Airport Express/Streaming Audibility Tests

1. Cambridge audio changed the design of the 840c when migrating most of it to the Dacmagic because the Toshiba optical receiver was no longer available. The part simply isn't made any more. The mods to my 840 are to the power supply to the DAC chips and the replacement of the XO with a tentlabs version and local reg.

Toslink input on the 840 first goes to the receiver and then onto the FPGA where it is resampled upto 384k, only after it has been upsampled is the signal then fed onto the parts that have been modded. Like I said if it handles 24/192 input on toslink from a myriad of other sources I can only assume that the AE is out of spec even at 16/44.1. Something which a quick search on Google supports.

2. You have shares in Apple, one has to question your bias, or certainly your disclosure.

3. Yes Apple replaced a poor design with another one.

One should not forget that the XO in the AE is within an inch of the Wifi chip, it couldn't be located in any worse a position for receiving Rf interference.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/c...bearable-stuttering-will-macbook-be-different

So that's Cambridge Audio Who must be useless. EMM labs, who must be clueless fuckwits and know nothing about digital, and Musical fidelity ( who probably are clueless).

So, er, how's the water over there JC, any crocodiles?

 

Did you drive the AE from AirFoil?

I tried my AE in to a CA DacMagic and using AirFoil it dropped out every few minutes. Using iTunes to drive the AE directly it worked fine.

 

I can't recall exactly, but didn't the wandering sampling rate issue still happen using optical out on the mac via Airfoil?
Can't remember all of the options we tried on the day.
The Airfoil software (not Apple software) seems to have clear problems.

 

I don't think we tried it. We tried AirFoil, iTunes and the UCA202.

 

I alwasy used it straight out of itunes.

 

I'll put up a simple little test later - quick and easy.
A toe in the water to see if we want to attempt something more complex.


The 'does the AE work' argument will not be resolved here, or on any forum.
People can point to instances where it doesn't work wth a particular dac and others will report (me included) that it has worked perfectly well with different dacs. I've tried it with four at home including an 840C without issue. No ideas if this used the later chip - might have.

It does drop the lock between tracks and some dacs don't like this.
They fart and splutter as the lock goes on and off. A Deltec did exactly that a few weeks ago.
Others seem to react swiftly enough for this not to be an issue, including Beresford, Behringer, current Cambridge, Musical Fidelity, Benchmark and Meridian.

I guess the best advice is to try it with your particular dac.
You can buy them used for £30 so its hardly the investment of the century.

 

Little test will have to wait.
Mediafire has fallen over today so no uploading.

 

Thread crap removed.

 

Rob I can host these on my work server if you'd like. Faster than Mediafire.

 

Thanks Simon thats's very kind.

A bought a pro account from them last month so will give it another go later.
I'll PM if its still not working correctly.

 

Right here we go.

This is a nice simple starter test.

Here are two files for download.
Have a listen and comment on any difference heard using the following scale:

1 - the files sound very different
2 - the files sound slightly different
3 - the files sound just perceptibly different
4 - the files sound the same (or you believe they are the same)

State which you prefer if you wish.

The files have been 'topped n tailed' to make them differ slightly in length so they will look different in a file comparator...... so please.... listening only for now!
No formal poll for this one as it will be a work in progress if there is interest.


Version A http://www.mediafire.com/file/sm4ippvo6uiwho9/Lush A.wav

Version B http://www.mediafire.com/file/rssd0yd1r5fzzhn/Lush B.wav

 

A quick listen to the first few seconds of each suggests 1B as a reaction. But I'd have expected 4...

Paul

 

Paul, you mean 1 (very different) and prefer B?

 

For me they sound just perceptibly different and I prefer A.

A little more 'string' and less 'mass' in the massed strings.

 

Yes.

FWIW one is inverted wrt the other and 'B' is about 1.1dB louder.

I'll listen to them again later and see what I change my mind to. I might skip forwards and try another segment but the piece really doesn't appeal.

Paul

 

I thought I had them within 0.1db, but I chose to compare the peak level only rather than normalise. I wanted to interfere with the files as little as possible.

 

They both sound a bit rough to me. A bit like a vinyl original source.

I tried to do a quick comparison with an iTunes download of the same track but couldn't positively identify the same singer and recording.

Who is the singer Rob ?

JC

 

Definitely not Vinyl JC - actually came off an old 'audiophile' demo disc
No idea who that is singing but I deliberatley selected something obscure

Have a listen and see what you think.

 

Hmmm, possibly a Chesky recording of Christy Baron.

 

Never mind all that..... How do they compare!