What I've found so far...

Computer Audio Asylum

Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies.

GCrouser@hvc.rr.com

I started hanging at this forum a couple of months ago. I knew that theoretically playback from a HD should potentially sound better than from a CD/DVD transport.
I like HDCD and have a couple Assemblage DAC2's in my systems (one of them recently modified by PCX) Most Grateful Dead releases are HDCD now, same with Neil Young. I want to make it clear that I am not a Dead Head. It was my (maybe stupid) dislike of Dead Heads in the 80's that kept me from getting into their music until the early 90's. I'm a Union video assist technician working in commercial film production. So, technically I have half a brain. Anyways, I was frequently disappointed that I couldn't pass an HDCD file to my DAC2 intact. The HDCD LED never lit up. I knew that I wasn't getting a bit true output. Then I started learning from this forum. I've had a lot of free time in the winter to play with these things.(not a lot of shooting in the snow)
So far I've been able to get bit true output from my M-Audio 24/96 and my Terretec EWX 2496 on 2 different computers. On the advice of Jim F, I began using Foobar2000, and with some trial & error and wading through various permutations, I finally got it.
Funny thing is I recently stopped using Itunes in favor of Foobar2000. To anyone thinking about trying out Foobar2000, my advice is DO IT ! Yes, it does have a learning curve. But it is worth it. My main complaint with Itunes was it's inability to read CD-text. Plus it's a little to proprietary for me. I dislike hardware or software that tries to make all the decisions for me. Loved it's smart playlists though. However, I was just playing around with it again and discovered that I could get bit perfect playback from it also.
So I did a quick comparison with the same song. Conclusion: IMO Foobar2000 really does sound better. A little fuller sounding, richer.
Itunes was a tad thinner it seemed. I noticed the low end less. This was just a quick comparison. So don't go nuts on me. Itunes has to have the volume up all the way for it to be bit perfect BTW.
There you have it, some of my observations. Sorry for the rambling, like I said I've got time. If anyone has the same cards as me, I'd be glad to share info on what settings I'm using.
Enjoy !
Greg

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Topic - What I've found so far... - GCrouser@hvc.rr.com 09:09:16 03/20/06 (0)

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