Computer audio overview - courtesy of Ayre Acoustics

June 6, 2009
@ 7:39pm

Computer Audio Overview

Introduction

The integration of the personal computer (PC) into the home stereo system has provided a revolutionary way to purchase, organize, and play your digital music collection. An Ayre USB digital-to-audio (D/A) converter provides an equally revolutionary way to play back your music files with unprecedented fidelity and realism.

Connected via the ubiquitous USB port and using the Streamlength asynchronous transfer mode software licensed from Wavelength Audio, an Ayre USB D/A converter generates a fixed-frequency master audio clock and requests the audio data from the computer at the correct time for jitter-free playback of your music. This is all done using the standard device drivers supplied with all recent operating systems, allowing simple installation and operation with most computers.

Ayre USB D/A converters also utilize opto-isolators to provide total electrical isolation between your computer and music system. This minimizes the introduction of unwanted radio-frequency interference (RFI), generated by all computers, into your audio system.

Important Reminder - Back Up Your Music Files!

No matter what your choice of computer, operating system, and music playing software, please remember one important fact—all hard drives will eventually develop problems and you may lose precious data. Be sure to back up your music files! You will likely end up with hundreds of hours and/or thousands of dollars invested in these files. Taking a few minutes to back them up can save a lot of heartache down the road.

Computer Requirements

Your computer must have at least one available USB port. You will want plenty of hard drive space for storing your music files. As a rough estimate, two full-length albums will require 1 GB of hard drive space if the files are uncompressed. Therefore a library of 1,000 CD's would require roughly 500 GB of disk space. Lossless compression can save around 40% on the storage space required, so that same 500 GB could store over 1600 CD's. Lossy compression (e.g., MP3, AAC) is not recommended as it reduces the sound quality.

Operating System Requirements

Windows XP Service Pack 2, or newer. (The driver model used in earlier versions of Windows will not give reliable results with asynchronous USB transfers.)

Apple OS X 10.4.x, or newer.

Linux (If you know enough about computers to use Linux, you'll know enough how to figure out what is required.)

Software Overview

No matter what operating system (OS) your computer uses—Apple, Windows, or Linux—you'll need to set up your computer to perform several different tasks:

1. Transferring music to your computerís hard drive, either by converting the files from your CD collection, commonly called “ripping”, or by purchasing files that are downloaded via the internet.

2. Labeling the files you have transferred with the names of the song, artist, album, et cetera, commonly called “tagging”. (Downloaded files will normally already have the tags included.)

3. Using a music player program to organize your music collection and play it back.

4. Optionally recording music selections back onto CDs for playback in your car or other places, commonly called “burning”.

5. Optionally transferring part of your music collection to a portable music player, commonly called “syncing”.

A few programs can perform all of these functions, for example iTunes (Apple and Windows) and J.River Media Center or Media Jukebox (Windows), Foobar, (Windows), and Windows Media Player (Windows). Some users will prefer to use other software packages or even a combination of other specialized programs to perform these functions, but for most users we recommend using one of these all-in-one software packages.

Apple or Windows?

If you are setting up a music server for the first time, possibly the simplest route is to purchase a new Mac Mini or other Apple computer. It will come pre-loaded with a variety of software, including iTunes and works especially well with other Apple products such as the iPod. The Apple OS X operating system has been designed with high performance audio in mind, and it is very easy to set up one of these systems.

Apple Setup Instructions

On the other hand, there are also many valid reasons for using a Windows computer as your music server. You may already be using a Windows computer, or you may be more familiar with the Windows operating system. The music player software applications available for Windows may offer more flexibility or customization than is available with iTunes. However, there are typically more steps and choices when setting up a Windows computer as a music server.

Windows Setup Instructions