2. pc-audio
  3. 1094933828

Apple Lossless Wirelessly

I've been experimenting with serving music stored on my iMac G4 in the study to iTunes running on a laptop (experimenting with a Dell, but eventually will get an iBook to handle this function) in the living room to an Airport Express that is cabled to my living room stereo system. I've been moving the music from iMac to laptop to Airport Express over my 802.11b wireless network.

So far, I've found that my 802.11b network can't adequately handle sending song files in Apple Lossless format from my iMac to iTunes on my laptop. There are breaks in the playback, especially when there is other traffic over the wireless connection. If the AL song files are on the laptop, there is no problem.

Since convenience is a big reason for this setup, I'd like to stick with a laptop as the control center and stay wireless if possible. I figure my two alternatives are: (1) upgrading my wireless network to 802.11g, and (2) buying Apple Remote Desktop so I can run iTunes on my iMac, where the song files are, while controlling it from the laptop.

Any comments on these options (and am I right about being able to use ARD this way)? Thanks!
jayboard
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
It is a bit technical. You need to be able to match the impedance to 75 ohms, and this does not just mean inserting a 75 ohm resistor. I have developed special equipment for this. I improve the power delivery to all the active parts, improve the PLL filtering, replace the regulators and I even replace the clock with a Superclock that I have modded. Then I attach a permanent short S/PDIF cable to it and tune the circuit precisely to match this cable. This way, there is no variable of a S/PDIF cable of unknown impedance and characteristics. The result is a S/PDIF waveform that is textbook perfect with sub-nanosecond risetimes and perfect symmetry. It turned-out so good that I have just started offering it as a product

I'm hoping that the same thing will happen with the AirPort Express. If I could just get that darned case off it!!

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
I did a series of blind A/B tests with my wife and I agree with her findings, ordered from best to worst:

___Player___Format__________Hardware
1) Foobar___24/96___________USB Off-Ramp (modified Transit)
2) iTunes___Apple lossless_____USB Off-Ramp
3) iTunes___Apple lossless_____Unmodified AirPort Express
4) iTunes___Apple compressed__USB Off-Ramp
5) Foobar___16/44.1__________USB Off-Ramp
6) iTunes___Apple compressed__Unmodified AirPort Express

From this I learned a few things, namely:

1) Airport Express will likely benefit from mods that add a S/PDIF coaxial output
2) Apple lossless is still not quite as good as 24/96 .wav uncompressed, but very close

I could listen to either 24/96 .wav or Apple Lossless. They are both excellent
pjohnston1
14 posts
 
CLICK ON PREFERNCES IN ITUNES.
CLICK ON ADVANCED
MAKE SURE BUFFER STREAM IS LISTED AS LARGE
More to discover