I'm not technical enough to know for sure, but the article does appear to be talking about making it work with a DAC supporting async USB. In fact, it says not to bother unless it does.
At last... (Audiolab) - part III
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I'm not technical enough to know for sure, but the article does appear to be talking about making it work with a DAC supporting async USB. In fact, it says not to bother unless it does.
norriemal
Hertz and Minds
I've been listening via optical for the last few days and tonight I went for it with the usb.
There is a very real improvement. Everything is just crisper somehow, more depth, more space within the music. I thought it sounded good before but I am so impressed with the step up gained by the usb.
Norrie
There is a very real improvement. Everything is just crisper somehow, more depth, more space within the music. I thought it sounded good before but I am so impressed with the step up gained by the usb.
Norrie
Re: Squeezebox & USB - This was brought up earlier in this thread - Whether it works or not is entirely upto the capabilities of the particular version of ALSA drivers running on the embedded Linux of Squeezebox. You'll have to try - the odds are high.
Re: Firmware with CD only remote - Units shipping out from China as we speak will likely appear at the dealers in 3-4 months from now - it is the first batch with trigger outputs. Of course the software update can be applied to the old units as well - you will have to deliver your unit to Audiolab service center which should do the update for you free of charge. The menu is called Remote Decoding and options are CD Keys Only or CD & Pre Keys. The former does not respond to volume and mute, otherwise it behaves same as before.
I'm not a fan of RC-5, but that's what Audiolab always used, that's what the processor in 8000 series amps is programmed for and hence the 8200 series continue to use RC-5. Things are made more difficult due to CD, CDQ, tuner and the amps all sharing the same remote handset. Things are better on DQ since it uses a unique system code 13 which is "reserved" in RC-5 sys code sheet, so no clashes should occur there. M/QDAC is NEC code, thanks goodness, so the probability of any clash is miniscule.
No discrete codes for digital inputs on CD/Q yet - sorry. I might add more discrete codes in a later software release - will let you know.
Dominik
Re: Firmware with CD only remote - Units shipping out from China as we speak will likely appear at the dealers in 3-4 months from now - it is the first batch with trigger outputs. Of course the software update can be applied to the old units as well - you will have to deliver your unit to Audiolab service center which should do the update for you free of charge. The menu is called Remote Decoding and options are CD Keys Only or CD & Pre Keys. The former does not respond to volume and mute, otherwise it behaves same as before.
I'm not a fan of RC-5, but that's what Audiolab always used, that's what the processor in 8000 series amps is programmed for and hence the 8200 series continue to use RC-5. Things are made more difficult due to CD, CDQ, tuner and the amps all sharing the same remote handset. Things are better on DQ since it uses a unique system code 13 which is "reserved" in RC-5 sys code sheet, so no clashes should occur there. M/QDAC is NEC code, thanks goodness, so the probability of any clash is miniscule.
No discrete codes for digital inputs on CD/Q yet - sorry. I might add more discrete codes in a later software release - will let you know.
Dominik
Perfect for my requirement, thanks for clarifying this, much appreciated.
4 months is a bit of a wait though..
Thanks
Darren
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
If I was after a pair of active monitors, I'd definitely be interested in these, because the amp section is the brainchild of Tim de Paravicini of EAR fame.
Jack
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
What is your source device out of interest?
Hi Dre, it was me that asked about the squeezebox earlyer as this is exacly how I intend to run, I did a little research and it apears the SB does not use the latest version of ALSA drivers that Dominik said it would prob need, there is hope however, there is a usb guru that has written new firmware including the new driver so it will work Async. Here is the start of the thread, http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82110 There are some caveats though, no MP3 or wireless support. If you want to get the most out of the touch and the cdq then this is worth a read if you havnt allready, I think the guy has a gui to switch the touch to usb rather than johns scrip. http://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com/2011/01/soundchecks-squeezebox-touch-toolbox-20.html
Unfortunately there has been probs using the touch with other Async dacs straight out of the box so if your looking at it then theres a bit of reading to do, I am still getting a CDQ from the next batch.
Alan
norriemal
Hertz and Minds
Dtd
I am running J River Media Center with the wasapi drivers.
I did a lot of searching on the computer audio sites when I was looking to rip my cds to FLAC and there seemed to be a lot of posts claiming that Media Center sounded better than Foobar. I was so impressed I even paid for it.
Win 7 / wasapi was also getting the most votes on sound quality. (Unless your in the Apple camp)
Dbpoweramp appears to be the favourite for ripping the cds.
I just went with what I gleaned and have been more than happy, but there will be loads of people who have their own preferences.
Norrie
I am running J River Media Center with the wasapi drivers.
I did a lot of searching on the computer audio sites when I was looking to rip my cds to FLAC and there seemed to be a lot of posts claiming that Media Center sounded better than Foobar. I was so impressed I even paid for it.
Win 7 / wasapi was also getting the most votes on sound quality. (Unless your in the Apple camp)
Dbpoweramp appears to be the favourite for ripping the cds.
I just went with what I gleaned and have been more than happy, but there will be loads of people who have their own preferences.
Norrie
Thanks for the reply Dominik... please consider adding these codes, I think they are pretty essential as at the moment i can't find any easy way to switch back from analogue or home theatre to my last used digital source. Much appreciated
Dawg - sorry I missed you earlier post re: squeezebox, don't know how I managed that. If anyone has got a squeezebox touch that they could try with the CDQ over USB I wuold be extremely interested to hear whether this works.
Calvin&Hobbes
Active Member
Hi Dominik,
Bought mine via the internet (Germany) and wonder if Audiolab Netherlands would do the firmware update for me.
Therefore, could you please answer this earlier question:
Does the digital preamp need to be fixed to 0dB to get it out of the signal path or can volume be controlled on the CDQ (shield the IR of my integrated amp) without any detrimental SQ effect?
Thanks C&H
Bought mine via the internet (Germany) and wonder if Audiolab Netherlands would do the firmware update for me.
Therefore, could you please answer this earlier question:
Does the digital preamp need to be fixed to 0dB to get it out of the signal path or can volume be controlled on the CDQ (shield the IR of my integrated amp) without any detrimental SQ effect?
Thanks C&H
you guys just got me interested in the SB Touch discussion.
will be travelling to Europe next month and just might buy myself a CDQ. Since I get the VAT refund it might just be a wonderful buy. Gotta read into the SB Touch-USB thing, since it might be best to run it that way. Just don't have the time to read through both threads ATM. It'd be fantastic if anyone who has the SB Touch could actually test it.
best regards
André
will be travelling to Europe next month and just might buy myself a CDQ. Since I get the VAT refund it might just be a wonderful buy. Gotta read into the SB Touch-USB thing, since it might be best to run it that way. Just don't have the time to read through both threads ATM. It'd be fantastic if anyone who has the SB Touch could actually test it.
best regards
André
Hi,
Do you know what sound chip your using?
My DAC is in for repair at the moment so I dug out 2 soundcards, an Creative Audigy (emu10k2) and a terratec 6fire (envy24). Turns out the audigy will resample regardless, where as the envy24 would leave audio untreated.
Also did some research on the recent realtek chipsets with sp/dif, these can be found on most motherboards. Turns out certain driver versions can also lead to resampling too.
Apart from discrete codes, how about the unit remembering last digital source when pressing the digital up/down when coming from CD or the analogues? That would seem a useful addition.Thanks for the reply Dominik... please consider adding these codes, I think they are pretty essential as at the moment i can't find any easy way to switch back from analogue or home theatre to my last used digital source. Much appreciated
There is no electronic circuit block associated with the digital preamplifier, therefore there is nothing to "get out of the signal path". By using digital pre mode, you are taking an analogue preamplifier out of the signal path. The level control is simply a scaling done in 32 bit digital domain. You cannot take the scaling operation out as it's inherently present internal to the DAC signal processing. By adjusting level on the unit, you are merely adjusting the scaling factor. When we say set to digital and 0dB, it means you will get nominal 2Vrms like the 8200CD at default settings. You can actually go to +3dB to get a somewhat hotter 2.8Vrms output if you like (both CD & CDQ) - this will give you the maximum output level out of the DAC.
I'm not sure which of our dealers have the programmer already, but our plan is to distribute them to each of them. Then it shouldn't be a problem I suppose as long as you take care of the logistics involved.
Dominik
norriemal
Hertz and Minds
Set your onboard soundchip as the default for the computer. This stops all the windows noises getting in the way.
Then in foobar, media monkley, media center or whatever you use select the Asio drivers (or wasapi with win7) and send this to your soundcard. You can then play with the settings in the software and make sure settings are for no resampling and source bitdepth.
I was told that a good check is that the volume slider will not have any effect if set up with the cleanest path.
Not sure if that is the answer you are looking for. I think you need to download something like foobar and play around with the settings there.
Then in foobar, media monkley, media center or whatever you use select the Asio drivers (or wasapi with win7) and send this to your soundcard. You can then play with the settings in the software and make sure settings are for no resampling and source bitdepth.
I was told that a good check is that the volume slider will not have any effect if set up with the cleanest path.
Not sure if that is the answer you are looking for. I think you need to download something like foobar and play around with the settings there.
That would be an excellent improvement, and would solve this particular issue nicely. I still think there's a requirement for directly selectable inputs though. One key-press is always better than several imho, and it's currently very easy to scroll past the input you are looking for and have to start again. I know this might not help anyone using the supplied handset, but those codes would be great for those of us with programmable remotes.
both these suggestions would be very useful... the input memory (with volume) and the one button input selection... would be fantastic!
You guys are aware of the Input Level Trim on the analogue inputs, right? You can individually adjust levels on these inputs to match the digital ones. There's an assumption that all digital sources have essentially the same level as everything is mastered to 0dBFS - digital full scale.
Btw. did you know you can connect your iPad via Camera adapter to the USB port on your CD/CDQ and play lossless CD quality straight from the device? Or use some App to play from network storage - UPnP/DLNA.
Btw. did you know you can connect your iPad via Camera adapter to the USB port on your CD/CDQ and play lossless CD quality straight from the device? Or use some App to play from network storage - UPnP/DLNA.
Dominik,
maybe a future version 2 will have an ethernet input??? could it work with an UPnP/DLNA router with USB input for an external HDD?
best regards
André
I don't think Apple will introduce Ethernet port for iPad. For music streaming, WiFi is perfectly fine. iOS devices are limited to 16bit/48kHz anyway and that is quite comfortable over wireless.
There are already numerous apps that can play from UPnP/DLNA media servers - like a router with external HDD. So all you need to do is get the Camera Connection Kit, link your iPad to the Audiolab's USB port, download an app of your choice and you are streaming your entire music library stored on the network!
http://www.personasoftware.com
There are already numerous apps that can play from UPnP/DLNA media servers - like a router with external HDD. So all you need to do is get the Camera Connection Kit, link your iPad to the Audiolab's USB port, download an app of your choice and you are streaming your entire music library stored on the network!
http://www.personasoftware.com
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