[wtaylorbasil]

I am searching for help on this one for sometime now. I hope I will have a few good responses.
I bought the Onkyo TXNR609 Receiver (TI Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-Bit DACs on all channels 32-Bit DSP chip for advanced processing) because it has a USB input to be able to playback FLAC files 44.1/16 and 96/24 resolutions.
1. I am disappointed to find that the play back of the ripped FLAC (44.1/16), via USB into Receiver from the EHD, is not as good as the original CD track. FLAC file is ripped and stored on a 1TB EHD.
2. My equipment: LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GMA-4020B ripping drive, Cambridge Audio 650BD DVD/CD player, Onkyo TXNR609 Receiver.
Q1:Which could be the weak link in the rip/playback chain? (a) Ripper drive, (b) EHD/USB output to Receiver or (c) receiver? . The track ripped by EAC gives a confidence 2 and ripped by dBpoweramp gives an accuracy of 2. Does this mean I may need a better DVD ROM drive for ripping to a high accuracy? Or is there another reason? perhaps the Receiver DAC? I need to eliminate the cause before I rip all my CDs.
The track used as a test is U2, The Joshua Tree, Where the streets have no name.
Any help will be most appreciated.
Regards
William

[cityjim]

 Going through USB is the limitation. Avoid it at all costs.

 Get you a WDTVLive Plus and run a wired Ethernet connection from your PC. From the WDTV unit use the RCA audio cables into your receiver. It plays FLAC and a ton of other file types along with movies. It's a win win deal. Mine was $89 bucks.

cityjim

[jtwrace]

Going through USB is the limitation. Avoid it at all costs.

That's not true.  I have a USB Dac and it's silly good.

[newzooreview]

That's not true.  I have a USB Dac and it's silly good.

USB Dacs are some of the best available, but a good one would cost 3x as much as that Onkyo receiver.

It is likely that in the setup you describe the USB input on the receiver is poorly implemented. For the cost of the Onkyo, they are likely to be using a very cheap USB receiver chip.

A low-cost way to get around that (keeping in line with the budget of the system) is

a) get an M2Tech USB to SPDIF (coaxial digital) converter http://www.m2tech.biz/hiface.html

or

b) get a CEntrance DACPort LX http://www.centrance.com/products/dacport/

I've used both and for your needs I would get the CEntrance. I use one for my bedroom system and the sound is smooth, detailed, dynamic, and doesn't suffer from the digital harshness of a lower quality DAC. The reason I recommend the CEntrance is that it has a built-in DAC that is going to be better for good stereo music than the built-in DACs in the Onkyo. The reason is that by integrating the DACs into the device, CEntrance can optimize the power supply and jitter control (a simplified explanation). Also, CEntrance licenses their USB interface technology to expensive DAC manufacturers--it will be significantly better than the USB interface in the Onkyo. I use the CEntrance with a $800 amplifier, and the DAC is not a limitation on the quality of the sound.

The only other thing you would need if you went the CEntrance route is a 1/4" to RCA cord. Bluejeanscable.com make a very good one: http://bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/MSA1.htm

Here's the configuration (you can change the length to whatever you need, of course)




I hope that helps!

[srb]

If I understand correctly, the "EHD" is an external hard drive directly connected to the Onkyo's USB port that files are played from?  If a computer is not being used, then a USB to S/PDIF converter would not apply to this particular playback scenario.
 
Steve

[newzooreview]

Oh, sorry. I think I missed the fact that you have your hard drive connected directly to the Onkyo??

So, the CEntrance (or HiFace) won't help you: it is meant to connect to a computer USB. Aside from getting a Mac Mini to use as a music server, you should try a Logitech Squeezebox Touch: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-930-000090-Squeezebox-Touch/dp/B002LARRDA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313358788&sr=8-1

People seem to like them a lot for uses such as you describe, and I've seen folks running their demo systems from the Squeezebox at audio shows.

Your ripping approach is not gong to be the issue. Your source, amp, and speakers will govern the sound unless you're getting audible dropouts and other major failures in the rips. It doesn't seem like you're getting those.

[Bob in St. Louis]

........... Get you a WDTVLive Plus ...............

That's an amazing little unit.
I didn't know such a device existed, and at such a great price.
I wonder if Wayne can mod one.  I'll have to look into it, that's pretty cool.

Bob

[adydula]

I take it that the usb ports are inbound not outbound...the hdmi and the spdif are the outputs...
would nice to have one of the usb ports allow me to take PCM to a usb dac...without a spidf to use convertor.
Alex