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Don't you just hate it when that happens?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Being a gentleman of ah ... how shall we say ... ah ... more mature years, I am 'social distancing' big time, i.e. staying home most of the time - so I signed up with Idagio, THE classical music streaming site. Currently I am taking the sound part of the HDMI stream and feeding it into my somewhat over-the-top HiFi system using RCA stereo connections. I have two different HDMI adaptors. The HDMI to RCA audio and PAL/SECAM vision has better sound quality than the HDMI to Audio 3.5mm jack and VGA, which, of course, gives a full 1080p picture, but has lower sound quality, probably due to being a cheaper bit of hardware. Because the old laptop I am using had multi-media aspirations, a lot of bass boost was put into the headphone socket, making it unusable for a direct connection.
I am thinking about buying a USB input Digital to Analogue (DAC) device which will output to RCA to feed the HiFi. With my Adagio+ subscription, I get 320kbps/44.1 quality, but I am not sure of the USB2 capabilities - is it a maximum of 192 kbps as I have heard mentioned? If so, the whole thing is a bust.
What I want is true CD quality - which I am paying for with Idagio+ - but not sure how to get it from the Win7 laptop I am using to the HiFi system without quality loss, which is currently apparent using the DAC built into the laptop.
Knowing little about hardware, I would be very grateful for any guidance from the CP hive-mind.
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Thanks - I actually read that article earlier today, but the 'good' stuff in it is eye-wateringly expensive!
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Idagio has an app for your phone.
I remember discussing hifi phones with you earlier. I have an LG G7 with an ESS ES9218P chipset. (The low power version of the DAC that Mark Levinson uses)
The phone is cheaper than any DAC with comparable sound quality.
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Ah, yes, I remember that now. I think you are right - a new high quality phone (or tablet?) with a good DAC would be a very sensible route, looking at the price of some stand-alone DACs. Being already a Mark Levinson fan (a pair of stereo amps, bi-amped), if it's good enough for them ...
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As far as I know, it's only LG that has gone serious HiFi on their phones, among the mainstream manufacturers at least.
And I don't know about their tablets, I think it's only the G and V series phones that have ESS DAC.
But I can say that the sound quality is better than my Denon reciever, which certainly isn't bad.
It's a funny experience having better sound using spotify on the phone than when playing a CD.
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I can get the G6 out here, and it seems to have a slightly better spec than the V series equivalent, so I will probably give it a punt.
I have a reasonably top-end Denon CD player, and it sounds very good. I also have the Otto Klemperer Beethoven Symphonies set on CD and vinyl, and the same recording is also available on Idagio. In terms of audio quality the CDs are slightly ahead of the vinyl. mainly because of the expanded dynamic range possible on CD, but the Idagio version is behind them both - hence my quest to improve performance of the streaming source.
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LG G6, G7, G8, V20, V30, V40 and V50 all have the same sound chip.
There shouldn't be any noticeable difference between them sound wise.
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Great, thanks. I was actually looking at the screen resolution, which is better on the G7 of the options available locally.
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It's also the best phone to use outdoors since the screen brightness goes all the way up to 1000 nits. (It's not RGB, it's RGBW)
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Not as far as I know...
I own a set of KEF EGG loudspeakers which I have connected to the PC (lenovo laptop, nothing special) through USB.
The Loudspeaker has an integrated DAC and connects digitally to the PC (DAC acts as a sound card), file is interpreted into the DAC and goes out to the speaker directly giving you the best sound possible without things in the middle.
Those are the cheapest loudspeakers from KEF (https://international.kef.com/products/egg[^]) which I bought to put them in my desktop.
I really can't be more happy with them.
So the DAC option (if you already own a good set of speakers) is the way to go.
As a plus, my loudspeakers come with a remote control... given they are connected through USB you can pause, mute, jump songs... that would be a good thing in your new DAC.
PS: Using HDMI the sound card used is the one in your PC... which won't be great...
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Joan M wrote: PS: Using HDMI the sound card used is the one in your PC... which won't be great...
Ain't that the truth! See my last post above. My objective is to get a high quality signal into my pre-amp, from where on the sound is very high quality. The streaming source is currently the weakest link.
Incidentally, my speakers are at the other end of the scale - six feet tall and 30 kg each!
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Yes, that's why I'm recommending you to use an external DAC which will make your music sound sweet in your super loudspeakers.
HDMI (connected directly yo your PC) would output a crappy sound compared with any proper DAC out there.
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.. or, of course, go for Jörgen's suggestion, and use a phone with a top DAC in it. I certainly agree that the DAC in the laptop is not up to scratch.
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If you use the phone, you will depend on the capability of the phone OS to output the audio through USB, the 3.5 audio jack will never be enough for what you want.
And in case you decide to go Bluetooth or wifi way, you will have to get used to delays, unless you have APTX... but again that is not top notch quality.
Disclaimer: I'm not by any means an audiophile... this is what the guy at the HI-FI shop explained me while buying my loudspeakers.
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After installing those KEF loudspeakers (connected to the USB port in my laptop) I started noticing the difference of FLAC audio files compared with the default Spotify quality.
Now it's not the best moment to walk into one HI-FI shop, but I'm pretty sure once this passes away, you'll be able to check how different DAC sound in the same loudspeakers.
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Same as my problem - the difference between the 192k and full 320k FLAC on Idagio is just not distinct enough, and at times just not audible at all, hence my dilemma.
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Of course, because the source of the audio is terrible...
Whatever you decide you need something that process your files correctly and output the right signal to your loudspeakers.
Let's be clear, my desktop loudspeakers are the best I found to be used as laptop loudspeakers around 400€, which is already expensive to hear the incoming mail sound...  but super cheap for HI-FI loudspeakers... but even that when I put music, it's wonderful. And you can listen at the same song in spotify free vs. FLAC and the difference is incredible.
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Chris C-B wrote: six feet tall and 30 kg each
That's not very heavy for so large speakers.
My B&W XT8 are just 1.2m and weighs in at 25kg
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Agreed, but the top 48" are ribbons - they are Carver speakers, old but still in perfect condition. Checking the manual they are actually a shade over 36kg. One of the things I particularly like about them is that with a low crossover frequency, the bass and treble power requirements are very well balanced, making them ideal for vertical bi-amping (one stereo amp for each channel, left and right)
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I have listened to a couple of Apogee fullrange with Krell monoblocks once. If they are anything near that I'm envying you a lot.
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can you run digital optical to your stereo input from your TVs output? That's the way I'd go. SPDIF.
That way you keep it in digital, lossless form until it reaches the high quality DAC in your stereo system
Real programmers use butterflies
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The manual for the laptop says the 3.5mm headphone socket is "S/PDIF enabled" but I have no idea what that means, as it works just like an ordinary headphone socket, albeit loaded at the bass end. Any ideas?
I hardly ever turn the TV on, so I would rather not factor that into the equation.
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It's a (usually fiber optic) based audio connection system. It means that jack can produce pure digital output for use with S/PDIF capable devices. Your stereo's amplifier should have a digital S/PDIF jack (it's almost a rectangle) that can take a fiber based cable. You'll need some sort of converter if you go that route but i strongly recommend that you do not.
I recommend you continue to use your laptop's HDMI to your TV (if i understand your setup) but you should consider getting an S/PDIF cable going from your TV to your amp assuming your TV supports it (many do)
Real programmers use butterflies
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