XLD - advice welcome.

Max - the website makes it look a lot more confusing than it is. It's very easy to configure and setup and i think makes a more secure rip than iTunes. I buy a lot of used CD's now (no point buying new, they get ripped and then put into storage) and whereas iTunes would breeze through a less then pristine disc, XLD could take up to 10-20 minutes. I only want to do this once and XLD works well for me. I still use iTunes for management of my library. 

Try downloading it, if you get stuck i'll upload some screenshots of my settings for you.  

James

Right click and open image in new tab to see them full size without the forum resizing 

James,

thanks very much for your support. I'm not home now, but as soon as I sit at the Mac I'll try.

I'm slowly accumulating music on it, so I may as well begin to reproduce some of it via my SN...

Best

Max

James,

thanks again. I have downloaded it and duplicated your settings. It's already ripping a difficult CD, and it's taking its time and a lot of retries.

Now, a good Toslink to Mini jack 3.5 mm and finally I'll try a direct comparison between CDx2 and MacBook/SuperNait. My heart is strongly with the CDX2.

Max

Good stuff Max. Glad it's working ok. I suspect the CDX2 will win over on this one, but i'll be interested in your findings. 

James

Hi, James,

Thank you for this information.  XLD is great.

I see you have overrridden "Format of filename"; default is "%n %a - %t"

What is the difference?

Thanks again.

Nick

I can't tell the difference between XLD and iTunes rips. As long as 'error correction' is used in iTunes the rip will be bit perfect. I'm sure there are people who disagree.

I do find XLD useful for converting FLAC files to AIFF though.

> I can't tell the difference between XLD and iTunes rips. As long as 'error correction' is used in iTunes the rip will be bit perfect. I'm sure there are people who disagree.

+1,000,000 

I have yet to find a difference except in one rogue CD - I have compared quite a few rips, bit by bit and found they are the same. The metadata is often different. XLD will do more than iTunes, but mostly the extra is of no sonic consequence.

I use XLD though because this forum gave me CD Paranoia. 

XLD is a great program

Being a bit thick I can't do anything with XLD, the application is in finder , I d/click and an icon appears in the dashboard, clicking on it does absolutely nothing. 

What am I doing wrong, or not doing at all?                           

Is the App in the Applications folder - not sure this matters, but a few apps don't like being elsewhere - my XLD is in Applications/Musical Tools. I'm using XLD 20120407.

When you click on XLD does the top line menu on the Finder change 

XLD File Edit CDDB Profile Window Help 

That may be all that happens until you set up the preferences as James has described ... XLD doesn't do anything on my Mac until you pop in a CD or double click a cue file or open a file with it. Then it rocks like Iron Maiden (did you know they are the greatest band in the land: HMV said so). 

If that gets you nowhere then delete its plist in the library/preferences folder (that'll teach it) and try to launch again - if still no luck then go for a reinstall - getting rid of the plist when you delete the old one. 

Just in case make sure you are not running a player like Audirvana or Pure Music - I don't use these, but have heard in some instance they can contend with XLD. 

RE loaded XLD still the same. I don't understand any more. So I'll file it under not required here.

Thanks all the same, but life is too short to worry about this stuff.

Maxbertola take Jame's advice he helped me out no end, as he said you can still us itune's to manage your music library, just remember it take forever to rip your cd's

I don't care about ripping, as iTunes does it just fine. Really, it does. 

But XLD is great for converting downloaded FLACs to AIFF so iTunes can import and play them along with all my other stuff.

XLD doesn't take up the screen, other than some small dialogue boxes depending on waht you are doing, but when it is selected, you just see the XLD menu bar at the top of your screen. It looks like it isn't on unless you notice that change. You just work from the menu bar.

beginner,

I did. I think having XLD on my Mac is a good thing, it takes little space and from the way it opens and behaves I'd swear it is one of the least invasive applications I have. In case I should see that iTunes does the same job well, I can simply not use XLD and it will not steal too much space.

I also remind you all (in case you don't know) that in the Apps' store you can buy BitPerfect for something like €4 and it will do a number of good things to your files on their way out to the dac.

Max

P.s. I want to buy a decent Toslink to minijack optical cable to do my first experiments in replaying from the MacBook into the SN, but am reluctant to buy the Supernova 6 and would like to spend something in between that and the ultra cheap ones sold on eBay?

Thanks, M.

OK I seem to have got a version that runs, I can see the stuff at the top LHS of screen.

What does one do with the xld-gui-20120407 folder I downloaded to desktop and that's where it sit unsurprisingly. Can the folder be put some where else out of the way?

I haven't quite got the hang of this computer stuff yet. 

> P.s. I want to buy a decent Toslink to minijack optical cable to do my first experiments in replaying from the MacBook into the SN, but am reluctant to buy the Supernova 6

The Supernova 6 is by far the best optical cable I have used much better than ones from Chord which I tried. However, with a MacBook you will still have a jitter problem - if you had the Mac Mini then that is much better. However, the answer is the hiFace from M2Tech in Italy or the American made Halide Bridge. If you use the M2Tech then you can connect it to you SN directly and use a Wireworld UltraViolet USB cable. Doing this will raise your MacBook to Mac Mini levels. 

However, if you just want a decent plastic optical cable then I'd go for the British made TCI Coral, it is not as good as the SuperNova or TCI's own now discontinued glass optical cable, but is step up from most.  I think it should be fine for the MacBook.

Applications 

BitPerfect is a great little app that does a number of things, but for me the on-the-fly bit-rate and word-length changing is the most valuable function. Without it, you have to change in Audi Midi and restart iTunes to change to and from hi-res.

Winky,

I agree, I too think that that is its best feature, even though I haven't used it yet.

Guido,

Thanks for your usual knowledgeable advice. There's some gap in cost between the M2Tech Hiface and the Halide, they say that the Halide is one of the best USB to S/PDIF adaptors and I believe it costs three or four times the HiFace.

>If you use the M2Tech then you can connect it to you SN directly and use a Wireworld UltraViolet USB cable<

But if I use a HiFace then I can use a digital coax to the SN, or am I not understanding something..?

I seem to understand that you are not very keen on connecting optically... At least, not with the MacBook. But mine is a first contact with the world of files.

I'll try and post a few impressions.

Max

P.s Did I tell you how I liked >V for vendetta<?

> I seem to understand that you are not very keen on connecting optically.

Hello Max 

Sorry if I gave that impression - I'll try to explain. 

I use the Supernova 6 and believe optical connections are wonderful - they kill all electrical noise. However, I have a Mac Mini with very low jitter - so all I need is a noise free connector. If there is a better way to connect my Mac Mini to a Naim DAC then I do not know it. 

However, you were using a MacBook and unfortunately, it does not share the same S/PDIF as the MM. Now before we panic, it is not dreadful or anything like that. It is a similar level to the optical out on a standard Sonos. So you would enjoy good results from it with an optical cable - again Supernova 6 would be my choice, but the TCI I recommended is the next best thing (well of those I've tried) and incredible value for money. Naim recommends optical with Macs and I agree with them that it gives very good results.  In fact I'd go for the TCI in your set-up unless ... 

However, if you want to kill the jitter and get to the same level as the Mac Mini then I'd go for the excellent hiFace (the new version is much improved as it uses standard drivers - I can no longer see any advantage of the Halide, but I haven't had both at the same time). You could use the hiFace with a digital coax cable or you could do as Stu (Gale 401) did/does and connect the hiFace to your DAC and use a good USB cable (Ultraviolet). I recommend the UV because I have one and it separates the USB power from signal and I was amazed how easy it was to hear the improvement.

Your SuperNait has a good honest DAC, it is not like the stand alone DAC with jitter reduction so I was trying to give it the best low jitter feed.

If you are going hiFace with a good coax then you don't need the Ultraviolet - for a good Coax I'd look at Wireworld or TCI because these guys seem to really know who to craft a good cable without a silly price tag. 

I have a colleague who has a small studio as has been optimising things, which is why I'm familiar with these cables - also in the work I do, we have to measure things like jitter and so I can ask somebody to compare the jitter from various Apple computers (we have lots of them for work as they are our standard platform for development/testing - except for word processing/spreadsheet where I still have to use a PC). 

I have my Yamaha CD-R I can use as a transport and the jitter is dreadful and it sounds diabolical through an external DAC .. it has other virtues. So I've grown to think jitter is the enemy of good sound and I like to kill it if I can in the nicest possible way, of course. Max, your MacBook has a jitter around 100 pF whereas the Yamaha clocks in at over 800 pF 

The best transport we've measured for jitter was the Meridian G08.2 I was lucky enough to be able to try - it is a brilliant machine, but so it should be for what it costs if you are going to use it as transport. I didn't buy it. The Naim UQ does very well in these type of tests too. So I'd guess the better Naim streamers are excellent. 

So in conclusion if you do not want to spend too much then I'd go for the TCI Coral - if you want to spend a bit more then I'd contact Marco at M2Tech who if I'm not mistaken is not far from Pisa and ask if you can try one of his magic wands (hiFace 2).  I still can't decide if Florence or Venice is the most beautiful city I have ever visited though. 

All the best, Guy 

Guy,

thanks a lot indeed for you clarifications. Now I understand: you can connect the MacBook either way, with the HiFace in the Mac or into the DAC, in which case you choose between a coax or an USB cable.

Well, fact is that now I am only about to experiment with how stored files will sound into my SN: not a complete move towards streaming, which - should I manage to overcome my diffidence about hard disks - will probably involve an NDX some day. So I wanted to start with a combination that will allow me to have a reliable idea of how it can sound without buying expensive cables already. I can borrow a HiFace (not 2) from my dealer, and I already have a Stereovox digital coax waiting to be put at work.

I might also invest some money into two/three good cables and experiment as a way of preparing the ground for the future (or late present, as it appears to be with streaming). Is the TCI Coral also available with 3.5 minijack at one end?

As for Venice and Florence, it's difficult. With such places, living inside them is not even a real issue anymore, one tends to see them as 3-D wonders. I'd say Venice because its uniqueness is definitely more radical, but Florence is less disquieting. I don't know if I'd want to live in either, but if I should take a woman for a week in one of the two, and have a romance, it would be Venice (and it was, in 1996, with a lovely (!) girl from Vienna).

Hoping this won't drop me directly into geographic clichés..

Max

100 pF whereas the Yamaha clocks in at over 800 pF 

pF ?