totaldac D1 server

[fabiodeluca]

Yes I have finally managed to get Tidal working on my totaldac....

Sound quality-wise I'm not too impressed and I don't know if this is simply because MPD only is just so much better or if there is something I haven't optimised correctly in the Logitech Media Server audio settings... at the moment the sound is a bit muffled and lacking in dynamics like an MP3 perhaps. 

Anyway perhaps if I can improve on the SQ I will get a bit more enthusiastic!

Guillaume

Sounds like a s/w problem...

Tidal sounded very good when I tried it on my Mac. In fact I would say that it was often difficult to distinguish between streaming from Tidal and listening to a CD rip of the same album. I didn't go with Tidal as I experienced some stuttering and I preferred to stay with the excellent Qobuz  - French, of course    

When listening critically I can hear differences between Tidal/Qobuz and a CD rip and prefer the latter so I still occasionally buy CDs of music I really like but would guess I listen to Qobuz 80-90% of the time now...

Be aware that not all albums on Tidal are 16-bit lossles. They told me that 20-30% are lossy.

Well I'm going to try another couple of options:

1) Streaming Tidal from my iPad to the totaldac via Airplay
2) Borrowing a Linn Akurate DS which I know has a half decent digital out and connecting that to the Dev, that way I can stream using Kazoo which is very slick

I played a number of tracks from different albums and the sound just wasn't good. I don't think there is much else I can do to optimise Ipeng and the LMS on the cubox... I wonder if ickstream isn't the bottleneck here - ickstream provides the Tidal service to the Ipeng app... 

I'm not giving up just yet!   

Guillaume

I'm also getting their ethernet cable/filter which I'll compare to my current reference the Audioquest Diamond.

Guillaume

Hi Guillaume

Just wondering if you could share your thoughts on the ethernet cable/filter?
How does it compare to the aq diamond?

Have you tried the usb cable/filter?

Which would you say offers more sound per pound?

Thanks

Jason

Apologies for the delay in responding. I have done quite a lot of swapping between the AQ Diamond and the Totaldac and have come to the conclusion that the AQ is better, that's not to say the Totaldac isn't a good cable, it most definitely is and especially for the price!

Over the years I've done a LOT of experimenting with ethernet cables and the AQ Diamond is the one that leaves you in no doubt that something special is happening. It is outstanding.

The USB filter is an integral part of the d1 server since it connects the Cubox to the reclocker. As such I haven't used it for any other purposes.

Hope that helps.

Guillaume

Agree 100% with GuillaumeB: AQ Ethernet cables (both Vodka and p, better, Diamond) are better tha heavyweight Vincent's Ethernet cables...at least in my opinion