What is the function/pupose of music plyr/streamer

There are two basic types of digital computer music streaming: 1) USB or Firewire driven and 2) network driven

If you are using USB or Firewire, it uses some or all of the audio stack S/W in the computer. Therefore, improvements in sound quality can be achieved by using Amarra, Jriver or Pure Music player software to avoid some of the audio stack nasties. Once these are avoided, the audio quality can be the best available, as supporting hi-res.

If you are using wired or wireless networked via Squeezebox Touch, then the data is the data and the audio stack is not involved. Player software is custom for each device, such as Sonos or Touch (Squeezecenter) or AppleTV (iTunes). Most of these do not support hi-res or are limited to 24/96.

Apple creates kind of a hybrid of networking and core audio, so its not a good thing. Their airplay sends the file WiFi only from core audio and encodes it as apple lossless. Not good. its not just "data".

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

"Steve- Is it just Airplay you have an issue with or the whole idea of storing and playing using apple lossless?"

Airplay is flawed and ALAC is also flawed IMO.

It's time you updated that system of yours. Throw all of that stuff away or give it away if you can. I have not had this kind of stuff since college, and I graduated in 1976. There is plenty of great chinese-built used equipment on Audiogon for cheap.

I would think "keep it simple". No preamp, no CD player. Just a computer, preferably a Mac Mini, a good USB DAC and some monoblock amps. Then get some decent speakers like used Maggies, Vandersteens etc..

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

"Steve, in what way are ALAC and Airplay 'flawed'?"

1) It is not just using networked data transfer, it uses the audio stack so it is mucking with the data with mixers and volume control etc..
2) compresses the data to ALAC

Firewire is no panacea. USB interfaces done right beat Firewire.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

"So, I'm going to guess you use FLAC.
Can you recommend a s/w app that allows my mac to play well with FLAC?"

You would be wrong. ALL lossy compressed formats compromise sound quality IME. I recently did this comparison at RMAF at my exhibit room. Had a great track, Steven Stills "Treetop Flyer" in FLAC and was playing it a lot and then one of my room partners said I should convert it to .wav and try again. I used XLD on my Mac to convert it back to .wav and it was considerably improved. Sounded like listening through a tunnel with the FLAC version. It's the real-time behavior of these CODECs that mucks-up the sound quality.

I put only .wav files on my iPod and my wifes ripped with either dbpoweramp on a PC or XLD on a Mac. Big difference.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

.wav files play fine on the iPod as long as they are 44.1. Just put the .wav files in your library into the iPod playlist on your Mac and when it syncs the iPod, the .wav files are on the iPod. You may have to find them as files and not albums however.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I meant Lossless - a typo.

Use AIFF, not FLAC or ALAC if you care about tags and album art.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

XLD is the best ripper and converter - its free:

http://tmkk.pv.land.to/xld/index_e.html

I would rip to AIFF, not ALAC. This is essentially .wav, but allows for tags and album art on Mac.

Music players dont always manage the music. Much of the time, they just improve the sound of iTunes, such as Pure Music and Amarra. These are the current gold standards.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio