[omasciarotte]

Greetings Critical Listening lifeforms!

We at MAAT are looking for reviewers of two of our computer audiophile products; our thEQred <https://www.maat.digital/theqred/> as well as MAATgo <https://www.maat.digital/maatgo/>. If you’re interested, please give a shout at <marcom at maat dot digital> and mention AudioCircle…

All the best,
OMas

[FullRangeMan]

This is a old thread from 10Aug2021 on computer audio that was moved to the Starting Block/Introductions Circle today, as Starting Block Circle is really for new members introduce themselves I will move this topic to The Discless Circle.

Please read the Starting Block Circle  GUIDELINES

[omasciarotte]

Thanks FullRangeMan,
This Circle mos’def makes more sense. We are still looking for reviewers, who would receive a perpetual license for their time.

In addition to thEQred, we are best known in the EQ domain for our thEQblue, so I’ll add that to the list of products for review.

Thanks all,
OMas

[Delta77]

How can I implement this EQ into my system..?

Tidal / subscription>
InnuOS /streaming server >
Holo/ dac >
Decware / tube amp >
Tekton / speakers

Thanks Burt..

[omasciarotte]

How can I implement this EQ into my system..?

Tidal / subscription>
InnuOS /streaming server >
Holo/ dac >
Decware / tube amp >
Tekton / speakers

Hey there Burt,

In short: you can’t as most standalone streamers do not provide plug–in hosting.

If you would like to deviate a bit from your normal signal flow for purposes of experimentation, then I can suggest a fairly straightforward approach: grab a computer you have lying around and plug your Holo’s USB spigot directly into the computer.

Grab a demo of either Audirvana or Amarra as your player, they both host plug–ins. There are several player apps for Windows and macOS, but i’ve listened to the credible ones and those two win for SQ. You don’t have to worry about tweaking the computer for best sound, as either app is specifically designed to divorce the host hardware and OS from screwing up the playback stream. Both also act as TIDAL hosts and will provide the first MQA unfolding so an MQA DAC can finish the job.

If you need more info, ping me directly at <oliver at our URL>, and mention you’re Burt from Audiocircle.

P.S. — If there are any other folks out there who have a general purpose computer as your source and want to step up your sound quality game, please give a shout.

[mitch stl]

Interesting thread.  I currently use RPi players with HiFiBerry Hats (2 using  HFB OS and one with  PCP OS) and then use a RPI running Raspbian with LMS installed as the source for my local collection along with my Qobuz subscription.  Would your system integrate with that?

[omasciarotte]

Interesting thread.  I currently use RPi players with HiFiBerry Hats (2 using  HFB OS and one with  PCP OS) and then use a RPI running Raspbian with LMS installed as the source for my local collection along with my Qobuz subscription.  Would your system integrate with that?

Hi Mitch,

Not sure but I don’t think so. Linux doesn’t have any player apps that host plug–ins yet that I know of. I know of one that was working on it but not there yet.

As we manufacture products for the macOS and Windows ecosystems, I’m not up to date on what Linux devs are doing but would love to learn. MAAT products are distributed in VST 2, VST 3, AU and AAX formats and/or as native apps for macOS and Windows. If you’ve found a Linux player that can host any of those plug–in formats, I would like to know about it!

As to native apps, we haven’t seen any unified framework emerge that would allow us to support the many audio–specific distros out there in any meaningful way. Again, if anyone knows more, I’d be happy to talk offline about this.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I am interested.  What are the computer system requirements?  I run Win 10 pro I believe, with a last Gen I7, 16GB RAM 3200mHz.

Music is digital files from a 10gb HD and usb to my Luxman DA-06 DAC.  I mostly use Audirvana (not the Studio version) and occasionally Bug Head Emperor.

[TF1216]

Tyler here, guys.

Oliver (omasciarotte), meet Larry (I.Greyhound Fan).  Larry, meet Oliver. You are both in Minnesota 

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Tyler here, guys.

Oliver (omasciarotte), meet Larry (I.Greyhound Fan).  Larry, meet Oliver. You are both in Minnesota 

Oliver, where in MN do you live?  I live in Woodbury, just 12 minutes east of St. Paul.

Is this the Tyler that has been to my house?

[omasciarotte]

Oliver, where in MN do you live?  I live in Woodbury, just 12 minutes east of St. Paul.

Hey Larry,

I’m in East Saint Paul off of White Bear Ave, so very close to you! Your setup, using Audirvana as your player, would work. i assume you’re running Audirvana Plus v3, rather than Audirvana Studio. Either will work.

Tell me about the analog gear that is downstream of your DAC…

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Hey Larry,

I’m in East Saint Paul off of White Bear Ave, so very close to you! Your setup, using Audirvana as your player, would work. i assume you’re running Audirvana Plus v3, rather than Audirvana Studio. Either will work.

Tell me about the analog gear that is downstream of your DAC…

Oliver, I am using the non subscription Audirvana. 

My gear is a Pass Labs X250 amp, BAT VK51se preamp, Magnepan 1.6 speakers with dual subs.  I also have a fully refurbished and modded Thorens TD-145 TT from the 1970's.  I have almost 9 TB's of music and built a custom desktop to act as my server.  I remote into my server via Windows Remote desktop from a laptop to control everything.

[TF1216]

Yeah, Larry. The same Tyler 

[Carlman]

I'm trying to understand what you're selling.

I use Foobar.... It has an equalizer that comes with it and volume control. I've also added room correction using a mic. 
Functionally I have:
1 - Player of music from the PC
2 - Preamp (a volume control)
3 - EQ
4 - Room corrected EQ

Does your software replace 2 and 3 above or more/less?

Thanks,
Carl

[omasciarotte]

Oliver, I am using the non subscription Audirvana.

My gear is a Pass Labs X250 amp, BAT VK51se preamp, Magnepan 1.6 speakers with dual subs.  I also have…

Excellent. I assume Audirvana 3, which should work well for hosting our products. As a test, install GŌN and 2BusControl, both free, from our site:

https://www.maat.digital/support/#installers

Use ’em for a bit and make sure they behave well. My Audirvana 3 install is on macOS, so a completely different environment. Let me know how all that goes…

[omasciarotte]

I'm trying to understand what you're selling.

I use Foobar.... It has an equalizer that comes with it and volume control. I've also added room correction using a mic. 
Functionally I have:
1 - Player of music from the PC
2 - Preamp (a volume control)
3 - EQ
4 - Room corrected EQ

Does your software replace 2 and 3 above or more/less?

Hey Carl,

I’d say yes, 2 & 3, in that we have products that are equalizers, and another (MAATgo) that provides APT Holman–like preamp controls, along with a bunch of other functions useful for turntable setup and “dissection” of your music.

That said, I don’t know how well foobar hosts 3rd part plug–ins. I know it can be done but, if you’re interested in a bit of tweaking, I suggest you check out:

• First, head to our site and read about our EQs and MAATgo. Familiarize yourself with plug–ins in general and pro audio plug–ins in particular. There are basically two classes of plug–ins; instruments and effects. instruments basically are synthesizers and effects are plug–ins that modify sound in some way. Our products are effects, and ship as VST 2, an old format now retired, as well as VST 3 which is the current version.
• Next, research “vst hosting in foobar” in your fave search engine.
• Finally, install GŌN and 2BusControl, both free, from our site:
  

  https://www.maat.digital/support/#installers

  
  Use ’em for a bit and make sure they behave well in your foobar install.

If our two work well, give a shout here and let me know if you’d like to move forward.