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iPad "Remote" App for iTunes


Introduced to me by Mezmo, this free Apple app looks through the iPad to iTunes and all the music on my Mac Mini.

Therefore, from the comfort of a chair across the room, one can browse the entire selection of music, see all the cover art AND adjust the volume.

Although I am not yet sure how this affects the sound - particularly the use of the volume control - this has otherwise solved my Mac to DAC to amp problem, where for this one source, I no longer need a preamp, nor a DAC with an attenuator.

For comparison's sake, I have ordered an Antelope Zodiac + DAC (with attenuator) and will report back with any interesting findings.

For general use, surfing an iTunes collection, the remote app seems useful for anyone who also has an iPad.
cwlondon
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
I think AudirvanaPlus trumps BitPerfect (even in iTunes integration mode) particularly if your DAC/USB supports INT and Direct mode in Lion/Mountain Lion
m_snow
57 posts
 
Bit Perfect didn't have much information: does it support DSD? Does it automatically switch sampling rates?
And I definitely don't like the idea of having to use a 3rd party to import FLAC files.
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
No DSD support on BitPerfect but for PCM, it does a superb job.
cool_jeeves
15 posts
 
CWLondon, M_snow is correct.

1) I use headless mac mini and play Audirvana. Majestic sound. The Audirvana manual explains the importance of bit perfect feed to DAC, which can be only guaranteed if you keep volume at 100%. Else the PC output gets digitally altered.

2) Audirvana includes settings where iTunes engine including volume control and the identification of the time that the track has played till is disabled. This is to guarantee bitperfect feed.

3) For playing FLAC files, in Audirvana Plus menu, switch to iTunes integrated mode. Then may be you need to quit and restart, use command+tab to switch to Audirvana Plus, then in same menu you will see "Add files to iTunes" option. Clicking on this will lead to a box where you can drag and drop flac files. Then press "Start" at bottom of box.

4) you can use the remote app on iPad to now play flac files just as if they were wav/aiff/mp3/mp4 files. There will be no difference in sound quality, something you can verify if your system is a highly resolving system. With Antelope Zodiac you will certainly be able to verify.

All the best.
cwlondon OP
1,198 posts
 

Thanks to everyone and in particular to Mezmo, who first gave me the tip for this concept.

In my excitement to buy a newer iPad for the remote, I got a message that it would only activate if I downloaded a newer version of iTunes, which I did.

The iPad seems to be working fine, however, a few things I dont know how to work out:

1) I now seems to be "sharing" files, where many of the songs I thought I bought (downloaded) and/or owned now have a cloud icon next to them..

..does this mean they are

a) being streamed by iTunes and/or
b) not being played at the highest resolution?

2) If so, perhaps this explains why my BitPerfect app no longer seems to work?

Previously, the BitPerfect icon at the top of the screen would turn to green, and everything sounded much better.

Now, the BitPerfect icon remains black and everything sounds much worse.

Thanks for any ideas updates / on using the remote app while maintaining high resolution playback.
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