Tír Na HiFi

sbgk wrote:I've never come across a linux developer that wasn't of a bits are bits mindset, so imagine there is plenty scope to tidy things up. With MS charging £1400 a year to licence drivers it makes Linux the only way forward.

Linux seems to have a number of drivers for the different chipsets so it's not true that there is a universal Linux driver.

There's Linux and then there's OS/X of course.

Whatever you think about Apple, they have done their own thing with audio and there are significant developments like Integer Mode, Direct Mode and Exclusive mode. UAC2 device driver is unnecessary.

Direct Mode theoretically is pretty much what you were advocating avoiding DAC device drivers and behaving like DMA straight through to the device at low level.
All this has been implemented in players like Audirvana 2.0+. OS/X is I am sure also amenable to improvement by optimisations like Audiophil's AO. Most users ran it on Mac Minis which again I am sure are able to be optimised as most of us do with our Windows PCs.
But as I said, I bet none of the players render loops approach the quality of Gordon's.

If Gordon thinks Linux is the way to go, I would advocate OS/X, since as nige says plain Linux audio is very disappointing (especially with MPD which most use as the player). Been there and don't want to go back.

Anyone apart from nige compared an MQn rig with an equivalent Audirvana 2.0+ Mac Mini rig for SQ?

jrling wrote:
Anyone apart from nige compared an MQn rig with an equivalent Audirvana 2.0+ Mac Mini rig for SQ?

well if you don't like the results, keep asking the next guy until you find the answer your looking for:)
you'll have much better luck at computer audiophile I'm sure

anyway i retested audivarna 2.0 and win 8.1 and new win server preview with win media player and vlc player i didn't bother testing with mqn its just not comparable

well the long and the short of it i prefer windows

i can't see any magic ingredients in a mac mini either

nige2000 wrote:

jrling wrote:
Anyone apart from nige compared an MQn rig with an equivalent Audirvana 2.0+ Mac Mini rig for SQ?

well if you don't like the results, keep asking the next guy until you find the answer your looking for:)
you'll have much better luck at computer audiophile I'm sure

anyway i retested audivarna 2.0 and win 8.1 and new win server preview with win media player and vlc player i didn't bother testing with mqn its just not comparable

well the long and the short of it i prefer windows

i can't see any magic ingredients in a mac mini either

Thanks for trying it out, nige.

jrling wrote:

nige2000 wrote:

jrling wrote:
Anyone apart from nige compared an MQn rig with an equivalent Audirvana 2.0+ Mac Mini rig for SQ?

well if you don't like the results, keep asking the next guy until you find the answer your looking for:)
you'll have much better luck at computer audiophile I'm sure

anyway i retested audivarna 2.0 and win 8.1 and new win server preview with win media player and vlc player i didn't bother testing with mqn its just not comparable

well the long and the short of it i prefer windows

i can't see any magic ingredients in a mac mini either

Thanks for trying it out, nige.

No probs
Just seems like osx has some audio spring cleaning to do
Anyway win 8.1 and r2 had a good audio overhaul

A mqn for minimalist Linux could work

A mqn for minimalist Linux could work

I agree. And that is what Gordon was suggesting that he advocated too.

Most Linux audio apps use MPD as the render engine; it is really old and not at all actively developed and it is showing its age.
I reckon Gordon could wipe the floor with MPD in no time flat; MPD is Open Source and so presumably he could take MPD as 'one prepared earlier' and lick it into shape.

The advantage of taking that approach would be that there are some good headless apps out there, like Daphile, that could provide a friendly front end to Gordon's render engine - an absolute must for the very unfriendly Linux OS. I am pretty competent with Windows stuff, but laboured badly with Linux which most non-coders would find I reckon.

yea my linux knowledge is very limited, know a small bit of OS X
always sort of admired linux from the sidelines maybe its time to get in

nige2000 wrote:yea my linux knowledge is very limited, know a small bit of OS X
always sort of admired linux from the sidelines maybe its time to get in

First up you need a tool to do the editing. They are mostly awful. Here is a Geeks Guide to their 'best' ones -
https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gedit
Mind you, a new skill might come in useful?!

I am surrounded by Linux fluent coders at work.

Pshaw that's far too easy. If we're staying in the spirit of the forum it has to be VI.

Diapason wrote:Pshaw that's far too easy. If we're staying in the spirit of the forum it has to be VI.

once upon a time, I was fluent in VI, thirty odd years ago :-(

Ah it's like riding a bike, your left pinkie always knows where the Esc key is.