Airport Express compared to High End Transport.

Does anyone know if it's possible to use another playback program like Foobar with AE, in place of iTunes?
It seems Foobar has upsampling options and sounds better than iTunes when a USB - SP/DIF convertor is used instead of AE.
Any ideas?

Rooze

Rooze, At this point you can only use iTunes. AE only "listens" to Apple Lossless format. iTunes translates non-AL files into AL format on the fly to stream to AE.

Actually, I'm now using a USB interface to link them together as the AE inserted a delay in when starting playback. Very annoying.

Also, sorry for any misunderstandings in my original post - the 4-second buffer is neccesary to bring the DAC64 up to the level of the Blu. Without the buffer, it sounds thin.

It's also worth noting that the Blu has a dual output that I did not try. I've heard from my dealer that this once again takes the Blu to a different level as it seems to split the signal or something and the DAC64 has circuitry to reassemble it. I'm still ecstatic with my system.

I just bought an Audio Research DAC-5 and might just give the AE another chance in that context.

Graham

Graham,

Thanks for the update. I loved the sound of the Chord DAC64, especially when engaging the 4-second buffer. Let us know how the Audio Research DAC-5 works out for you with the Airport Express.

All the best,
Neville

A bit off the thread but I hope this is helpful. I had been running a G4 with USB out into a Waveterminal, then taking the SPDIF into a modded Music Fidelity TriVista with a Stealth Varidig. Doing everything in Apple Lossless. This is pretty damn amazing - I now have about 200Gbs online

I upgraded to a G5 in part to get the Toslink out - figured one less box, one less cable and complete electrical isolation had to help. Went for the high end Wireworld 5 Supernova. Have not spent a lot of hours with it yet but my impression is that if anything the Toslink is a bit more detailed, albeit drier - don't know if this is a "sound" of the cable or if I am not hearing the "sound" of the Stealth since everything else has remained identical.

Can't imagine that its the USB adding the color.... Or the Toslink is taking something out???

My impression in limited tests with the Waveterminal using the Toslink was that it was also a bit brighter, call it more forward than the SPDIF - this was before I had the Stealth.

What is for sure is that 802.11g is not nearly as good a way to do this as ethernet - I run the Toslink from my keyboard in my office but access the same iTunes library from a SLIM Squeezebox in my living room HT rig

Both SLIM and iTunes are wonderful ways to manage your library

Finally you may find this link helpful, in particular the Stereophile review

In regard to the question about the mini Toslink, you are correct, the review notes that "at the innermost end of the 3.5mm jack is an optical S/PDIF transmitter"

http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?127@824.6aPhaKzT2wA.0@.ee6cd90

Enjoy the music