[jkelly]

AyreWave does indeed have a volume control... it is in the "Controls" drop down menu.  It doesn't work with the Apple remote (it only works with the mouse or keyboard shortcuts) and that is something that probably should be fixed, but I understand why it doesn't work. 

I will try again (new to Mac) but it didn't seem to lower levels going to the outboard DAC.
Maybe I am doing something wrong.

Jeff

[clearlight]

I've also been experimenting running my Tranquility direct to the power amp lately, and while the amp has a low 10kOhm input impedance which is causing bass to sound very lean (rolling off below 150 hz according to Eric's calculations but which the Tranq. can be modded to fix with my amp), the sound is spectacular. If you haven't once tried out this connection you owe yourself the favour. Not all systems I would imagine will sound best this way but with care it can be checked out.

But be forewarned as great care MUST be exercised with even Pure music which I am using. One small mental slip and poof!, there goes your drivers when the the amp gets the full output signal from the digital volume control in Pure Music. DO NOT assume the volume was in the last position if you have had power to your Mini disrupted or even rebooting Pure Music and/or the Mini (which PM recommends to clear RAM for best sound) - volume levels may default to zero dB and hence full output. I've had this happen but normally PM remembers the last volume position after PM reboot or a Mini restart. If the Mini was put only in sleep mode and not shut down between listening sessions and PM was not quit, then I would guess it's even more likely the volume will remain at the last used position.

I have been turning on my power amp last after checking the volume level on my iTouch
AFTER  I have started a song playing., but sometimes when plugging/unplugging things and starting playback I have had to desparately reset volume down from max/turn off amp when I suddenly found it defaulted to zero. Yikes. Not the kind of stress I need!. Using a monitor does allow for extra safety in being able to verify volume level before starting playback, but is a hassle for those of us wanting to run Mini headless using  Apple Remote.

Even with these issues, I still would want the direct connection to the amp even though in my case I will have to occasionally swap interconnects as my preamp is also needed for a hm theatre bypass and occasional vinyl playback.

[newzooreview]

Don't bother with trying to import you entire library into the playlist, that is not what it is for.

I don't know where you get your information. Stephen Booth has stated on his site forum that "I'm still working on 1.0b! A library, watch folders, smart playlists, etc. will be added over the next few releases."

As for the sound quality, it has been getting better, but about all you can say for it is that it beats Play and iTunes and a few other players out there right now.

I don't understand the negative tone. AyreWave is better than most popular options (including Play, iTunes, VLC, and Audirvana in my direct experience). So why the dismissive "about all you can say"?

I'll be comparing it to Pure Music soon--should be interesting.

Amarra is of course not an option. I don't understand why anyone would support a software vendor who secretly installs a rootkit on your computer without your consent that, by the license of the software, allows them to disable the software remotely and in doing so opens a backdoor for remote access to your system, making it permanently vulnerable to outside attack. The iLok DRM scheme has already been cracked, so they simply punish their legitimate customers in the process.

[jkelly]

AyreWave does indeed have a volume control... it is in the "Controls" drop down menu. 

I just tried to use the volume control and it had no effect.  I am using the USB dac output.
Please let me know how to get this working.

Jeff

[ted_b]

I don't understand the negative tone........

Amarra is of course not an option. I don't understand why anyone would support a software vendor who secretly installs a rootkit on your computer without your consent that, by the license of the software, allows them to disable the software remotely and in doing so opens a backdoor for remote access to your system, making it permanently vulnerable to outside attack. The iLok DRM scheme has already been cracked, so they simply punish their legitimate customers in the process.

 

[Audioclyde]

I've been using Pure Music with my Tranquility Sig; even my high res files play great, with the caveat that at the end of each high res track, PM stops and doesn't go to the next track.  Rob has indicated that PM is working on a software update to address this.

I also have Amarra mini (w/ilock), but haven't used it in months.  This morning I installed the latest Amarra mini on to my mac mini, installed the ilock--thought I would give it a try with the Tranq Sig (I had not used Amarra mini since getting the Tranq dac).

Redbook tracks play fine on Amarra mini, but if I try to play a high res track (limited to 96k of course), Amarra either won't play or sounds really distorted/slow.  Is there a setting I'm forgetting to change somewhere?  Amarra mini played my 24/96 tracks fine back when it was feeding my MW Transporter--I know the Tranq Sig dac will play the high res tracks, but I can't get Amarra mini and the Tranq Sig dac to play 24/96 tracks....

Thanks for any tips!

Randy

[johsti]

Sorry if this has already been discussed in this thread, but for those of you wishing to use the tranquility with a pc, or any usb dac for that matter, have you tried these windows 7 settings? 

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/downloads/Windows_7_Optimization_Guide.pdf

I noticed a substantial difference using foobar, wasapi output and a usb dac.  I've never compared to a mac mini, but would be interested in hearing others thoughts that have both a pc and mac mini.

[highfilter]

Sorry if this has already been discussed in this thread, but for those of you wishing to use the tranquility with a pc, or any usb dac for that matter, have you tried these windows 7 settings? 

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/downloads/Windows_7_Optimization_Guide.pdf

I noticed a substantial difference using foobar, wasapi output and a usb dac.  I've never compared to a mac mini, but would be interested in hearing others thoughts that have both a pc and mac mini.

I have done comparisons using Windows 7 and Mac OS X on the 2010 Mac Mini. I thought Foobar with Kernel Streaming sounded about as good as I could get on the PC, but no matter what I used and optimized, I thought the Mac OS always had the upper-hand. I did try every PC optimization that I could find, and removed all startup processes as possible and stripped it down best that I could. It might be the software players for the Mac, but I think it is the combo of the actual OS itself as well as the software players that put it ahead of the PC (drivers play a big part as well). Windows seems a lot more bloated than the Mac OS and I think it's harder to optimize everything to match the Mac.

I also had a USB cable burning in at the time, so swapping between the two could have had some affect on my listening comparisons, but I've done it a few times already and preferred the Mac. I've been using Pure Music and AyreWave. Both sound fantastic and I've not yet determined which is best for me. Still burning in some RCAs and my Tranquility SE. 

[bhobba]

I've also been experimenting running my Tranquility direct to the power amp lately, and while the amp has a low 10kOhm input impedance which is causing bass to sound very lean (rolling off below 150 hz according to Eric's calculations but which the Tranq. can be modded to fix with my amp), the sound is spectacular. If you haven't once tried out this connection you owe yourself the favour. Not all systems I would imagine will sound best this way but with care it can be checked out.

Yes I suspect the sound would indeed be spectacular.  A number of acquaintances of mine say the best system they have ever heard is a DAC connected directly a low powered amp - no volume control etc etc.  If anyone wants to try it I suggest something like a SET directly fed to some medium sensitivity speakers say 90db or so.  That way you will not be reducing the volume and bit dropping using something like Pure Music that can boost and reduce.  This looks a good amp to try with it:
http://www.miniwatt.com.hk/amplifiers/miniwatt-n3.html

Get a technician to remove the volume pot and replace it with some fixed resistors so you get the volume you want with pure music at 0db.

Scratching my head a bit about that roll off below 150hz - I thought the output impedance of the Tranquility was 50 ohms which should not impose a problem for 10K input impedance.  My amp is not a lot better at 50K and I can't say I have really noticed any problems.

Thanks
Bill

[wilsynet]

Speaking of running direct to amplifier, I'm doing the next closest thing.

http://www.lightspeedattenuator.com

Tranquility SE into the Lightspeed Attentuator and then into the Music Reference RM-10 which has 100Kohm input impedance.

It's really quite, quite good.  My system has never been better.

Edit: Fixed URL (thanks srb!).

[clearlight]

Wilsynet, the lightspeed looks interesting, what retail price does it go for?

thx,  david

[clearlight]

I understood from Eric that input impedances of 50K to 100K were o.k.

[wilsynet]

Last price from George about a month ago was US$450 including shipping.  There is a pretty positive, sometimes effusive thread on Audiogon about it:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1276356977&&&/Lightspeed-Attenuator-Best-Preamp-Ever-&&st0

Only drawback is at lowest volume, it never goes quite to zero.  It isn't a show stopper, but it can be inconvenient if you have pretty efficient speakers.  For the money and given the sound quality, I'll take the minor annoyance.

[doug s.]

ldr's are killer, but why not go for remote control?
http://diyparadise.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=113

doug s.

Last price from George about a month ago was US$450 including shipping.  There is a pretty positive, sometimes effusive thread on Audiogon about it:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1276356977&&&/Lightspeed-Attenuator-Best-Preamp-Ever-&&st0

Only drawback is at lowest volume, it never goes quite to zero.  It isn't a show stopper, but it can be inconvenient if you have pretty efficient speakers.  For the money and given the sound quality, I'll take the minor annoyance.

[wilsynet]

I actually have and use an Apple remote, so I would have had two devices using the same set of remote codes.  Second, didn't see anyone compare the Eva to George's work, and I decided to go for the better known quantity.

I think we're getting way off topic.  I will refrain from commenting on the LDR any further.

[Danny Richie]

I tried running the output of the DAC straight to my amps and using the volume control on the computer. I can even control the volume with my iTouch.

The problem for me was that the sound stage depth and imaging feel apart when I did that.

Using either my Dodd Audio battery powered tube amp or the Dodd Audio tube buffer was a big improvement. Plus of coarse I have a dedicated remote and three inputs and two outputs.

I highly recommend at least trying the buffer. Gary is selling it as a kit now for practically nothing.

[clearlight]

thx for the info guys!

[genjamon]

I've had my new Sig Tranquility burning in for a week straight from before the holiday week until yesterday evening.  I've kept the original Tranquility so I could compare the units once the Sig was burned in.  The original Tranquility was powered, but idle for the entire time as well.  I'm assuming the fact it was idle didn't negatively impact its performance.  The comparison was an 8 month old Tranquility vs. a new Sig Tranquility with 169 hours on it.  Net result of my comparisons last night....the original Tranquility goes back to dB Audio this week.

I found the bass the biggest area of improvement for my system.  The signature was able to bring real texture to the bass notes.  At times, it seems like there is less weight on the bass, but that's just because the bass isn't as wooly and bloated.  Funny, as I never would have described the original's bass as wooly, but now that I've heard the Sig, it's definitely not as refined, and led to some general room resonances and blurring that's now way way better with the Sig.

Instrument separation and air is also greatly improved.  I wouldn't say the resolution is all that much more, but it's just that last 5-10% of performance that allows everything to open up and breath.  I also found the PRAT to be improved, as the microdynamics of voice and instrument were more refined and allowed those synergies to play out.  I found some vocal subtleties on some tracks I never would have suspected be there, as I thought they were poorer recording quality. 

I would not call the sound harsh or brittle in any way, as so often that level of detail in systems reduces harmonic richness.  It's a very listenable approach to reproduction, and I'm very satisfied.

However, I do wonder if I will need to redirect some system approach to compensate.  The separation of instruments is now so good, that I sometimes lose the view of the forest for the trees.  That is to say that it's easy to get stuck listening to one or a few of the instruments and lose the image of the work as a whole.  It's a testament to the resolving power of the source, but I may need to compensate in terms of system synergy a bit.  Is there too much of a good thing?  In this case, I surely hope not, as I really appreciate what the Sig has done. 

I just went from an upgraded Miniwatt to an Ampino on the amp side, but maybe I need to move back in the tube direction.  There's always a next step, right?!!!   

[jdbrian]

  I don't think the reviewer really gets the approach used by DBlabs. Yes, the Tranquility DAC's work well with any source but there is a synergy with the Mac Mini that the author hasen't explored. He seems to be somewhat dismissive of this synergy based on experience with another DAC using the mini as a transport.

Brian

[jrebman]

Brian,

I agree completely.  I simply don't believe he is getting anywhere near the full picture of this dac, and I'd add that I don't think you're going to hear a lot of the amazing harmonic development of a note that this dac can produce, with a single driver speaker, nor the bass for that matter.  And that's coming from a guy who has owned many SD speakers over the years.  There are only a few that I've heard that might be able to show you all that the dac is capable ofm, but they are not in his collection.  That said, if you're hooked on the SD sound as it is, that's your point of reference and that's all well and fine.

I do agree completely with his assessment of the armchair audiophile though .

-- Jim