MAC OSX Setup Here
System Preferences->Sound
Select the USB DAC you purchased here from the selection of available output devices.
Also select the Sound Effects window and make sure all the beeps and other OS sounds go out the internal speakers, so they don’t go to the stereo. For the Proton also set the Sound Effects so that beeps are not used as Feedback for the volume control or this will come out of your speakers or headphones.
A little information about setting up for 24 bit DACS.
iTunes takes a snapshot of the settings for an output device ounce it loads and will upsample to that output format while it is running. Do not change these settings while iTunes is running or the output will be resampled to the new setting which is bad (because it is being effected twice, not ounce).
Applications->Utilities->Audio Midi Setup:
With all the 24 bit DACS you can set the Format to 44.1, 48, 88.2 , 96K, 176.4K or 192K. If you are using only Red Book CD’s that are ripped to your hard drive I would suggest setting the output to 88.2K. This seems to be the best sounding setup for Red Book (i.e. 16/44.1K). This will tell iTunes to upsample from 16/44.1 to 24/88.2K. The idea here is that even multiple upsampling is much better sounding than odd (i.e. 44.1*2 = 88.2 will sound better than 44.1*2.177 = 96) If you would rather not upsample then set this to 44.1K and iTunes will merely pad the 16 bit data with zero to make the output 24/44.1.
If you are using a mix of high resolution 24 bit material and Red Book 16/44.1 then the best bet is put the Format control to 96K. This is what I keep it set to in my setup.
iTunes setup information here:
iTunes is a free program from Apple, it is available for both Macintosh and PC (best used with Vista). You can download iTunes here.
Ok so here is how we optimize the computer side. First make sure that all the importing is done with either AIFF (Better Sounding) or Apple Lossless format (Less Storage). As the name suggests Apple Lossless, no data is lost in this format, kind of like zipping an audio file. The data in is the same as data output. You should also think about placing this library on an external drive using Thunderbolt or Firewire, NOT USB. You may also want to have a back up drive and use something like ChronoSync or other drive synching software. I turn my back up drive on, sync then turn it off.
If you have an earlier version of iTunes I suggest you download and install the latest version. A wonderful feature of Computer Audio the upgrading of capabilities every few months.
iTunes->Preferences->General->Import Settings...
Also there are usually items in the configuration such as error reading and recovery and buffering size (used for internet streaming, in iTunes Import settings). Always set the parameter for error recovery when reading audio CD's. If there are any other buffering options, always set them to the highest allowable. Here is a image of the iTunes setup screen for Importing:
Apple Lossless Encoder will assure that the data on the hard disk will match that of the original disk. Note: We have found on slower machines than using AIFF over Apple Lossless will recover some space in the music. Albeit that the files sizes will increase. You can convert Lossless files to AIFF by setting the Encoder to AIFF. Then select a song or songs and click Advanced->Convert selection to AIFF and iTunes will make copies of your Lossless files in AIFF. You can also view the KIND of file by editing the View options which will show AIFF, Lossless etc. Do note that the files in Lossless and AIFF are identical in output and conversion is truely bit true. We think the problem is that slower computers tend to have problems converting from Lossless to PCM data on the fly. Were AIFF is basically PCM data with embedded cue information (song names, group etc...).
Automatic will keep the speed and the data size the same as the original (i.e. 44.1K/16, 24 bits and so forth).
Use error correction this is vital so that when there is a read error on a CD it will re-read to fix the error.
iTunes->Preferences->Advanced:
You can specify your Library location by going to the Advanced page and setting it too a removable drive, such as a firewire drive.
iTunes->Preferences->Playback:
Make sure that the Sound Enhancer and Sound Check are off as each of these will effect the data going out of iTunes. Also make sure you have the equalizer off View->Show Equalizer.
If you are using iTunes on a PC I would suggest using Vista instead of earlier Windows version because DirectSound does not have the KMIXER in Vista.
iTunes allows you all the options mentioned above. You can download import music, import songs, make play lists what ever. I think it is one of the best FREE software packages you can find to augment the Wavelength Audio USB DAC into a full media package.
Just a few notes about adding a hard drive, NAS server or other location for your Music Files.
In 10.x your music files are located here:
In this directory you’ll find index files, library files and a sub directory called iTunes Music (where the songs are).
Hand moving these files is not a good idea!
There are 2 commands to expand your library:
1) File->Add to Library
Use this when you want to address music files that are located elsewhere but do not want to add to this area.
Make sure the option in Preferences->Advanced->Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to Library is check off or it will add all these files to your present library directory.
2) Preferences->Advanced->Change: iTunes Music folder location
If your present file system is strapped for area and you want to add a new area, then simply change the folder location. All your original music is fine. iTunes will now store all new Music Files into this new location. Note: All of the iTunes music information and misc files will stay in their original space in
Now that iTunes is setup and optimized for playback, there are two applications which further the sound quality of iTunes, while allowing the infinate capabilities of iTunes (i.e. remotes, add ons etc...) to remain:
Amarra Music Server by Sonic Studios.
Pure Music/Pure Vinyl by Channel D.
Audiofile Engineering’s Fidelia
Decibel
Audirvana
Remote Control
Many of the newer Macintosh computers come with an IR Remote control. There are also two excellent products for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch in Signal and Remote Buddy. These run a small webserver on your Mac or PC and use Safari (Airport) to browse the iTunes library. There are something like 40 different APPS for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch. With iTunes 7.7 and later both the iPhone and the iTouch Remote APP were introduced by Apple. These can be downloaded to the iPhone/iTouch via the App Store and is free of charge. If you are using the Proton another remote for your iPhone/iTouch is Rowmote. The nice thing about Rowmote is that it controls the system wide volume control which means you can adjust the analog volume control in the Proton via iPhone/iTouch from anywhere. The volume control under Remote from Apple will control the digital volume control in iTunes and that is not a good thing to use for high quality reproduction. If you want more robust solution I suggest getting a Bluetooth Enabled Palm Pilot and the Salling Software Clicker. This gives you complete control to do just about anything with your computer. Keyspan also offers the TuneView remote that enables full control of your iTunes.
You can also control your Mac via another computer using VNC. There are many ways to do this and it can be a bit complicated. A simple search of the internet or contact us and we can help you set this up.