New iMac with OSX 10.5.2 and iTunes - Thoughts?

[jonnywolfet]

Originally posted by pinkmouse


Hmm. I bet my tortoise chained to an anvil moves faster than your Ferrari with the wheels sawn off...

yeah ok, so the differences were negligible. but the op did ask for any potential pitfalls that itunes may present. and a less that excellent encoder is one of them.
for the record, the difference that it presents is not as large as the difference between 192kbps and 320... and i still use itunes to encode because of the convenience. YMMV.

[planet10]

Originally posted by jonnywolfet
i am not entirely sure that this applies to wav (it shouldnt right?) but it certainly does with mp3's, my listening tests confirm.

It doesn't. I don't see why anyone would bother with MP3s...

dave

[planet10]

Originally posted by dw8083
Is there any thing else that has to be set on the iMac for bit perfect output using iTunes and
OSX 10.5.2?

You need to make sure that Apple midi is set right so that you don't end up inadvertantly resampling.

dave

[hifimaker]

Originally posted by planet10


You need to make sure that Apple midi is set right so that you don't end up inadvertantly resampling.

dave

Thanks Dave! Being a brand new Mac user, this is the type of insight I'm hoping for from other veterans. I could not find the Midi settings in the System Preferences screen.

Any hits would be helpful.

The sound is much more relaxed ripping WAV files from CD's with iTunes than the same files from EAC on Windows. iTunes does have the Error correction option checked. Also the same audio system plays back both WAV files.

-David

[Wavelength]

David,

You might want to rip to AIFF. WAV is basically straight PCM data. But AIFF from what I can tell is straight PCM data with a wrapper around it that has the CUE information. Therefore if you loose your library info with WAV your screwed but with AIFF it can rebuild everything very easily.

Let's see make sure you have the Equalizer off (Window->EQ). Make sure in playback options you have (Preferences->Playback) Sound Enhancer OFF and Sound Check OFF.

I find it best to have a Firewire drive to backup my stuff on.

The Toslink out is ok but you may want to look at some reclocking devices to take that and step it up a little. I found in testing that the port is a little jittery.

iTunes on the Mac is easy fun and sounds great.

Welcome to the Club!
Thanks
Gordon

[hifimaker]

Thank you Gordon! Really valuable information for a new Mac user.

-David

[planet10]

Originally posted by dw8083
Thanks Dave! Being a brand new Mac user, this is the type of insight I'm hoping for from other veterans. I could not find the Midi settings in the System Preferences screen.

It is an application. Applications>Utilities>Audio MIDI Setup

Over on Audio Circle in the Apple Core are the specific procedures to make everything work.

dave

[Wavelength]

David,

Another thing to think about is if you use Audio USB on the iMac look at the profiler:

Applications->Utilities->System Profiler

Then click on USB and make sure you use the port that is not shared by the Bluetooth and other peripherals as you may run into problems.

Thanks
Gordon

[planet10]

Originally posted by Wavelength
Applications->Utilities->System Profiler

Another way to get there (the way i always do it), Apple Menu, About this Mac, click the More Info button.

dave

[spzzzzkt]

Just discovered that Benchmark Media have a wiki page on setting up OSX for bit perfect playback:

http://extra.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki..._-_Setup_Guide

It's a pretty nice page, with testing on Audio Precision gear used to verify the recommendations.

cheers
Paul