Marmite, WAV, bdpoweramp and US

I'm using twonky, which is what's bundled with the qnap.

SJB

IME Twonky support are very good

I think that's the way it is from looking at the folder,

thanks

SJB

Thanks for all the help Simon.

I had come to the conclusion that I'd go for the bespoke solution and get a US to feed my UniQute. The QNAP NAS was to be either be back-up or source.

Then I go t to thinking that seeing as I have dbpoweramp and everything wired up nicely I could well just use this and not bother with the US.

Now it seems the QNAPs media player can't manage ID tags on WAV, which may well push me back towards my US bespoke option.

I could of course use flac which all tags are shown.

This whole area really is a minefield.

I would be so frustrated if this was my primary source.

SJB

As your using DBPoweramp, have you tried FLAC uncompressed?

Set poweramp to encode FLAC, and under encoding change the setting, generally preset as 5, to uncompressed - not 0 - and try a few rips.

This works fine with the Qnap implementation of Twonky, as far as artwork, meta data etc.

Compare that to the same WAV rips and see if you can tell the sonic difference.

Hi Frizzlefry,

Interesting - I don't get an 'uncompressed' option in my encoder settings, only 0 to 8. What version of dbpa are using using? I have R13.

steve

Version 14.2 here.

Uncompressed is new, May this year IIRC, and you need version 14.1+.

I think it's worth a free download - not sure if this works on a PC running an earlier version - and if it works for you, an upgrade.

No, you can use the batch converter to convert your WAV to FLAC U.C., one press and your away.

But... make sure your happy with it first, but it is a bit cheaper than a US.

I have version 5.16.

I'd be much obliged if you could explain exactly how one disables Twonky and install version 6 using Qpkg.

I have the QNAP NAS up and running for under 12 hours and TBH that is an achievement consdiering my general IT abilities. What you say would make perfect sense to me in a Windows environment but I've no idea how to install something on the NAS.

meta data is fine with FLAC (uncompressed) , I just thought I'd use WAV as that's what will be used if I do go down the Naim server route (and I presume Naim see some reason to use WAV rather than FLAC - but maybe it's not a SQ issue).

Thanks

SJB

The uncompressed option is new, simple as that. I'm not sure any other programs than poweramp encode to it yet.

Speak to Cyrus, or a few at the scottish company, and they recommend FLAC UN; Their products are UPnP renderers, so you use a pc to rip and a pc or nas as the server.

Naim make servers, HDX, US, NaimNet, so at the time they chose the best solution, leave the info as WAV, a bit for bit perfect copy of the CD. Don't even add meta data to the rip, use the file structure to give artist and album data.

I'm not saying FLAC UN is better, or worse, than WAV, but like AIFF, it is the same data as the PCM on the CD. Nothing lossed or compressed. You should hear no difference in a WAV or FLAC UN rip, provided the renderer handles the files fairly. cat > pidgeons. Pidgeons > cat. But, and a big but, the meta data from FLAC is 'easier' for programs, Twonky, to read and display correctly.

1. log in to the web admin console on your QNAP.

2. Click "UPnP Media Server" in the Applications menu.

3. Clear the checkbox labelled "Enable UPnP Media Server" and click "Apply".

4. Click QPKG Plugins in the Applications menu.

5. Click the "Get QPKG" button on the far RH, which opens a new window (it can be a bit slow to open).

6. Click on "TwonkyMedia 6" and select the appropriate download for your version of NAS.

7. Save the file to your local hard disk (and remember where you put it!!)

8. Close the popup window and return to the QPKG screen.

9. Open an Explorer window and navigate to where you saved the download file. It is a zip file so you will need to unpack it first. You should then have a qpkg file.

10. Click the "Installation" tab and press the "Choose file" button.

11. Select the qpkg file and press OK.

12. Click "Install".

That's it! TMS 6 will automatically be enabled and will remember your previous setting (if you have set them up), so will start indexing straight away.

Good luck!

Holy cow! Just installed R14.2 and uncompressed my favourite cd. Size increased by 62% !! 

Now off to listen to see (hear) if there's any noticeable difference before I do any more...

Thanks so much for that, I appreciate the time spent and I wouldn't have got all those steps from the manual.

I may sit with version 5 for a little while until I build up the courage to try it though!.

SJB

well a minimal enough test, but to my ears (and my TV deprived teenage daughter's ears) there was nought a bit of difference between the 2.

It may even change my mind about margarine (showing my age now)

SJB

IntotheVoid  [(Sealth) ? ]

Doesn't generally work. You just opening an already compressed, but supposidly lossless, file into an uncompressed one. Goes back to the fact that it has already been compressed, eg take a 96k MP3, and burn it to disc (PCM/WAV), it still sounds ****, you have already lost the information.

Try to rip the disc as FLAC UN, then compare it to your original FLAC/ALAC file. At this point, some cannot tell the difference, some can; the same people who can tell a WAV rip from a Lossless one. back to the cat and pidgeons...

I was meaning before, that WAV will convert to FLAC UN, not to 'unzip' your FLAC files back to full size...unless of course you can tell a difference, let people know if you do. I've left my original FLAC as that, but now rip to FLAC UN, with a thousand or so critical albums re-ripped.

As for the size, the FLAC UN is bigger (!) than WAV, as it is the same data, along with meta data bound in the file.

Not sure of your name, but google the Sealth add on for a different cover of the song.

Hmmm, the plot thickens. A re-rip of the album results in a slight increase in the number of bytes per track. Can't think why that should be    Makes me think that something is being lost somewhere in the minimal compression / conversion.

That's the big question, is it better or Placebo?

I think I can sometimes tell the difference between a FLAC 0 rip and WAV, other times not. It depends on the album, and the system I'm using. Other peolpe are ' No, WAV is the only decent rip', others happy with MP3 at 320k.

Most people here seem to want to rip to WAV,  to give themselves the best chance at the best sound quality. But not all UPnP servers work well with WAV, hence the recommendation to try FLAC UN.

They take up more room, but the price of storage just keeps falling. I started playing with PC music using Realplayer 10 years ago, as such I used MP3 at 128k, then 320k, then iTunes at ALAC, then FLAC, as the cost to store the rips fell. If I was starting out now, I would go straight for FLAC UN. Both good sound quality, and compatability.

Your name, whether you know or not,  is a Black Sabbath song. ITTV (Sealth) is a version by Soundgarden, with the lyrics from a letter by the Duwamish leader Sealth, the person Seatlle is named after.

Lossless should be that, loss less.

Are the extra bits coming from the meta data? No, that data should be the same in both cases, with the same image. So does FLAC actually loose data?

Data still is not everything, listen to a few more rips, and decide for yourself. It's the start of a headache, and I said it would be cat amongst the pidgeons...