Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) Qual

How much variation is there in the "quality" of ripped raw WAV data from a CD? Forget about any encoding (MP3, WMA etc..). I'm talking about ripping the exact PCM data from a typical music CD-DA disk.Say I take the same music CD, and use several different CD/DVD dri'ves and different music "ripping" programs and rip as wav (6bit/44. kHz)? and compare the resultant binary file content. How much variation will there be?I gather from other posts I've seen there there WILL be variation in the ripped wav. Is that variation noticeable to good ears?What about as the CD ages? say after 0 years ... slight scratches .. how does the affect the wav-ripped audio quality?Is there some sort of CD-DA "checksum" which guarantees that my ripping program/dri've will produce an EXACT copy of the original PCM data on the disk?Is there a good discussion of this anywhere?What about "Exact Audio Copy" ?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exact_Audio_Copy

I don't believe there will be any difference, as long as you are in the digital domain... Usually, on older computers, the CD Dri've had a DAC that transformed the sound into analog, then through a cable to the CD connector of the soundcard... So with that type of connection you will get different results because the soundcard's ADC and the DAC of the CD Dri've come in question. However in newer PCs that connection is unused, as the audio is transferred digitally through the IDE cables. So there shouldn't be degradation in quality there... But when the soundcard comes into question, like the Li've!, Audigy and X-Fi, the frequency will be upsampled to 48kHz and especially on the st 2, there may be artifacts introduced. (The X-Fi's SSRC is helpful here). To avoid the DSPs limitations, there is a "bit-accurate" option in the Audio Console which completely bypasses the DSP, although I thing it only works when connecting the CD Dri've with the digital SPDIF cable to the Digital input of the card and not the IDE cable.

Similar Messages

CD-Rom drive with digital audio extraction support

I am looking to get a Zen Micro for my teenage daughter. The tech specs require a CD-Rom dri've with digital audio extraction support. My older IBM Aptiva, vintage 999, meets all the other requirements. How can I know whether the CD-ROM dri've will work? We are new to MP3 type players.
JimH

It only needs this to create MP3s from your CDs, and there are many alternati've programs that will do this. I would suggest taking a look at the Zen FAQ at Nomadness.net and trying?a couple of the programs there. If they work, chances are that the Creative software will work (but you can always use these as an alternati've).

Digital Audio not working on Satellite A505 S6012

My digital audio stopped working suddenly. I use HDMI to send the video out of my laptop to my projector. I had been successfully using, for over a year, a digital audio cable in the headphone (SP/DIF) jack to output the sound to my home receiver. The default audio set in the control panel is Realtek Digital Audio.
If I set the output to speakers and plug headphones in the jack, I get sound. If I set the output to Realtek Digital Audio and plug the digital audio cable in, I get no sound. I've tried new cables, changing the input to a different conection on my receiver, reinstalling the Realtek driver, and, as a last resort, completely recovering my laptop to the factory setting. Digital Audio still does not work.
Any suggestions? This is the main way we watch movies in my home.

hi, have you try out srs audio program it nice!
can u help me if u have make for yourself a recovery dvd of S505 S6012 because to mine i didnt do it and it gives me a lot of problems.
if you have please i would like to have it.
thanks....

Is there Digital Audio Output on the Macbook Pro

I am about to buy a 15" Mac Book Pro. I would like to know if the headphone out put jack also passes a digital audio signal?

Yep.

How to connect a APExpress to a digital audio console

I have a Yamaha M7CL digital audio console that has an Ethernet connection. I want to control the desk wirelessly using the APExpress. I know how to do it with a Linksys or Netgear router. With those I need to plucg into one of the 4 LAN ports. Not the WAN. And it works great. Since the APEx has only one port (LAN or WAN?) How can I make it work. The console has Network settings that can be changed but I think my issue is that the port on the APE is looking for internet. I'm not interested in using this set up to surf the web I only trying to connect the 2 and wirelessly connect with my laptop. With all the different settings I have no idea where to begin. Can anyone give me a clue. Thanks.

Hello steviee7. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
In order for the AirPort Express Base Station's (AX) Ethernet port to perform as a "LAN" port so that the Yamaha can access the network/Internet, it would need to be reconfigured as one of the following:
For both the 802.11b/g and 802.11n versions of the AX:
o As as relay or remote base station in a Wireless Distribution System (WDS).
For the 802.11n version only:
o As an extender of a wireless network created by another 802.11n AirPort or Time Capsule.
o As a wireless Ethernet bridge (ProxySTA).

Digital Audio output for W series - Alternatives

There's a thread talking about the displayport does not have audio-output. Its true and some people get victimized by ill-trained sales people who think their displayport is standard. There's no literature on Lenovo website warning users about the audio issue either - such thread is closed with the fact that (some) other manufacturers in the same period does have have audio either and Lenovo think they should be in the same boat.
Let's not go into the blamish again, but discuss what we can do with existing options with alternative digital audio out and line-in that the W series really really missed.
We have (1) mini-dock and (2) USB soundcard listed as options
I currently use a USB DAC (digital to analog) system and it do really good in terms of stereo music enjoyment. However my particular system does not have digital manupilated sound like 3-D surround or multi-channel output and not suprisely, laptop USB generally produce greater latency than desktop USB ports.
Besides USB, we have 1394 and express card 34 as expansion options.
What's your setup for digital audio out? Anyone know any internal soundcard that fits the slots of Wireless USB/Turbo memory PCI ports that all W-series have?

Other alternatives include
I know on mackbooks I've seen firewire used as an input for a Weiss Dac if you're into two channel audio. Do any reiceivers take firewire as an input for hometheater? Has anyone tested Firewire outputs on their W series? I'm told that firewire is sometimes preferable to USB, I'm not sure why this would be, can USB support passthrough of DTS encoded signals?
In the case that firewire works and you Do not have a firewire source, maybe something like this would be of value It converts firewire to digital coaxial s/pdif and allows passthrough of DTS and AC3.
http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/manuals/FireWire-Audiophile_Manual.pdf
As I'm into audio the critical thing here (and what you're paying for when you purchase blue-ray, is maintaining the digital information from the disk in an unconverted form. You want a direct bit pass through, and you want as little jitter introduced to the signal as possible. You most certainly don't want the sound card getting in the way, Digtital to Analog converting and then reverse packaging it up and putting it out over the soundcard digital out. My problem is I'm not familiar enough with computer audio to know how exactly the sounds is transmitted from your blue ray drive to the digital interface you've chosen.
Anyone know why USB digital out would not be a prefered method?
Moderator note; comment removed which contravened forum rules

I'm using MAM-A blank CD-R for digital audio and I would like to know which speed do I set to so I can get the best sound?Thanks Joe

When making new digital audio cd's which burn speed is best used with MAM-A 74min/650mb digital audio CD-R's?Thanks Joe

In theory, the slowest speed should result in the most accurate duplication (best sound). This will take much longer than if you were to use use faster speeds and whether that in practical terms is necessary is debatable. Remember, the quality of the disc will be no better than the source material.
Ciao.
PS: You may wish to experiment by making disks at different speeds and listen to them if can detect difference between them.

I recently (Jan 2012) acquired a MacBook Pro (MBP) running 10.7.4 and an AirPort Express. I also have an old PPC G4 tower (Digital Audio model) running 10.4.11. The OS software on both machines is totally up to date. AirPort Utility on the G4 is 5.4.2

I recently (Jan 2012) acquired a MacBook Pro (MBP) running 10.7.4 and an AirPort Express. I also have an old PPC G4 tower (Digital Audio model) running 10.4.11. The OS software on both machines is totally up to date. AirPort Utility on the G4 is 5.4.2 and on 6.0 on the MBP. I bought a used AirPort card for the G4, I believe it is 802.11b compatible, and the wireless data rate is specified at 11 Mbps. Being a newbie to wireless, it took me many days to get these two machines to link up. This network is not connected to the internet, and there no other networks in the vicinity.
My last problem to solve is the very slow file transfer speeds between the two machines. The transfer time seems to vary depending on which machine I use to initiate the transfer, and which direction the transfer is going. For example: If I initiate the transfer from the G4 and send a 5.4MB file to the MBP it takes 1:32 (min:sec), while the same file going from the MBP to the G4 takes 27 seconds. On the other hand if the transfer is initiated on the MBP, going from the MBP to the G4 takes 2:56, while going from the G4 to the MBP takes 1:59. I realize that these times are not actual wireless transfer times but includes the entire transfer process.
Both machines and the AirPort Express are within a 4-foot radius. Both machines are set to radio channel 2. The AirPort Express is set for 802.11n(802.11b/g compatible) with WPA/WPA2 Personal wireless security.
Any help would be appreciated.
CEU2

BDAqua,
Thanks for the response.
Apple has used the term "Digital Audio" to identify this machine. System Profiler has the following information:
Machine Name:          Power Mac G4
Machine Model:          PowerMac3,5
CPU Type:          PowerPC G4 (2.1)
Number Of CPUs:          1
CPU Speed:          800 MHz
L2 Cache (per CPU):          256 KB
Memory:          768 MB
Bus Speed:          133 MHz
Boot ROM Version:          4.3.3f2
Serial Number:          XBxxxxxMK9
Sales Order Number:
Yes, I could connect them by ethernet if all I wanted to do was transfer files, but I would like to network them so I could use wireless internet. The machines are not always so close together, I did that to simplify the testing. With the very slow transfer speeds I am reluctant to move ahead with the internet step.
<Edited By Host>

The Mother of All G4 Digital Audio Project?

Alright, my apologies right from the get-go: I'm new to this user-friendly and intuitive world of Macs. So if this post is long-winded and excessive, please excuse my bad manners and blame it on living in the world of PCs and M$ for far too long.
To start, the one thing I've found that is consistent no matter what computing world I've explored is the cost of upgrading... but first, let me explain a couple of things.
For one -- I'm finished with my PC. I'm fairly computer saavy, and have never bought a pre-built system in my life. My first computer I built in the 8th grade from spare parts and a Pentium 90 chip. Although I've enjoyed my time playing around and working with PCs in the past, I've recently become a father (and my wife is now at home 24/7). Suffice it to say I don't have much time to troubleshoot my PC as often as I use to, and with my wife using the computer more and more, I really would like to be able to offer her something intuitive and easy to use (unfortunately, this usually isn't a common description of anything related to the world of M$ and PCs).
Anyways, her entire extended family has been Mac based for awhile now, and I've grown more and more desirous of owning a Mac at home. Well, about 4 months ago I was given an old G4 Digital Audio for free. This gift, coupled with my increasing frustration with the PC, has lead me to contemplate ditching the PC (selling it off), and trying to fully pimp out the G4 to its maximum capacity. FOR CHEAP.
I realize that a Mac Mini would be pretty cheap and cost effective, or perhaps just selling the G4 and putting that money towards something else (like a Mac laptop) might make more sense... but I'm limited on a couple of fronts.
1) There is the issue of some money having already been invested into this G4.
2) I need to keep costs down, while also retaining the ability to expand (my PC currently has 3 HDDs at a total capacity of 800gb)... and it just doesn't seem feasible with a Mac Mini.
3) I already have the G4 -- and in my wife's eyes, expanding this rig is cheaper than buying a brand new Mac (this point is clearly debatable).
4) We really just need a solid system at home, easy for her to use, while having enough muscle for me to use the Adobe/Macromedia/Final Cut software packages.
So... I'd like to start pushing this G4 to its limits performance wise, while not breaking the bank unnecessarily. I've looked into upgrading the logic board and CPU, maxing out the system memory, purchasing a SATA controller board and new HDDs, and finally springing for a new video card. My question is this:
Can anyone shed some light on upgrade options that would suit my needs, without giving my wife reason to leave me?! For example, when looking to upgrade the G4 to a wireless system, I opted to purchase a Belkin Wireless G (F5D7000) instead of a official Airport card. It works flawlessly, is G compatible, and was only $25. Are there similar options when looking at SATA controller cards (the Sonnet cards are really pricey)? PC133 memory -- should I buy new or look for sticks in older PCs? Buy a pc video card and tweak it to work in a Mac, etc? Should I buy a single cpu upgrade, or spring for the pricey duals (is the performance benefit in OSX and the various design software packages worth it? - I've seen varied reports on this)? 1.6ghz vs. dual 1.4ghz??
Any help in this endeavor to build the Mother of All G4 Digital Audios would be wonderful. I know this post is lengthy, but I needed to vent some frustrations, and ask for a helping hand in this transition from PC to Mac! Thanks to all who've read this beast of a post -- and if anyone has anything to contribute (either suggestions or directions to some relatively cheap upgrades - new or used), it would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again!

Hi-
I'll keep things brief.
CPU- The following will give you the most bang for the buck-
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEG42M1500/
Memory- Doesn't have to break the bank, but, you must buy quality-
http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=163&type=Memory&TI=1047&shoup grds=Show+Upgrades
http://www.datamemorysystems.com/viewcat.aspQ_C_E761
Graphics- a flashed PC 4x AGP card will give you the most for the cheapest
Sata Controller Card- the following is hard to beat:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/SATAPCI2P/
Or, get the bundle:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/SATAM500GPCI/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/SATAM10TBPCI/
If you need cheaper, or used, check:
http://groups.google.com/group/lemswap
or, eBay.
Good Luck!
G4 AGP(450)Sawtooth Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2ghzPPC,1.62gbSDRAM, ATI9800, DVR-109,(IntHD)120&160,LaCie160,23"Cinema Display

MACPRO: Is there an interface that uses DIGITAL AUDIO IN?

I just got my new MacPro (woohoo!) and was getting ready to replace my 'ol tube preamp-to-soundcard configuration with a FW input box... when I realized I only have ONE of each FW port!
I already have my USBs overpopulated, and my FW800 daisy-chaining my backup drives... But then I noticed those unused DIGITAL audio plugs in the back.
...Are those even an option?
I really don't know if I want to put a box on the FW daisy chain...
Hmmmm.
tix,
e

If you want use the digital in/out of your mac are there many fantastic Professional gear
I can suggest
RME ADI-2 it is good and not so expensive
there are also many dream-machines
one of the best (to me) is: Universal Audio 2192 that comes with a Great Class A preamplifier!!!
Apogee mini-dac + Mini MP... or Rosetta 200 (up to +26dBu OUT)
there are many others AD/DA converters... search for it on Google or Yahoo

Upgrading from 10.4.11 to 10.5.8 on my G4 Power Mac Digital audio-is it worth it and how do i find the 10.5.8

Hey Gang.   How's it been going? I still have the same G4 Digital Audio which came used but with a clean OS, which I managed to up
grade to reach the 10.4.11. Its works great and I love it. I can only imagine using a real Mac Pro 2012. The software is legacy and It will not support the QuarkExpress9 for example. So what if I found and upgraded to the 10.5.8 or the max OS my G4 can handle? Is it worth it?
Thanks

Hi,
Depends what part of 10.5 you think you need, but 10.5 does not support Classic Apps, requires 3 times the resources & space, is expensive, & slower than Tiger/10.4 even on a G5 Quad with 10 GB of RAM.
I have run 10.5.8 on a DA/450 MHz/1GB, & it is possible.
Leopard requirements/10.5.x...
    * Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
minimum system requirements
    * 512MB of memory (I say 1.5GB for PPC at least, 2-3GB minimum for IntelMacs)
    * DVD drive for installation
    * 9GB of available disk space (I say 30GB at least)
Classic/OS9 Apps no longer supported.
Trouble is Apple no longer sells it, check eBay & such for the Retail version, not the Gray Discs...
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=mac+os+x+leopard+retail+10.5
There are workarounds if the 867MHz CPU is the only hangup...
http://sourceforge.net/projects/leopardassist/
http://lowendmac.com/osx/leopard/unsupported.html

Install OS X on a Digital Audio G4 with a new HDD

I picked up a Digital Audio G4 from a university surplus sale and I thought I'd play around with it. Unfortunately it came with no Hard Drive, but I managed to scrounge one up. I've got a set of OS X 10.4 install CDs that I know work but I can't seem to get the computer to boot to CD. When I turn it on I get a few minutes of blank screen, followed by a blank grey screen for as long as I keep the computer on. No error beeps, no startup chime (though I'm not even sure the speaker works), just a blank grey screen. What am I doing wrong?

Do this:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your the Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

[Solved] Difficulty getting digital audio to play in all applications

This is probably a noobish question...
My motherboard supports digital audio out via S/PDIF cable (optical), as well as standard analog audio. I have a stereo receiver that I've plugged my optical cable into.
When I go to systemsettings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Playback, I put the "HDA Intel S/PDIF Digital" device on top and clicked Test. I could hear the test tone (playback source is PCM).
However, if I go to play an MP3 or whatever, I have to go into the settings for each application and tell it to use that particular device. Some applications (such as Firefox) do not have obvious settings for audio playback. Is there a way to solve the problem once and for all (tell the audio system "send everything through the digital device all the time")?
(I read the relevant section of the wiki, but it is focused on getting sound out of your digital device, not making it the default.)
Any other advice or gotchas about using digital audio would also be appreciated.
Thanks!
Last edited by nathanb (2012-01-25 20:58:42)

Bah, I did a system update and rebooted and now digital out doesn't work at all!
[nathanb@nathanb-box ~] aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
front:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
Front speakers
surround40:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Analog
7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, AD198x Digital
IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
Devices don't seem to have changed...
[root@nathanb-box nathanb]# amixer | grep IEC -A 8
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
Capabilities: pvolume cvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 39 Capture 0 - 31
Front Left: Playback 39 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Capture 31 [100%] [12.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 39 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Capture 31 [100%] [12.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Default PCM',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Playback Source',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'PCM' 'ADC1' 'ADC2' 'ADC3'
Item0: 'PCM'
Channels still seem to be there...
My .asoundrc looks the same as above. But just for fun, I also tried removing it and restarting alsa, with no change.
I'm testing output by going to systemsettings > Multimedia > Phonon and clicking the Test button with "HDA Intel (AD198x Digital)" selected. Nothing comes out through SPDIF, though it does play through analog (I have two separate pairs of headphones plugged in, one to the analog jack and one to a headphone amp plugged through the digital port) so I can tell which port the audio is coming from).
I've checked the hardware volume, and it appears to be in order. The amp is not reporting any audio signal on the optical port. I tried switching out the cable just to be paranoid, and still nothing. I believe this is a software problem.
Any ideas?

When external speakers are plugged in to headphone jack, sound randomly goes back to internal speakers or digital audio setting, then back again

I have an essentially new MacBook Pro with Lion and all updates applied, and am wondering if this is a hardware or software problem. Essentially with something plugged into the headphone jack, things work as they are supposed to for a while, then the sound will switch back to internal speakers, or sometimes 'digital out' (I can watch it change in the system settings), and then often switch back. It doesn't seem to follow any sort of pattern or be related to any specific application that could be open, and happens with different sources of audio (iTunes, streaming from the web), and different external speakers or headphones plugged in.

Sounds hardware related. If it's brand new, and you're still under warranty I would have it checked out.
I have not experienced this on my computer.
As I understand it, you have analog RCA outputs from an 1/8" to left and right RCA outputs. when you're randomly using the computer, it'll switch to internal speakers, then to digital audio, back to your stereo analog external speakers.
This should not be happening and if it's happening with streaming content (I am unaware of anything that streams in 5.1 digital audio) then this must be something that an apple specialist should look at and consider.
Does this happen with the headphone jack out? when you hold your finger over the headphone jack area does a red beam come out of it *blinking* or just on? This will be a good indicator that your audio hardware is faulty. are you running HDMI out?

Apple TV3 HDMI - DVI jack fine. TV has no DVI digital audio input.

I can buy a converter from HDMI to DVI for video, My TV does not have a digital audio input for the optical cable. I may be able to plug into my sony surround sound amp in to the SA-DC CD in optical port and just play through the surround sound all the time? Which would not give me sound if I used the TVs internal speakers? Or there may be a converter from an optical audio to a R & L DVI Audio Input Jack?

Before you do just note that HDMI is the only supported connection so there will be no guarantee with any converter used. If it does work you will be unable to view protected content, unless your monitor specifies HDCP compliance. Functionality could also cease at any time.
The optical port is for connecting to a receiver, which you would need to do as DVI doesn't carry audio.

Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) Qual

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