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+--- Thread: AIR 3 Beta for Mac (/Thread-AIR-3-Beta-for-Mac)
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Jnan_devi - 14-May-2016
You folks are too generous in showering praises. Actually here is how it happened.
First AIR3 + Roon did not work (Settings >sound>Devialet Air)
Restarted my MacBook > did not work again.
@Hifi_swlon suggested to try iTunes + AIR3, just rule out Roon > Worked immediately. Found myself Jealous as Roon is not being used. Anyways... After an hour ...
Started Roon once again with all check boxes ticked in Roon > worked flawlessly (played with delays)
Checked Settings, it was set to "internal Speakers".
So I do thank hifi_swlon for giving idea and pursue AIR3 further
And I dare not try Settings >sound>Devialet Air again. It's working with internal speakers selected, so be it.
SQ : my system, room, amp, speakers, AQ usb & my ears > felt AIR3 == USB (All Roon)
My guess is, O d'A hardware might be advanced to make AIR3 sound better? Again sorry for saying this but that's my personal opinion.
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Rufus McDufus - 14-May-2016
(14-May-2016, 13:55)Fla7a Wrote: Since there are some Melco users here, can someone (maybe Rufus?) compare the SQ of AIR3 vs. Melco N1A (via USB)?
Thanks and best regards,
Franz
I'll try and give it a go. Unfortunately my wife commands the MacBook and I haven't been able to get near it...
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Celts88 - 14-May-2016
I am just about to buy an Antipodes DS Server.
Should I hang of and see if the new AIR 3 (after beta testing is finished) is up to the task, or would a dedicated server always be better (looking at going AES Antipodes to AES on my D-Premiers).
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Rufus McDufus - 14-May-2016
I've just done a very quick test of AIR 3 beta vs Melco N1A with just a couple of tracks, not super audiophile tracks at all but just stuff I listen to. Nick Drake's 'One Of These Things First (HDTracks 24/96 version) and Sufjan Stevens 'The Only Thing' (CD rip). Both FLAC files.
I'm using AIR 3 on a 2011 MacBook Air with Audivarna 2.5 - default settings except integer & direct mode turned off. Files being played are on local disk.
Melco connected via USB to the Devialet, and using Minimserver.
From this very brief test I find AIR 3 more transparent. It's slightly easier to follow individual instruments. Bass is wonderfully well-defined. It does sound very jitter-free.
Melco is very very slightly 'blurrier'. It's perhaps more 'analogue'. I can imagine a lot of people would prefer this.
They are very close! There really isn't a lot in it and I think I would struggle to differentiate in a blind test. My inclination is towards AIR 3 in this instance. The problem is I don't like the usability of the AIR 3 options as I have them (Audivarna or iTunes on a MacBook) and prefer playing tracks from my iPad so in general usage I think I'd go back to the Melco.
The interesting thing is that I never really liked AIR 2. It always tended to be towards the bottom of my playback choices even when it wasn't spitting out white noise or dropouts, so this is a real result for me for AIR 3. Now if only they could port the AIR 3 sender to run on Melco ...
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Fla7a - 14-May-2016
(14-May-2016, 19:24)Rufus McDufus Wrote: I've just done a very quick test of AIR 3 beta vs Melco N1A with just a couple of tracks, not super audiophile tracks at all but just stuff I listen to. Nick Drake's 'One Of These Things First (HDTracks 24/96 version) and Sufjan Stevens 'The Only Thing' (CD rip). Both FLAC files.
I'm using AIR 3 on a 2011 MacBook Air with Audivarna 2.5 - default settings except integer & direct mode turned off. Files being played are on local disk.
Melco connected via USB to the Devialet, and using Minimserver.
From this very brief test I find AIR 3 more transparent. It's slightly easier to follow individual instruments. Bass is wonderfully well-defined. It does sound very jitter-free.
Melco is very very slightly 'blurrier'. It's perhaps more 'analogue'. I can imagine a lot of people would prefer this.
They are very close! There really isn't a lot in it and I think I would struggle to differentiate in a blind test. My inclination is towards AIR 3 in this instance. The problem is I don't like the usability of the AIR 3 options as I have them (Audivarna or iTunes on a MacBook) and prefer playing tracks from my iPad so in general usage I think I'd go back to the Melco.
The interesting thing is that I never really liked AIR 2. It always tended to be towards the bottom of my playback choices even when it wasn't spitting out white noise or dropouts, so this is a real result for me for AIR 3. Now if only they could port the AIR 3 sender to run on Melco ...
Hi Rufus,
thanks for your effort to compare it at such short notice and your impressions.
The result is quite unexpected, since the Melco sounded definitely better than AIR2, but I trust your judging on this.
So it's quite impressive what they did with AIR3 SQ wise, which makes me wonder, how the new streaming module will sound like.
Yes, Melco as standalone source would really be something, especially if they could somehow port Roon to the Melco...
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - GuillaumeB - 14-May-2016
(14-May-2016, 19:24)Rufus McDufus Wrote: I've just done a very quick test of AIR 3 beta vs Melco N1A with just a couple of tracks, not super audiophile tracks at all but just stuff I listen to. Nick Drake's 'One Of These Things First (HDTracks 24/96 version) and Sufjan Stevens 'The Only Thing' (CD rip). Both FLAC files.
I'm using AIR 3 on a 2011 MacBook Air with Audivarna 2.5 - default settings except integer & direct mode turned off. Files being played are on local disk.
Melco connected via USB to the Devialet, and using Minimserver.
From this very brief test I find AIR 3 more transparent. It's slightly easier to follow individual instruments. Bass is wonderfully well-defined. It does sound very jitter-free.
Melco is very very slightly 'blurrier'. It's perhaps more 'analogue'. I can imagine a lot of people would prefer this.
They are very close! There really isn't a lot in it and I think I would struggle to differentiate in a blind test. My inclination is towards AIR 3 in this instance. The problem is I don't like the usability of the AIR 3 options as I have them (Audivarna or iTunes on a MacBook) and prefer playing tracks from my iPad so in general usage I think I'd go back to the Melco.
The interesting thing is that I never really liked AIR 2. It always tended to be towards the bottom of my playback choices even when it wasn't spitting out white noise or dropouts, so this is a real result for me for AIR 3. Now if only they could port the AIR 3 sender to run on Melco ...
Wow this is amazing! But it doesn't surprise me based on what I've been hearing over the past few days. I will do a comparison with the totaldac tomorrow. My hunch is that it's getting very close too, certainly with streamed material from Qobuz desktop it almost felt as though AIR 3 was edging ahead. It's the vocals that are getting me, so holographic and the speakers are just disappearing.
I'd love to know what Devialet have done with AIR 3. This is really special.
Guillaume
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Zappydev - 14-May-2016
(14-May-2016, 19:54)GuillaumeB Wrote:(14-May-2016, 19:24)Rufus McDufus Wrote: I've just done a very quick test of AIR 3 beta vs Melco N1A with just a couple of tracks, not super audiophile tracks at all but just stuff I listen to. Nick Drake's 'One Of These Things First (HDTracks 24/96 version) and Sufjan Stevens 'The Only Thing' (CD rip). Both FLAC files.
I'm using AIR 3 on a 2011 MacBook Air with Audivarna 2.5 - default settings except integer & direct mode turned off. Files being played are on local disk.
Melco connected via USB to the Devialet, and using Minimserver.
From this very brief test I find AIR 3 more transparent. It's slightly easier to follow individual instruments. Bass is wonderfully well-defined. It does sound very jitter-free.
Melco is very very slightly 'blurrier'. It's perhaps more 'analogue'. I can imagine a lot of people would prefer this.
They are very close! There really isn't a lot in it and I think I would struggle to differentiate in a blind test. My inclination is towards AIR 3 in this instance. The problem is I don't like the usability of the AIR 3 options as I have them (Audivarna or iTunes on a MacBook) and prefer playing tracks from my iPad so in general usage I think I'd go back to the Melco.
The interesting thing is that I never really liked AIR 2. It always tended to be towards the bottom of my playback choices even when it wasn't spitting out white noise or dropouts, so this is a real result for me for AIR 3. Now if only they could port the AIR 3 sender to run on Melco ...
Wow this is amazing! But it doesn't surprise me based on what I've been hearing over the past few days. I will do a comparison with the totaldac tomorrow. My hunch is that it's getting very close too, certainly with streamed material from Qobuz desktop it almost felt as though AIR 3 was edging ahead. It's the vocals that are getting me, so holographic and the speakers are just disappearing.
I'd love to know what Devialet have done with AIR 3. This is really special.
Guillaume
I am tending to agree. My totally uninformed opinion is that it is as if the dynamic range has been increased ...... is such a thing even possible ?
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - octaviars - 14-May-2016
A comparison to the Sonore microRendu would be nice. In my system the microRendu is the best streamer solution I have ever heard but I have to wait for AIR 3 to come to Windows to try it.
If this AIR solution is stable and works flawless I might consider it in the future.
But I feel that a new streamerboard should be ROON ready, then I would for shure get a sonicTransport to run ROON and be happy with that.
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - IanG-UK - 14-May-2016
(14-May-2016, 18:39)Celts88 Wrote: I am just about to buy an Antipodes DS Server.
Should I hang of and see if the new AIR 3 (after beta testing is finished) is up to the task, or would a dedicated server always be better (looking at going AES Antipodes to AES on my D-Premiers).
I've had an Antipodes DX for a while - though with the SSD and power supply options I'd guess a DS gives you the possibility over time to transition it into something pretty much the same as the DX.
I was a huge supporter of AIR even though it never quite worked in its standard AIR2 guise (AIR1 did not last long but might have been theoretically better but less flexible), so I eventually bought the DX. Partly in exasperation.
I like the Antipodes approach because it is a ripper, power supply, storer and player all in one box. And the owner Mark Jenkins is hugely helpful. And they are just about to embody Roon. And you know that Antipodes care only about sound replay whereas Apple do not. For what it is worth Stereophile rated the Antipodes as an A+ product, a level rarely conferred.
So were we still in the AIR2 era I would suggest you buy one.
Early evidence of AIR3 (albeit beta) changes that. Even diehard player users like Guillaume (TotalDac) and Rufus (Melco) are saying glowing things about AIR3. And in some ways this is more pertinent from Rufus, who has an Expert 200, whereas Guillaume has an Od'A which may embody a new AIR board as it was only released in January. This is an unknown and Devialet are understandable tight lipped on Od'A and forthcoming changes.
So I would hang on for a while.
RE: AIR 3 Beta for Mac - Rufus McDufus - 14-May-2016
We're really spoiled for choice here!
I have to admit I suffered some dropout problems with AIR 3 when I first tried it. Connecting the Devialet with Wi-fi was woefully bad even though I get mainly 5 bars of signal indicating on the AIR app. It was completely unlistenable, like a worn-out cassette, non-stop dropouts. But even with the Devialet connected via ethernet I was still getting occasional dropouts and glitch sounds. I tried different buffer settings up to the max 5 seconds but this seemed to have no effect.
For a week or so though it's been faultless. No idea what changed.