp until it dies you'll have more options for replacements at a lesser cost anyway.

[darthbatman]

I prefer wav format but 320mp3 should be fine.. 44.1kHz sample rate means the highest frequency affected is above 20kHz. Nyquist Theorem yo

[voerking]

heh. came back to this thread to post the blog article about Apple music.. too slow.

[backwardsvoyager]

another thing to consider is using a recording interface with a set of powered studio monitors. then it doubles as a recording setup and will end up being pretty portable and very good value.
would probably want to get a more colorful sounding set of monitors but you can EQ to tweak it anyway. i'd probably go that route if i was to get another listening setup at this point.
a friend of mine ran .flac from his macbook into an mbox hooked up to a pair of relatively cheap monitors (i think it was like $300 for an 8in pair?) and it always sounded really nice to my ears, and that was without a sub.

[kbit]

Yeah that would be a smart choice but I kind of give fuck all about recording anything I do. I never play as well or feel as good whenever that red light is on. But, I will keep that in mind. These Klipchs aint going nowhere for now though

[rustywire]

another thing to consider is using a recording interface with a set of powered studio monitors. then it doubles as a recording setup and will end up being pretty portable and very good value.
would probably want to get a more colorful sounding set of monitors but you can EQ to tweak it anyway. i'd probably go that route if i was to get another listening setup at this point.
a friend of mine ran .flac from his macbook into an mbox hooked up to a pair of relatively cheap monitors (i think it was like $300 for an 8in pair?) and it always sounded really nice to my ears, and that was without a sub.

Studio monitors make for awful music listening unless you're using a highly colored signal source. They're for critical analysis & assessment...very clinical. I don't advise it unless you have nothing else... they fatigue my ears.

Using your digital audio iface as a DAC is a significant upgrade from an integrated audio card/motherboard output. The 2 things you don't want to go cheap on are preamps and converters. They have so much impact on sound, especially at the front end.

[popvulture]

If you have a Mac, the 1/8" out is actually a pretty good DAC in disguise, so buying an external is pretty unnecessary. I've got a fairly dweeby stereo and plug straight into it for playing digital files—it sounds pretty fantastic.

Some PCs really do benefit from having a DAC though, depending on the sound card. (I won't get into some Mac vs PC debate because obviously there are plenty of reasons to love either, depending on what you do).

[backwardsvoyager]

If you have a Mac, the 1/8" out is actually a pretty good DAC in disguise, so buying an external is pretty unnecessary. I've got a fairly dweeby stereo and plug straight into it for playing digital files—it sounds pretty fantastic.

Some PCs really do benefit from having a DAC though, depending on the sound card. (I won't get into some Mac vs PC debate because obviously there are plenty of reasons to love either, depending on what you do).

mac's have a better DAC than most PC's by a long shot (and i say that as someone firmly in the PC crowd). it's only really the upper end of gaming PC's that flips that around because GOLD-PLATED ERRYTHING

something like a focusrite scarlett is probably the best kinda value DAC you could get even if not being used for recording, tbh. (for some reason everyone plugs the 2i2 but the 2i4 kills it because you get balanced and unbalanced outputs as well as midi in/out so you can use it to sequence hardware shit and all sorts of other things, and its still USB powered and pretty cheap).
the studio monitor suggestion is kinda hinged on them being used for recording as well, like i honestly think some of them can be fine but if you've already got a nice Klipsch set then it doesn't matter.