Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

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catweazel
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Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by catweazel »

Hoser Rob wrote: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:40 am I use a USB DAC
You might be interested in this.
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
Hoser Rob
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Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by Hoser Rob »

organics1 wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 7:11 am Your criticism is immediately suspect because you obviously don't understand the difference between basketball, idle chatter, and slobbering. Let me guess: You voted for Fat Donnie.
Granted, by describing APLinux as the absolute best is subjective...but everything dealing with audio IS! I stand by what I said. It worked for me. Just like a remedial English course might work for you.
Typical pseudo intellectual 'audiophile' garbage. Just like all those wine 'connoisseurs' who, when blindfolded, can't even tell the difference between white and red.

The truth about audio is that at least 90% of your sound quality is determined by 3 things. The source quality (which usually means how good the mics and room were and the answer is usually not good), the speakers, and the room acoustics. Any engineer of sound tech knows this. But it escapes idiotic audiophile posers.

BTW I'm fortunate not to live in a place where it's possible to vote for Donald.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
Hoser Rob
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Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by Hoser Rob »

catweazel wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 7:17 am
Hoser Rob wrote: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:40 am I use a USB DAC
You might be interested in this.
That's useful but not necessary for me. I actually downsample 24 bit recordings to 16 bit .... it's been experimentally shown in proper double blind tests that you cannot hear the difference ... so actually USB 1 is fast enough.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
organics1

Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by organics1 »

There are literally dozens of factors that affect sound quality. And considering that you STILL don't know the difference between dribble and drivel (which you obviously have never seen as a written word) I'm not at all surprised that someone who goes by the name of Da Hoser could come up with only 3. But, hey, have it your way...and flatten the earth as much as you need to.
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Flemur
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Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by Flemur »

Hoser Rob wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:35 amThat's useful but not necessary for me. I actually downsample 24 bit recordings to 16 bit .... it's been experimentally shown in proper double blind tests that you cannot hear the difference ... so actually USB 1 is fast enough.
Quite true: https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
(and I'm not sure what that phoronix.com article was about - apparently not sampling rates...?)
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
Wavelength

Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by Wavelength »

All,

Just spending my Saturday looking at Linux stuff and came across this thread. I am the designer of the DragonFly line and all the electronics for AudioQuest.

Just a couple of things... file format, best is flat either WAV, WAVb (has meta data) or AIFF. FLAC is ok but the decoding on the fly makes it sound worse.

Downsampling from 24bits to 16bits is just silly. Do you ripe out 1/3 of the pages in a book before you read it?

I have been doing this computer audio for 15 years now. There are basically a couple simple things to remember and your good to go:
1) Error correction enabled when ripping CD's.
2) Flat files sound better than compressed.
3) Everything you do makes a difference.

I remember back in 2003 when I finished my first USB DAC the Cosecant hey on the 6th of August!!! I said wow no longer the problems of SPDIF and Jitter asynchronous USB Audio (UAC1) works great and the flow control is perfect. Ok wearing rose colored glasses, USB cables make a difference, computers make a difference, software everything does. Do you know I spent 5 years off and on looking at USB data streams trying to figure out why one software sounded different than another when both streams at the dac chip were identical and bit true (I have a TEK scope with I2S monitoring). It ended up being that one program used more power in the computer which made more noise on the mains which caused more EMI/RFI.

Believe me #3 is true and it's very easy to hear the differences on a good system that you know.

Double blind testing is just silly. You put people in a room with a system they don't know and ask them to make a determination. Don't listen to that crap... If you want to listen better pickup an instrument and play something. I still take guitar lessons every Monday (I have a minor in Music Percussion).

Thanks,
Gordon
Wavelength Audio, ltd.
Josegpr

Re: Steps towards a near-audiophile, bit-perfect Linux audio setup

Post by Josegpr »

111Milestogo

This is just to say many many thanks for your efforts and for writing these great posts. After having my audio system (Nad amplifier with USB DAC module, PSB speakers and a small Shuttle pc with windows 7 running foobar) for a few years the hard drive died. I had my backup of ripped CD files and a lot of high res files. When reinstalling decided to give a try to Linux mint. Found your post and after suffering more or less the same, well surely way less thanks to your posts, ended with a working version of Audacious (with my Nad usb DAC and 24 bit in the Alsa output settings, other options failed). It now sounds absolutely better than before, feels like I have upgraded everything!!.
And for the skepticals out there: checked it with my wife and son, both trained musicians, and they were delighted.
Thanks a lot again and keep posting !
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