RE: IR Control & Other Stuff

["Mark Harrison" <Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx>]

Rob,

I think I can talk to sound quality, being a hi-fi nut :-)

Let's put things in perspective by outlining the main system:

Main system:
      Sources: Pioneer DVD-717, Pioneer 950 Laserd= isk, Loewe VCR
      Processor: Meridian 565 processor with 562V = input switch
      Front amps: John Shearne Phase 2 bi-amped wi= th Phase 3
      Front speakers: B&W CDM7 (recently chang= ed from Linn Keilidhs)
      ... and for surround
      Rear amps: Pioneer A-400 (guess what's next = on the u/g list ;-) )
      Rear speakers: B&W 602

I drive the Meridians exclusively from the coax-digital output on the DVD -= the DACs sound better than the DAC in the 717.

For music, I have what can only be described as an eclectic collection, ran= ging from some relatively obscure choral stuff (such as the Corydon recordi= ng on the Durufle Requiem on Hyperion), through a lot of G&S Operetta, = through some "benchmark recording quality", such as Don Fagen's &= quot;The Nightfly", through to 80s/90s rock and euro-pop from Queen to= Roxette to Communards to Erasure ;-)

I also have a Rio MP3 player, (more details on Mark M's site) which plays b= ack from a central PC-based store in another room over an ethernet connecti= on.

I did some fairly serious listening tests with three options:

- Direct play from CD over the digital inputs (so taking advantage of the M= eridian's DACs)
- Play from the Rio of a "standard rip" using "Musicmatch&qu= ot; software
- Play from the Rio of a "best of breed rip" using EAC and LAME s= oftware

Sadly, the Rios don't have a digital-out, and the analogue outputs of a =A3= 130 device aren't going to be the same as on even a =A3350 DVD player, so I= 'm interested in a comparison with something like the Audiotron MP3 player,= which has a coax-digital out of a reconstructed PCM stream.

On tracks such as Queen's "Innuendo", which is a good 90s recordi= ng, in analogue Dolby, I wasn't sure whether there was a difference.

On some of the older recordings (such as some of the historically signfican= t performances of the G&S operetta), I couldn't hear ANY difference - t= he noise floor of the recording was above that of the MP3 conversion.

The one example where I really could hear a difference was on the Corydon r= ecording of Bruckner motets (on Hyperion, again). The "Locus Iste"= ; is one of my favourite pieces of all time, which I've sung in more than o= nce ;-) The order of quality was definitely CD best, then "EAC+LAME ri= p", then "Musicmatch rip".


One thing that's noticeable is, having moved to a bigger house, and having = a lot more hi-fi (mainly second hand) scattered about the house, then I've = not bothered buying CD-sources for the other rooms. However, I have ended u= p with now 5 of the Rios in the "subsidiary rooms". For example, = in the library, I have a Rio driving a Quad 306/34 pair, with Rogers LS4/a = speakers, and it sounds fine - very listenable.

Regards,

Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Mouser [mailto:rmouser@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 2 May 2002 19:34
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx Subject: RE: [ukha_d] IR Control & Other Stuff




CD Changers are so 90's :)  Start ripping to hard drive.  Much be= tter.
[Rob Mouser]
Hhhhmmm....been thinking about this but kept clear caus I don't know
what I'm doing. How good is the quality (In HiFi terms)? and how
could/would you control around the house, is their software that can be
networked or IR controlled? If the sound quality is there then I'm up
for the challenge!

> P.S. The house has been first fixed with over 30 Cat5 points

Well...that's about 2 rooms worth done then :)
[Rob Mouser]
Blimey you sent me into a panic then for a minute, so did a quick ready
reckoned from the plans + a quick call to my cable guy. There's actually 30 outlet points but 2 x runs of shielded CAT5 to each.

Went to an auction today and picked up a half height patch cab with sexy smoke glass door for =A375+VAT. Will strip it down at the weekend and
spray it satin black to match the hi-fi gear. Bargain!

> P.P.S. Have I gone completely mad!

If you have you'll fit right in :)

M.

_____________________________________
The UKs Premier Home Automation Site
http://www.automatedhome.co.uk <http://www.automatedhome.= co.uk>
_____________________________________