![]() The OS is not the plain type you might have on your home PC, but has undergone many modifications and has numerous proprietary plug-ins and codecs (added by BitPerfect) to deliver the sound quality any audiophile listener will demand. All this makes the machine a speedy and responsive performer, even when running Windows Vista. The BitPerfect Reference 1 is based on a high-specification Asus motherboard with an AMD dual core processor running at 3.0 GHz, along with fast DDR3 (Dual Data Rate) memory. It is worth noting that much of the software on the player is 'tweaked', so users need to be careful not to erase it: the installed version of the easy-option, Windows Media Player, for example, can, nonetheless, handle 24-bit/96kHz FLAC files without the additional plug-ins that the standard version needs.įinally, one could always install MicroSoft Office and send emails while listening to music, provided your collection of rips is sufficiently uninspiring. If the Reference 1 is located in a room where there is a television or projector, not only can that be used as the interface for controlling the server but users can rip their DVDs (including Blu-ray titles, where legal, the manufacturer insists) onto the unit – or network attached storage device – and watch them back through the Reference 1's HDMI connection, with the benefit of enhanced sound and picture quality. The primary software installed on the Reference 1 for organising and replaying music is Media Monkey. It will also rip CDs, and retrieve metadata and cover art from the internet to allow you to store that music in its library or on any machine or device connected to the same network. The author wrote this software because he was annoyed that some other companies were charing hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars for this same functionality.The suite of software that comes with the Reference 1 presents users with considerable opportunities.ĭo as we did and place it in a broadband-connected room with a music system and it will download music from the internet or let you listen to internet radio. Better upsampling and digital volume control (although you will always be messing with the bits doing that). Playback of DSD audio files on a DSD-capable DAC.Ĥ. I'm not so convinced, but it doesn't hurt.ģ. Some people believe pre-loading part or all of the track into the memory buffer improves playback. If all you have are mp3 or AAC compressed audio, you aren't going to be able to hear any difference.Ģ. Those who will really benefit from this will generally have a collection including lossless higher-resolution files. If you are using Airplay exclusively, this isn't for you, since everything gets resampled to 44.1 kHz anyway (and if you use Apple TV, gets resampled a second time to 48 kHz). This takes care of the problem automatically. You have to repeat the process each time you play a track with a different sampling frequency, or else your music will get re-sampled. Everything else will get resampled, unless you quit iTunes, change Audio MIDI setup to the new sample frequency manually, and then restart iTunes. If your iTunes library contains tracks that have various sampling frequencies (normal CDs and most iTunes store tracks are 44.1 kHz sampled, "higher resolution" can be 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz or even higher), iTunes will only be able to play one of these bit-perfectly, depending on the settings in Audio MIDI setup. What does this give you that iTunes does not?ġ. It gives you almost all of the advantages of iTunes (since it runs as a parasite on the iTunes interface), but enables you to avoid some of the limitations inherent to iTunes. Other than that, it is not audiophile, so stop wasting your money on something that cannot be. In other words, forget audiophile, unless you are young, still have good hearing, and have a lot of expendable cash lying around for top equipment starting with output devices and following back to the source. mediocre headphones or speakers on the end of high end amps and players will not reproduce audiophile quality sound. If you really want audiophile and can hear it, that is where your money should go first. If you don't have that, nothing else matters as that is what your ears actually hear. Finally you have to own speakers or headphones that are capable of audiophile playback ranges with minimal distortion. Any other claims for recording or equipment is marketing hype. If you are over 50 forget audiophile due to hearing age degradation-i.e you can't hear it anyway. lossless audio format from the source., which is not anything on iTunes or MP3. Anything else is compressed and sampled, unless it is stated to be audiophile quality on the source-i.e. Is this a joke? For Audiofile level recordings you need analog standard (not cassette) tape or vinyl.
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