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+--- Thread: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server (/Thread-Mac-AIR-v-MiND-180-v-Auralic-ARIES-v-totaldac-d1-server)
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - f1eng - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 00:16)ThierryNK Wrote: It is a kind of "missing link" between a track and a DAC in digital audio.
It takes the place of the opto-mechanical-digital CD drive.
Cheers
Thierry
Aha!
I still find myself gravitating to playing CDs, maybe I would stream more often if I got a D1 server since I have found the Meridian Sooloos Control 15 (seems PC like), NVA TFS (is a single function stripped out Windows machine) and streaming from my dedicated iMac with Air to not be persuasively worth the hassle of tagging my rips to my satisfaction from a SQ POV.
I rather hoped that dedicating an iMac was the answer, since whilst it is considered a pricy computer it is pitifully cheap for a hifi component
and the huge screen let me see the artwork from afar.Anyway, so far I prefer CDs. I almost ordered a D1 server following the enthusiasm on this thread, but good sense got the better of me since I have an audition at home rule! I pretty well only use streaming for my handful of high res files, though my legacy rips, made when I was travelling weekly and had an iPod, are still accessible and I listen to them. I haven't ripped any of my new CDs for months.
(03-Sep-2014, 09:10)GuillaumeB Wrote: However... it is also a reclocker meaning you can connect any digital input: S/PDIF, AES/EBU, USB and optical. So for example a CD transport.
Guillaume
Presumably the reclocking function is redundant when using USB or Ethernet inputs on the Devialet where it is the Devialet clock is the master.
(I do see how it is a potential gain if the D1 is connected to the Devialet using SPDIF, AES/EBU or optically)
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - GuillaumeB - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 10:02)IanG-UK Wrote: So, sorry to be a pain in the a***, but if one has a source, be it a laptop (with screen and cd ripper and data) or a CD player/transport (with discs), both of which will plug straight into the Devialet, what does the D1 do (aside from any sound quality considerations) that the straight connections cannot achieve? Because here you surely need four units - source, cd ripper, tablet and D1?
You're not being a pain!
All my music is stored on a QNAP NAS. In order to access it I need a device to pull from it and send to my Devialet... why is that? Because the Devialet doesn't support UPnP and has its own proprietary streaming solution: AIR which relies on running a Mac or a PC to stream your music. I would rather not use my laptop to play my music - at the moment my Macbook Air sits in my study connected to a large screen and with an external keyboard and is used for a wide range of activities including work and running this forum!
.Whereas my NAS is always on and does its stuff in the background including RAID 5 backups. If one of the drives fails (which has already happened once)... no problems I just replace it and don't lose any data. It's the same NAS that also supplies music data to my living room (via a Linn Majik DSI) and bathroom. It's the "heart" of my music network.
So the d1 plays the same role as my current MiND 180 but with substantially better Sound Quality. It connects my Devialet to this network. The fact that it can decode DSD, can reclock other inputs is a bonus.
The way I like to play music is by using my iPad or iPhone to select tracks and press play whilst sitting in my listening room. It always works and I never have to worry about computers and IT. And knowing that I am getting the best sound possible is a bonus
I don't expect everyone else to use the same setup, the beauty of the Devialet surely lies in its versatility... some prefer to use CD players, others like to stream and some even prefer playing LPs on a turntable! It's all good.
Guillaume
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - Eddye - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 10:24)GuillaumeB Wrote:(03-Sep-2014, 10:02)IanG-UK Wrote: So, sorry to be a pain in the a***, but if one has a source, be it a laptop (with screen and cd ripper and data) or a CD player/transport (with discs), both of which will plug straight into the Devialet, what does the D1 do (aside from any sound quality considerations) that the straight connections cannot achieve? Because here you surely need four units - source, cd ripper, tablet and D1?All my music is stored on a QNAP NAS. In order to access it I need a device to pull from it and send to my Devialet... why is that? Because the Devialet doesn't support UPnP and has its own proprietary streaming solution: AIR which relies on running a Mac or a PC to stream your music. I would rather not use my laptop to play my music - at the moment my Macbook Air sits in my study connected to a large screen and with an external keyboard and is used for a wide range of activities including work and running this forum!
Whereas my NAS is always on and does its stuff in the background including RAID 5 backups. If one of the drives fails (which has already happened once)... no problems I just replace it and don't lose any data. It's the same NAS that also supplies music data to my living room (via a Linn Majik DSI) and bathroom. It's the "heart" of my music network.
It's way off-topic and I'm sure you know this, but I thought to mention this anyway. RAID is not a backup. If you value your digital music collection and other important data (like photo's and such) also back up to an external harddrive (and to be doubly sure another one as off-site backup)
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - GuillaumeB - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 11:56)Eddye Wrote:(03-Sep-2014, 10:24)GuillaumeB Wrote:(03-Sep-2014, 10:02)IanG-UK Wrote: So, sorry to be a pain in the a***, but if one has a source, be it a laptop (with screen and cd ripper and data) or a CD player/transport (with discs), both of which will plug straight into the Devialet, what does the D1 do (aside from any sound quality considerations) that the straight connections cannot achieve? Because here you surely need four units - source, cd ripper, tablet and D1?All my music is stored on a QNAP NAS. In order to access it I need a device to pull from it and send to my Devialet... why is that? Because the Devialet doesn't support UPnP and has its own proprietary streaming solution: AIR which relies on running a Mac or a PC to stream your music. I would rather not use my laptop to play my music - at the moment my Macbook Air sits in my study connected to a large screen and with an external keyboard and is used for a wide range of activities including work and running this forum!
Whereas my NAS is always on and does its stuff in the background including RAID 5 backups. If one of the drives fails (which has already happened once)... no problems I just replace it and don't lose any data. It's the same NAS that also supplies music data to my living room (via a Linn Majik DSI) and bathroom. It's the "heart" of my music network.
It's way off-topic and I'm sure you know this, but I thought to mention this anyway. RAID is not a backup. If you value your digital music collection and other important data (like photo's and such) also back up to an external harddrive (and to be doubly sure another one as off-site backup)
You're right. I do regular backups to my drive 4 and also to another drive I keep in another building (must update that one again!)... but one drive did fail once and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to restore without loss of service.
Guillaume
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - sithodea - 03-Sep-2014
Quote:The PSU with the MiND, even though it looks like a wall-wart SMPS, is apparently a linear power supply and is maybe not as bad as people might think.
According to the distributor for Simaudio in the UK - Renaissance Audio (and I am quoting this from an email): "The PSU that comes with the unit is not pretty but works very well as it has good voltage regulation." It actually looks like one of those cheap wall warts.
Hi.
I possess the MOON Mind for several months.
Actually, the supply of Mind is not so bad as it, but i changed it all the same for a linear model, what allows to use a cable quality sector.
The difference is just enormous.
Quote:My biggest gripe with the MiND however is the control point software which has been stuck in some kind of time warp and had very few updates.
Yes, it's the main problem of the MOON, but no problem with the IPAD official application.
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - ZincAlloy - 03-Sep-2014
Hi all - as some of you know, I've been considering the purchase of an Aries to upgrade from my trusty Squeezebox Touch. The less than stellar views of Guillaume and Rufus (whose opinions, BTW, I respect) has led me back down the route of AIR. I have a uPnP based system - based on Synology 212j NAS, Logitech Media Server and MediaMonkey as the ripper. I've now disabled LMS and have configured MediaMonkey to output audio to AIR, with WASAPI enabled.
I've been playing music for the last 5 hours with no dropouts or white noise, controlled from MonkeyMote on my iPhone. Long and short of it is that, it sounds wonderful. Much better than the SBT/LMS solution that I've been using for the last 5 years. On the downside, the control point is very basic and I have to have my PC on to play music - no biggie, it's in the study upstairs and does not intrude into my enjoyment. Also, no streaming services or internet radio available - that I can find anyway - at the moment.
So, if you're waiting (like me) for Devialet to implement uPnP support (or at least make a definitive statement on this topic), there is a workaround, which is essentially FOC. Also, if you've not used AIR recently (based on all our previous experiences of it being somewhat suboptimal), I'd really recommend that you give it another go.
I was amazed at just how much better it sounded than my previous set up, and I've saved myself £1500.
ATB, Ken
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - GuillaumeB - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 21:22)ZincAlloy Wrote: Hi all - as some of you know, I've been considering the purchase of an Aries to upgrade from my trusty Squeezebox Touch. The less than stellar views of Guillaume and Rufus (whose opinions, BTW, I respect) has led me back down the route of AIR. I have a uPnP based system - based on Synology 212j NAS, Logitech Media Server and MediaMonkey as the ripper. I've now disabled LMS and have configured MediaMonkey to output audio to AIR, with WASAPI enabled.
I've been playing music for the last 5 hours with no dropouts or white noise, controlled from MonkeyMote on my iPhone. Long and short of it is that, it sounds wonderful. Much better than the SBT/LMS solution that I've been using for the last 5 years. On the downside, the control point is very basic and I have to have my PC on to play music - no biggie, it's in the study upstairs and does not intrude into my enjoyment. Also, no streaming services or internet radio available - that I can find anyway - at the moment.
So, if you're waiting (like me) for Devialet to implement uPnP support (or at least make a definitive statement on this topic), there is a workaround, which is essentially FOC. Also, if you've not used AIR recently (based on all our previous experiences of it being somewhat suboptimal), I'd really recommend that you give it another go.
I was amazed at just how much better it sounded than my previous set up, and I've saved myself £1500.
ATB, Ken
That's very nice of you to say Ken.
In truth I feel a bit bad we didn't give the Aries enough of a chance hence the part 2 on Saturday.But you're right, AIR sounds pretty good doesn't it?
Any news on SAM for the Akurate speakers by the way?
Cheers
Guillaume
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - ZincAlloy - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 21:46)GuillaumeB Wrote:(03-Sep-2014, 21:22)ZincAlloy Wrote: Hi all - as some of you know, I've been considering the purchase of an Aries to upgrade from my trusty Squeezebox Touch. The less than stellar views of Guillaume and Rufus (whose opinions, BTW, I respect) has led me back down the route of AIR. I have a uPnP based system - based on Synology 212j NAS, Logitech Media Server and MediaMonkey as the ripper. I've now disabled LMS and have configured MediaMonkey to output audio to AIR, with WASAPI enabled.
I've been playing music for the last 5 hours with no dropouts or white noise, controlled from MonkeyMote on my iPhone. Long and short of it is that, it sounds wonderful. Much better than the SBT/LMS solution that I've been using for the last 5 years. On the downside, the control point is very basic and I have to have my PC on to play music - no biggie, it's in the study upstairs and does not intrude into my enjoyment. Also, no streaming services or internet radio available - that I can find anyway - at the moment.
So, if you're waiting (like me) for Devialet to implement uPnP support (or at least make a definitive statement on this topic), there is a workaround, which is essentially FOC. Also, if you've not used AIR recently (based on all our previous experiences of it being somewhat suboptimal), I'd really recommend that you give it another go.
I was amazed at just how much better it sounded than my previous set up, and I've saved myself £1500.
ATB, Ken
That's very nice of you to say Ken.
But you're right, AIR sounds pretty good doesn't it?
Any news on SAM for the Akurate speakers by the way?
Cheers
Guillaume
Hi Guillaume - suspect Akurates won't get the SAM treatment anytime soon. But, I've just found £1,500 that I didn't have yesterday, so I have an alternative solution to that problem ..
ATB, Ken
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - Confused - 03-Sep-2014
I must admit I quite like things like the Krell Connect and Musical Fidelity M1CLiC. Or even the utter simplicity of a Naim Unitiserve. Does this make me a bad person?
(Although I'm pretty sure the Totaldac must be somewhat superior sound quality wise)
RE: Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server - ZincAlloy - 03-Sep-2014
(03-Sep-2014, 21:57)Confused Wrote: I must admit I quite like things like the Krell Connect and Musical Fidelity M1CLiC. Or even the utter simplicity of a Naim Unitiserve. Does this make me a bad person?
(Although I'm pretty sure the Totaldac must be somewhat superior sound quality wise)
Not at all! I admit my solution is kludgy and, as I said, the control point is pretty crap. Like some of us, I suspect, I'm waiting for the audiophile equivalent of the SBT/iPeng ecosystem .... At Squeezebox prices!! The idea behind the Aries and the MOON Mind is exactly what I want - a DAC-less high quality renderer with a superior UI. If I had the brains, I'd develop one myself ....
BTW - thought the MF had been discontinued?
ATB, Ken