[jimiles]

I wanted to start a thread for AppleTV with the PaceCar.  I'll gush about how good the PaceCar is in my next post.  If you already have an AppleTV, feel free to skip the following hard-sell on the AppleTV. 

Apple markets the AppleTV as a set top box for watching movies purchased on iTunes.  While you can certainly use it as such, Apple has yet to fully tout its utility as a network iTunes music adapter. In the simplest terms, ATV is the AirPort Express Ne Plus Ultra.

The ATV uses wireless (or wired) ethernet connectivity for both syncing and streaming of music.  When streaming the ATV pushes or pulls music in real time from an iTunes library stored on a computer.  Conversely, when sync'd the ATV maintains a copy of user-specified songs on its internal drive and plays them directly from there.

The ATV can be controlled w/ GUI on your HDTV, or directly from iTunes, or your iPhone or iPod touch.  The utility and coolness factor of iPhone integration cannot possibly be overstated.  The Remote application is a free download for the iPhone. 

The functionality that Apple inexplicably glosses over is the connectivity.  In iTunes, AirTunes can simulcast to any combination of up to 5 AirPorts or ATVs on your network.  The ATV can connect to (and switch between) the iTunes library on any computer on the network; laptop, desktop, garage/kitchen/bathroom computer.  On a 802.11n network, you can imagine the iTunes orgy that could ensue in a home with multiple computers containing multiple libraries connected to multiple ATVs and/or AirPorts.

Head over to the Apple website and check it out.  If you can live with 44.1, the AppleTV offers beyond-seamless integration with iTunes, a fantastic user interface, plus connectivity/flexibility galore.  With the Pace Car in the chain, I can't imagine doing computer music any other way.

The Fine Print:

The AppleTV is limited to 44.1 and  iTunes converts .WAV or .AIFF to Apple Lossless in real time when streaming.  The highest available capacity is 160GB and the drive is not user upgradable.

[jimiles]

As cool as the AppleTV may be from a functionality perspective, it sounds like steaming llama dung. Enter the Empirical Audio Pace Car 2 with Superclock 4.  I've lived with my Pace Car for a few weeks and am ready to add my voice to the chorus of enthusiastic supporters.

Here are some basic observations...

Bass: better integrated, tighter, and less omnipresent. 
Midbass: greater speed, articulation, and tonality. 
Midrange: increased textural resolution and vocal presence. 
Treble:  I won't even try to list all the ways it sounds better.  The treble was broken and now its fixed.

Microdynamics:  I was really shocked at how much I was missing in this department.  Musicians lay on various notes a little harder than others, and that important aspect of performance was totally flattened out by the stock AppleTV. 

Macrodynamics:  The lower noise floor makes the music seem louder at a given volume setting.  Louder as in more powerful and present, just the antithesis of the way things get louder with compression. 

The overall effect of adding the Pace Car is not at all subtle. I heard it right out of the box and it improved significantly over the break-in period.

Best of all, you do not need to have a uber dollar system to hear the improvement wrought by the order of magnitude reduction in jitter.  Based on the wide variety of folks running and loving the Pace Car, I've come to the conclusion that it isn't a tweeky sort of device that only works in some systems and only appeals to some ears. Rather, low jitter is a foundational sort of thing akin to room acoustics and clean power; something to be addressed sooner rather than later in the quest for your ideal system. 

My AppleTV has thus evolved from the Old Brokeness to the New Hotness   

Party On!
Jake

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ ___

A bit about my signal chain and overall system for reference...

Apple TV -> (AQ Optilink 5) -> Pace Car -> (AQ Eagle Eye) -> B&K Ref 31 -> (AQ Niagara) -> Aragon 8008x3BB -> (AQ CV-6) -> Polk RTA15TL   

Equitech 1.Q balanced power system and PS Audio Premier AC cables.

[audioengr]

Jake - the Pace-Car 2 is a technical product, and it does scare away some folks because they dont understand it.

Some customers have told me that they feel it is my best contribution to audio, even better than the Overdrive or Off-Ramp.

Feedback like yours is really helpful to breaking down those barriers.

Thanks,
Steve N.

[jimiles]

FYI:  you can still watch a movie on your AppleTV with the PaceCar in the chain.

In the AppleTV menu {Settings -> Audio&Video -> Dolby Digital Out = "OFF"}

This forces the AppleTV to decode bitstream into stereo PCM before sending it to the PaceCar 2. This configuration change is required because the Pace Car cannot pass the Dolby Digital bitstream. Of course, this is a non-issue if you also have the HDMI cable connected to your processor.   

Jake

[mbehner]

I have an apple tv and love the functionality/interface for music movies netflix etc. However I've found sound quality to be quite lacking. I haven't purchased a pace car yet because I didn't know I could still access the video content via hdmi. Am I to understand that my NAD m15HD will take the audio from the pace car and take the video from the hdmi separately? I'm confused as to how I would hook this up properly.

And if this works, music will sound better but the video sound will still lack?

Also, my understanding is that a good DAC will not improve my system as the NAD dac will ultimately override anything previously in the chain? Thanks in advance for your help.

[audioengr]

I have an apple tv and love the functionality/interface for music movies netflix etc. However I've found sound quality to be quite lacking. I haven't purchased a pace car yet because I didn't know I could still access the video content via hdmi. Am I to understand that my NAD m15HD will take the audio from the pace car and take the video from the hdmi separately? I'm confused as to how I would hook this up properly.

You can hook it up okay, but the problem will be selecting the right inputs.  If you select HDMI for video, you will get HDMI audio, not other audio inputs I believe.  So I dont believe this will work.  The way to tell is to read the manual on your NAD.

It is probably better to use component video outs in this arrangement.

And if this works, music will sound better but the video sound will still lack?

Many customers use stereo mode for music and movies, so they can improve both.  Read the NAD manual to see if it is capable of this mode.

Also, my understanding is that a good DAC will not improve my system as the NAD dac will ultimately override anything previously in the chain? Thanks in advance for your help.

The NAD is a SS processor/preamp, so the external DAC can feed L and R analog inputs.  It will not use the DAC in the NAD if you do this.

Steve N.

[mbehner]

Thanks so much Steve. If I connect the pacecar/dac into the L/R analogs can I still play music through all speakers in the surround set up or will it only play on the front left/right speakers. I also have speakers outside in the front and back of the house. Will the pace car and dac benefit these as well?

[audioengr]

Thanks so much Steve. If I connect the pacecar/dac into the L/R analogs can I still play music through all speakers in the surround set up or will it only play on the front left/right speakers?

left and right only

I also have speakers outside in the front and back of the house. Will the pace car and dac benefit these as well?

If the preamp drives these and the source is the DAC, then yes.

Steve N.

[mbehner]

Steve, do you recommend the pacecar or offramp for use with the appletv/mac mini? Think I finally have a handle on this to some degree. Lastly, am I able to use my subwoofer along with the L/R?

[audioengr]

Steve, do you recommend the pacecar or offramp for use with the appletv/mac mini?

The best results will be with Off-Ramp 4 and Mac Mini.

A close second is the Pace-Car/ATV.

am I able to use my subwoofer along with the L/R?

Depends on your preamp and it's capability.

If your goal is truly exceptional 2-channel, then dont use a SS processor/pre for this.  Use it only for movies.  Best to use the sub only for movies also.

For the best 2-channel, you want to try to avoid a pre altogether.  Drive your amps directly from a DAC.  If you want to use the L/R speakers for movies also, then get a transformer linestage so you can switch back and forth between 2-ch and movies.  This is what I do.

If you have a screen between your 2-ch speakers, then you should consider some acoustic treatment to eliminate the effect of this, otherwise you will never get any depth or width of image and your imaging will not be focused.

Steve N.

[mbehner]

Does the overdrive dac perform the functions of the offramp or will I need both an offramp and a dac?

[audioengr]

Does the overdrive dac perform the functions of the offramp or will I need both an offramp and a dac?

Overdrive DAC includes the USB interface in the Off-Ramp 4.  Overdrive works stand-alone.

Steve N.

[jimiles]

I just wanted to post a quick update on using the AppleTV with a PaceCar 2. First of all, a shameless endorsement: The PaceCar 2 proved to be a set and forget device that's done yeoman's work without so much much as a single reset in over two years!  Everything I said about the all-universe sound quality two years ago is still true today.

The AppleTV is highly versatile. I push an iTunes feed from my laptop to the AppleTV, just one of many ways it can be used.  The convenience is great, but the sound quality is...well, you've heard iTunes. 

Pure Music and AirFoil let me maintain that functionality, but sound markedly better. If forced to identify one attribute, I think the audiophile term is micro-tonality i.e., better visibility into the textures as notes evolve.  Different guitar effects and synthesizer patches are more clearly discernible.  The whole effect is one of a more anchored sound with better focus and projection.

My initial reaction was that it's soft sounding, but I suspect that iTunes is, by comparison, a "cat fight in a trash can" and this slightly soft sound is closer to correct. 

I'm sure that Amarra is awesome too, I know a lot of folks on her are big fans.  That said,  I'm totally pleased with my Pure Music purchase.  For $129 with a free 15 day trial, it's hard to go wrong! 


The Rig:  Pure Music -> AppleTV -> Pace Car 2 -> Sonic Frontiers SFD2 MK2 -> Pass Aleph P -> Aragon 8008x3.