re: J Play 5.1 - 2 Box on Win 8 with ULTRA Mode & Hibernate ON
computer based audio is a nascent field.
Actually, sid, no it isn't. It's been on the go for ten or twenty years, or perhaps even more. I've been using PCs as a
hifi source for just over ten years.
practicals are always more relevant than theory
arj, the networking thing is
not theory: it is long-established, well-know, common sense,
fact.
It's very odd that music reproduction is based in electronics, has science as its absolute foundation, relies on technology entirely and absolutely until we get right to the end of the chain, where people have been taught that they can throw all that away, and hey, just listen to it and never mind the science. No,
do mind the science, and
just listen because that is practical doesn't cut it. Listening is, after all, the only reason we do all this stuff in the first place --- but, as a tool, although it undeniably can be trained and sharpened, it is has so many faults. If I spent three-figure sums on cables, I'd notice a difference! Whether it was there or not.
But this thing doesn't even come within the audio sphere where a change of cable
could make a difference. It is not part of the audio signal chain at all.
But, if this is to be done in the name of research (even I tried the green marker pen, but hey, green marker pen came free) then it should be blind-tested, and there is no reason why cat-anything could sound different to an ancient piece of thick-ethernet coax (10Mb/sec) --- or even wireless. Except that wireless should only be used in oxygen-free rooms, of course
. And anyone who can hear the difference in a sighted test --- can't. In all innocence, and with the best of intentions, they are falling for the well-documented physical and psychological reasons why they hear something as different.
I don't believe in playing music from ram. It is playing from ram anyway, because it all gets buffered, and playing from memory is just buffering the whole song. But it costs little or nothing to try. I'm not sure about the separation of server and player on two machines, but I don't know the reasoning and it probably isn't impossible that it makes a difference. Of course, pro audio gear, such as Bhagwan is lucky enough to use, can't be doubted --- and that is firmly within the audio sphere of operation.
Tangentially, I was really delighted to discover a pure-common-sense audio/video cable company this week:
Blue Jeans Cable. A blast of fresh air! I know where I'll be buying next.
