iTunes & Airport Express

Trojka

New Member
Nov 8, 2011
2
0
0
Hi...I've just discovered this forum and it seems like the perfect place to ask the following question:

I bought an Airport Express a while ago. It sounded OK-ish on my Denon PMA-1500AE/B&W CM7's, but after a few weeks I decided I also needed a Musical Fidelity V-DAC (with upgraded adapter). Huge difference. Very happy with my current setup. Apple Lossless files sound pretty awesome now. However, one little thing bugs me. I stream from iTunes, wired via a router, which is installed on a Quadcore Win7 PC. I also use this PC for homerecording. As a result of this, I use a high quality soundcard (RME Multiface II).

This is what I've found out: in iTunes, when I stream directly to the Airport Express, it sounds great on my Denon/B&W & Beyer Dynamic DT990 Pro. Also, when I stream directly to my 'computer speakers' (RME in other words) it sounds great as well. But when I stream to both Airport Express ánd 'computer speakers' at the same time, I hear tiny clicks in the signal on the 'computer speakers'. It happens more often with very dynamic recordings. I thought it might be a network card/sound card conflict, but the clicks always appear at the exact same place in the recording. It's the same each time I play it. It almost sounds like something is clipping, but I've checked the RME mixer settings and nothing is clipping.

It's not a big problem of course. It's easy to turn off the stream to the Airport when I'm at the computer (which is in a different room in the house than the Airport). But I'm not used to hearing clicks and glitches from the RME, and I'm interested to know if I'm the only one with this problem. Somehow I think it's an iTunes problem, as no other audio player suffers from it (not even VLC with Airfoil attached to it).
 

RBFC

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
5,158
46
1,225
Albuquerque, NM
www.fightingconcepts.com
Welcome to the forum!

Clicking during computer file playback can also be caused by overuse of the CPU in your computer or peripherals. Try turning off other open functions when there is clicking and see if the problem goes away.

Lee
 

Vincent Kars

WBF Technical Expert: Computer Audio
Jul 1, 2010
860
1
0
Clicks might indicate some clipping (very dynamic recordings).
Any DSP active in either the QuickTime settings or in the Win audio panel?

It can be a matter of high latency. You can easily check this with DPC latency checker.
Open Windows resource monitor and watch for processes peeking.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/SW/AudioTools/TroubleShooting.htm

Some resampling going on? AE is limited to 16/48.

Do the QuickTime settings match the settings in the Win audio panel?

Bit guesswork I’m afraid
 

Trojka

New Member
Nov 8, 2011
2
0
0
Thanks for responding! A latency issue was my initial thought, but when you consider the Quadcore and RME can play huge 80 track Sonar projects at 24 bit with mixed sampling rate content ánd added fx on each channels and buses at a latency of around 2.7ms (buffer size 128 samples) without any clicks or glitches (if I want I can even encode a DVD at the same time :eek:)...you'll understand that it would be strange that playing two streams of 16/44 of Apple Lossless files at the same time is too much too ask. :)

I'm an experienced latency/click and glitch causing investigator btw. :D Before I purchased my RME, I had a SB Audigy. Not really suitable for audio recording, so I had lots of troubles with latency, clicks and glitches. Another reason why I don't think it's clipping (although it sounds like it) is that the clicks occur at softer spots as well, ánd always at the same time. CPU load clicks appear more randomly.

I'll check out the links though (I know a few of them already, but there are some other ones). I also need to check what happens when I play normal wavs. Maybe it's the Apple Lossless decoding. Mp3's and 256kbps aac's seem to be playing fine.

DSP latency checker shows an average of 215us with no peaks.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing