[db audio labs]

dB Audio Labs Tranquility DAC Super Sale - Free $200 Essential USB Cable with the purchase of a Tranquility DAC! ..... Update...

Special is about to end, now down to just a handful of the extra Essential USB cables available for free, with Tranquility DAC purchase!

We are having a Tranquility Super Sale in order to free up our excess Essential USB cable inventory. Hence, everyone gets a free $200 Essential USB cable when they purchase an open box Tranquility DAC. This is the best value we have ever offered to customers since the inception of our company! All open box Tranquility DACs are absolutely pristine, fully tested and will have a three year warranty just like new.

This special Tranquility super sale will be for a limited time.   


Eric Hider - dB Audio Labs
Email: ehider@me.com
Phone: 248-798-9555

Website - www.dbaudiolabs.com

[Wind Chaser]

I'm not into music servers and computer audio sources, but can your DAC be made to work with spinning CDs from a transport?

[2bigears]

  hi Eric,what is a cable upgrade worth,i have the SE dac with your first gen cable.i think i would like to try your latest greatest.....Pat in Canada.....thks Eric....if you want can you just send one out 

[jtwrace]

I'm not into music servers and computer audio sources, but can your DAC be made to work with spinning CDs from a transport?

Why not?  You should try it...you would be amazed how much more listening you'll do in the same amount of time. 

I will not even get into the sound...

[ultrafi]

Wind Chaser, et al;

Basically what you are asking for is an SPDIF to USB interface - and, those, pretty much, don't exist.  Nor, are they a good idea.  Here's why in elementary terms:

SPDIF interleaves (think mixes here) the sample rate clock, e.g., 44.1 kHz, with the left and right sampled audio data.  So, to then interpret or read this data, the clock must be recovered on an ongoing, continuous basis.  Not an easy task!

In contrast, computer audio, i.e., USB or FW, never mixes the sample rate clock with the audio data to begin with.

By definition, if there is variation in the clock between the when the sample was taken and when it is read, you have jitter.

Thus, in the traditional sense, computer audio has no jitter - compared to SPDIF.  There can be other sources, obviously.

Further, there is no SPDIF transmission interface.  Yet another benefit.

Story short, a computer is the best transport.  Period.  Not to mention, it is user upgradeable.

On the back side, if you'd rather spend your time rummaging through silver disks to find music, storing countless disks and taking up space, and find value in flaunting your 'physical' collection before your friends and family - then by all means go for it.

However, everyone I know that has converted to computer audio says that, without exception, they now spend more time listening to music.  It's my personal belief that this is what it's all about.  There's also something to be said for being able to carry around your entire music collection in your shirt pocket.

Hope that helps!

[Wind Chaser]

Story short, a computer is the best transport.  Period.  Not to mention, it is user upgradeable.

On the back side, if you'd rather spend your time rummaging through silver disks to find music, storing countless disks and taking up space, and find value in flaunting your 'physical' collection before your friends and family - then by all means go for it.

However, everyone I know that has converted to computer audio says that, without exception, they now spend more time listening to music.  It's my personal belief that this is what it's all about.  There's also something to be said for being able to carry around your entire music collection in your shirt pocket.

I don’t have the time or interest in uploading all my silver disks to the computer and then converting them into some other format to make it work. Too bad, my gut feeling is your DAC is probably the biggest and best bang for the dollar.

[jtwrace]

I don’t have the time or interest in uploading all my silver disks to the computer and then converting them into some other format to make it work. Too bad, my gut feeling is your DAC is probably the biggest and best bang for the dollar.

Once you upload the Cd's the format is set.  Also, if you want to really speed the process up you can purchase a CD Robot.  You load 100 at a time and it's does the rest for you.  Basically it replaces a child @ .10 per Cd.   

[ultrafi]

Wind Chaser,

There's no extra time involved.  You upload (rip) while you're playing.  It all happens in the background...

For that matter, you never need upload if you don't want to.

If you pick the right format from the start, you never need convert either.

You should also probably know I have/had prototypes of what you're suggesting here....

Again, just trying to help and further your understanding.....

[Gopher]

Yeah...  with a program like dbpoweramp you don't need to do...  anything.  Just drop the CD in and let it do the lossless rips, handle id-3 tags, download album art, and simplify everything. 

I ripped about 300 CDs in a couple of days without a major upsetting of my life.  Actually I let it go in the background while I was working at my office and brought the office rips home on an external hard drive.  It really is NOT an inconvenience and the result is I've tossed my physical media in my storage unit.

[saisunil]

May I ask - what Lossless format people are choosing - apple lossless, WMA, or something else and why ...
 
Cheers

[ultrafi]

Great, I'm trying to write this patent application and this thread keeps popping up and I'm replying and now the phone starts ringing....

OK, on the Mac side - AIFF.  On the Windoze side, well, don't go there if ya can avoid it.

As to the phone ringing, in iTunes, Preferences, General, about 3/4 the way down, "When you insert a CD:" select "import and eject."  Prior to that select, under Import Setttings, select AIFF and make sure error correction is check marked.  Game over. Just keep stuffin' CDs in.

If ya can't see 'em spit out, well, I can't help ya...

As to child labor laws, jwtrace, I'm sure my 9 year old can handle ripping cds....but, you can't even charge $0.10 for that.  I'm with ya bro'!

Back to work. 

[ultrafi]

Saisunil,

The rational generally given for AIFF over lossless is that the computer need go through fewer computations in processing the file when playing back..resulting in a bit better sound.  Not that every recording necessarily warrants this mind you.

That said, storage space is cheap.  Real cheap.  So, who cares.  Make it AIFF and be done.

Further with the same notion/rational, less computations pulses/draws from the power supply less, resulting in less noise, you get the idea.....better sound.

[saisunil]

Thanks ultrafi ...
What about .wma ...
For me - I can use it in itunes as well as non-itunes friendly players ...

[ultrafi]

Which WMA version are you referring to specifically?

Ultimately, and again, I tend to avoid Windows....YMMV

[Phil]

Wind Chaser,

Late adopters unite!   

I felt the same way until I got concerned about my aging source.  With dbpoweramp + these step-by-step instructions you don't need to learn new software.  You can rip to several formats (storage is inexpensive) at the same time (so, for example AIFF, FLAC, WAV):  http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Computer-Audiophile-CD-Ripping-Strategy-and-Methodology

When you decide the preferred format, you'll have that much extra room for albums.  Keeping an archive copy is a must.  As others have said, you can do this in the background (while listening to music, for example) and it goes pretty quickly.

Phil

[bhobba]

I don’t have the time or interest in uploading all my silver disks to the computer and then converting them into some other format to make it work. Too bad, my gut feeling is your DAC is probably the biggest and best bang for the dollar.

You don't have to if you don't want to.  You can simply put a CD into the Mac Mini and play it as usual.  However spending a little time ripping them to a lossless format (I use apple lossless) will give you an added convenience that once you experience you will not go back from.

Thanks
Bill

[lolhahaha]

Are any more of these available? I don't see anything on the website mentioning the deal and have been looking for a couple weeks.