![]() That, and the E28 really does not leave me wanting for better sound. The much more expensive alternatives, like a stack of Mytec Brooklyns or a Merging NADAC are just not in the cards for me. I am holding on to my E28, previously also highly regarded by Kal, since it has balanced XLR output connectors, and there is not yet a balanced version of the E38. Kal Rubinson recently reviewed the latest E38 in Stereophile and he finds it uniquely qualified among available Mch choices. The Exasound is indeed an extremely competent and very fine sounding DAC. Digital volume controls could be implemented via rotary knobs, but that is rarely done. I can get used to sliders, up/down buttons, etc. But, sound is most crucially important to me. And, there are many well established theoretical reasons why an analog control cannot be superior to a digital one. With all due respect, the belief that an analog volume control is somehow superior is totally without objective proof of any kind, a classic myth. Yes, of course, it is a digital volume control, unquestionably the best kind known to man. So, adjusting volume in JRiver via the PC or via JRemote or adjusting it via Exasound's remote all do exactly the same thing, which actually occurs digitally in the Exasound. There are no other disc players or cable boxes useable or active in my system, which is PC via USB to DAC to amps to speakers for audio, and PC to TV via HDMI with Ethernet input to the PC from the HD Homerun Prime.Įxasound supplies software to integrate its volume control with JRiver's. Live or recorded TV is via a Silicon Dust HD Homerun Prime plus a Fios Cablecard. SACDs cannot be played directly in real time, but I just first rip them to my library on NAS via an offline Oppo 103. I also can play stuff from my PC optical drives on CD, DVD or BD, though that requires de-encryption software. My source material is ripped files, mostly SACD Mch but also BD or Flac downloads. So, for me, JRiver is much more than a library and player. I use it in conjunction with Dirac Live VST plugin, which provides room EQ and speaker distance correction. JRiver has very capably assumed most functions a prepro would provide, like master volume and bass management. Yes, I use an Exasound e28 DAC via USB with connection directly from the DAC to my amps. I also use a Gefen HDMI Detective+ on HDMI, a godsend totally eliminatining any handshake issues. I now use USB for Mch audio and HDMI for video only. Something about an exactly proper turn on sequence. ![]() I used to pull my hair out sometimes getting a proper handshake, even when I did not change the system. ![]() I used to use HDMI to an external preamp/processor. As I also said, I believe HDMI requires certified hardware at both ends to authenticate, starting with PC graphics on a GPU or via integrated Intel graphics on the CPU chip, both with proper video+audio drivers at the PC end of the HDMI connection. I do not recall ever seeing a separate HDMI audio software driver. HDMI audio is also inseparable from HDMI video, and blank video frames are transmitted even with audio-only material. also work, as does the Meridian HD621 HDMI converter Kal mentioned. Obviously, other devices, like AVRs, prepros, etc. BTW, usually a simple video display or TV with HDMI input will satisfy the handshake requirement, allowing both audio and video transmission. ![]() HDMI might even disappear from the list of available Windows audio devices if no valid handshake has occurred. HDMI is a protocol with two-way authentication via handshake, so unless a valid HDMI hardware device is connected, Windows cannot use HDMI. Restarting just the tuner doesn't fix it, I need to actually restart my server and all the clients.HDMI in Windows can be tricky for several reasons. When that happens, I need to restart all instances of MC on my network and the Tuner to get things to work correctly again. MC does not appear to release the "held" tuner during shutdown, which results in the tuner being "locked" and showing up as unavailable to all instances of MC. The really bad behavior seems to happen if the MC instance holding the tuner open is closed before I've manually gone in to "release" the tuner. If I do that right after stopping playback the first time, it almost always "clears the hold." But it has to be the instance of MC that created the "lock" by watching or recording I mentioned above I can sometimes get the original instance to "release the hold" by watching TV on that MC instance for a minute and then stopping playback. I figured something out a short-term workaround in my setup. ![]()
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