Voyage MPD

[steveh]

Voyage MPD has been released it claims an Alsa driver with USB class 2 support capable of 24/192 resolution, is this something already present in VB or something that can be incorporated?

[andrew]

You the latest USB drivers and latest ALSA for this. These are part of Fedora 14. You can try the Fedora 14 version of VortexBox if you are interested in these features.

[steveh]

Thanks Andrew,will do,can you confirm whether SBS is now working with the perl update in Fedora

[andrew]

Yes I added a lot of code to the VortexBox version of SBS to get it working with F14. Hopefully they will add this to the Logitech version at some point.

[steveh]

Thanks Andrew.

[plan9]

I* have a non-USB DAC. I want to make sure I get* bit perfect output 100% of the time. I am deciding between:

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Option 1. Set up a Vortexbox dedicated machine with a ESI Juli@ audiophile sound card to output coaxial digital data to my non-USB DAC. I'd install two 1.5TB matched HDDs in the Vortexbox machine for a one box server/player solution.

*or

Option 2. Set up:

1) a headless Vortexbox machine as the ripper/server with the two 1.5TB HDDs outside of the listening room serving up files to

2) a second headless alix or atom machine with (CF or SSD) with the Juli@ outputing to my DAC in the listening area.

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I'd be using wired ethernet via my router for all network connections and a tablet for remote control.

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I was leaning to the first option (the one box solution) even though that might introduce HDDs into the listening area until I saw some of the extreme tuning to get the maximum audio performance via voyage mpd:

** http://kubotayo.web.fc2.com/vo.....gempd.html

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Does Vortexbox a) prevent resampling b) turn off the software mixer (i.e. keep volume at 100%) by default?

Are bleeding edge features such as memory play

***** http://kubotayo.web.fc2.com/vo.....tml#memory

and other tweaks possible under Vortexbox?

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1 Can anyone comment on which of these audophile features are standard or configurable within Vortexbox?

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2 Any comments on how to decide between options 1 and 2?

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Thanks for any clarification.

[sonorejr]

plan9, I'm going to recommend a different approach, but feel free to do what you think is best.*More parts =*more trouble. I build custom units with hdd drives in them destined for the listening room.*It's not a problem*just use quiet drive like the WD Green*series. These drives are quiet and low heat.*The Alix is a fun project, but be prepared for a steap learning curve. With Vortexbox everything is done for you.*MPD by default will move 10% of the audio content for playback into ram. You can increase this, but it craps out interent radio playback from sbs. Best to leave it alone and at most it's a minor tweak. If you want bitperfect you need to make sure the*digital volume is set to 100%.*Rather than use the Julia card I recommend a usb to spdif converter.*Most of these connect directly to you dacs input. The best ones are asynchronous*type. You can go with 24/96 for full 24/192 depending on you and your budget. If you need help*sorting these out just*ask me or post*the ones your looking at for other to comment on.*

sonorejr

http://www.sonore.us

[plan9]

sonorejr

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Thanks very much for the comments. I want 24/192 capability so USB to* AES/SPDIF converter candidates include:

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1 Mhdt Labs USB 2.0 to SPDIF converter

2 SOtM dX-USB-HD

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I am very interested in the Mhdt Labs as it has a I2S output. I have heard many excellent reviews of the Mhdt Havana tubed DAC but have not seen any reviews on the converter.

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I had originally considered* Musical Fidelity V-Link and Halide Bridge but dropped them as not being 24/192 capable.

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Thanks for any comments.

[sonorejr]

plan9, the*MHDT Labs unit I had here for testing did not want to play 24/176.4 on Vortexbox. There is a lot of 24/176.4 content so I sold it on e-bay Not sure what you would use the i2s output except for mods. The SOtM uses asynchronous usb (better than adaptive sb) and it has some very impressive clocks on board. It also*works at all sample rates on Vortexbox up to 24/192.

sonorejr

http://www.sonore.us

[plan9]

Given the components I already have an am re-purposing, I plan on using the Atom machine with Vortexbox as a server (outside the listening room) connected by ethernet to a Alix 1C plus Juli@ to my Benchmark DAC (via BNC) in my listening room.

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For ease of install can I install Vortexbox again on the Alix 1C to utilize Vortexbox's implementation of mpd so I don't have to go through all of the Voyage MPD learning curve?

*

Thanks for your helpful posts throughout the forum.