Media player for a Noob

QUAD 33-303 Pre & Power Amplifier
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elt93

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Jun 10, 2013
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I got lucky and found a Sony DTC 77ES to use as a DAC. I was excited about the fact that I could finally use my Samsung TV as a media center and send optical out to the Sony for 2ch audio. However that's where I've run into problems. The optical out of the TV sounds very bright with thin vocals and is just plain unbearable. So now I want a media player.
My requirements are
1. Play 1080p movies (I will use only 2.0ch audio via optical/coax)
2. Play 16/44.1 FLAC music.
3. During music playback I'd like to have control and view hdd content over an app so that I don't have to switch on the TV to browse content on my HDD.
4. Optical or coaxial out at 16/44.1 or 48khz. I have no need for hi-res but the quality of the digital out has to be excellent in 2.0ch.
6. Low power consumption.
5. Obviously keep the ? bill as low as possible :p
After the TV optical out experience I am very sceptical about the quality of digital audio out on inexpensive media players available on the market.
I have been reading a lot about the Raspberry Pi 3 & Hifiberry digi+. Should I go for that or are there other options for around the same price bracket?
 
You can chose WDTV media player. This is a tried and tested one has good service network I believe. Otherwise you can also go with the new generation Android players like MXQ.
 
elt93 said:
5. Obviously keep the ? bill as low as possible :p
After the TV optical out experience I am very sceptical about the quality of digital audio out on inexpensive media players available on the market.
I have been reading a lot about the Raspberry Pi 3 & Hifiberry digi+. Should I go for that or are there other options for around the same price bracket?
Click to expand...

I do believe that there's nothing in the market today which is at a same price bracket of a rasppi and digi+ (or 4-5 times of this price) and can beat this combo.
This combination makes a very high quality audiophile digital transport.
IMHO only.
 
I guess the pi3 + hifiberry digi+ combo seems to be my best bet. Will be ordering the stuff soon. Since we are on the topic, can anybody shed some light on why the optical out of the TV sounds so terrible? I always used to think you can get away with an inexpensive digital transport.
 
elt93 said:
I guess the pi3 + hifiberry digi+ combo seems to be my best bet. Will be ordering the stuff soon. Since we are on the topic, can anybody shed some light on why the optical out of the TV sounds so terrible? I always used to think you can get away with an inexpensive digital transport.
Click to expand...

Does the Digi+ work with pi3?
 
saikatbiswas82 said:
I do believe that there's nothing in the market today which is at a same price bracket of a rasppi and digi+ (or 4-5 times of this price) and can beat this combo.
This combination makes a very high quality audiophile digital transport.
IMHO only.
Click to expand...

Hi Saikat,

I am currently planning rasppi3 with digi+ combo to use as a transport. pi3 is avaialble in Elements14 but not much info regarding Digi+. Could you please advice the best mode/way to purchase Digi+?
 
VSTEREO said:
Hi Saikat,

I am currently planning rasppi3 with digi+ combo to use as a transport. pi3 is avaialble in Elements14 but not much info regarding Digi+. Could you please advice the best mode/way to purchase Digi+?
Click to expand...
I purchased mine from hifiberry site itself. Shipped via USPS I guess.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Hi Saikat,I am planning to buy an entry level cheap DAC for the pi,the digi+ is not a dac technically is it,site says it just passes the audio to your next in chain like the avr(which has some good dacs inside)?
And if I add it between the PI and the AVR will the SQ improve noticeably compared to signal going via hdmi ?Why choose the digi+ over the dac+?What's the difference? I have no experience with DACs as such and hence the noob question as I fail to understand this thing totally.
 
Last edited:
Appys said:
Hi Saikat,I am planning to buy an entry level cheap DAC for the pi,the digi+ is not a dac technically is it,site says it just passes the audio to your next in chain like the avr(which has some good dacs inside)?
And if I add it between the PI and the AVR will the SQ improve noticeably compared to signal going via hdmi ?Why choose the digi+ over the dac+?What's the difference? I have no experience with DACs as such and hence the noob question as I fail to understand this thing totally.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert either. During last one year I managed to listen to some DACs. I read a lot about various DACs and came to a conclusion that - if I need to judge a dac, I need to listen to it first. I do consider that listening is not always feasible. So we need to believe someone else's ears.
If you go for branded stuffs, price could be one deciding factor for quality. Being said that, at a certain price point, there could be a dac which you might like more compared to others.
Now, why not dac+:- Dac+ pro costs around $45. The DAC I own is worth $450. I obviously don't get 10 times better sq. But I do believe my dac should be better than the dac+.
Why digi+:- USB DAC converts asynchronous digital data to i2s and then converts to spdif. Whereas digi+ takes i2s signal only from rpi and outputs spdif. So theoretically one lesser conversation=lesser chance of degradation of signal quality.
Why not avr:- Most low/mid level avrs come with cheap DACs. A dedicated dac is always better than internal dac of an AVR.
What budget are you looking at for an entry level dac?
With rpi these dacs should be a good option:
Hifiberry DAC+ pro
IQAudio PiDac+
Audiophonics i-sabre v3

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
40 to 50 usd tops, pi to a dac you propose to avr. Dac plus says burr brown dac, my avr too has the same dacs so this is highly confusing me.
 
Appys said:
40 to 50 usd tops, pi to a dac you propose to avr. Dac plus says burr brown dac, my avr too has the same dacs so this is highly confusing me.
Click to expand...
Dac chip doesn't mean much. The main difference is in its implementation.
Now, without listening to both the DACs side-by-side, it's very hard to comment.
Coming to the budget, I think hifiberry dac+ pro or iqaudio pi dac+ might suite your needs. With a linear power supply hack (this requires a bit soldering skills - this hack is possible in hifiberry. Don't know if it's possible in iqaudio), I think this would be a very good combo.
But again, whether it can beat your AVR's internal DAC or not, it's hard to tell. You have to check this out by yourself.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
I am on the verge of buying a maranz pm6005 with an onboard DAC. Should i buy the model without a DAC and get as dedicated DAC instead ?
If I get the one with the one board DAC , will pi3 and digi + suffice ?
 
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