What source do you use as file transport to feed your DAC?

[Windows X]

After received feedback from

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?14491-Not-much-love-for-non-mac-side/

It looks like most replies are from Windows users which is a great contrast to my place having most people using Mac. I'd like to findout how people in whatsbestforum treat music files in their systems. It'd be nice if you could post and share us how you end up using it.

 

[MiTT]

I run a pretty fully decked out Mac Mini with Pure Music on top of iTunes feeding an AURALiC Vega via USB.

 

[audio.bill]

I use a Toshiba laptop optimized for use as a music server running Windows 7 Pro and JRiver 18. To configure the PC as a dedicated music server I followed directions from Genesis for their Absolute Fidelity Music Server and the PC Optimization Guide for Windows 7 from Sweetwater.

 

[flyer]

A Totaldac D1 Server which integrates different digital ins and a reclocker, way better (to me) than the Weiss Jason/Medea I used to have!

 

[LenWhite]

I use a Toshiba Portege R825-P70 Laptop with Windows7 and JRiver 19 USB->EMM Labs XDS1 v2. I've configured the laptop based on this information http://wiki.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_7_Audio_Playback_-_Setup_Guide. I've left McAfee running but disabled real time scanning so the laptop can still be used to access the Internet.

 

[BlueFox]

Bryston BDP-1

 

[still-one]

MDMS aka Sooloos

 

[cat6man]

Sonore sms100 with battery supply, running Logitech Media Server.
This replaced a Logitech touch.

 

[marslo]

Aurender W20 as a transport, Audio Aero La Fontaine as PCM DAC and Auralic Vega as DSD DAC. In both cases via usb. Usb cables : Entreq Konstantin with Miniums ( La Fontaine) and Jcat ( Vega).

 

[Brucemck2]

Core Audio (with Core Audio power supply) running J River on Windows 8 outputting USB to Empirical Audio Offramp (with Hynes power supply) outputting 110ohm directly into the Trinnov section of an ADA Reference

 

[SoundQcar]

Lumin A1 here, so Linux.

 

[LenWhite]

I use a Toshiba laptop optimized for use as a music server running Windows 7 Pro and JRiver 18. To configure the PC as a dedicated music server I followed directions from Genesis for their Absolute Fidelity Music Server and the PC Optimization Guide for Windows 7 from Sweetwater.

Thanks for the link - I learned a few new tricks from Absolute Fidelity!

 

[BlueFox]

Lumin A1 here, so Linux.

I would put that under commercial. I assume in this poll that Linux means a standard PC using Linux versus Windows OS or Apple IOS. I use the Bryston BDP-1 (commercial) which uses Linux as its OS. If we are going to confuse commercial products with PCs running some OS then this poll is flawed.

 

[garylkoh]

Thanks for the link - I learned a few new tricks from Absolute Fidelity!

If you are using Foobar, one more thing that I did not document because I wasn't sure and only did some direct comparisons after I wrote the paper is to play with the buffer size at [Preferences]/[Playback]/[Output]. Unfortunately, it is computer, DAC and USB-cable dependent, but generally I find a sweet spot somewhere between 600ms to 800ms.

 

[Priaptor]

Core Audio (with Core Audio power supply) running J River on Windows 8 outputting USB to Empirical Audio Offramp (with Hynes power supply) outputting 110ohm directly into the Trinnov section of an ADA Reference

Recently got the Core Audio Kaia dual rail LPS for my server and USB card. Highly recommended if you want to spend the bucks. The difference quality power never ceases to amaze me.

 

[MadFloyd]

CapsV3 (silent audiophile PC) running JRiver.

 

[racerxnet]

Windows 7 Pro running Foobar .083. No DSP in Preferences. Buffer has generally been 20ms in KS. I tried Otachan, SSRC, and Secret Rabbit code.

 

[caliaripaolo]

Mac Mini with external Power Supply using Puremusic as player.

 

[Joe Whip]

Latest Macbook Air optimized as a music server with Audirvanna + and a Lecie external hard drive. I also use a Sony ES SACD player to play CDs I haven't ripped into the Dac as well via coax.