Hi MWHouston,
I am intrigued. Although great for recording and editing, I loathe PC interface for simple listening to audio files. I find Windows intrusive for just enjoying listening, I like a healthy separation between my audio room and all things PC based, internet etc.
I like hardware - old fashioned on/off switches, not mouse-clicking and pop-ups everywhere and I don't want a PC in my stereo rig. Onboard sound cards are usually incapable of reproducing anything of quality.
Even if I use Foobar or VLC player software, with a high quality stereo PCI soundcard (with Delta-Sigma converters) in my desktop PC, I still have windows to deal with between me and my listening experience and all that gear must be 10 years old by now anyway.
I was using a USB interface through a reasonable set top box, with a small CRT colour TV as my AV monitor and a remote control, no moving parts or intrusive operating system there either. But the STB was incapable of playing FLAC files, leaving me with 44K/16bit WAV at best. Might as well use a CD player under those circumstances, which is what I did. The STB went out the window.
Tell me about this "Oppo 95", is it one of these?
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp- ... mages.aspxIt looks like a nice bit of kit! (I know very little about DVD or Blu-ray)
I would be very interested to see a pic of your setup config, even though on the link there, I can see the USB port on the back, understand the 64GB memory sticks and hub arrangement.
I know bugger all about iTunes, or finding High-res downloads online too.
How or where do you get music downloads in high-res WAV format?
Please, excuse my ignorance on this one, just trying to learn setups.
When recording, 24/96k (with some nice Mics) picks up the nuances in playing and detail in the timbers in guitars, whereas 16/44k leaves it sounding cold, clinical and flat. The audible difference between these 2 specs is the difference between failure and success of an acoustic recording, I think.
To my knowledge, I was first in Oz to take delivery of the Ensoniq EPS digital sampling keyboard in early 1988, but its sound was always fattened up by recording on Ampex 1 inch analog tape. The EPS synth was about 3 grand and had a whopping 4MB memory extension card for an extra $800. Before that, I also played around with an AKAI S3000 sampler and some Alesis stuff in the 80s. I always wanted a Fairlight CMI like I saw at the ABC once, but they were near quarter of a mil!
16/44 was incredible, back then and quite expensive too. I would love to see the back of 16/44k playback and recording, it has well and truly had its day. I am very interested in your setup ideas. Bring on the 24/96k, its about time!
Any info you can offer on the Oppo setup would be greatly appreciated, indeed.
Cheers, Sat.