Anyone here tried "audiophile-optimizer"?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Anyone here tried "audiophile-optimizer"?

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Sideface

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#1363141 11-Aug-2015 19:55

ubergeeknz: Smells suspiciously like snake oil to me

Expensive snake oil

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kiwijunglist

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#1363185 11-Aug-2015 20:41

if you want to improve audio quality

use wasapi or aiso

get a better dac

use dsp room equalization with a proper calibrated mic eg. umik-1 and rew and something like jriver or equalizerapo or one of the expensive packages

get a better amp/speakers

get room treatment for your room

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

richms

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#1363308 12-Aug-2015 00:10

Jitter comes from an unstable clock running the DAC. Almost all DACs reclock the data because that is how you get oversampling which makes the analog design of them cheaper. In the old days the clock came directly from the clock in the optical cable, it latched the DAC with the new data when it was transfered. If there was a few nanoseconds of delay because of the disc in the CD player slowing down, then the data was latched a bit later.

If your DAC is reclocking with a junk oscilator because it cost $1 off aliexpress, no amount of software will sort it out. If it has a decent clock in it then you can input very jittery data and it will correct it all and output it nicely on its well formed jitter free clock. Recievers have good clocks because thats just good enginerring.

A lot of places seem to mistake USB dropouts as jitter. Totally different thing. USB problems stand out massively. That is a defect in the playback chain no different to a scratched CD or an internet connection that is too slow to stream.

Jitter is something I am yet to hear a definitive demonstration of that isn't also a complete change of significant parts of the signal chain "But it has less jitter" on a whole different DA converter.

Killing all the other services may give you a more responsive music player, but so does buying a better computer to run it.

Richard rich.ms

JakovH

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#1377882 1-Sep-2015 19:48

I've run ws2012 and the trial of AO.

Hard to honestly say it sounded better but it didn't sound worse.

As for snake oil, who knows but one thing is certain, most who do use it have true high end audio components and like to tinker with their servers.
Can't knock them for that.
Maybe their systems are far more revealing than low end chinese made wharfedale/B&W/generic rubbish generally bought by New Zealanders.

I'd suggest checking what drivers you will need for system to operate and be sure you can get it running smoothly before investing the time.
I had a bit of a hassle with the network drivers on my Asrock comsumer mobo.

The only reason I stopped using it was the lack of support for cmedia usb in a Schiit DAC I bought to trial back then. I couldn't get it to work at all.

Wade

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#1378009 2-Sep-2015 07:26

I'm thinking replacing the PC's power button with a Beech Knob might yield a better and simpler gain?

mcraenz

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#1378014 2-Sep-2015 07:39

Beech Knob? Are you kidding? Nothing short of a cherry tomato replaced on a regular basis will do. Gives a more organic sound.

Seriously where is your DAC? On my motherboard, on my sound card or in my pipe are not valid answers.
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Nuf said?

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ubergeeknz

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#1378081 2-Sep-2015 09:55

mcraenz: Beech Knob? Are you kidding? Nothing short of a cherry tomato replaced on a regular basis will do. Gives a more organic sound.

Seriously where is your DAC? On my motherboard, on my sound card or in my pipe are not valid answers.
1101011000111011100010110111011001101110000111001011001
Nuf said?

Don't forget silver one-way networking cable http://arstechnica.com/staff/2015/02/to-the-audiophile-this-10000-ethernet-cable-apparently-makes-sense/

timbosan

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#1378085 2-Sep-2015 10:05

So, trying to get this thread back on topic - I was just curious if anyone has tried the AO product. I know there are many, many products that 'audiophiles' can purchase to make their systems sound better (which actually have no effect, or even scientific principles, such as the $10,000 Ethernet cable).

I was simply looking at this as something of a techie, it sounded interesting, and in the end a dedicated player would suit my setup. However I am NOT prepared to pay the asking cost, I would put the money towards a DAC.

So what do people use as a source component? How many geekzone-ers use a PC? And what do they use software and OS wise?

mcraenz

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#1378110 2-Sep-2015 10:53

Yes I use a pc for everything. HDMI bit streaming to a Yamaha AVR. Windows 7 but the OS will not make any difference to the sound, just the functionality.

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timbosan

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#1378114 2-Sep-2015 11:14

mcraenz: Yes I use a pc for everything. HDMI bit streaming to a Yamaha AVR. Windows 7 but the OS will not make any difference to the sound, just the functionality.

That's what I have right now - HTPC to amp via HDMI. I was looking at changing that to include a DAC for 2-channel audio, and then found AO which led me down the path of a dedicated PC for audio (2-channel, so it goes to the DAC then to the amp).

mcraenz

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#1378140 2-Sep-2015 11:41

Only worthwhile if your separate DAC is better than the DAC in your amp and your AMP and speakers are good enough to be able to tell the difference.

If you want a high-end 2 channel setup you really need to invest in DAC, amp speakers. Just changing the DAC probably won't give a large improvement.

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#1378150 2-Sep-2015 11:48

And unless you listen to it on pure direct or whatever on the receiver, it will be going straight into an ADC and then thru the same stuff that it was going thru anyway. Making the addition of the external DAC just add more processing to the signal and also an unballanced RCA connection to pick up even more noise.

Richard rich.ms

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