File-based audio playback - compressed vs. uncompressed

[Ali Tait]

Just give up and go back to vinyl!

[synsei]

*hands Ali his coat*

[Ali Tait]

I've got so many coats I don't know what to do with them!

[synsei]

[bobbasrah]

I found this text written by J. Gordon Rankin on the Well tempered computer site, which is relevant, and I note his comment on duff USB cables.

Excellent find Alex, thank you very much indeed. I could not remember where I had read that piece, and with the subject of this thread, recurring detrimental comments over async usb and claims that only specialist and expensive usb cables would do, it was bugging me....
SOME usb cables caused issues. That was what I thought it said, so the memory is not quite as decrepit as I feared.... I will stick with the good but cheapish usb cables I have, which give no problems....

Thank you Alex, Chris, your probing has been most illuminating, even if some findings appear to run counter to what was considered likely.

It has been surprising and somehat frustrating to have no computer+Dac users come forward in the last 3 days to reinforce Stan's assertions regarding differing performance of WAV v FLAC, as it would have been interesting to isolate the cause in these instances. Their absence must indicate either the users do not exist, or the problem does not exist.

At least the assertion that FLAC and WAV contain different end data is proven false, and in the case of SBT users there appear advantages to FLAC for Hirez.

Ah well, SNAFU

[John]

Where I do hear a difference is between WAV and say something like apple lossless. I have a play around with FLAC at the weekend.

[AlexM]

Just give up and go back to vinyl!

Ah yes... Vinyl is not tweaky at all in comparison!!

[AlexM]

Where I do hear a difference is between WAV and say something like apple lossless. I have a play around with FLAC at the weekend.

John,

I'll be doing some experimentation too over the weekend. Can you tell us what is in your digital replay chain?.

Alex

[John]

Laptop windows 7
Use Jplay in full hibernation mode
Going through HLLY DAC via converter with seperate power supply but will be upgrading all of this

[Ali Tait]

For what it's worth, I don't hear any difference. My kit is - Win 7 laptop with attached Drobo, streaming wirelessly to Touch, thence to valve output dac, WD Pre 3, behringer DCX2496 active crossover, Bantam Golds, diy OB's.