• This requires two hard drives and maintains a copy of each file on each drive
• in the event of a hard drive failure you simply replace the defective drive and the NAS unit populates the new drive with the content from the other drive automatically
• It is recommended that when implementing RAID, you to use high quality drives such as those used in servers, in order to minimize disk failures. Normal hard drives are not robust enough for this kind of use.

• I chose this method over a wireless link for reliability.
• In my neighbourhood there are a lot of wireless routers that seemed to cause dropouts during playback of the larger hi-res files.
• It is also the fastest method of transferring data between computers.

• I use both my tablet and smartphone to control playback of digital content via my iMac
• I use an Android App called Retune, which interfaces very nicely with iTunes that is running on my iMac
• My Windows computers can also access and play content stored on the NAS drive by using iTunes for Windows
  

• There was a time when USB was considered to be a poor choice for streaming digital content to a DAC, primarily because the USB interface was not really designed for music, unlike other digital interfaces such as S/PDIF and Toslink interfaces.
• There were issues that caused jitter, which resulted in poor sound quality
• The introduction of Asynchronous USB has remedied many of the issues, together with better USB interface circuitry that is present in most current DAC designs.
  

• The USB circuitry in my V-link192 USB/SPDIF converter utilizes the power provided via the USB cable. As a result of this design, there can still be noise pollution created in the USB cable itself.
• Therefore, I have chosen to use a Double USB Cable that consists of two separate cables that are joined only at the USB plug that connects to the V-Link192.
• One cable transfers only the digital signal and the second only provides the USB power.
• The power provided via the computer's USB port can also be noisy, so to remedy that I have chosen to use a separate USB power adapter in order to provide a very stable and noise free 5 volt supply to the V-Link192
• This ensures that the V-Link192 is getting the cleanest digital stream possible and the cleanest most stable USB power.
  

• This is purpose built to handle USB issues related to timing and jitter
• It is significantly better than the USB port in the Schiit Bifrost DAC and many other DAC’s for that matter
• It provides significantly better sound quality, but only if the quality of the S/PDIF cable is capable of hi-res transfers also - many are not.

• e.g. on a computer, the USB sample rate may be 24/192, but the S/PDIF sample rate may only be 24/96
• likewise, on a DAC the sample rate for USB port may be 24/96 and the S/PDIF is 24/192
• Net result of this combination is a maximum sample rate of only 24/96
• Be Aware: some brands of DAC and computer only advertise the upper limit - e.g. 24/192.
• So download the manual before you buy if there is not enough information available on hand to determine the max resolution for each interface.
  

• When copying, some "Ripping Software" does not actually copy all of the raw data, but compresses it in an attempt to save space.
• Unfortunately this fact is not always apparent and generally goes unnoticed.
• I found this out the hard way and now use a program called dbPoweramp to copy the raw format from my CD's
• The improvements in sound quality are quite noticeable.
  

• The best method of storage would be to use the format that is on the CD, but WAV presents a problem if you are using iTunes, because iTunes does not really handle the WAV metadata very well.
• The net result is that if iTunes ever corrupts it's internal database then it is unable to rebuild the library from the metadata associated with every WAV track
• You have to reload every CD in order to rebuild your library if you do not keep it backed up on a regular basis
• Because of that I use AIF, which is Apple's version of a WAV file and is not compressed

• • and in the event of some iTunes “anomaly”, it is able to rebuild the library from metadata on each AIF music file

• Some formats are slightly compressed and other like MP3 are very compressed - it really does affect sound quality!
  

• Up-sampling is where the playback program will insert "interpolated data" into the digital stream before passing it onto the DAC.
• Interpolation is an approximation between two known data points and those that use it believes it enhances the sound.
• Fact is, it can actually degrade the sound quality in many cases.
• To ensure that this does not happen I use a program call Audirvana, which bypasses all internal Apple programming and passes only the raw data from the file to the DAC

• The Bifrost DAC also processes at the sample rate imbedded into the digital file

• • many DAC’s simply Up-sample without you knowing.

• volume and tone controls, although handy, can degrade sound quality considerably

• Many believe for the "purest" level of playback you should be looking for a DAC that does not up-sample
• often referred to as a non-oversampling DAC or “NOS DAC”
• I have owned both types of DAC abad both are very good performers
• But the NOS DAC seems to offer the best sound quality with crisper micro dynamics and imaging

• bit depth - is the number of bits used to represent "a sample"
• Sample Rate - is the frequency at which samples are taken
• Together they define the resolution of a digital file - e.g. CD's are generally 16 bit at 44.1 kHz or commonly referred to as 16/44
• Other sample rates include 24/44, 24/48, 24/96, 24/176, 24/192 etc...
• The higher the resolution the larger the file and the longer the download!
• if you increase the sample rate you should be able to recreate a more realistic analogue signal
• Up-sampling is the process whereby a 16/44 digital file is converted to a 24/96 file by filling in the missing samples with approximations calculated by the process of interpolation - it's an educated guess, but it affects the sound
• For more information you should really refer to Wikipedia

Streaming internet radio is accomplished via my iMac using iTunes - it's pretty simple

Spotify and similar music services - I do not currently have any experience with - yet
Downloading hi-res music files from the web can present issues, e.g. iTunes does not play FLAC files

• Audirvana does play FLAC files, but not easily in my implementation, so I simply convert FLAC to AIF
• DSD in my implementation is handled automatically in real time at playback by Audirvana, so I have no need for a DSD compatible DAC

Tags: Digital