Tbg, any published specs or documents for the server you are using?
Thanks. |
"Also, what is available for streaming, is unlikely to satisfy the tastes of many listeners. "
Do you have any numbers to support that?
High res streaming from internet sources these days still is not even CD quality technically, but the actual results can be surprisingly good, at least for the kinds of music most people listen to, maybe even more.
Plus there are many excellent solutions for streaming over a home network these days.
Hard core audiophiles are a fringe group that are the hardest to please. But frankly, if music streaming is done right, be the source on the local network or even external via internet, the results are very good, better possible than what 99% of teh people out there might have hard to-date otherwise.
It's definitely to the point where any serious lover of music and good sound should consider giving it a try. Plus, it will only continue to get better over time. |
I'm streaming my .wav files at home to my PC at work using plex configured for highest sound quality and listening on klipsch s4 earbuds. Sounds damn good!
I listen to the same files on my "big" system at home via Squeezebox to my DAC of choice. This is the bomb!
Still like records as well, especially older titles that are high quality excellent analog recordings. Those are always a special sonic treat. Not as much many records made in the 70's and newer. Mediocrity started to set in on a large scale there as well. Good modern digital streaming is much more consistent overall, even if the nth degree of technical perfection in terms of resolution is still out there still on the horizon somewhere.
I do hear new things on some recordings that are hard to detect otherwise in any case, even listening at work on those inexpensive but good qualty ear buds hooked to my standard-issue PC |
THere are many reasons why the same digital recording in multiple formats could sound different.
Beyond the usual hardware related reasons why any two sources might sound different, with digital throw any possible number of software related factors/differences that could come into play in any case comparing any two.
It's way harder to identify cause and effect with computer audio for certain compared to anything before it.
Luckily, when done well, the differences will often be subtle and not significant for many, but I feel sorry for anyone predisposed to account for any difference in sound perceived when they hear it, because it is pretty much an impossible chase.
It's easy for me to understand why traditional audiophiles often despise computer audio. There are so many more variables and unknowns to deal with. And so many ways to draw fast conclusions that might not turn out to be accurate. Can definitely drive a control freak crazy. |
"But sound is the only truth."
I'll buy that. Or better yet, what we hear is the only real truth with this stuff. Unfortunately, nobody else can hear what each of us hears. So there you go...... |
One important thing to realize about the latest generation of music servers is that they have made considerable progress in enriching ones listening experience with information (referred to as "metadata"), similar to how it used to be with vinyl, where a nice album cover and package made the overall experience more enjoyable.
That aspect of things took a dive with CD packaging for obvious reasons, and is probably still teh biggest practical drawback to CD format.
Take a look at the latest PLEX music server for example. Once music files are tagged with basic artist and album information to identify it correctly, PLEX is the first solution I have seen that may cross the inforamtion threshold that vinyl packaging used to provide, and deliver an even better and more extended and enriched listening experience, not just in one's home, but mobile out and about as well.
I feel like things are finally moving forward to some extent now with music servers, and that a lot of teh wheel spinning with the technology that naturally occurs early on is now a thing of the past. |
Actually to be clear, multimedia servers (which includes music server functionality and other forms of media) is the wave of both present and future to ride I would say.
Music servers alone have limited appeal for most compared to multimedia. Multimedia servers like PLEX for example provide excellent support for high quality digital sound/music from a variety of A/V formats and sources, some of which are music specific, like FLAC, and other more proprietary formats. |
Tbg, some are I think. But not common. Network bandwidth needed to stream higher than CD resolutions becomes an issue. I have not felt a need to dive into the higher than CD resolution digital world quite yet. Too many headaches for the marginal gain that might be possible. Maybe someday when things all catch up a bit more. CD res works for me for the most part in practice, though I know technically and from listening experience that more is possible, to the extent that it might matter. |
Digital resolution is a measure of what is possible. It does not assure that what you get is anywhere near the best possible, so judging quality by resolution alone is not viable.
Its the same with any format, say 33 1/3 vinyl for example. The average sound quality you get per recording is way less than the best possible. |
Digital resolution is a measure of what is possible. It does not assure that what you get is anywhere near the best possible, so judging quality by resolution alone is not viable.
Its the same with any format, say 33 1/3 vinyl for example. The average sound quality you get per recording is way less than the best possible.
A better indicator is how large the digital file is after lossless compression, say as with FLAC format. IF file is larger, that means there is more detail. That detail is still some combo of actual music and noise, but with a quality recording, mostly music and not much noise. |
