amham Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Is it possible to use an RH-1 playback into a PC using USB in the Hi-MD mode and then run the digital PC output into a DAC thus allowing for the DAC decoding the D to A? Bottom line, I'm looking for digital out of a Hi-MD MD without a digital out connection...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Yes, this is possible. You need to have Sonicstage installed though and play tracks from there, as the RH1's controls become inoperable with USB attached. The playback in Hi-MD mode will be through the PC's soundcard, and you can feed the optical out into a DAC or Hi-Fi etc. I'm pretty sure it will all be int he digital domain, so the optical signal should be clean. Perhaps someone more techy will confirm this. I tried this once with an external soundcard attached to my laptop, and all seemed fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amham Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Yes, this is possible. You need to have Sonicstage installed though and play tracks from there, as the RH1's controls become inoperable with USB attached. The playback in Hi-MD mode will be through the PC's soundcard, and you can feed the optical out into a DAC or Hi-Fi etc. I'm pretty sure it will all be int he digital domain, so the optical signal should be clean. Perhaps someone more techy will confirm this. I tried this once with an external soundcard attached to my laptop, and all seemed fine.Thanks for the response....I'm about to receive a Cambridge DACmagic and would like to decode all my digital devices through this, hopefully, superior device. To my ears the analog out of the RH-1 is strident and it needs significant help. Of course, this is also due to the op-amps and associated circuitry. It is a portable device and not designed for "hi-end" sound but it is the only Hi-MD device that I have for playback and I know of no HI-MD deck with an optical out. I prefer the convenience of MD and find it a superior compression algorithm, at least to my ears (at 352k only). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 That sounds like a good idea for an 'alternative Hi-MD deck', and there have been very good things said about the DACMagic. I was toying with doing something similar as well, though as I have all my tracks in Sonicstage now at 352kbps I don't really need the RH1 stage. Hope it goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 I think all that is needed is a sound card with optical out. Cost 10-20 pounds. No reliance on D->A in portable MD.There is no way that you can use the USB transmissions designed for Sonic Stage by pushing them instead to DACMagic. The only thing known to drive the USB is Sonic Stage and the transmissions are actually encrypted (**** I think, lol - every time I make one of these assertions, Avrin turns out to know better - pace Avrin *****).However if you hook up your RH1 (or any HiMD device) to USB and play something back from SS, it will show up in the audio stream which can be sent OUT (within reason and any limitations placed by DRM or Microsoft) wherever you like.I am currently listening to (and recording on to my MD deck via optical out) a track from a HiMD using the RH1, just to test this assertion.Note that this absolutely doesn't apply to uploadable NetMD or SP tracks, even on the RH1, as they are played back "traditionally" ie on the MD side only. For that you can use a legacy deck.. but I am sure you know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levanel Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) You might run into problems if the receiving end gets blocked by a copyright flag via toslink. For example, recording via toslink from a slim PS2 to RH1 rears that ugly restriction (though on my R70, this doesn't apply..) Edited January 26, 2009 by Levanel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 You might run into problems if the receiving end gets blocked by a copyright flag via toslink. For example, recording via toslink from a slim PS2 to RH1 rears that ugly restriction (though on my R70, this doesn't apply..)That's another vote in favour of getting a sound card with opti in and opti out - (I think) most of them have it unblocked, or the ability to turn it off. The Terratec Aureon 5.1 seems to be fine; there is a more expensive 7.1 too. But probably NOT the one that plugs into USB. There you may run into problems if you are simultaneously running SS over USB to the RH1. In fact this may be the problem with DACMagic, unless you have an optical card. The other way to look at this USB issue is that: a. Sony knows that its HiMD support simply won't work on a USB hub (ie HiMD and another device plugged into the same USB controller)b. the transfer of sound data takes up most of the CPU, and there are even some situations where it doesn't work with a super fast processor - ie it is timing dependent, too fast or too slow and you get burnt potatoes instead of music So having 2 USB devices, one HiMD and one some sort of output of sound via USB, is not likely to work, for the same underlying reasons as a. and b. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amham Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 If you're so attentive to SQ, I recommend you try PCM on Hi-MD. I could hear the improvement over 352kbps ATRAC3+, and that using analog out. Wanting to go all digital in high end but compressed is not serious. Try uncompressed, even analog will sound good.Received the DacMagic and it allows for any Hi-MD portable (I have several) to play via USB/PC and SonicStage 4.3. Of course, also SonicStage standalone. This then negates the need for a Hi-MD deck with digital out. I'm using an old laptop with XP, 256mb, 933mhz Pentium III, USB 1.0 as the music server and it works fine.BTW, I've never been a believer of "snake-oil" cables, burn-in, cable direction, etc., however, the DM needs to warm-up for several hours before it sounds decent. Out of the box cold it sounded very poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Very interesting...... Let me understand something - you are using USB out on the PC to drive the DM? That's amazing, in this day of overcapacity, overspeed and bloatware.Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amham Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Very interesting...... Let me understand something - you are using USB out on the PC to drive the DM? That's amazing, in this day of overcapacity, overspeed and bloatware.StephenYes, HI-MD RH-1 connected to the USB port, DacMagic connected to another USB port and listening to the decoded digital audio stream from the audio out of the DM. All works, including 1.411 and all Sony encoded MD rates via SonicStage. In fact, I can connect an external hard drive and decode the WAV files, Hi-MD, MD and any other encoded music file (with the appropriate software) simultaneously! iTunes, SS, Windows Media, etc by simply switching back and forth. In fact, I can even simultaneosly copy a CD onto my hardrive (using iTunes or SS) at the same time using my faster laptop (Dual Core T7250) with no hesitation, skips, breaks, etc. Very pleased!The DacMagic is starting to smooth out and widen with more "burn-in time. However, no comparison to my Benchmark USB, which one would expect for the difference in price. The DM is satisfactory for my nightstand system...but I am a little disappointed at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekdroid Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Yes, HI-MD RH-1 connected to the USB port, DacMagic connected to another USB port and listening to the decoded digital audio stream from the audio out of the DM. All works, including 1.411 and all Sony encoded MD rates via SonicStage. In fact, I can connect an external hard drive and decode the WAV files, Hi-MD, MD and any other encoded music file (with the appropriate software) simultaneously!I might just be overlooking something obvious, but wouldn't a regular cheap soundcard with optical out do this anyway? Assuming you have a half-decent device to convert it to analogue, why buy the DACMagic (especially if you are not crazy about its sound). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 One thing that precludes that setup is a laptop. So this is useful info for people in that position, I think. Mind you the cost of a brand new Dell with most of the trimmings is around $350 and a soundcard can be had for $40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amham Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I might just be overlooking something obvious, but wouldn't a regular cheap soundcard with optical out do this anyway? Assuming you have a half-decent device to convert it to analogue, why buy the DACMagic (especially if you are not crazy about its sound).The object of this exercise is to extract high quality sound from a bedside system using portable sources such as the RH-1, CD, DAT, etc. using headphones and a headphone tube amp. The PC needed to be a laptop for size considerations. The DacMagic is used as a upgrade to any PC/Laptop soundcard, none of which I am aware provides significant SQ compared to a good DAC. I believe I have achieved that, albeit at some expense. However, this IS a hobby and as an aging Boomer with some means, not an unreasonable expenditure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrius Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 For example, recording via toslink from a slim PS2 to RH1 rears that ugly restriction (though on my R70, this doesn't apply..)Whut? Care to explain, please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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