get.amped wrote: > My multi-channel system is (almost) completely separate from my SB-based > two channel stereo. Which means there are a lot of speakers in my living > room. And since there's no "W," WAF is not a factor. > > I rip DVD, BR and DVD-A discs to ISO images and store them on the same > server that I use for LMS. It has HDMI out to the Denon receiver I use > for HT. When I want to play one of those titles, I mount the ISO to a > virtual optical drive using Alcohol 52% Free and play it using PowerDVD > (my old version 9 install still plays DVD-A). I expect I could use > almost any player software since the ISO looks like a shiny disc to the > OS. I also have NAD and Denon players capable of playing DVD-A discs but > I almost never use them anymore. > > In practice, I only use the multi-channel for video with it's > accompanying audio and that generally means live concert video as far as > music is concerned.
Thanks for the info -get.amped- and -atrocity-. My state of affairs in terms of multichannel is essentially the same as when I posted this about a year ago: http://archimago.blogspot.ca/2014/02/musings-silence-is-golden-htpc-rebuild.html I've ripped all my DVD-A, multichannel SACDs (converted to PCM 5.1 24/88 usually), and music Blu-Rays into 5.1 FLACs in a separate directory. They now all reside on my main music server that runs LMS 24/7 in another room (to avoid too many machines and fans in the sound room); wired ethernet for reliability - high bitrates for 5.1 24/96! Because LMS doesn't do multichannel, I don't include that directory for LMS of course. Then that HTPC computer in the soundroom is loaded with foobar, connected to the Onkyo TX-1009NR receiver with HDMI (serves as 1080P MKV video playback as well). With the WASAPI plugin for foobar, I make sure the output is pointed to the Onkyo for playback. Foobar's library is pointed at the multichannel music directory on my server machine. The HTPC goes to sleep when not used (vast majority of the time, just press on the keyboard to wake up). I've been using "FoobarCon Pro" on my Android tablet to control foobar for playback of those multichannel FLACs. 90+% of the time this system works without a hitch. No need to turn on the TV at all (just make sure I turn on the Onkyo receiver) unless something goes wrong and I need to diagnose the problem. Without dedicated multichannel playback, this is as smooth as I've been able to get it to work. And with the server in another room and the HTPC essentially silent, there's no sonic obstruction. As to whether one thinks multichannel is valuable or not, that's one of those ultimate subjective opinions of course. I personally enjoy hearing the labour of the engineers who do the mixes! Certainly very different presentations. To hear the multichannel placement of instruments or the ambience of the live performance in Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" always stuns my audiophile friends (even if it's "only" a 5.1 16/44 lossy DTS rip), or to get a true multichannel audition of Roger Waters "In The Flesh" (SACD rip) is a blast (instead of the Q-Sound enhanced CD for surround effect). Likewise the audiophile perennial demo disk "Dark Side Of The Moon" is highly suited for a surround presentation! Then there's an album like Alan Parsons' "On Air" which was created with surround in mind. I'm looking forward to another Roger Waters favourite - "Amused To Death" coming out in discreet multichannel (another Q-Sound CD mix). Even other typically 2-channel albums sound great; for example the recent Bob Marley "Legend" from about a year ago in Blu-Ray sounds very nice in a good multichannel system. Getting multichannel done "right" can be a bit of a challenge of course and for practical reasons, will not be for everyone including soundroom setup, WAF, increased cost, etc... I just wish it was easier without all these bits and pieces I've had to cobble together! Archimago's Musings: (archimago.blogspot.com) A 'more objective' audiophile blog. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Archimago's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2207 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=102992 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
