What do I need to listen to HDTracks on my PC?

Can someone point me in the right direction to what I need to listen to some 24-192 tracks on my pc? Windows 7, on board sound card, AT M50 headphones. I would like to listen both plugged directly into the pc instead of routing it to a receiver or amp if possible. Thanks.

 

If you get WAV files Windows will play them natively. Likely however your sound card will resample them. To avoid this get a 24/192-capable USB DAC or DAC-amp.

 

IMO you should choose FLAC as the format to buy and store them on your PC. Then you will need software to play them back in native, back in bit-perfect, FLAC. I suggest FooBar (free program) or JRiver Media Center ($49). FooBar works great, but I like the look and feel of JRiver over it.

You would then install one of those programs on your Windows PC, point their library search function to whatever directory you downloaded your music to and can play them back through the software. You can use your soundcard on your PC, but to really hear what high quality files can do you should think about an external USB DAC/Headphone Amp.

 

I love my Steinberg UR-22 for $150 for usb that does upto 24192. A steal with a good headphone out and an separate line out for into a real stereo. Each has its own level control and installs in minutes and works great. My processor is only 1.3ghz and it no issues. Sweetwater Sound out of Indiana. Ask for Ben Porter. Steinberg also gives you some free software. They are now a Yamaha company I've learned.

I know that many like affordable JRiver Media for playback.

 

Well, HD audio just makes sence, if you're equipment is capable of playing the HD part to it's full extend. I doubt that an onboard soundcard and headphones are able to do that. That's why I recommend you a decent soundcard and 2.1 pc sound system.

 

Thanks for the info. My ignorance comes from the hardware needed to get the true 24-96 or 24-192. My current on board sound card does have optical out. Do they make a USB DAC with a headphone amp included or do I need to get those separately?

 

You should be able to tell if your sound card can playback at 24/192 by going into:

>Start >Control Panel >Sounds

The Sound window will open and show what the default playbck method of you PC is set to (it will have a green check mark next to it indicating that it is the default). Click to highlight the default playback device and select Properties and when the new window opens go into the Advanced tab.

There is a drop down box that will allow you to set it at whatever sample rate and bit depth that are available to your default device. Set it to 24/192 (if available, if not set it to the next highest). Then click Test to make sure it can playback at that rates you set. If it plays back good*, then click Apply and then OK to close the windows.

(*If it doesn't playback good, then keep dropping the sample rate and bit rates downn until you find the max setting it will playback correctly at and that will be your max sample rate/bit depth.)

This way you can playback your hi-rez files at the best sample rate and bit depth that your PC can handle and at least hear your newly purchased hi-rez FLAC downloads at the best quality capable.

To take your listening to the next step would be to get an external USB DAC and bypass the PC's sound card altogether for better performance. It's easier to grasp the concept that a USB DAC is like an external sound card that is better than the cost cutting device that is used in most PC's internal sound cards.

Since the DAC will be the playback source of your PC you will not use the PC's sound card at all thus no need to worry about the Optical Out on the sound card, but instead you will hook your external USB DAC to your PC via USB cable from your >PC's USB Output to your >DAC's USB Input. Then install the software drivers for it onto your PC.

Once the drivers are installed, you would go back into >Start >Control Panel >Sounds and then set your USB DAC as the defualt playback device and follow the other steps to set the sample rate and bit depths as I outlined out above.

 

Some USB DAC's come with a built in a head phone amp ... some don't. If you state your approximate budget then you will probably get some good suggestions.

 

I recently picked up two Teac DACs, a UD-501 and a UD-301. I think Teac is still offering rebates on both. They also lowered the price on the 301, so that after rebate it's $300. Both handle up to 24/192 in PCM and both can also handle DSD files (even 2xDSD). Both include headphone amps.

I do have a quirky problem when I interface the 301 (but not the 501) with my Squeezeboxes, but that will not be an issue for you. And it wasn't enough for me to send it back.

 

Good suggestions above. I've also heard very good things about the ifi Nano and Micro:
http://ifi-audio.com/

 

...Or you could get a Pono and take your hi-res with you.

 

Thanks. It did show the 24-192 option for headphones(plugged into onboard sound card) and played the test tone fine. I am surprised it really supports that rate.

 

Your on board sound card may support 24-192 but in general (and of course not in all cases) internal on board cards are junk and you would greatly benefit from a separate dac / headphone amp. Even a cheep one like Schiit makes.

 

It's an Asus M5A99X motherboard, well made.
Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Audio Feature :
- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
- DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
- ASUS Noise Filter
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel

 

The specs of the card sound OK, so you should be able to playback hi-rez FLAC files at their native bit depth and sample rate with one of the better playback software out there such as FooBar or JRiver.

Where an external, stand alone DAC sets itself ahead of the PC Soundcard pack is how well the analog output stage is implemented ... that is where the level of refinement can come in heads and shoulders above a standard soundcard. The DAC's analog output stage is one of the most important features that not only itself apart from an onboard PC Soundcard, but also pits DAC against DAC.

 

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I can play back those files as well from the internal sound card, but the sound of the conversions outside the PC does make a difference and even my old ears can hear it on a very affordable usb DAC. If what you have works for you that is great.

 

Not many would use optical out any more other than for movies into a HT receiver.

 

I agree 100%. I was just trying to help him get going with what he had. But just because you can play them doesn't mean they are going to sound very good. In reality I wouldn't even bother buying hi-res files in the first place if I didn't have (or plan on having) something more than my PC's stock soundcard to play them back on.

 

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Exactly. I am pretty frugal and thought that since my sound card "played them" that all was good, but then I kept reading about all of you who were doing outboard usb dac's, but I had my doubts with just my little bit of knowledge and research of the usb protocols. I am glad to say that I am glad I bought the Steinberg UR-22, but I probably would have like something else as well like the Focusrite units that are about the same. Now using ASIO4ALL with my Yamaha MG16-XU that has 24192 USB IO, even it sounds way better than my stock card, but is just too big as a 16 channel mixing board to keep by my desktop for just listening. All that it does and it was under $500. I came close to buying the IFi nano for listening, but did not care about DSD and it has no inputs, if I ever wanted to use them. It is a great unit for $189 as I auditioned it at one of our hifi club meetings and is an easy recommendation. Many of the guys own the Schiit gear and really like it. Regards.

 

I have my computer and my OPPO player on the home network. The OPPO can read your music files on your computer and play them. The OPPO has some fine DACS and so the sound quality is great.

I believe my Onkyo receiver also has this capability, but I've not checked it out.

I have also burned DVD-a and Blu Ray audio discs with a compilation of albums in hi res formats. This lets me pop a disc in the OPPO and have several hours of uninterrupted hi res music. I use the DVd audio disc in my car which has a player and kick butt amplification.

 

Well, I tried a few tracks with my 'capable by specs' on board sound card and there is only a slight improvement over the 16/44 version. I take it it's the cheap dacs being the bottle neck. I will look into a USB DAC.

Thanks for all the input guys.

 

FWIW--you'll only ever get a slight improvement over 16/44. Part of the issue with selling the public on high rez audio is that it's not some skies parting night and day difference. In fact, as an engineer, I'd point out it's not "better"....it's more accurate, ALLOWING it to sound better with certain (engineering and musician) work styles. Which isn't semantics. I have this "discussion" with many engineers whose work style involves a lot more knob turning than mine. Which isn't a judgement--it's a work style. I was always frustrated tracking to single rate digital because I'd get the analog feed sounding JUST like I wanted, and it could NOT reproduce that....meanwhile, if you look at the capture as a kind of "beginning of making a nice sound"--those engineers don't much care about tracking at 88.2. The accuracy of capture isn't worth their "cost" in DSP they can't do....

If you heard an improvement, your DAC isn't the bottleneck. Increasing its quality will improve the CD more than the 24/96. That said--the external DAC will sound better for both, so....I'm not discouraging the move. I'm simply managing expectations. This isn't high def video where you'd have to be legally blind to not see the difference. If you expect that, prepare to be disappointed.

 

It's not, actually a better DAC will probably make bigger strides in the redbook sound than the HR (Although your going to get better sound overall on both with a better quality DAC). Has something to do with timing. HR has more data that enable DAC's to have better timing. But take away the timing advantage and redbook can sound just as good as HR.

 

When I was doing only computer recording I did fret the small stuff. I was always concerned about the high computer noise floor that was around -55db and never much better.

I won an auction on Audiogon for a nice MIT Powwr cord. It alone dropped my noise floor to near -65db. Was my house power really that dirty? 10 db more was not little. That was the last of my computer recording.

Now with my Tascam flash recorders I can be in the - 70's no trouble based on the ambient noise of the venue. What I probably need is at least a Monster power unit and tie everything together in mixing. Totally black backgrounds are a great thing. What I now know is that everything matters some, but I don't want to get too over-the-top about it, be we are. The theoretical noise floor of 24 bit is just that. I doubt that I will ever get the entire chain to -80db.